Hey everyone! This is my first post here, so please bear with me . I’m in New York City and I have a 2022 Nissan Rogue Sport lease that was supposed to end on 07/19/2025. As of 01/19/2025, I had 6 payments left, each for $454.93. its a very low milage 10,500, The buyout price at the end of the lease was $18,022.
To get out of the lease early, I had to pay around $3,200. I was planning to sell the car to CarMax, but I didn’t realize that no one besides Nissan dealers could take over the lease. I also couldn’t buy the car and sell it because it had negative equity, making it not worth the hassle. My broker told me no one would touch the car because of the negative equity, so my only option was to return it early and pay off the remaining payments, which would save me on insurance costs.
I started reaching out to Nissan dealers, and one in Queens was willing to take the car off my hands for just $2,000. This would save me around $2,000 after factoring in the insurance difference. We spoke on 01/18/2025, and he asked me to bring the car in on 01/20/2025. I told him about the auto payment scheduled for 01/19/2025, and he told me to cancel it, assuring me he’d handle the rest.
I went to the dealership on 01/20/2025, and he charged my credit card $2,060, took the plates, and gave me a receipt that basically said I dropped off the car. It also mentioned I would get a bill from Nissan Finance if there were any remaining balances. I wasn’t happy with this, so I asked for something in writing confirming I wouldn’t owe anything else. The dealer wrote on the receipt that I wouldn’t be billed any additional amounts.
Since it was a holiday and Nissan Finance was closed, I called my broker and sent him the receipt. He said the dealer needed to provide a letter on their letterhead confirming I wouldn’t owe anything. The dealer (an Italian guy ) then told me he had actually purchased the car and, if I didn’t want to proceed with the deal, he would cancel everything. So, I asked him to cancel it, he refunded the money, put the plates back on, and I left.
The next day, I called Nissan Finance to explain the situation and make my payment, which I did. They then informed me the dealer had purchased my car, so he wasn’t lying. I texted the dealer, and he said he was no longer interested in the deal. A few days later, I logged into my Nissan Finance account and saw that my account was marked as closed. I called Nissan, and they confirmed the lease was paid in full, and there was a “Paid in Full” letter available to download.
I texted the dealer again, and he said he would reverse the transaction and that everything would go back to how it was in a few days. But it’s been a week now, and my account is still closed. I’ve spoken to a another Nissan dealer, and he find the whole situation odd, but he warned me it could potentially hurt my credit.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice on what I should do next? I’d really appreciate any help!
Thank you!