I leased a Lincoln Navigator in 2018. My lease was coming due in January of 2021. I contacted LAFS (I think they are the same as Ford financial) in December 2020 and told them I was trading my Lincoln in and they said OK and sent me the Lease Buyout amount. I then traded in my Lincoln to for a new Cadillac.
A month after the transaction was complete the Cadillac Dealer called me back and said I can’t trade the Lincoln in and I was only allowed to purchase it which would require me to pay sales tax before I could trade it in. I know of several people who have traded in leases before they expire, so I am a bit confused.
I talked to Lincoln Financial who said that is incorrect and I can trade in my vehicle. They asked me to contact the originating dealer, and they said the same thing the Cadillac dealer is telling me.
Something feels weird here and ANY help would be greatly appreciated.
I am just confused why they would give me a lease buyout amount about 30 days before the lease ended if the lease couldn’t be bought out.
I also read through all my lease paperwork and although I am not an attorney cannot find anything stating any of this. The only thing I found even remotely close was contact you dealership for more information (maybe that is enough lol).
Does anyone have any idea why when I call Lincoln Financial the supervisor tells me they have never heard of this and that I definitely can trade it in. That to me is the most shocking part. I did make it crystal clear several times it was traded into a Cadillac dealer.
Contracts don’t have to spell out every scenario. Most likely your contract mentions nothing about purchasing the vehicle beyond your option to purchase it at the RV.
So, in the absence of the lessee exercising that option, they can do whatever they want with their asset.
Whether they were listening or not does not really matter. What matters is what your lease agreement says. Any verbal discussion will not override the written terms of the agreement.
Yes that’s the problem is the lease agreement doesn’t give much detail other than to contact the originating dealer at lease end, and Lincoln financial is still confident it can be done and that the dealer is incorrect. Just unsure who to believe.
Well, I gave you my answer on Edmunds. Lincoln Financial calls the shots. Maybe you need to get the Caddy person and Lincoln person on a conference call. Otherwise, it was a trade that was part of your deal, so tell the Caddy dealer they’ll just have to unwind it and take back their new car that now has a couple thousand miles on it. Their tune will likely change quickly.
Fact of the matter is, they did not take your trade without first getting a payoff for themselves. So I don’t know why they’d say different a month later unless they discovered they’ll take a bath on it.
