I didn’t have the best experience recently with AN and a damaged car. I took it in for an inspection and they did not change the quote from what it was online, which was pretty high. But they also didn’t write anything on the certified in-person inspection about the damage which in hindsight was fishy. When I went back with the title, they lowered it and said damage wasn’t there during the first inspection. But somehow their pictures from the inspection weren’t clear enough to tell for sure…lol. The damage was from hitting a deer and pretty clearly visible in any picture probably even taken with a flip phone (broken grill, cracked bumper, missing cover over fender wheel well). I could have pulled up pictures on my phone from when the damage actually occurred or shown them the other inspection which I did a few days before theirs at CarMax which clearly listed what the damage was but it wasn’t worth arguing. It was my fault for not having the title ready the first day. Gave them the opportunity to match the second best offer which they declined so I left and sold to second highest bidder. Not a big deal overall, maybe 30-45 min of time wasted, but just could not figure out if they were trying to pull something and screw me over or just being incompetent and might have actually given me too much the first day.
I finally received my check from AutoNation today, so I figured that I would share some notes on my selling experience with them. They sent me my offer last Monday, and I scheduled an appointment for two days after.
I was in and out of the dealership in two hours. Following a quick inspection, the dealership’s used car manager honored the appraised amount without any qualms. He then submitted all necessary details to corporate. They grounded the vehicle, processed the buyout, and prepared documentation to be signed―all in about 1½ hours. After quickly signing everything, it was nearing closing time, so I was promised that the check would be overnighted to me the next day. It turns out, however, that it was sent through regular mail.
Besides the delay in receiving my equity check, I would still recommend the experience overall. This is thanks to the high offer, courteous service, and quick in-person turnaround. Had I gone earlier in the day, I likely would have walked out with my payout as well.
PJ
Sold my BMW lease to AutoNation. They gave me a strong offer from the beginning and did not change it when I had them physically inspect the car. It was better than my local dealers and even brokers I contacted, though still less than Carmax and Carvana.
I had no issues nor encountered any games with my local AutoNation dealer (a Honda dealer). In my case, the acquisitions manager was friendly and not at all condescending, unlike almost every other dealer I spoke with. He was knowledgeable about BMW lease buyouts too, telling me that all their buyouts were processed by their central national office (so I’d be suspicious if an AutoNation dealer tells you they can’t buy your lease because that brand’s dealer is not nearby). The downside to this was that I waited 4 hours for the central office to process the paperwork and buyout with BMW, and issue the check to me. But it was worth that time, and my BMW account now shows as terminated.
Why did you go with AN if Carvana was higher? They mail you a check instead of cutting a check right there, but no trip to the dealer or four hour wait there. They come to your place and take the car.
Are you not aware that BMW leases can’t be sold to Carmax/Carvana without buying out the lease then re-titling with DMV first?
AN offer was $500 less anyway.
Also sold my BMW lease to Autonation at the (new) location in Sherman Oaks. They inspected the car quickly and honored the online quote with no questions. The paperwork and check processing did take a while, but it was the last Saturday of the month so of course they were slammed. They were very apologetic and about how long the wait time would be. I ended up returning the next day to collect the check and they brought it right out as I pulled up. Would definitely recommend them if you’re looking to sell a vehicle in the SFV area.
As part of the due diligence for helping my dad sell his Bolt EUV, I requested quotes from a few dealers. AutoNation sent the highest offer ($35,500), but when I went into the store, the GM told me the AutoNation Certified Offer (“created by our team of Appraisers” according to the email) was in fact algorithm generated, and that the best they could do was $30,000.
Briefly considered contacting the AG (kidding!) given the fine print only mentions vehicle condition as means for modifying the offer, but I let it go. Just a heads up that YMMV. Moving forward with EH/ALN right now.
EH/ALN? char…
AutoLeaseNinjas via Equityhackr
Pretty sure that Driveway will beat them, but you probably get their “special” 
I sold a vehicle to AN this past weekend. I always confirm the amount with the store before considering making the trip. We originally had agreed on $1,000 over the “certified offer” amount. The evening before I had scheduled to go in, the AN buyer texted me that her GM was only willing to do $500 over the check amount. I wasn’t exactly happy but I was already in the area for a concert, and the purchase amount was still quite good (even at $500 less than expected).
