Getting out of a lease early

So back in July I leased a 2012 Infiniti G25X for 18 months. Thus, I have had it about 6 months, with another 12 months remaining on the lease. Mileage allowance is 15k/year, for a total of 22,500 throughout the lease. Payments are at $340/month.

With that said, while I have loved driving the vehicle, I would rather be driving a truck on a daily basis as gas mileage really isn't all that different, my Infiniti gets about 22-23 average with premium fuel. Also, I'd rather be paying on something that I will own eventually, not having to turn back in.

The lease was more or less an impulse buy, without careful thought or consideration. So I realize it was a stupid decision to make.

Therefore, is anybody familiar with how to get out of a lease early. Do they give you a trade-in value of what the vehicle is worth, or do they just look at the amount of payments you have left? For instance, If I were to go to a dealership to possibly buy a tacoma, obviously the negative equity would be applied onto the loan, I guess my question is, is that based on the trade-in value of the car, or the amount of payments I have remaining?

First time I have ever actually leased a car, so not very familiar with the process and so forth.

 

If you want to sell it privately it is going to cost you (typically), but trading it in on another vehicle should not be a problem. I have done that before and did not have any issues ( 3 year lease, traded it in after 2 years)

 

Yea, I realize if I tried selling it via private party that would be costly. Was considering having someone take over the lease, but Infiniti actually has your name on the lease, even after the transfer, so if someone did not make the monthly payment, it would affect my credit.

Thus, with that said, when you traded it in, did the base the value of the vehicle trade-in value, or the amount of payments you had left to make?

 

Edmunds.com has an article on this...I don't know many people who lease with a smile that live a normal income life...It's really a bad option unless you can afford or do buy a new car every 3 years...a Tacoma is a great choice for a permanent vehicle...try for a 2 year old used one...Heck maybe you can swap leases with a tacoma owner who regrets getting a truck!
http://www.edmunds.com/car-leasing/get-out-of-your-lease-the-cheap-and-easy-way.html

 

I've actually considered doing a lease transfer, but after looking into it, my credit and name still remain on the lease after the transfer, and I don't trust anyone enough to do that.

 

They looked at what was left on the lease amount, and what the current book value was, made an adjustment for the mileage (I was way over the allowed mileage) and came up with a number. I was basically (on paper at least) able to just give it back with $0 owed, but also no equity towards a down payment. With the amount of miles that I was over the allowed, I was very happy with the outcome.