It’s definitely a junk fee, but calling it predatory is disingenuous: it’s not unfair to a particular class/person (everyone pays it), deceptive (it’s been disclosed up front), nor fraudulent.
Besides reading all my lease contracts — I do my research, and I would have never leased with NMAC/IFS. But had I made that mistake, I would have know that buy-out at disposition has to take place at a dealership. Unlike a disposition, there is no guarantee they are getting paid on that transaction (eg if you BYO financing/check), so they are disclosing their terms to process that transaction upfront. The consumer is always in choice, and not singled-out for any reason.
You can call the captive whatever you want, but they are not processing the transaction, nor are they the dealership.
If you want this dealer to process a buy-out, their requirement is a safety inspection (which is both overpriced and more involved than the state inspection, for every one I’ve ever received from any dealership, at any brand, in any state I’ve lived). It’s also something they would do for any used car they resell.
A smart hackr so incensed by junk fees, who thought they might buy out their lease, would have negotiated with their originating dealer to waive those if purchased — and brought it back there in 3 years. Which again presumes they read the lease agreement and did a few minutes of research before they signed.
Any of the other amounts above $200 I agree are abusive, and I don’t like junk fees myself, but expecting the dealer to take a check and process your buyout for free is equally ludicrous to me — it’s not a charity, it may not be the originating dealer, it may not be a dealer you ever serviced the car at.