I’ve got a close friend who got snookered into a lease/deal he thought the lifetime friend/salesman was helping him with, but in actuality the salesman took advantage of my friend because he is a senior.
To make a long story short, my friend has decided he wants to buy the car and not lease it, but it was just initiated about 3 months ago, and when inquiring of the ability to do so, he has been warned that it will negatively impact his credit.
So, the question is: Can he buy the car, regardless of costs, penalties, etc., he just want to own it, not lease, he get screwed and is concerned about the information being provided by the salesman that it will affect his 100% impeccable credit (FICA 850).
No fights, finger pointing, blame, bottom line, can he end the lease, but the car, be done with it, without any problems?
GMAC is the leasing company.
BS. His credit currently shows $XX,XXX for car lease and will go down to $0 after paying it off.
Yes, at the current payoff set by his leasing company.
Did he purchase any add-ons in the F&I department by chance, and was it the dealer that told him refinance would damage his credit?
Who else? Bank would never say this crap. And you are probably right about add-ons: wheel protection, etc.They will still stay even if he buys the car out though, unless he cancels them. But that can be done anyway. Dealer also probably marked-up MF.
Well I wasn’t sure if a friend or acuaintance may have said something to him. The reason I suspected dealer with addons is since he’s so early in the lease, as a way to dissuade him from refinancing before they get their money, they told him he’d wreck his credit.
I see. Didn’t think about that possibility.
The only way you can ruin your credit is if you stop paying on a loan or lease you owe.
So buying the car by getting a loan to pay off the lease is the only way to go. You may lose a little bit more money but if you want out, this is the procedure. GMAC may be able to do it all in one day.
Otherwise, opening and closing accounts are normal things people do everyday.
There will be no loan required, cash is available to outright make the purchase.
However, the salesman told the customer that if he was to pay off the lease he’d have a negative impact on his credit.
I see where some opinions here may imply that there may be “add-ons”, etc., and I do not know the specifics regarding that, but to be clear, the only thing (or do I ask an attorney??) that is needed to know, is can the lease be terminated early on in the very beginning soon after it’s inception, pay it off, and have zero impact on anything at all, period?
It’s not that it will cost more, he knows that and does not care, and does not want to lease, but wants to own. He was deceived by the salesman.
That in itself is an entirely different discussion.
So, again, pay it off, pay cash, spend more, don’t care about how much he lost, that’s not the concern, the guy wants out, at any cost, and just wants to preserve his lifetime 100% credit he’s built, and not to have a lease.
You’ve already got all the answers here yet you still going on and on. Tell your friend to contact financing bank directly and request a pay off quote, as well as ask any questions he may have.
Agree with Ursus. An attorney isn’t needed. He’s simply paying off the lease/loan/whatever you want to call it early. There are no pre-payment penalties and his credit report will indicate “Paid as agreed/Closed” or something similar. There will be absolutely NO impact.
Your score will improve, if anything. Less debt.
He can but it anytime. There’s a buyout quote when you go to your account or call them.
He can buy it anytime. On credit report it will show that you no longer have debt unless he finance it. If he finance it, thats another pull on his credit report. Pay cash instead to remove the monthly debt.