"driz" > wrote in message
oups.com...

> I had called up BMW FS after posting this message. The lady I spoke to
> told me that once the transfer takes place (it takes about 30 days) my
> name will be taken off the car and, then on, I will not be responsible
> for any fault the new owner of the car -- whether it is damage he/she
> causes to the car or any payment he/she misses. Is there any fine print
> I am missing here? What exactly is legacy exposure?

You aren't missing fine print, but be careful of what sounds good but is not
explained fully. It is seldom that BMWFS will transfer the lease to someone
else without maintaining your signature as collateral. You would have to
find someone whose credit-worthiness is, at a minimum,equal to yours for
this to happen. And as things go in this world that person is probably
already in leases or loans for cars. Remember, your payment amount is very
similar to what this credit-worthy person could get on a *new* car. So it
isn't a slam dunk that someone who would qualify for a clear lease transfer
is going to want to make the same payment amount for a used car. Therefor
many lease transfers are to people who don't have the best qualifications.
It isn't as clean-cut as it seems.

The rate of default on lease transfers, just like used car loans, is quite
high compared to original leases, and for that reason BMWFS, and most
finance arms, keep a lot of ammo in the file. And in that effort when
someone who has "close-to" qualifications for the lease applies to BMWFS,
they make the lease transfer but cover their exposure by keeping you on as
secondary collateral.

Think about it. Someone who fully qualifies to assume your lease without you
staying on it, is also fully qualified to secure a lease on a new car. And
because this is a lease there isn't any monetary incentive, on a monthly
basis, to go used rather than new. The bottom line is that most lease
transfers are to the secondary market, and for that market most finance arms
require you to stay on as a signer.