More dealers are getting caught overcharging on lease buyouts.
We’ve seen threads here with customers describing similar situations. Dealers trying to illegally overcharge customers who are buying out their leases.
Some dealers play games. We all know this. Be wary at every step of the process and always look out for yourself. Even if you’ve been a “good customer” of a dealership or think you can “trust” them. You shouldn’t.
Simple rule: Always post your deal here before signing to make sure you aren’t getting fleeced.
Agreed. You’re pretty much always contractually obligated to a payout that’s more than the residual value, by the time you factor in appropriate fees and taxes, however, avoiding dealers that are adding inappropriate fees is good advice.
Well I guess the people dumb enough to pay more than residual might also be dumb enough to think I was talking about taxes or DMV fees. So yeah, for those who are far more literal than any reasonable person would be, normal buyout includes:
Residual value
Taxes
DMV fees
Document fee (often capped by law)
Optional stuff like undercoating and fake ceramic coating is always optional. A dealer can’t say “we add that to every car” when it’s a lease buyout.
Unfortunately, some people will take things very literally if not clarified. Most people never read their contracts and inevitably, someone would read this thread, go to do a buyout, and insist they were right because the dealership told them they had to pay tax on their residual value and that’s more than just the residual value.
True ! My sister was forced to buy extra warranty at Honda Dealer in Huntington Beach to buy out lease. She had to pay $3000 more for that extra warranty from a third party. The guy told her all Honda Dealers are like this and convinced her that she got the best rate already. At that time, she was so innocent to just accept and buy it. Anyways, she relegalized that this is cheating … and emailed the manager there right after couple days but not any returns ! Thus, avoid That Honda Dealer if you can.
As @forbs stated, your sister should cancel the warranty. In California, you have 30 days (60 if the car was still covered by the manufacturer warranty) to cancel an extended warranty and get a full refund. Even if the 30 or 60 day period has expired, she would be entitled to a pro rata refund.
