It sounds like it did in this case if he got a call from Honda about it letting him know the check was in the mail.
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Not really. How does the BBB make money? The companies you complain about pay them a membership fee.
Yes and in this instance it netted me $350 plus tax. After reviewing this forum it didn’t seem there was a definitive answer to the question. After searching BBB complaints I found a few that were similar. Only one shared a resolution that indicated the complaint received a refund, the rest were just canned responses that the issue was resolved. If someone is reading this and experiencing this problem, it is definitely worth your time to file a complaint with the BBB, if you have already attempted to resolve the issue speaking to Honda Financial Services directly.
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Theoretically speaking Honda and Acura are the same company. Acura is a branch of Honda. The disposition fee is waived by the finance company when leasing another vehicle within their own company. Example: GM Financial Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac are all the same company.
I’m going through the same with my own lease, from Chevy looking into Honda.
You could appeal their decision however the dealership purchased your lease because of the positive equity therefore your lease did not go full term, which may be a penalty fee or disposition fee. Sometimes in this case you’re stuck with the fee. If the new vehicle was still in process of writing up the contract I would suggest negotiating that as well.
Same trick played on me…I have sent a written notice to American Honda Financial services as well as complaint with BBB.
The California Lease agreement for my Honda clarity PHEV clearly mentions under section # 3. Other Charges a 350$ fee+tax will ONLY be applied if you do not purchase the vehicle and return it to a dealership.
There is no return to dealership made here. Honda should not be concerned who made the payment on the product as long as they can justify any additional processing effort is required for a check that comes from a third party purchasing agent that holds the power of attorney.
This is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen !
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We’ve seen lots of cases where the there are 3 prices on a Lease
- The price you pay
- The price the Dealership (Same Brand) pays
- The price that a 3rd Party Dealership pays.
So why is this $350 such an issue?
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The issue is in how my contract is written. If HFS were to follow the terms outlined in the contract, they would never charge the $350 disposition fee for a third party buyout, in my opinion.
Why is it is such an issue? $350 x how many thousands of third party buyouts annually = a huge scam for the consumer.
I would have paid the $350 for the third party buyout, IF the contract made that clear. It didn’t, so I complained and got my money back.
Currently having this problem as well. I’m trying to get rid of my Accord. Was told by Honda Financial that if it was any other dealership brand or third party that I sold to, I would be on the hook for the 350 dispo. However, if I remember clearly if you purchase or lease another Honda within 30 days they do not charge you the dispo fee.
My plan was to sell to my Accord to a 3rd party and get myself a Passport. Was wondering if NOT paying that 350 (plus tax) dispo fee would apply if I went through a non-captive instead of HFS. Lady I spoke to couldn’t give me an answer on that and I was already on hold for 30 min before I finally got her on the phone… I was on hold for another 12 minutes so I hung up.
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If the car was paid off in full to Honda and they try and charge you the dispo fee then you are getting screwed. The purpose of the disposition fee is to clean up and repair any damage to the vehicle and bring it into a suitable condition for resale. Is Honda doing that for your car? Nope.
@d_sharp2002 right above you has the right idea. Report them, fight them, and get your money back even if you don’t purchase another Honda.
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My understanding is most of the Disposition Fee goes toward inspection. Not to ‘rehab’ the car.
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Those dirty stealerships and captive lenderships are just trying to cheat ya out of more money.
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I guess that could be true, but the main point is the fee is meant to be used to get your car ready for resale and Honda is not doing that to a car you sold to someone else! 
Like HondaSoCal says, they are trying to cheat ya out of more money!
Eventually Honda will just charge a Random # for 3rd party Dealerships and then you can join the other people who complain about how 'thats really unfair; haha.
I’m thinking wow $350! that’s the difference? Some of the others charge thousands for 3rd party.
And some don’t even allow 3rd party
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It doesn’t matter. It could be $3.50. If they’re charging an amount that the contract doesn’t allow for, it’s not appropriate.
The issue here seems to be some convolution between what the contract allows for and what it says the fee is for. A “turn in fee” should (I say should in the ethical sense, not the legal sense) only apply if you turn in the lease. Unfortunately, the lease terms appear to allow for this fee to be applied beyond the limits of its namesake. Of course they’re going to operate in their best interest and pursue the money owed per the actual binding terms of the contract rather than go with the perceived intent based if fee labeling.
I read it as, we charge $350 for Disposition.
If you sell to 3rd Party we add $350 to the total payoff.
This coincidentally happens to be the same number.
I see people associating the fee as it is the same value , but I also see it as something most if not all Banks do when selling to 3rd Party.
Sell it to a Honda dealership to avoid the fee and then vote with your wallet in the future.
Or get more car for the money and lease cars that are worth less than the residual and not have to worry about equity at the end (I’m looking at you BMW with your inflated residuals)
Except there are itemized break downs from honda above that show it listed as a “turn in fee” when sold third party.
The Mazda dealership isn’t a party to the contract you have with the lessor.
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Ok upon looking at the statement Honda calls it Turn In Fee, instead of Disposition Fee.
So yes that’s wrong. If they called it Disposition Fee then they can charge you the $350 all day, but since it is called Turn In Fee, then that’s wrong.
The contract States that a Disposition Fee can be waived upon Consumer Purchase, but it doesn’t have to be waived. Honda changing the language will probably get them sooner or later in a Class Action.