I found this thread very useful so I wanted to add my update.
I live in PA and leased my 2019 Atlas from Piazza VW in Ardmore. I have 3 payments left on the lease. My residual value is $22,489. The payoff quote I received from the dealership was for $27529. I asked the salesperson to explain that charge and this was the response I got:
"The dealer payoff is $24,098 then there is a $1,222 processing fee (for us to do the paperwork of buying the car from VW and selling it to you) Plus Tax $1,519.20 and $690.67 motor vehicle fee.
This brought the total to $27529
I logged into my VW Credit account and there is a button there to request buyout quote. I received a PDF the next day with the following quote:
Residual Value $22,489.48
Residual/Payoff Tax * $115.00
Remaining Future Payments $1,277.76
Lease Charge Rebate ($163.63)
Quote Amount ** $23,718.61
I called VW Credit and spoke to a customer service agent to confirm I did not need to go through the dealership and he confirmed that I was correct. I just need to send them a check for the quote amount and then pay whatever taxes at the DMV.
So, I saved myself about $2000 by skipping the scummy dealership.
Thanks again for everyone on this thread. Very helpful!