Screwed on Lease Return

[redstuff]

Ok...someone can probably help me out here. I've got a friend who leased a Caravan for 4 years. His lease was up so he returned it to the nearest Chrysler dealer instead of where he got it. He was told that was ok. That was 5-6 weeks ago. This week he gets a call saying he missed his FIRST! lease payment, and that there are 2 scratches that were deep and the rear bumper was repaired wrong. Thing is...he never had the rear bumper repaired (it was hailed on so he had a re-paint and re-do of the TOP of the van - at the dealer he got it from no less), the van was in perfect shape when he gave it back. The dealer he brought it back to kept it on their lot for 5 weeks. They never sent it back to the dealer he got it from (they've been waiting for it and never contacted him either...sheesh), but sent it straight to Toronto last week...which is like a 24-30 hr drive from here and they expect him to hand over the cash ASAP to pay for the 'damages' he inflicted, which he hasn't ever seen (and can't now). He even hand washed it before bringing it back, and vacuumed it and made sure the storage net was in it (they said he'd have to buy one of those too - they never even looked for it!) and says the van has never been scratched in its life. I know he's getting hosed, he knows it too...but is there anything he can do? Aren't you innocent until proven guilty? If they had it sitting for 5 weeks before finally taking care of it, are they not swift enough to see there's a possibility it happened in THEIR custody? I'm sure I told him to make certain he did a walk around with the dealer when he dropped it off...but I guess he didn't. Is he shafted or should he just hold up his middle finger and tell them to go ...themselves? Do all lease returns turn into a nightmare?

[mbukukanyau]

LAW SUIT- He needs to find a consumer attorney very very fast, and make sure he has the pre-receiving inspection he received when he handed the vehicle back. He should not speak to them a single word from now on.
And Yes, the Dealers will be forced to pay for his legal fees by his attorney.
Plus, should his credit be dinged for this, he should be compensated

[MalibuMaxxSS]

not sure what the rules are for chrysler, but a lease drop off here dont get dropped off till the Lease and Fleet manager look it over WITH the customer, and everything is pointed out to the customer, that may be charged to them, milage, windshields, damage. etc.....kinda your friends fault for not having someone look it over with him...I have never heard of this..

As for the dealer keeping it for 5 weeks, that dont makes sense either, ours are returned within days, like 3....dont know what to tell you there, getting a lawyer is going to cost WAY more then just sucking it up and paying them..

Even if they are wrong, how much are you willling to spend to prove it.

[Aerodynamix]

Originally Posted by redstuff

Ok...someone can probably help me out here. I've got a friend who leased a Caravan for 4 years. His lease was up so he returned it to the nearest Chrysler dealer instead of where he got it. He was told that was ok. That was 5-6 weeks ago. This week he gets a call saying he missed his FIRST! lease payment, and that there are 2 scratches that were deep and the rear bumper was repaired wrong. Thing is...he never had the rear bumper repaired (it was hailed on so he had a re-paint and re-do of the TOP of the van - at the dealer he got it from no less), the van was in perfect shape when he gave it back. The dealer he brought it back to kept it on their lot for 5 weeks. They never sent it back to the dealer he got it from (they've been waiting for it and never contacted him either...sheesh), but sent it straight to Toronto last week...which is like a 24-30 hr drive from here and they expect him to hand over the cash ASAP to pay for the 'damages' he inflicted, which he hasn't ever seen (and can't now). He even hand washed it before bringing it back, and vacuumed it and made sure the storage net was in it (they said he'd have to buy one of those too - they never even looked for it!) and says the van has never been scratched in its life. I know he's getting hosed, he knows it too...but is there anything he can do? Aren't you innocent until proven guilty? If they had it sitting for 5 weeks before finally taking care of it, are they not swift enough to see there's a possibility it happened in THEIR custody? I'm sure I told him to make certain he did a walk around with the dealer when he dropped it off...but I guess he didn't. Is he shafted or should he just hold up his middle finger and tell them to go ...themselves? Do all lease returns turn into a nightmare?

