The reason there is a minimum term is because you would have signed a Finance Agreement (allbeit it is probably a Garaunteed Buy-Back Finance Agreement).
Personally I think you are very lucky to be offered a no penalty get-out after 9 months of such a long term lease, our Company employee one is full term or full payment - no exceptions.
From a consumer point of view, we do contract / lease hire at my Company, and the number of queries we have in asking for an early settlement figure, then the vehicle mysteriously disappears or is written off is shocking. Sure it looks well suspicious but thats for the insurance Company to question, not us.
Im guessing its your own insurance policy? If so, before you do anything you might regret, check out your excess, and also check if you policy will cover the full value of the vehicle owed to the lease company. 9 times out of 10 there will be a shortfall between what the finance / lease company want and what your insurance are prepared to pay. Also, do you really want such a high value claim against you for the next 5 years, it will make a huge difference to your premiums.
What im trying to say is that for the sake of maybe 6 months of you being a bit skint and having a nice car to drive round in, it might be better than trying to pull a fast one and you being left with a possible insurance short fall, excess, inflated insurance premiums and the risk of being done for fraud?
