My leased 2019 X4 was totaled in a garbage fire. I had extremely low mileage so the insurance company gave a pretty good settlement offer, which is at $13k over the current buyout amount. Now BMW is telling me that I can’t get a penny of the equity. The total loss department kept saying that ‘hey you don’t own the car you don’t get the money’. BUT I was the one negotiating with the insurance company to get a better settlement offer. The equity was partly due to the market, also definitely due to the fact that I didn’t drive much.
If I had bought the car one day before the incident, the equity would be mine. BMW told me ‘well that didn’t happen right. So just unlucky.’
Now I am the one getting screwed here. No car. No equity. Crazy market and prices. BMW laughing in the back with the extra cash from my tragedy. Is there anything that I can do?
Normally BMW would negotiate with the insurance company. Honestly you just did their job for them. As far as I’m aware you’re not entitled to positive equity in this scenario, although sometimes leasing companies will pay out the excess to the lessee.
BMW is the title holder and actual owner of the vehicle. They will be on the policy as the party to pay out. You are renting their asset from them during a lease.
Not again… if only all these people could channel all that outrage into reading their contract and then calling a lawyer assuming there’s a leg to stand on.
Slowing this down before it inevitably gets locked. Prove me wrong people
That’s interesting. State Farm just paid HFS their part of the payoff and wrote me a check for the rest. The payout from my total loss also included registration and taxes. Sucks that this happened to you but I wonder if your insurance company was given a higher payoff compared to what your payoff would have been.
Yep, as has been noted, you didn’t own it. In that situation I’d want to make sure that the payout from insurance covers my obligation for the lease. Beyond that, I’d be happy to walk away without $ coming out of pocket. Lucky break for the dealer.
I paid for the insurance and it’s my name on the insurance. If the settlement amount is less than the buyout amount, I need to pay BMW for the short fall. But if insurance pays more because I didn’t drive much, I don’t get any?
Also, a lot of people are taking their leased cars to Carmax to get equity out now. What happens to the title/owner story there? Then BMW should take every penny of that as well right. So if I sell a car that I don’t own to Carmax. I get the equity. If I sell it to my insurance company, BMW keeps the money. What is the logic in that?
I parked my car in a perfectly fine street parking spot one day, and some store decided to put cardboard boxes next to my car. The car is usually garaged.
I DID thoroughly read my contract. Nothing was mentioned about the positive equity part. It is all about I should pay them this much in this scenario and that much in that case.
I think this thread can be locked. OP you are asking questions that tons of threads on here have already answered. Shouldn’t take you long to find all the answers. Best of luck and sorry about the car.
