When Sergio Stiberman wanted to end his car lease about 10 years ago, a car dealership gave him two choices: Hand over more than $10,000 to break the lease or wait out the deal.
To help other people looking to break their lease without incurring expensive termination fees, Stiberman founded LeaseTrader.com. The Florida-based company works with car-leasing companies, matching people looking to get out of their automobile lease with people who want to take over a remaining lease.
“A lease is a commitment, and that commitment is pretty strong,” said Stiberman, chief executive officer of LeaseTrader.com. “I wanted to get out of my lease, and I said, ?There are probably people I can give this car to.? There has to be a market out there for this business.”
The Baltimore-Washington area ranks as LeaseTrader.com?s fourth-largest area in terms of transactions, said John Sternal, the company?s vice president of marketing communications. California, New York and Florida are the company?s top three areas.
“The average income is pretty high in the Maryland area,” Sternal said. “People like the feeling of changing cars, and they don?t have to feel attached to their car for [the] whole lease. … Right now, we?re seeing a lot of students who are going to college who want to get out of their leases.”
About 17 million Americans have automobile leases, according to CNW Marketing Research, an automotive research firm.
“Times in the automobile industry are changing,” Sternal said. “It?s becoming one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry.”
