I leased a new C300 in May 2019 in NorCal. Since my lease is about to get over (~5 months), I wanted to check how much equity I’ll get if I check the dealer buyout option. I submitted my vin to the dealer and they came back saying there’s a Branded Title - Miles not actual on the Carfax report. I didn’t understand what they meant and they didn’t know about it either. I obtained my own vehicle record from ca dmv website and it does have the ‘Mileage not actual’ in the odometer section where it mentioned the date as the day I leased the car and the mileage as 48 miles, which was probably what it was when I leased it.
The dealer told me they don’t touch anything with branded titles and I honestly don’t know how to even get this corrected. I renewed my registration through the dmv kiosks. I’m also curious how the odometer rating is generally updated on the dmv record, if someone just renews through the kiosks throughout their life.
carfax is just reporting what dmv is asserting. You must have signed a disclosure when you leased the car - that you understood the title was branded. One possibility is the dashboard was replaced (defective? a Canadian car swapped to US?) before delivery. the dealership should be able to produce a copy.
There’s no way to un-brand the title at this point, I would plan on turning it in at disposition. Not to say you shouldn’t follow up with the dealership especially if you never signed a disclosure, but there’s unlikely equity in this lease.
I don’t recall any talks about this while signing the lease. It isn’t mentioned anywhere in my lease contract either. Will I face any issue at disposition time because of this?
It won’t be in the contract, it’s a separate disclosure. You leased what you leased, the disclosure says you understand (e.g. new car has branded title, was in an accident, paint work done etc). I’d ask dealer for a copy and confirm it’s your signature.
Nope it’s MB problem. Pretty sure it can’t be CPO’ed, may get resold as-is or go to auction. Not your problem once you turn it in.
Thank you for the information Very much appreciated.
I’m not really terribly disappointed with this since it was a lease and turning a positive equity was only really a shower thought I had a few days back, but suppose I’d bought this car instead of leasing, I’d be extremely frustrated by now. Is this even legal? (Assuming they did not disclose me this information prior to purchase)
If they disclosed (mystery issue) before the sale and you signed the disclosure stating the title would be branded — yes it’s perfectly legal. If not, it’s fraud. Right now, it’s too early to speculate.
Here is a sample script you didn’t ask for:
call the dealership, speak with (a) your salesperson if they are still there, if not (b) the finance manager you dealt with (if you know who it is and they are still there), if not (c) tell the receptionist you’d like to speak to a sales manager about a car you bought there and your salesperson is no longer there
(how you finesse the rest depends whom you get)
always polite, concise, direct. Have the VIN ready
Hi I’m X I bought a 2019 C300 from (sales person) on (date)
my lease is ending, I decided to buy it out (omit for resale) — while investigating the process I looked up my VIN on DMV’s website, and discovered the title is branded
this is upsetting news, and can they please (as soon as possible) a) check the service history and tell you why mileage is not as reported (don’t speculate), and (b) provide a copy of the signed disclosure stating this, and that the title would be branded
I would expect roughly 2-5 business days, if they don’t get back within a week I would call the same person back.
Looks like my finance manager is ghosting me. Told me that he’d dig into this and get back but hasn’t gotten back in 2 weeks. Didn’t respond to my calls or voice mails.
Ugh. I would probably leave a message for the Finance Director (if there is one) and the GM of the store, “(name) my finance manager was investigating why the title on my car was branded, they are undoubtedly busy but it’s been 2 weeks - I need to sort this immediately because I need to buy out my C300 lease before the end of the year and I’m not doing that until we figure out how and why the title was branded and never disclosed. I would really appreciate a callback today with an update on when you’ll have more information”. If I didn’t hear back by COB tomorrow, I’d be speaking with a lawyer on Friday, but that’s me. You’ve been more than patient.
Very much appreciated.