I just got a lease on a 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV that was signed a little over a week ago, and am attempting to do an immediate buyout to take advantage of the $7500 credit. However, I’m getting a bit confused.
Current status: I have the vehicle, the registration is still temporary, (apparently it can take up to 60 days to receive the actual thing?). At signing I payed the first Month’s lease payment a small down payment and a small amount of tax associated with those amounts.
I just got the lease buyout quote with the Lessee/Purchaser Acknowledgment that I’ve signed. Currently awaiting a cashiers check from my bank to be mailed to me so I can mail the check+ this paperwork to Mazda.
What I’m confused about is: What’s Next?
Is Mazda Financial Services (MFS) going to mail me the title? Do I need to go to the DMV and re-register the car? Do I need to swap plates?
I think I’m liable for additional taxes, how does this get paid?
The MFS lease payoff does NOT include taxes according to the Mazda reps I spoke to on the phone.
I’ve also seen various forum posts talking about needing to do something through the dealer, but can’t seem to find any official language on that.
Anyone tips who’s gone through a mid-lease buyout in Pennsylvania would be much appreciated!
Sorry I’m no help, but I’m curious to hear answers. Didn’t you get the credit when you got the lease? Is there a loophole to getting a second $7500 if you buy out?
There’s no credit for buying out the lease, however, I intend to keep the car for 8-10 years, and I’m not looking to pay unnecessary interest, since I have the cash available to pay for the car up front–hence, buyout.
I get it now…the available lease cash incentive gave you $7500 on a car that otherwise wouldn’t meet the criteria for a tax credit through purchase…so you lease it to get the credit, them purchase it outright.
I did it with Toyota. TFS collected the sales tax. They FedExed the Bill of sale and other paperwork along with a check to the DMV for sales tax. Went to Harrisburg, paid the registration and other fees and handed over the paperwork that TFS sent me. They printed the title and registration at the counter. This was in 2021.
Agh. Looks like I’m getting paired with clueless people at MFS. Most recent person I spoke to an MFS said that PA is a state where you have to handle paying tax yourself.
Sort of does matter, because it seems no one in this process is accepting electronic payments and everything has processing times on the order of weeks for each action.
I use Ally bank for checking and it takes them 7-10 days to issue a cashiers check.
I need to know the exact amount. Do I write an amount with tax included or not? I’ve heard conflicting stuff from MFS. First 2 people I talked to said there’s a glitch in their system and they put in a ticket for sales tax to be added into my buyout quote. When I called a few days later the person told me that in PA you’re responsible for paying the tax yourself at the DMV.
So now I’m trying to figure… do I have to calc the tax myself and make sure I have the correct amount transferred to the appropriate account on the day I visit PennDOT for re-titling/registrations? I’d expect any taxes to be on the order of thousands of dollars.
Or are the first 2 people right, and MFS is going to update the buyout amount at some undisclosed time in the near future? Previous poster suggested that might actually be the case.
Why not call PENNDOT and ask them how the taxes are handled? I suspect you paid all the taxes upfront when you leased the car. Now you are buying a used car from TFS. They are going to send you a clean title or lien release when they get your check for the payoff amount. You will then have to get the car inspected and re-titled and re-registered in your name. I don’t know if PA will make you pay full tax on the buyout price again, or give you a credit for taxes already paid. PENNDOT should be able to answer that question for you. I would not expect Toyota to collect anything above the payoff or do any tax and title work for you.
@greywind - thanks for sending this. I recently bought out my Jeep from US Bank. I have the that they transferred and notarized to me.
I also have the bill of sale, check made out to Penn Dot for the sales tax, my insurance card, and odometer statement. Do I need bring anything else or do anything before going to Harrisburg to do it in person? Did they do it same day?
Confirming the in-person re-title process is very simple. Tag and title shops can do this but it takes a few weeks. I went to Harrisburg DMV on Front St on Saturday morning. The whole process took less than 15 minutes and they gave me the title. Docs you need: PA license, existing title with leasing company (when you do the buyout the leasing company will sign it over to you and notarize the back), bill of sale (from leasing co), sales tax check made out to PA (from leasing co), odometer statement (from leasing co), insurance card, current registration, and registration fees. One odd nuance was that I had to pay cash for the $77 re-title and registration fees. Apparently they can’t accept check for the sales tax and credit card for the fees but can for check and cash(?).
So i paid with the check that the leasing company gave me and cash. Printed out the registration form and the title in a handful of minutes.
