Alphabet- ending a lease earlier than planned
Alphabet- ending a lease earlier than planned
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Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

83 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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[redacted]

Racing Newt

1,291 posts

234 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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Hmm, do you not remember sitting by your Grannies knee and her passing on that essential ancestral knowledge base, which included " never sign a contract that you do not understand" ??

Ry.Clarke

693 posts

55 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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My knowledge on the subject is you will owe the remaining rental. It’s this way on most things even down to the broadband contract.

I got stung the same way for the gym contract I haven’t used since April last month.

I’m not sure what you expected?

Racing Newt

1,291 posts

234 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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So you have two contracts that you have not understood? i am not tying to demean you but if you understand them why ask for advice on the meaning of them?. I must say that the statements in the contract arre quite/very convoluted, and thus seem to be deliberately misleading particularly when it comes to calculating/determining compensations or obligations.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

83 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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Am I imagining things or do I recall that some lease contracts allow you to hand the car back early if you pay 50% of the remaining payments?

I guess that is the problem with a lease, if life happens and you need to get out of the car, or have no use for it you are a little bit stuffed.

Ry.Clarke

693 posts

55 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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ThingsBehindTheSun said:
Am I imagining things or do I recall that some lease contracts allow you to hand the car back early if you pay 50% of the remaining payments?

I guess that is the problem with a lease, if life happens and you need to get out of the car, or have no use for it you are a little bit stuffed.
Thats PCP isnt it?

paul_c123

2,335 posts

22 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
It seems a fair enough way to calculate what you owe. Of course, with the shape of a depreciation curve, you're going to be paying a higher monthly amount if you leased a car for 6 months, than 3 years.

RayDonovan

5,734 posts

244 months

Tuesday 14th October 2025
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I paid £180 to hand back a Tiguan 17 months early with Alphabet

It was all about luck with the timing.

V8 Stang

4,505 posts

212 months

Wednesday 15th October 2025
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Ive just enquired about returning my lease van 3 months early, which i no longer require.

Ive been told i have to pay 55% of the remaining 3 payments, which seems fair enough.

Wills2

29,422 posts

204 months

Thursday 16th October 2025
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I ended an Alphabet lease early by selling the car to a trader, it wasn't straight forward as BMW do not depose to car traders and wouldn't sell it to me so he had to buy it privately (payment not from his business account) BCA handled it, it was the only way to get out without paying anything.

It was a 48 month lease and I'll never do one of those again as you end up running a leased car without a warranty, 24 month leases are probably the best length having a much shorter horizon and less commitment should the need to get out arrive.










Edited by Wills2 on Thursday 16th October 15:30

Mark V GTD

3,134 posts

153 months

Thursday 16th October 2025
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ThingsBehindTheSun said:
Am I imagining things or do I recall that some lease contracts allow you to hand the car back early if you pay 50% of the remaining payments?

I guess that is the problem with a lease, if life happens and you need to get out of the car, or have no use for it you are a little bit stuffed.
Yes I was able to do that with an Audi lease via VWFS in 2020. Also saved me having to pay for a service!

OP - have they actually given you a figure yet?

samoht

7,200 posts

175 months

Thursday 16th October 2025
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
The part in bold doesn't mean you will have to pay 100% of the outstanding. It implies they'll recalculate their costs based on the car being returned newer and lower mileage than planned, and charge you on that basis.

So if the car depreciated by £10k in year 1 and £5k in year 2, total depreciation is £15k in two years, monthly payment £15k/24 = £625
If you return it after one year, total paid to date would be £7500, total owing £10000, so they might charge another £2500 to end the lease halfway through.


However, what I don't know is whether they would recalculate based on current market value, so if the used value is now lower than anticipated if you have to pay for that as well.


Have they given you a termination cost, and if so how does it actually compare to the sum of remaining monthlies?

Familymad

2,263 posts

246 months

Thursday 16th October 2025
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Reading this with interest. My father’s lease ends in March and he is on end of life care which happened suddenly. Do they normally make allowance for this as the leaseholder isn’t alive anymore? I assume the insurance will also be invalid etc