No, they're supposed to go pretty smoothly. Hopefully your friend got a copy of the return-inspection sheet the day he handed over the keys instead of just saying "here you go", throwing them the keys and walking away. If he doesn't have that, he has to consider legal action and hope there's a way to prove it was immaculate when it was returned. Good luck.

[redstuff]

He still hasn't gotten the mess straightened out. He's thinking he'll just pay it because otherwise they'll just charge him interest and it'll just get bigger. I don't know why he wouldn't fight it tooth and nail...shoot I'm almost as PO'd as he is, yet he's ready to throw in the towel to save his credit score!
The lease guy at the dealer wasn't the guy who took it back, it was one of the salesmen, and they did a walk around and said he didn't have to sign anything he could just go. We got it from here! His wife asked twice, are you sure? Yup, have a nice day! It's all ours if something goes wrong. The dealer he leased it from can't believe the runaround he's getting either, but can't do much to help him since they never saw it.
So the guy from Toronto sends him pics to prove the damage...only they're half the size of anyone on here's avatar. Seriously. My thumbnail is larger. I suggested firing back with a WTF and to tell the guy to Google it if he didn't know what that meant...he's still nowhere with it.

[yukonho]

Wow! Here in the USA, with GMAC leases, it is a wonderful experience. I turned a 2001 Catera in knowing that the front bumper cover was cracked. I received a bill from GMAC for $200. Much better then $500-600 out of my pocket to a body shop before I turned it in.
Then just in March my 06 Silverado had a dent below the rear window. A body shop wanted $963 to take care of it. They had to remove the bed to get to it. I turned it in hoping GMAC would not see it. Well they did and the bill I just received Monday was for $213. I could have turned both if these into my insurance even though they were my fault but I have a $500 deductible. GMAC is by far the best company to lease a vehicle from. Hence why I am about to sign my 11th lease with them this summer.

[Rocket 88]

Originally Posted by yukonho

Wow! Here in the USA, with GMAC leases, it is a wonderful experience. I turned a 2001 Catera in knowing that the front bumper cover was cracked. I received a bill from GMAC for $200. Much better then $500-600 out of my pocket to a body shop before I turned it in.
Then just in March my 06 Silverado had a dent below the rear window. A body shop wanted $963 to take care of it. They had to remove the bed to get to it. I turned it in hoping GMAC would not see it. Well they did and the bill I just received Monday was for $213. I could have turned both if these into my insurance even though they were my fault but I have a $500 deductible. GMAC is by far the best company to lease a vehicle from. Hence why I am about to sign my 11th lease with them this summer.

GMAC leases are good. I am not knocking them, so please don't send me hate mail...

That said, my wife previously leased a Honda Civic leased thru American Honda Financial. The car actually came with a $ 500 damage waiver so the first $ 500 worth of damage was free/covered/forgiven. No charge and standard. The turn in process was a little lengthy but her vehicle came with very clear instructions on the turn in process. Further, Honda sent information with the last couple of lease invoices reminding us exactly what to do. It was a very well run program.

Opposite experience: Leased my Jeep Wranger from via a leasing company and was nickled and dimed to death. The turn in process was managable, but they charged me a lot of money to replace a foglight cover with a chip in it I could barely see and never noticed. First thing I tell people about leases is only do it thru the manufacturer.

[johnnyl321]

a lot
of leasing companies and banks that did leasing were the ones that would charge for every little thing they could to make up for the losses they were taking at auctions. I guess they would see GMAC and Ford leasing a whole bunch of vehicles and figure they could do it too.They didn't take into account that GM and Ford also enhanced the residual values of their vehicles to make those lease payments more attractive.
That all being said, I've been working with GMAC for 10 years now in our dealership. They are very good for NOT overcharging customers. I keep wondering how much more that will change now that Cerebus owns over half of it. I see now that GMAC is charging to remove the dealer advertising stickers from the backs of the vehicles...$35.

[ChebbySalesDept]

GMAC dealers better start prepping their customers for BIG BILLS from GMAC. We are having issues and the customers think it's the dealer's fault.

Obviously we didn't damage the cars and we are not the ones billing the customer.

It is already happening now. These lease customers better make sure their vehicles are clean and up to par. Otherwise, the $hit will hit the fan.