Hi, I leased a vehicle from a broker on this site, I went to a local dealership to see whats my appraisal price if I were to trade it in. The manager came to me after 10 mins and told me they did not have any interest in buying my vehicle due to the accident. In complete shock I assured them the vehicle was brand new when I purchased it and I never been in an accident. They presented the carfax and showed me that the vehicle has been in a minor front end damage 4 months prior to me leasing it. I am now nearly 3 years in and have 5 payments left. what are my options and what can I do? Thank you all for any insight!
1 Like
You’re lucky you leased it, drive it for 5 more months and turn it in.
15 Likes
Nothing… enjoy the rest of the lease and turn it in. That was your original intent anyway.
Also, no chance the broker knew so I wouldn’t speculate that whomever you used here did something wrong.
Does it say who performed the repair?
Dont listen to those who tell you that there is nothing you can do. The dealer likely violated your state’s consumer fraud act. In many states you are entitled to 2-3 times damages (for example in nj its treble damages (3x) in addition to attorney fees and costs. You would need to simply prove that vehicle is now worth X less because of the damage. There will be resident experts on the forum telling you that you dont have a case, you do, I have litigated these. Contact an attorney.
10 Likes
I would reach out to the dealer you leased the car from.
2 Likes
I am genuinely curious. What are the damages, if he doesn’t own the vehicle? They leased him a car, he didn’t even know about the damage until 5 months before the lease was up.
His only “damage” would be that he can’t get out of a lease early. But at this point he doesn’t know if he would have had positive equity, or how much he would have.
Does not say just states “Damage reported: minor damge” -Damage to front
Thanks for the advice, NYS does have a law “provide the buyer completed odometer and damage disclosure statements”
2 Likes
He should have been informed. There is an option to purchase at lease end and the value is affected if he were to buy it out then sell it down the line. Not necessarily an issue, but could be.
1 Like
But wouldn’t that have to occur for it to be considered damages? At this point he could possibly negotiate the purchase price because of the damages, if he still wanted the car.
I am not arguing that the dealer isn’t horrible and should have obviously told him, I just don’t understand how you can argue damages at this point.
Check your paperwork for damage disclosure statement.
1 Like
Let’s say your chances of compensation is 60% for $5K and you will need to retain a lawyer and pay upfront. Would you pursue this case?
Simple, when you lease a vehicle you also agree on a residual buyout price. This allows the lessee to buy the vehicle for himself and keep or sell it at any point in the lease. He can no longer do this without taking a substantial loss over and above the agreed upon residual.
2 Likes
In most states, the consumer fraud act or its analog provides for attorney fee shifting which will allow the attorney to take the case at no upfront cost. The statutes are intentionally written this way to protect consumers from crooks like this dealership who screw customers over for a few hundred to several thousands of dollars.
2 Likes
Actually no. He can simply provide evidence that he attempted to sell the car and was refused at multiple dealers and or given low offers. His attorney would retain an expert in the field that will testify that the vehicle was woth substantially less as a result of the accident and therefore he was being low balled on the trade/sale. He is not actually required to sell the car to suffer the damage. The damage was caused as a result of not being able to sell the vehicle for X profit and/or having to make remaining payments rather than waking away clean.
2 Likes
Let’s say his residual is 30k and the car is now worth 20k, could he get the $10k and still get out of the remaining payments? What if the dealer buyout was $35k, could he then get $15k?
Sorry, I am just curious, I feel like this could get complicated.
1 Like
A lessee cannot submit a diminished value claim after an accident even if they are not at fault so how is this different?
Well, in this case if i had known there was an accident i could have argued for lower payments. and i also lost the ability of selling the car to a different dealership as i was turned away like today.
If someone rear ended you at a stop sign, you would be in the same position no? Their insurance won’t cover that perceived loss of value since you don’t own the car.