BMW Financial Services wrongfully STOLE $12,670 from me

Ask the Hackrs
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21

Let’s break section 25 down line by line.

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If I am in compliance with my insurance obligations under this Lease and the Vehicle is damaged, stolen or destroyed and considered a total loss under my insurance coverage…

Presumably you were compliant with the insurance obligations and the vehicle was considered a total loss, so this applies

…I will not be obligated to pay you the gap amount if the claim for total loss is actually paid to you by my insurance company.

There’s no gap amount since the value exceeds the payout, so you’re good there.

However, I will be obligated to pay you:

Here are the above and beyonds the gap amount you’re liable for

(1) any and all amounts due and owing needed to satisfy my obligations under this Lease

Presumably you were up to date on payments, so this isn’t an issue

(2) any amounts (including Monthly Payments) that become due pending receipt of the insurance proceeds

Aka don’t stop paying your payments until this is finalize

(3) the deductible amount under my insurance policy

So payment from the insurance company can’t be less your deductible

(4) any amounts deducted from the actual cash value of the Vehicle by the insurance carrier

This seems to be the one that entitles them to the overage. If they had determined the cash value to be greater than the payoff and only paid BMWFS some of the cash value, they would be deducting from the actual cash value of the Vehicle and you would be responsible for paying BMWFS that deduction amount.

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22

The graph is showing a situation that isn’t relevant since the market value isn’t below the finance agreement balance, as such there’s no gap, and in accordance with section 25, you don’t owe a gap.

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23

And, if I were BMW, I would ask, “Where in the contract does it say the leasee gets to keep the overage?”

I’m not an attorney, but if you didn’t own the asset at the time of the accident or payment, then there is no reason to assume that, absent a specific statement about it in the contract, only you are entitled to the overage.

So I think that

is the correct and final answer, if BMW continues to decline to pay you the overage.

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24

Does BMWFS pay the car insurance? Why should they be entitled to more than what is owed on the car?

25

No, but you took out the insurance policy that named them as a payee

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26

You can argue online all you want, but that energy may be better reserved for finding an attorney to take your case.

One last chance at slow mode before this thread is inevitably locked for being completely unproductive.

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27

When you lease an apartment and there is a flood or fire damage the insurance company pays the owner of the property not the lessee . There is no difference here. You never owned the car . It was a lease . Case closed .

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28

Aside from all the correct observations about your lease agreement: in every state I’m familiar with, you can’t sell the car / transfer the title without first branding it Salvage, which means the insurance claim has to be settled (not closed and reopened), which means the first party (BMWFS) gets paid on the claim.

I understand why you’re frustrated: unfortunately you aren’t in the right here. As others suggested, a lawyer might take the case and might either win/settle (is it worth a year of your life to get 2/3 of 1/2 of the equity?) - only you can decide if that juice is worth the squeeze.

As I always suggest: read and understand your lease agreement before you sign it.

29

If every BMW driver that was at-fault for crashing their car got a 5-figure check from BMWFS… that would literally incentivize people to drive more dangerously. It could never make sense for car insurance to work that way.

It’s frustrating to have a nice car at a good price and then have it be gone in a flash - but totaling a car isn’t supposed to feel good. I would not want to live in a world where BMWFS just said “Congrats on your car crash, here’s $14 grand!” You’re supposed to regret the crash (and be thankful that no one got seriously hurt!), not profit from it.

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30

The friendly internet strangers here can provide our point-of-views :slight_smile: Ultimately, if you decide to pursue a/the legal recourse, you may want to be cognizant of what is posted publicly, as it may be part of the discovery process :man_shrugging: (IANAL).

However it works out, all the best.

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31

Tagging you on the next one in a few days

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32

This is the great thing about the world we live in…if you don’t like it, take your dollars elsewhere. End of the day, you’re not out 12k despite what you may think.

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33

It sucks, and while you probably have no recourse you can vote with your wallet on the next purchase. It is pretty black and white that in the contract you no longer have the option to buy the car after it is totaled. People are reporting CCAP (Chrysler/Jeep/Ram) are giving overages back to the customer. I am not sure of any others that are. However researching this may help you decide what you want to lease next.

In all reality we are in a small window where leases have equity (wildly high used car prices) and this conversation will probably not happen in the next few years.

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34

Here’s a compromise.

If your car is upside, you get paid overage.
If your car is underwater (Like a certain car carrier), you pay the difference.

It’s called a retail contract.

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35

I just don’t understand what is the problem here.

You were leasing a car and it got totaled. BMW, the owner of the vehicle, was compensated for their loss which is a vehicle they could have sold for ~$40k. Your contract ended per the terms as stated and you owe nothing.

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36

I feel for you. You were expecting a chunk of change and had it yanked away. Probably already had it spent in your head on your next car, vacation, or strip club. I know how you feel. My family once gave me a prank 10k lotto ticket and let me think I won for five minutes. F*@#rs! At least you don’t share a house with bmwfs.

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37

IMO this all comes down the insurable interest. The leasor doesn’t own the car. Their insurable interest is limited to the money they are out for the lease contract. GAP insurance is designed to protect that interest and make you ‘whole’ if the value of the car is lower than what you’ve paid toward the residual price.

The car was owned by the leasing company with an option for them to sell it at the time of the lease. A transfer of ownership never occurred, so the insurance company would pay them as the rightful owner for any appreciation.

It sounds like the OP got some bad information from a CSR and unfortunately got their hopes up. Nothing was ‘stolen’ as that money was never owed to the person leasing.

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38

The lessor does own the car. The lessee does not.

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39

I don’t think there is a good solid case here. But it seems like if you want to take it to the next level, will require a lawyer, arbitration, claims court or similar. Which you may lose.

I would consider what you can get out of BMWFS without that, then move on. Going to the next level would require more expense and effort, with perhaps no guarantee of a positive outcome.

40

Leae = Rental. Rental = You don’t own the car… Try suing BMW, you won’t get far.