I leased a car in January of this year and it’s been nothing but trouble. I felt shafted by the car dealership in more ways than one and the car itself has been a huge moneysink, topping over $3,000 in repairs and maintenence so far.
Now my holding company is calling me telling me I don’t have enough coverage on the car and I need to add more liability.
Is this something that the dealership needs to disclose when leasing the vehicle? I [am out of] work in the mortgage business and we have Truth in Lending Disclosures that we are required to go over with the borrower before completing any transactions. Is the car leasing business anything like this?
I know it’s a long shot, but I would love to be able to get out of this lease for something like this. I wasn’t informed of any insurance requirements, maybe because they weren’t there.
Err, I hate to sound like a complete idiot, moron, tool, mouthbreather, and knuckle dragger all in the same sentence but . . . was I supposed to get a copy of the lease agreement?
I was [am] young and this was the first car I bought totally on my own without my dad there with me. I know I rushed in and bought the first thing that caught my eye like an idiot. I made a lot of mistakes buying this car, partly because I was making way too much money at the time and thought I could just throw money at any mistakes I made (I’d have the car paid off in a year anyway, right? :rolleyes: ), and partly because my idiot pride might not’ve let me admit that I didn’t know exactly what I was talking about. The salesmen skimmed over the lease agreement and more or less badgered me into, well, not reading it. I caught them in several lies within a few days after buying the car, and after about a month of getting the run around I got back $250 that they made me spend on a phony insurance policy.
There’s a lot of bad blood between me and the dealership and - though I know it’s a shot in the dark - I would love to kill two birds with one stone by getting out from under the heavy weight of this lease and sticking it in their faces that shady dealings can come back and bite them in the collective ass.
The whole purpose of a lease on a car is to take as much money out of your pocket as possible. It’s a significantly better deal for the dealership than a sale. Leasing is solely for people who are dumb or have too much money (and more likely both).
And you are surprised that leasing is ending up to be a bad deal because …?
Uh, yeah, you were. I suggest getting a copy of the lease ASAP and reading it. Then perhaps getting a lawyer. At the very least, check with your state’s Attorney General office especially if they have a consumer protection division.
Was I supposed to get a copy by default or was it up to me to ask for it? Where/how can I get a copy now? I feel like such a :smack: for the way I handled this. Like I said, I was making too much money and, had I not quit my job, the car would be paid off by now. I had this stupid idea to get it on a lease and then buy the lease out. I honestly can’t remember what the hell I was thinking at the time but it made sense to me back then, and the people at the dealership made it sound like a sweeeet deal.
Well, when you’re 22 and you had never made more than 10 bucks an hour before . . . yes and no. It creates a lot of tension, ruins friendships, gets you stuck with too much debt when you want out, etc. Puffy was right in a sense that mo’ money = mo’ problems. At least when you’re young and have no idea how to handle it.
FWIW, I wasn’t making millions or anything, I was doing good and on the track to do a whole hell of a lot better; but I quit because I figured Why not go back to school for just a shot at making this much money doing something I truly love? Dumb, impulsive, and romantic, I know, but I guess I’ll have to wait a few years to see if it pays off.
Car dealers are notoriously sly about telling a prospective buyer of all of the pitfalls of leasing. It is a money pit for the buyer who wants to keep the car for several years to get the most bang for his buck. Did the tell you about the Buy Out cost at end of lease? …All of he hidden taxes, license fees, etc. on the monthly payment?
Get thee to the lease holder and discuss the situation with them. Find out what it will cost to buy out now rather than later.
Was there not a milage/time warranty?
Are you required to have all work done by dealer?
If you still have the stack of papers you received when you got the car, you might want to go through it to look for the lease agreement. I imagine that it’s a standard thing given to the lessee.
YES you were, and may have gotten one and trashed it.
See the lease holder pronto and discuss all the options.
I had second thought a few days after signing and called the dealer to opt out.
As the result of that and a second runaround a few days later I started writing letters to the dealership, the saleperson, the dealership manager, dealership owner, the manufacturer, etc. etc. Some nine months later a call from the manager. I offered to hold a sales meeting for him and after another discussion with him and the owner held one on the condition that the do an oil change while there for the meeting.
With every new car they provide a tape in the tape player telling the new customer as to how much they love the new customer. I used that as the theme for the meeting. There were managers and other persons from all of the dealerships that the owner owned. In essence they were told to live up to that love for the customer or omit such talk. The service manager for a dealership across the road walked out with me as a I went to pick up my car. They gave me the bill which I handed to the service manager and told him the deal which he approved without comment. Thanked him, got my keys and left. I don’t bad mouth the dealerships but if asked about anyone of the 5 or 6 I will them to go elsewhere.
Oh, and I’ve talked to the leaseholder (Wells Fargo.) I’ve explained the situation to them and they’ve more or less told me to buy the lease our or bugger off. They want about $7,000 more than the car is worth brand new to buy it out.
I’ve never leased a car in my life, but I have leased apartments, and I got a copy of the lease each time. Usually there were several other documents as well. I really can’t imagine how you didn’t get a copy of the lease.
Apart from the lease issues (yes, you were foolish), how does a new car presumably under warranty rack up $3,000 in repairs? If it needs work the dealer and manufacturer should be paying for it, right? I would contact the regional office of the manufacturer and describe the problems and ask them to intervene. Also, theoretically any dealer for that model should be able to handle warranty work. You might find another dealer with a better reputation and have them take a look at your car. Maybe they’ll find that the first dealer just didn’t know what they were doing. Also, some states (I dunno know about yours) have “lemon laws” requiring dealers to buy back cars that can’t be repaired properly after a reasonable number of attempts. That’s something to look into, too.
Those aren’t the car’s fault. I love the car, it’s the second one like it that I’ve bought.
The damages have been:
Hit and run - $2,500 damage ($1,000 out of pocket for me)
Broken window - $250 (all out of pocket for me)
Stolen headrest - $85 (out of pocket)
Someone let the air out of one tire (it happened while I was at the dealership, that’s all I’m sayin’) and when I noticed it there was nowhere to pull off the road so the rim ended up getting bent. I have no idea how much this will cost but I know I can’t afford it; I’m just dealing with a wobbly car for now.
So only about $1,335 out of pocket for me so far but considerably more than $3,000 total. Like I said though, not the car’'s fault. I’m happy with the car itself.