Hope you got an odometer statement.
I actually spoke to them around the maturity date and then called them back last week 1 month after maturity. Both times, they said they will not charge anything for me to hold onto the car. What they said is they are offering lease extensions and those people who need the miles need to go on the lease extension, but if you’re under the miles in your contract, you’re good.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I took my car in to Pacific Audi today and they were kind enough to take my lease return. AFS also canceled the accrued surcharges.
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I own a subaru and was able to get through to Chase Finance and scheduled the car to get picked up. I still owe 2 payments, turn in fee, and wear and tear (if applicable). Im having it picked up since i bought another car a few days ago and dont need the subaru anymore. I will only be responsible for what i owe. Best case scenario, it was explained to me that if the car sells in auction for more than what its currently worth, i end up saving money so hoping for that.
For anyone who has had their lease picked up… what was the experience like? Did a guy get dropped off at your house, you hand him the keys and he drives away? Or did a big tractor trailer car hauler show up at your house? And what was the lead time on the pickup when you scheduled it?
My chase lease ends 5/25 and rather than fighting with the dealership to get them to take it back, I opted for the pick-up offer. They replied and said they would get back to me with a scheduled pick up date but it could be three weeks before it even gets scheduled.
Also, any tips on the process since they’re not doing inspections now? I’m gonna take a ton of photos beforehand, but any other advice regarding the return process where they come pick the car up?
Thanks!
I’ve been trying to return my Alfa Giulia lease through Ally in San Diego with no luck. Ally did extend leases at no cost, but I’m not willing to pay an additional year of CA registration (and already have my replacement vehicle).
I first called them 2 weeks ago, then 1 week ago, then today. No solution, just “they’re working on it” and wait for their call.
The two local dealers are totally unhelpful:
- Bob Baker doesn’t answer the phone or respond to calls
- Alfa Romeo of SD refused to take it due to “no space on lot”
- (My originating dealer no longer exists)
Fun times!
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Can’t say I’m shocked
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RIP Alfa USA 2007 - 202? , maybe?
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I think there was a thread on them earlier - Orange Coast Alfa Romeo. They claimed to be doing massive volume (maybe even highest in the country?). Apparently not enough to survive! (Or maybe they were taking losses and trying to “make it up in volume”).
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Well it’s true. Small store with a stuffed backlot. I’m sure they have a storage lot somewhere, but it it’s as bad as their main lot 
Did you service at any of these dealers?
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It would probably take a BK again to change up the dealer agreements, but FCA should consolidate their points in the US to sell / service Fiat, Alfa, and Maserati under one roof. There just doesn’t seem to be the demand/volume for any one by themselves.
Parts and service would probably have to be 5x what they are now, but 
Drop fiat. They only sell 10k a year in the US, wouldn’t really hurt to streamline. Maserati and Alfa both carry higher end products, so they could position themselves as a joint premium dealership, like a JLR sort of combination, versus multiple standalones as you suggested.
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Yes, serviced at both (Bob Baker the first time, then Alfa Romeo of SD for the 20k service when Bob Baker wasn’t being as responsive to schedule).
Re: full lot, sure. But the first question was “did you lease it from us?” before telling me they have no space.
I successfully returned my lease to Honda a few days ago and I had a fairly positive experience. 2/3 OC dealerships that I had contacted returned my call. One dealership would only let me drop the vehicle off during inconvenient times and the other would accept the vehicle whenever. I dropped it off on a Sunday (after taking ~100 pics and videos of the car in the lot, including OD pics) during unstaffed hours and left my keys and miscellaneous information about my car in a dropbox. Two days later HFS posted my dispo fee online. Per a trusted hacker’s advice, I kept my car insured until I received paperwork from Honda that the car was no longer my problem.
Disclaimer: AutoVin inspected my car in early March so I did not have to wait for an inspection.
If you serviced there, when they ask just tell them “yes and had it serviced there”.
Other threads on this, but they usually ask to turn you away. If you serviced it there, you were their customer and have a customer record (albeit probably not in their sales systems) but you can always “forget” where you got it. I’ve never had them lookup and verify on the phone.
And when you call and ask don’t give your name, tell the phone troll yes and find out how you dropoff and when. My suggestion (and a rare instance where I think fibbing is ok).
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Alfa lease up 5/22. Called Chrysler last month, inspections suspended. Called today, scheduled me for 5/28 inspection and said I wouldn’t be liable for late turn in or anything of that sort.
Then called dealer I got it from, said to drop off anytime during business hours.
Should be ok?
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2020
i didn’t notice this thread when i posted in the main covid-19 thread. here is what has happened to me.
lease expired 3/26, after the bay area shelter-in-place was announced. a couple of weeks before that, wanting to avoid the longer trip to my originating dealer, i called a bunch of other chevy dealers. most said they were already not taking returns. some asked if i was going to buy another car (no) and then said they had no room for the car. anyway the monday of the week that the car was due i called the originating dealer and they said they were open as an essential business but would not take the car - service only.
i contacted GM and after several chat sessions they assured me that i didn’t have to return the car until after the shelter-in-place was called off, my lease would not be extended, and i would not owe them any more money. which is great because i already leased a car to replace this one, and i did not register the car when the paperwork came from the state since of course i intended to return it. plus, there’s nowhere to go; since this thing started we have probably driven 10 miles.
at some point in april i got an email from GM saying “great news, we extended your lease by a month!” so i called GMF again; they told me the email was a mistake. i then asked them to remove my bank account from the GMF account to prevent them charging me again, and they did it.
this monday i got a call from GM asking in so many words, “where’s the car?”. they told me if i continued to hold on to it i would need to make a payment. i told them that made no sense as i can’t return the car, i’m having to pay to insure it, and so i’m essentially storing it for them at my cost. they told me to call the dealer again and ask if i could return it. predictably the dealership said they were still closed and… no. upon hearing this GM said they would try to arrange a pick-up for the car.
no idea if the pickup will really happen. they told me to give the process a week and if no one shows up, to call in next monday.
I’d want some sort of documentation, whether a recorded phone call or an email confirming these events. Even assuming no intentional wrong doing by the car companies, this is a very chaotic time and they may not take your word about these phone calls later.
I scheduled home pick with US Bank, it took about 4 weeks, but they finally picked it up last week. I’m in Brooklyn NY and person who picked it up was from PA. They called me about 30 minutes before pick up, when they showed up, I gave them the keys, person put dealer plates on my car and that was it.
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