Overall, the process was fine. My biggest gripe would be they take a long time to process paperwork & get the check printed. Everything has through their corporate office in FL, so I do understand that it could take longer than the average transaction.
They wasted an hour of my time after promising multiple times to increase the generated offer on my brand new Sahara 4xe. What could have they possibly found wrong with the vehicle? lol
Yeah, I would not be happy in that instance. I’m sure they were betting on the old “money talks” strategy… if they get you onsite, there is a much better chance of them closing the deal/purchase with you.
They did the same to me. I asked if the offer could be better than the one I got from a well known online dealer. They said yes, to bring it in with the offer. They never asked for the offer when I got there, and came back with the same offer after they looked at the car. I knew it this would happen going in but I was right next door at another dealer getting an appraisal. So only wasted about 15 minutes.
Hoping someone can provide some input. I’m planning to have auto nation do a buyout of my BMW lease. If they take care of the payout, how would I go about getting my multiple security deposit back. On the official BMW payout form, it asks me to attach the payout check and mark the line requesting to send me my deposit. Has anyone gone through this same situation? Thanks.
Another one that has just fallen off the map.
I’ve tried several times over the past couple of months to get offers from Autonation. I go through the form and it tells me I’ll get something from them within 30 mins. Nothing ever arrives.
Try a different name. Maybe your spouse? It gets sent to the same autonation in your area and if you’ve done a few in the past and never followed up then I noticed the appraiser stops sending new quotes.
They really only have one location in the Tri-state and it’s Jaguar Land Rover White Plains. If you really want a quote from them I can share the Acquisition Specialist contact, but the offers are nothing special.
I am at lease end of my 2019 Honda Passport through Honda Financial so decided to get rid of it and buy a relative’s car. This forum was a great help when I originally leased my car and, more recently, to learn about 3rd party lease buyouts (SUCH a better option than the regular return process). Wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone else.
Since my car is a Honda, not all programs can buy it back so we tried:
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KBB Instant Quote - The KBB price quoted was good but, unfortunately, neither of the KBB dealerships that replied were Honda so they couldn’t buy the car. There was no place on the form to note the car was a lease from Honda Financial.
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Called around to local Honda dealerships. They all said “come in so we can see the car and make you an offer” which felt like a ploy to get us in the door for a trade-in. Once we did finally get offers they were all around $1.5K lower than the KBB Instant Quote. They were also suspiciously consistent so maybe Honda dealerships have their own buyback pricing?
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Filled out AutoNation online form and got a quote emailed a few hours later that was similar to KBB price. Fortunately our closest AutoNational does have a Honda dealership so that was an option for us. Once I brought the car in, the offer was lowered a bit because I needed new tires (my fault for filling out the form incorrectly). Otherwise, AutoNation was a great experience and I walked out the door with a check for $3K over my residual. Happy with my AutoNation sale.
Got a strong offer for my 22 Rubicon 4xe from Autonation, almost $59k with a $51k payoff in the Tampa Bay area. The certificate had the closest Autonation dealer to me which is a Mercedes dealership. Made an appointment and when I went up there, the salesperson said they couldn’t honor that price because they are not a Jeep dealer, they sell Mercedes Benz. Wtf?? Don’t see any Mercedes on your lot. Aren’t you in the business of selling cars?? She kept going back and forth with a “sales manager” and the most they would offer was $3k less than what was on the Autonation certificate. They claimed they didn’t even realize Wranglers stickered for that much ($62ish MSRP). Jeep is mint, registered with permanent tag, and has less than 1000 miles on it.
I thought Autonation was a national brand and the offer should be good at any Autonation dealership? That they were just intermediaries handling the paperwork. I tried calling Autonation corporate but was told by concierge that all associates were busy and I would receive a callback within 48 business hours. Not holding my breath with that one.
Any advice as to what I should do? Try another Autonation dealership nearby? The offer on the certificate is my best by far but I don’t want to be jacked around by every Autonation dealer around me. There’s an Autonation Lexus dealer nearby as well as Ford and Chevy. Maybe call and ask for the used car manager instead?