The current used car bubble has pushed offers in lightly used cars quite high. We (and the banks) are suddenly seeing lots of their assets being sold for way under market value. As a result, policies for many banks have been changing. What applied 2-3 months ago may no longer be relevant.
Hell, we are talking about an infiniti having positive equity partway through its lease here… That might as well be a sign of the apocalypse
I had positive equity with my Q50 RS lease. Whether it was a fluke or not, I figured I had almost no choice but to dump it. The way the market was/is and the outlook, I didn’t want to be sitting in a position where I “had” to ride the entire lease term out. That and in combination with the price I purchased my car for (especially at the time) it was a no brainer.
The dealer bought it out from IFS back in August and I used the money as a down payment on the new purchase. Everything was relatively smooth other than Infiniti really does not like to provide information to anyone, even with (me) in attendance. It was a bit murky on who we were supposed to talk to about the payoff, the dealership ended up sending the first check to the wrong place but everything worked out in the end. The did two Infiniti buyout’s in the past as well, but those were to another Infiniti dealer (getting into another lease) so a different situation.
This is great info. Has anyone dealt with MSDs when trading with Shift/Carvana/Vroom/Carmax?
We have a 39 month lease expiring 9/1 but debating getting rid of it before registration renewal.
Can you confirm - was the payoff listed on the letter reduced by the MSD amount or the payoff in the letter inclusive of MSD reduction?
The payoff in the letter states it does not include the MSD. However, unless you explicitly ask for the MSD refund, they will deduct it once the buyer asks for the payoff.
The payoff amount on the letter does include the MSD (i.e. it is equal to Actual payoff + MSD), even though the language on the letter makes you think otherwise. If you call Infiniti Financial, they will give you a payoff amount that is lower than the amount on the letter by exactly your msd.
I had a nightmare scenario with IFS and Vroom. Vroom was easy to deal with sent me my positive equity check within a day of picking up. IFS cashed my payoff check and wouldn’t close my account out for 3 months. They even still owe me a payment they refuse to pay me. Will never lease another Nissan/Infiniti again.
As for Carvana as of August of last year they won’t deal with NMAC with leases due to the fees they tack on to them.
That’s terrible. If I ever lease another Infiniti in the future, I will only do so knowing that I will have to most likely keep it till the end of the lease. Will factor that into the decision/price. Their turn in process has been pretty decent for me over the last 4 or 5 leases, so at least they have that going for them unlike some horror stories that I have been reading here where other lessors ding you on every small scratch, or even just flat out refuse to take the car back due to covid (though, I haven’t returned an Infiniti since covid started, and my lease doesn’t run out till the end of the year).
To even get ahold of a senior member at IFS was a unicorn! I actually had to go to my local Infiniti dealership talk to the general manager and after her reaching out to her people at IFS they finally closed my account. I was in the process of getting a lawyer as well. They dinged my credit then fixed it after. Yup never again!
I’ve got the same issue with TFS, so it’s not just NMAC.
I sent these payments in after they payed off the car as a good faith payments. After month 2 and no closed account I stopped. They sent me one check with 1 payment but not the other. Refused to send me the 2nd payment reimbursement. Terrible company.
Similar story. TFS received and cashed payoff check but hasn’t updated the account, so monthly payment went to them as scheduled. They actually send me a refund check, but it bounced ))). Spent a few month with them trying to fix it with no luck.
Do the Toyota and/or INFINITI lease agreements have an arbitration clause?
Generally, filing for arbitration (AAA, JAMS) as a consumer is relatively inexpensive, and when the other party fails to pay their arbitration costs ($5k-ish to get started) you win and you get your filing fee back.
I’ve seen this work with cell phone bills with egregious errors, credit card companies, and other types of consumer finance accounts.
I sold my leased Infiniti Q60 to Vroom 2 weeks ago. I tried selling it to Carvana since they offered me slightly more but similar to your situation Carvana refused to buy my vehicle after sending them all the documents they requested, stating that they don’t deal with Infiniti/Nissan.
Regarding my experience selling to Vroom it has been pretty straight forward so far. I received a check for the positive equity I had on the car 3 business days after they picked up my car. However, it’s been about a week since Infiniti Financial Services (IFS) received the check from Vroom and they have yet to close out my account. I contacted IFS and they said that it can take more than 5 business days. Considering the previous comments that people had to wait months for their account to close, I am not surprised mine hasn’t closed yet considering it’s only been a week.
It took Infiniti about a month and a week to close out my account after my insurance sent a check to them. They aren’t quick at all and take their sweet time.
Are lessees liable for payments in this time?
Oh yes
Part of the Carvana ‘nail biting’ is how long before they accept the check at your Captive Bank and when is your next payment due.
Don’t try this a week before payment is due as you will be making one more payment.
Yes you are. However, they will refund you whatever extra months of payment you made. They will take their sweet time to send you that check though.
Yup, like maracuch0 said. I already had to make an extra payment to them since my account hasn’t closed yet even though the check was already received by them. I will need to contact IFS to get a refund. Based on everyone’s reply I won’t be expecting that refund check to get to me anytime soon.
Sold my leased QX50 to ALGO. The payoff check was delivered Thursday last week, today my account shows closed. Guess I am lucky