Anyone having difficulty returning their leases?

Ask the Hackrs
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21

You’ll need to verify that with the bank. There have been mixed reports.

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22

Jaguar was extending leases for 6 months and also extending mileage allowances. Information sent through Chase in the mail and also via email.

I returned my lease this past Saturday and it was quick and simple. They are also offering first two payments on next lease or finance of JLR product paid by them.

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23

Saw the USA Today story on Yahoo today.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/car-trouble-auto-lenders-not-181601305.html

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24

Have a Q5 lease expired last weekend. Got inspection done, received report. Called dealership and they said they were not accepting lease back. Audi offered to extend lease, I said no and then they just asked me to keep it until dealership opens.

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25

I had nothing but trouble returning my KIA Sportage… The car was junk.

26

Here’s my situation: my BMW lease is due to mature on May 1. I’ve called multiple dealerships to return the car, but every dealership’s sales dept is “closed” due to Corona. Interestingly, if I wanted to lease a new vehicle and return the old one, they’d be happy to oblige me- I just can’t turn it in.

I leased the vehicle through the automaker financial service, and after a long discussion with them they said I could keep the car for one more month with no payments (and turn it in when dealerships open up again)

While seemingly a “free month,” the actual costs are:

  1. I have to keep the car fully insured (per their Terms of this “deal”)
  2. I have to keep the car fully registered (per their Terms)
  3. The warranty terms do not get extended (their Terms)

Here’s my worry: not only am I going to be out one more months’ worth of insurance and registration for a car I don’t want, but also the car’s electronics have a timer for service set for 3 years, which will likely go off during this extension period. If it does, then I am on the hook for the next service as part of the wear and tear clause (which is about $1200).

Is anybody else dealing with this or have a workaround? I’ve spoke with a lawyer who says this is a clear violation of the lease contract, but since there’s an arbitration clause in the contract it could take a while to resolve.

Curious what other people are doing or recommend…

27

What state are you in?

28

California

29

Try calling other dealerships? You might be able to reset the service warning…

30

I am having the same exact problem on my 2017 Maserati Ghibli lease. The dealer won’t take the car back. No way am I going to pay another penny to keep it. You’re spot on right about “free”… DMV fees, insurance, wear and tear adds up!

31

Jaguars coming to pick mine up—no dealer will take it. But it may be 2-3 weeks, so I get free driving? Service is due at about the same time as return, but my understanding is that there is a 30 day window

32

I’m in Manhattan and returned my Audi to an NYC area dealer yesterday. Service department was open and dropped it there. Filled out some paperwork and left. Whole process was about 5 minutes. May be worth trying the service depts.

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33

You just have to keep working on BMW financial. Covid-19 doesn’t allow them to alter the lease. Keep writing BMW financial and tell them you do not accept a lease extension and wish to return the car. In most states, baring language in the contract, the law assumes you can return leased/rented property to the location you rented it. Giving BMW financial proper notice and them refusing to accept the lease return almost certainly absolves you of responsibility for things like deferred maintenance.

But that is all legal speak and you don’t want to get involved in paying lawyers. Just keep working at it. Call BMW financial and maybe record the call (with their consent) and/or send a certified letter. Other posters have had similar issues, and got it resolved. Eventually BMW will figure out a way to pick it up.

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34

Nissan offered an unusual deal - they said I could take a video of the car showing mileage, VIN etc. and basically virtually turn it in. So the lease payments would stop, but you would still need to keep insurance and registration, and get 100 miles to drive to do the real return when dealers reopened. That option doesn’t really work for me, so now after asking many times, they revealed there is a pickup option - and I’m waiting for the transport company they use to call and say if they can do it from NYC.

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35

This might have been covered in a different thread, but does anyone have opinions on returning a car with minor damage and taking the inspection gamble, vs repairing the damage before the lease is inspected?

36

I live in the LA area. My lease expired on April 15. I tried to return my leased Audi to the Audi dealership closest to my house, although this is not the dealership I originally leased my car from. They have told me several times that their lot is too full to accept lease returns, but strangely, the manager always asks me if I leased the car from his dealership. The manager says Audi is not picking up the lease returns in a timely fashion, so the lot is always too full to accept more cars. I contacted Audi Financial and explained the situation. They told me that I should hold on to the car and keep trying until the dealership has space to accept the car. In the meantime, they will note my account so I don’t accrue additional charges, including fees for failing to return the car timely. So, I was shocked to receive a boilerplate letter today from Audi Financial saying I have failed to turn in my car and I will accrue charges if I don’t return the car. I’m on the cusp of calling every class action attorney I know and reporting Audi to the state attorney general for this, but figured I would come here first for some reasonable and level-headed advice first.

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37

Did you call AFS to seek clarification after receiving the letter? If so, what did they say? And if not, I think calling them should be your first step.

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38

In my post above I recommended

You don’t want to take their word that you can extend the lease penalty free. All the OEM financial arms are struggling right now while they transition to work from home and try to figure things how crashing RVs are gonna affect their financials. Most likely someone you spoke to simply failed to properly note your conversation. Of course it’s possible they are just trying to squeeze as much money out of people who don’t want to fight with them/are lazy.

You either need to get something in writing or recorded on phone to confirm your deal. Otherwise demand they accept the lease return. Don’t get lawyers involved unless Audi is really impossible to deal with. But it seems like with a little effort they will either take your car back or confirm your free lease extension deal.

39

Ally is giving one month free and after-that you can extend month to month and you will get extra miles. If your in NY, and want to return they can pick it up from your home as well.

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Somehow, even with the Corona thing, I suspect that this is not going to go well for you. I suspect that it will cost you extra money