Need some help as my dealership is not trustworthy and I don’t want them to take advantage of my lack of knowledge in lease buyouts…… they are telling me tax and finance fees will be due above my contracted buyout.
Here is the background:
Thanks to the community I got an “above average” deal on a 2018 VW Tiguan SEL. Left the dealer with a 36 month 12k miles/yr $3k down (ouch!) @ $289 per month.
Shenanigans began when the dealer called me a week in to reduce my mileage to 10k per yr … said the Fin dept couldn’t clear the terms. Reviewing the knowledge base on the site, it looked like that was “fair game” and I could either return the car or accept their updated terms. I was annoyed but figured this meant I didn’t leave any meat on the bone, and got a decent deal!
34 months later work from home made this an absolute non-issue with the Tiguan at 22k miles. Understanding the market I reached out to my dealership to explore buyout. Sales department refused to share my lease contract with me, stating policy wouldn’t allow them to email personal information and I needed to come to the dealership to speak with Finance. LOL!!
So I made a new friend on LinkedIn — the regional GM of the dealership …. And had my contract in about 2 hours later. It’s roughly a $20k buyout, which I can swing. The upside on KBB and Carmax has me netting $6-12k after I sell personally … any insights or suggestions here I’d appreciate!!
Texts from sales have changed their tone but are now warning me of “tax and finance fees” beyond the contracted rate. Down here in Central Florida w state and local sales tax, FYI.
Based on the above I assume they are making stuff up, so checking … Are taxes and Finance Fees reasonable at lease end?
If so … what can I expect to pay here?
Any other options I should explore beyond personally financing with my cash??
Thanks in advance for your thoughts here …. I’ll look for further help to “BS test” as their first offer comes back to me!!
You’ll have to pay some fees as well. Talk to a couple different vw dealers to compare fees.
If you’re planning on selling it, you can also just sell it to an audi or vw dealer. I can give you contact info for an Orlando audi dealer that is easy to sell to and reasonable price wise.
I’ve done corporate leases before where I didn’t have to deal with the local dealer at all, with Saab (RIP) and Lexus. This felt like it was a dealer specific lease, not on corporate paper.
I don’t know enough to know if that even matters — but I’d appreciate the Audi dealer contact you have! Solid
Who do you pay your lease payment to? I’m assuming it’s to vw financial.
NicarryN@autonation.com at Audi South Orlando is who I sold my etron to. They can buy the lease out directly, so you don’t have to buy it and deal with taxes, etc. They were very reasonable on their offer on my etron, so it’s worth getting a price quote from. It’ll probably be less than carvana, but your overall equity may be higher because of the lack of taxes and fees.
Yes, In Florida you will pay sales tax on the buy-out. So assuming ~7% sales tax in FL, you will pay ~$1,400 in sales tax and will need to factor that in to your calculation. If you sell car back to dealer, then you can avoid the sales tax hit, but the dealer may not be as competitive as the private market.
As far as finance fees, if you are buying out in cash, then there would be no additional finance fees. If you need a loan to finance the buy out then fees and interest would apply. Your lender can provide you a quote for those fees and interest.
My advice would be to shop the buyout to as many VW dealers as possible to see which one can get you the best deal. Beware that some dealers in FL may try to charge an additional dealer fee on the buy out (not sure if VW is doing this). So when you are comparing quotes, make sure that they are based on net proceeds to you. You may want to also try Audi dealers, assuming they can buy out a VW lease.
Payments are to VW Credit …. So that answers that question. Appears I’m not stuck with the dealer where I originated the lease.
I’ll shoot the Audi dealer a line and see what they have to offer. I can sit on the sidelines for a little while, which seems prudent in this supply chain driven price bubble.
Yes will use my cash and shop the car around to a few places, but it seems in my interest to deal with a few other dealers first to listen to what they can offer.
Still 6-10k in net will help me “make up for lost time” as that cash has been sitting in a low yield savings account. I appreciate your answer @teeads
For future reference, if you ever need your contract or other lease information, you go to the captive. The dealer has no involvement in your lease once the car is delivered and lease is funded. The car is sold for their sake.
!! Awesome tip, 
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