Escaping a car lease gets easier

"Car leases are extremely hard and costly to break, so these sites were created to give sellers an out," says Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor with Edmunds.com. "For buyers, these sites help them negotiate the complex legalities involved in assuming a lease. It's a situation where everyone involved benefits."

For years, leasing a car put you at risk of a major downside -- being stuck with a vehicle you no longer wanted with no way out. Car dealers charged a hefty penalty if you tried to break the lease.

Now there's a way to overcome that obstacle.

The dealers haven't stopped imposing those penalties, but middlemen who facilitate lease trading among consumers are reshaping the car leasing market by matching car lease sellers with buyers.

For a fee, these lease-trading companies act as online matchmaking services for both sides of the lease-trading transaction. Once a deal is struck, the lease-trading company facilitates the transfer of the lease and title with the car dealer.

The lease-trading market is appealing to sellers looking to dump leases for whatever reason: the desire for other models, financial setbacks or overseas moves. For buyers, there are some great short-term deals available from sellers looking to avoid those hefty dealer penalties.