Lease Termination Fees and other costs

tazgirl3 · February 2008

I was not over my miles at the time this deal was presented to me. I had three payments left and I think that is where the dealer was getting his figure from. I now I have one payment left and am OVER my miles so now I am totally screwed!!

qbrozen · February 2008

Why are you totally screwed??

I am willing to bet your extra miles are not as financially painful as rolling payments would have been.

In other words, if payments are $300 per month and you drive enough to put $200 worth of extra miles on the car per month, well then you are saving $100 a month by putting on the miles rather than turning in early.

joel0622 · February 2008

I'm currently in an 05 Denali lease that ends 2/09. I'm way over on the mileage (approximately $5600 and counting) and I'm paying $950/month. Currently, the lease buy-out is $39K according to GMAC. Edmunds TMV is about $23K for a trade-in and the dealers are telling me $20K for trade-in. I'm just trying to figure out if I should cut my losses by trading it in now or keep until the lease matures, rack up more miles, and get whacked in 2/09! I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has to offer. I don't want to act hastily, but I feel that things are only getting worse.

This would solve your problem

tidester · March 2008

This would solve your problem

Free room and board for 20 years at taxpayer expense isn't my idea of a viable solution.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

tazgirl3 · March 2008

I see where you are coming from. I just dont know about this lease end thing. so, I make my last payment, have the vehicle inspected and they tell me if I owe anything for excess wear and tear and then charge me for the extra miles which so far are are totalling $150 and I my last payment is 3/25. do I have to pay for anything else or do I just give the car back and walk away? :confuse:

qbrozen · March 2008

You have to read your contract regarding any end-of-lease charges.

But, at this point, you are so close to the end that it would not hurt to shop around now. You should be able to trade that car at any dealership and pay them the final payment and excess mileage as part of the deal for whatever car you buy. How much are your current payments? I forget.

But, if you do want to just turn it in, you can do that, too. Have you called the leasing lender to let them know of your intentions? I know Chrysler, for instance, wants me to call them 30 days before contract end to let them know I will be turning the car in.

greanpea68 · March 2008

so now I am totally screwed!!

I have looked at a couple of your posts. You sound pretty worried... but I could be wrong

If you only have a couple months left wait your lease out if you are that close. It sounds like you are a 1000 miles over. Every 1000= $150...

I would'nt worry about that. It really isn't that much and it is easy to get that money on your next car deal. Have a dealer cut you a check for what you owe.

For your lease return it is very easy to do. Google" AIM inspections " and call the number. You will probably get a number in California, don't worry they will set you up with the right people. It is free of charge. They will come to you. You should have it done when you make your last payment in case you have to have anything fixed. You get up to $500 wear and tear. Most people know if they are going to be over that amount if there is any real damge that hasn't been fixed. So if you don't have any real damages i wouldn't worry... I have also heard that if the vehicle is in good condition You may use some of that $500 to cover any miles over. Now like I said I am not sure. I have never had to deal with that. I wish you good luck.

GP

tazgirl3 · March 2008

Yes, worry is my middle name!!! I'd like to just trade in the car and not worry about all this lease return stuff. The dealers will pay your last payment and I was told they sell cars at auction after they take the trade. I worry that there will be a fine or something if I trade it in instead of completing the end of lease guidlelines. I have never leased before and I am over my miles by 1,000 so far and still have a month to drive car so I am looking at about $300 in overage charges. I called NMAC and they gave me AIM's number and I am supposed to call 30 days before my lease is up and then they come to your home and inspect the vehicle. I dont have major damge on the car. Just a few shopping cart/car door dings. I had to replace one tire on the car because it had a bubble so that tire will appear newer than all the rest. Cafe Late leather interior is dirty but cleanable, no stains, just everyday wear.

Thanks for your help and advice

tazgirl3 · March 2008

I would like to do just that. trade in the car and just pay them the last payment and excess mileage charge and then they take care of notifying NMAC since I'll be buying another Nissan product they already gave me a pre-auth number for financing.

cole0412 · March 2008

Hi has anyone out there traded a lease on swapalease, specifically when it wasn't a lease assumption but only a transfer? I have a lease on an 06 Audi A4 and for many reasons I'd like out (mostly over $7K in overage charges). I have someone local who wants the car as soon as the paperwork finishes. I am very hesitant because Audi doesn't let the original lessee off the hook. I know it's risky but it's a much cheaper solution if it works. Has anyone done it and/or purchased the liability insurance they offer? Thanks for any replies.

