[RHPF]

I have a leased car that I am considering selling. It has nothing to do with finances as much as some other things. I might change my mind, but in the mean time I'm trying to figure out what my options are. If I buy the car outright, I can sell it for more than BMW FS quoted me at. So that would be my obvious first choice. The issue would be, do I need to pay sales tax if I want to buy it to sell it? Is there a way to have the buyer 'buy it' instead of me? Then pay me the extra over that?

[DrGP]

Yes you usally need to pay sales tax. ONe way you might be able to avoid it is if the dealer would do a courtesy trade for you. He would buy the car from you(no sales tax) and immediately resell to the new buyer. BTW, the dealer has no incentive to do such for you. But in your case, living in CA, you can buy the car and resell it within 2 weeks and not pay sales tax yourself. Buyer would pay the tax. Since I don't live in CA, I am not completely sure how it works, but it should work in your situation.