So I leased my 8 last week and instead of 12K miles (like it should have been), they had 15k miles written on the agreement. I signed the agreement, made payment, now I have my car.

Now the dealer wants me to sign a different agreement with the 12K miles because the bank won't fund the dealership. It sounds like the poor guy is in hot water, but...

The contract is signed. It's a done deal.

What would happen if I decided to call them and say that I want something changed on the agreement? Do you think they would redo it?

What do you guys think? Can I tell the dealer that I'm sorry, but they should have read their own fine print?

How long is the lease and what is the penalty for going over the miles?
For example if it’s a two year lease and .10 a mile over “15,000” you want $600 in goods or service PLUS something for the aggravation.
( 6,000 lost miles X .10) = $600.00

Their fault, dont sign it.

Agreed - don't re-sign.

Yea what everyone said. Don't settle for anything else. Just make sure to keep the money around if you think you are going to return the car after the lease. If you go over mileage you will be raped at the end. You might need that money for new tires and other bs when they go through your car with a fine tooth comb.

I would submit that the right thing to do is re-sign. Maybe with a little compensation for your trouble. You negotiated honestly for the deal you got, I assume, and you should be willing to stand up and live with it.

I find it disappointing that whenever a business makes an HONEST mistake, and they ask a customer to help rectify things, people are always jumping in with the "screw them" attitude. That's an attitude with no integrity.

If they accidentally wrote it for 10,000 instead of 12,000, and you signed it and were legally stuck with it, you'd want them to change it, that's for sure.

What do they mean the bank won't fund the dealership? You'll have to exuse my lack of lease knowledge.

I think I would tell them that I was not inclined to sign again - but it is really not that big a deal.

Sometimes, they give you a copy the lease contract that THEY HAVE NOT SIGNED when you leave. Then once it is funded you will get a "Real" copy in the mail that they have signed. If this is your case, then you might have to go back and re-sign in order to get a legit contract.

For sure, I have talked to lots of folks who signed really bad lease deals and you know the dealer is not going to let them out of it because they made a mistake and didn't look at it carefully - or ask someone to help them before they signed.

What is your residual and what is your MSRP? 12k VS 15 is normally only 1% or 2% lower residual on a 3 year lease.

For example, if your car has a $32,000 MSRP and the 12k/3yr residual is 49% ($15,680) and 15k/3yr residual might be 47% ($15,040). The difference is really not that much, and if you gave me your money factor and cap cost I could tell you the difference. This would be maybe $10 a month difference on a $0 down lease with a $2k discount - so not that much.

What is your over miles charge? Say it is $0.15 per mile. Tell the dealer that if they pay you for the missings miles (3 years x 3,000 miles per year x $0.15 = $1,350) that you will be glad to re-sign the contract. Since they, if effect offered you 9,000 free miles you signed up. At the end of the lease, if you turn the car in with 45k miles rather than 36k this would be the charge to you. So the dealer should give you this money now, so you will have it and the end of the lease.

If they will not go for cash, then accessories or Mazda maintenance agreement or something.

My reaction would depend on if I had a lease agreement that the dealer signed and how many other dealers are around you can go to if you really cheeze this one off.

Note that this is "principle of the thing" deal - your payment would not change and if you were not going to drive the car > 36k in 3 years then no effect on your wallet at turn in either.

Dennis

...ask them for $1350 in gas cards. :)

If they accidentally wrote it for 10,000 instead of 12,000, and you signed it and were legally stuck with it, you'd want them to change it, that's for sure.

But would they? hmm...

I find it disappointing that whenever a business makes an HONEST mistake, and they ask a customer to help rectify things, people are always jumping in with the "screw them" attitude. That's an attitude with no integrity.


When was the last time your credit card company didn't charge you a late fee because you made an 'honest mistake' and forgot to mail your payment?

It's 'us' vs. 'them' in business.

I remember I worked at a marine store. A gentleman came in bought some goods on his debit card and when I punched in the total I put 10.41 instead of 100.41. I noticed this as the customer was jumping in his car, ran out and asked politely for him to come back in to fix it. He said he noticed and I shouldn't have screwed up. Being that we were the largest and best marine store around he had to come back. He was going on a trip with his family and really needed a new gps system. We had 2 in stock of the model he wanted, no wait, none in stock and they wouldn't be in before he leaves unless we rushed the order, which would cost him 90 bucks. Plus I treated him like shit from then on.

All the time you spend haggling with the dealer. Then waiting for the Sales Manager, F&I, etc. That took a lot of time away from your job and you life.

You should be reimbursed something for the first time you were there, and then having to take more time to go back because they got it wrong.

You are doing them a favor by returning and signing the new contract.

That should be worth something.

On one hand, character is what you do in the dark. On the other, do unto them as they do unto you. Ethics (for me at least) is balancing the two.

It's strange but I have been undercharged/overpayed more times at checkout lines than I have been overcharged/underpayed. Regardless of the dollar amount if I notice, I always tell the cashier, "Excuse me, but you made a mistake" and proceed to pay the correct amount. My rationale is this: when I put the item in my basket I knew its price and was prepared to pay that. Just because the cashier made a mistake and undercharged me, or gave too much change back, doesn't negate my willingness to pay the correct amount.