sebring95 · March 2008

I have assumed several leases, but never just a "transfer". Sounds like a good way to stiff someone though (the stiffed person being YOU). One big question I would have is, why does this person want to assume/transfer a lease with apparently a ridiculous amount of mileage fees? When I assume a lease, it's generally to bail someone out and they usually pay dearly for it. I can't think of any reason I would assume this lease unless you were paying me $7,000 at the very minimum.

cole0412 · March 2008

The $7k in charges doesn't exist yet. If I continue my current commute now that my job has been transfered from now till the end of the lease with some minor miles on the weekends, the charges will be over that amount. Right now I am under the mileage limit so there is no reason to pay you and the person assuming it is still getting a good deal.

Still looking for anyone who has done this...

sebring95 · March 2008

Ok, I see. So it's just a potential $7k charge at this point. You're still leaving yourself open to a lot of liability if Audi doesn't release you from the lease. Have you clarified this position with Audi? Most lease contracts read that they're not transferable, however most leasing company's (for a fee.....) will completely transfer the lease and release you of the liability. I've never done an Audi lease, but GM, Toyota/Lexus both have similar "non-transferability" clauses within the lease document, however they will transfer them anyway. It's just completely optional on their part.

Is the current buy-out significantly more than the current value? I'd look into buying out the lease and selling the car to someone else. Or just trade it in (to avoid sales tax issues). Being a '96 model, I would think you're within a year of the lease end which is usually manageable in terms of getting out with out losing too much.

mehrishis · April 2008

I just signed a lease for toyota highlander 2 days ago. Noe I want to buy this car. What are my options? Can I do it? What will be the fees and extra money....Please advise, as finance guy forced me into his somehow?

volvomax · April 2008

The simplest thing to do is see if the dealer will let you re-contract.

mehrishis · April 2008

Thanks you for helping. Can I just call them that I want out lease and want to buy the car instead? Whay would they agree? Is there any NY state law that y ou can mention? Somebody is tellimg me that there isa 10 day limt to change the contract...

pacifica07 · April 2008

I believe that legally you have 3 days to change your mind, but not sure, better check with your A.G. Office.

mehrishis · April 2008

Thanks. I called AG office. Three days limit is true for home insurance and not for car lease. I guess, I am done for...... Any other advise?
sandep

qbrozen · April 2008

Well, did you call the dealer yet? The longer you wait, the less your chances. If they haven't submitted the paperwork yet, they may work with you. Just make sure you say up front that you would like to buy the vehicle instead (if you start off by saying you want out of the lease, it will put them on the defensive right off the bat).

Kirstie_H · April 2008

If all else fails, wait and then contact the financing company. THEY are the ones who "own" your lease. I have no idea whether they'd let you convert to a purchase, but it's another option to try if the dealer won't make the switch.

qbrozen · April 2008

its an option, but an unlikely one. Once the deal is done, they have you over a barrel. You owe all those lease payments. So why they would let you out of them is beyond me.

I say, if nothing else, you just make all the lease payments and then buy the car at the end of the lease. If you received a favorable rate, it won't be much more expensive than if you had purchased from the get-go.

mehrishis · April 2008

Yes I did. Waiting to hear from the. At first he said, nothing can be done. Let me ask you something. I negotiated the price to 35250 for toyota highlander limited without navigation and rear seat entertainment. Then I said, I will lease. I think that was my fault. He gave me money factor of .0385. Ths what pushed th epayment to 709$ per month wihtout downpayment for a 36 month/12000 lease...Do you think 700 is too much for this deal?

qbrozen · April 2008

yeah, that's pretty high. And that's a very high rate, too (although I'm assuming you mean .00385). How is your credit?

volvomax · April 2008

I think so!

Unless you have less than stellar credit, the dealer has a HUGE backend.
So, they aren't gonna let you re-sign.
Looks like your only option is to buy the car out from the lease co.

mehrishis · April 2008

my credit is excellent

sandeep

mehrishis · April 2008

so there is no way out? Any legal issues I can raise? Despite having an excellent credit, how can they cahrge me so much? Is ther a possibility that the leasing company will seel car to me this early?
sandeep

sebring95 · April 2008

Has the dealer told you NO? While it appears they're making a killing there's always the possibility they want happy customers. Press the issue up the ladder....general manager, etc. Might be the only option!

pacifica07 · April 2008

Good luck with that, I'm still battling with Chrysler Financial, I'm in a 3/39000 Lease and I want to buy it out and keep the car, to the point that I spend 2 hrs on the phone until I got someone that told me to send out the payment so I send them a cert. check for the amount of purchase. They stated that I had to go throught the dealer in order to buyout the lease\vehicle and sent me back the check. I went to the dealer and they want to charge me about $3K in fees since they said that the vehicle belongs to CF and not to the Local dealer, that they will have to buy back the car and then sell it back to me - a very unheard and absurd thing!!!!

Again - Good Luck!

PS - If it works, let me know, maybe I can use the same strategy to get rid of this nightmare.

sebring95 · April 2008

You might try another dealer for the lease buyout. I had to do the same thing with a Toyota financial lease and a couple dealers weren't exactly enthusiastic about it, but I settled on one that charged me $200 processing fees. FWIW, you might try a small used dealer that would be more willing to do a little paperwork for a couple hundred bucks. I was told to use a Toyota dealer, however the truth was any licensed dealer could have done the deal. It's no different than if you decided to trade the car in...that dealer would be buying it from Toyota/Chrysler/et al for the current buyout. They just turn around and sell it to you for the agreed upon price.

mehrishis · April 2008

I went there to figure out the things. He said, it can not be done. But he also said, you can come back after a month, by that time they will recieve the paper work from the company. One thing I am realizing, these guys can screw you at two pplaces...1) in negotiating the MSRP and 2) when they are trying to finance it. If you win at one place, you might lose ato thers. They do not give you any options.

So for small dealer, can i just go there and ask them about buying my car and reselling it to me? what is the best way to approach them? what to and how to tell them? LAso, is it worth doing? What price should I settle for?

sebring95 · April 2008

I was responding to the other poster concerning the buyout on his Chrysler lease (and using a small dealer). Some leasing co's won't allow you to buy the car directly from them, you have to use a licensed dealer.

If your dealer won't work with you I guess your only option is to wait until the leasing company processes everything and get with them on a buyout. Some will work with you and negotiate the buyout price, but theoretically, you're on the hook for 36 payments PLUS the residual value. In that case there would be no benefit to buy it out early.

volvomax · April 2008

so there is no way out?

None that I can see.

Any legal issues I can raise?

No

Despite having an excellent credit, how can they cahrge me so much?

Easy, you agreed to it.
My advice is to keep the lease, and decide at the end of the lease whether or not you want to buy it out.
If you buy it out now, chances are there would be a penalty clause that would cost you even more money.

nofeer · April 2008

my last payment is june 1, i want to get my wife a new jetta, instead of waiting has anyone trading in a lease vehicle (volvo s40 t5 awd 2004 with 28kmiles) any suggestions ??? when i spoke with the lease company they said the dealer can call and get a "trade quote" so what is this?? and do they help make a deal reasonable

qbrozen · April 2008

You can trade it to any dealer. They (the dealer) should work with you on the cheapest option. Either you will pay them the remaining lease payments and they will return the vehicle, or, if cheaper, they will give you its actual trade-in value, buy the car from the finance company, and you pay the difference (or they give you credit for the difference, which is rare because leases typically don't wind up with positive equity, but its not out of the realm of possibility).

malichs · April 2008

Hi all,

I have a 2006 Accord Coupe EX-L V6 auto with navigation that has 8 payments left in a 3 year 12k/yr lease.

About a year ago, I was waiting for my car to be brought out of a garage by a valet when another valet backed into the front bumper. There is some damage in the area around the right headlight, nothing serious looking to the eye, but I haven't had an estimate on repair costs yet. The headlight itself is fine, and there doesn't appear to be any front end alignment issues.

So my question is, what are my options? Should I just continue for the remaining eight months, return the car and pay any damage fees assessed? Or would I be better off getting the car fixed myself before returning it? Is it worth it to end the lease early? I'm itching to get into a different car, but obviously don't want to take a bath on the lease

The payoff as of today is19,854.72

Thanks!

jennifr · April 2008

Hi, My toyota sienna lease is up in November 08. I am getting close to maxing out on the milage, before I pay overage. I called today, and the payoff on the lease (as of today, not november) is $17,300. I am trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Is it better to keep the car until the very end of the lease and pay less than $1000 in overage fees or is there a decent chance I could get the pay off by trading it in? I intend to buy my next car, not a Toyota. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

sebring95 · April 2008

You would need to find the real-world trade-in value of your van. Theres a forum here just for that, do a search for real world trade-in value and post your Sienna. Someone will give you a ballpark on what to expect if you were to trade it. If that number is close to the current buyout, then you could get out today with little pain. If youre upside down, it will likely benefit you to wait until youre close to the lease-end. Then if youre still upside down, the question becomes are you upside down by more than the mileage charge. Then either trade it or turn it in.

Theres also the option to sell it yourself, but that requires a little more work. Obviously you have to find a buyer, then youll need to find a dealer willing to accommodate the transaction. Ive used small used car dealers for this in the past and theyll usually do the deal for a few hundred bucks. The dealer will basically have to buy the car from Toyota and then sell it to your buyer for the agreed upon price.

kp22 · April 2008

I am currently leasing a 2007 BMW 328 Xi. We just entered into the lease in September for 36 months. Does anyone know what BMW's policy is for upgrading to another BMW during my current lease term? My wife and I need a larger vehicle to accomodate a car seat; the 3-series doesn't have the space. We'd like to look into the X3 or X5. Any insight would be helpful and much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

volvomax · April 2008

Actually, there is no policy for "upgrading"
Basically, you trade the car in and the inequity gets applied to the new one.

kp22 · April 2008

Thank you for your prompt reply. I am assuming that the only loss would be the tax that I paid up front for the term of the original lease on the 328? I did not pay a cap cost reduction, rather only the required fees and sales tax.

Can you please explain what you mean by "inequity gets applied to the new one"?

Thanks again!

sebring95 · April 2008

Can you please explain what you mean by "inequity gets applied to the new one"?

If your 328 is worth $20,000 on trade and the current lease buyout is $25,000, you'll have to cover that $5,000 somewhere. Cash or rolled into new lease/purchase. Made up numbers of course. Whether or not BMW finance will negotiate the current buyout would be the big question! I'm betting the current non-negotiated buyout is far higher than the trade-in value.

ken1496 · April 2008

Due to a unpatchable flat tire, one of my Passat 4 motion tires is different from other three. VW credit told me that I have to have all four to match. Anybody know if VW Credit will charge the cost to replace (1) tire or all (4) tires? If I were to do the work before the lease is up, I need to replace all (4) tires. Or is it possible to find a matching tire? New? Used? Any suggestions appreciated.

volvomax · April 2008

They should just charge you for 1 tire.
Unless the other 3 fall below the minimum acceptable tread depth(commonly 4/32nds)

volvomax · April 2008

As sebring said, there is a payoff on your car.
Typically all remaining lease payments PLUS the residual value minus a little bit of interest.
Just like a new loan you owe more than the physical value of the car.

jennifr · April 2008

Thank you so much!! I knew someone here would know how to answer this. I can't promise this is my last question, but thank you!!

qbrozen · April 2008

??
Didn't the valet company's insurance pay for the damage?

The car is worth much less than the payoff, so if you want out early, you can trade it in and pay the remaining lease payments all at once (plus any charges from the bank for excess wear and tear and miles).

tomy3 · April 2008

The lease on my 2005 330xi is nearing completion. I have about 29K miles on it and the lease terms were 15K/yr. or 45K miles. Needless to say the buyout number is about $3,000 lower than the trade-in value. Is there anyway to take advantage of this if I stay with BMW on another lease deal for a new car. What about other models?

sebring95 · April 2008

You should be able to trade your vehicle just like it was yours. The dealer will just pay the buyout to BMW finance and you'll get whatever equity difference there is. Check in on the "real world trade-in value" forum and make sure you're accurate in valuing your trade. Some of the book values are a little sketchy. But there's certainly the potential to have some equity if you're low on miles and the cars are in more demand than BMW expected when setting the residual. Seems like small cars are pretty hot right now with gas prices and such.

oldfarmer50 · April 2008

In the paper today there was a story that shocked me. Seems you can't even get out of a lease by dying.

It seems that this fellow leased a Caddy in June of 2007 and died in February 2008. His daughter, thinking the lease ended with his death, returned the car to the dealer and was told she was all set. Almost immediately, the family received letters and calls demanding $13,000 for the balance due on the lease. Evidently GMAC Financial Services got pretty abusive and threatened to sue the widow and take assets to pay the claim.

As Johnny Carson used to say: I did not know that.

british_rover · April 2008

I think, and Joel can confirm this, that Ford has a provision in their lease contract to handle the death of an individual during th middle of their lease but GMAC does not.

Lease Termination Fees and other costs

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