This situation is similar, but the other rule applies as well. Did they try to jerk you around or make a bad deal? If they did I'd be more inclined to tell them "tough nuts", but if they treated you fairly and were up front then I'd willing sign the correct lease--especially since I knew it should have been 12k miles/year.
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When was the last time your credit card company didn't charge you a late fee because you made an 'honest mistake' and forgot to mail your payment?

It's 'us' vs. 'them' in business.

Well I'm sorry you feel that way. As a business owner I am honest and fair and I would expect my customers to act the same way.

Please read the "marine store" post a couple down from yours -- that's the sort of example I'm talking about. Forgetting to mail a credit card payment is apples to oranges.

I'm all for a little compensation for his trouble, but not this outrageous $600-1000 stuff.

When was the last time your credit card company didn't charge you a late fee because you made an 'honest mistake' and forgot to mail your payment?

Bank of America...we were moving, misplaced the statement and forgot all about it. Called CS, removed the late fee, and interest (we pay off our balance monthly)

So, it CAN happen (just maybe not the majority of the time)

Well I'm sorry you feel that way. As a business owner I am honest and fair and I would expect my customers to act the same way.

Please read the "marine store" post a couple down from yours -- that's the sort of example I'm talking about. Forgetting to mail a credit card payment is apples to oranges.

I'm all for a little compensation for his trouble, but not this outrageous $600-1000 stuff.


I read the Marine Store post - and if I were the customer, I'd do the right thing. That's a typographical error on the part of the cahsier. I have pointed out when I've been under-charged, AND if I get an extra burger in my drive-thru order, I offer to give it back.

What we're talking of here is something like this:

Dealer issues a contract, 'Buyer' agrees in good faith to execute the contract. Later, Dealer decides they can't be out the money (terms) they agreed to. It's like 'sellers remorse' here...

:(

Maybe they can find another 'bank' who WILL sign off on 15K/year.

Bank of America...we were moving, misplaced the statement and forgot all about it. Called CS, removed the late fee, and interest (we pay off our balance monthly)

So, it CAN happen (just maybe not the majority of the time)


Indeed.

When i went to purchase mine i signed and drove home. about week later, they called me and said there as an error in the papers, and i had to go back to re-sign the papers. OK. no big deal. Go back, and the paper work says i traded in a lancer? i'm like WTF? i brought in an altima. So they fixed that, and raised my payment by .50c. A week later, they call me and tell me the bank didnt fund the loan, please come back in and re-sign the papers. So we go back in, and they have completely changed the whole loan. Everything from the downpayment, up to a 550 dollar monthly payment. When we told the finanance manager we dotn want the car, he quickly called the floor manager and said 'the customer isnt happy with the NEW price.

This leads me to believe they are doing this on purpose, to get people to get attached to the car, and then screwing them on price. A contract is a contract, its their responsibility to read it, and obide by it. If that was me, i wouldnt re-sign it.

This leads me to believe they are doing this on purpose, to get people to get attached to the car, and then screwing them on price. A contract is a contract, its their responsibility to read it, and obide by it. If that was me, i wouldnt re-sign it.You realize this is total apples and oranges, right? You're comparing your experience where a dealer is trying a well-known tactic to up the price to a different dealer who probably made an honest mistake in the paperwork. I agree that in your case declining to sign a new agreement and telling them to take the car back is the correct thing to do, but trying to extend that example to apply here is rediculous.

I didnt know the 15k was a mistake. In that case, go back, and re-sign the loan. I overlooked the items in paranthesis.

2 5
maybe the dude has dyslexia!! you wouldn't take advantage of someones handicap would you!!! :p

The specifics are this: When we negotiated it was at the 12K mileage limit at .18/mile over.

On my signed (both by me and the dealership) copies of the lease agreement and the the purchase agreement they have 15k limit at .18/mile over.

I had them fax me the lease agreement the night before I signed so I could go over it with a fine tooth comb. I saw the 15K, and we had been negotiating so much all I could figure was that they sweetened the pot for me.

I would like to remind everybody that the lease agreement has "read this entire agreement" written several times on it including the integration clause which states that only what is written in this agreement is binding and nothing that has been seen orally or in writting previously or contemporaneously means anything. They really want you to understand that once you sign it, there is no turning back. Since contracts require two parties, these warning equally apply to the other party, i.e. dealership.

What makes this different than the marine store is that you are given ample time to check and double check the transaction. That goes for the dealership as well, who actually drew up the agreement and the purchase agreement!

What happens if I had negotiated a certain mileage, but sign an agreement with a lower mileage and realize my mistage a week later? I think we all know that the dealer would point out to the at least three locations on the contract that say you should read the agreement before you sign it because it is binding and tell me I was out of luck.

I'm not looking to "screw" the dealership, but I didn't really know that they had made an error. I signed the agreement assuming I would have the 15K miles like it said on both the purchase agreement and the lease agreement. Two documents! Asking me to have removed 9K at .18/mile is taking about $1600 out of my pocket which is more of a burden to me than it is to them.

In good faith I thought they were giving me a great deal, and I can reasonably assume that they made a good faith error, but the fact remains that it is there error (which was easily avoidable with ample time to correct) and the burden of fixing it should be on them. All I want is what can be considered fair to me for changing the deal after the ink has dried. I think the auto dealer can take resposibility for their error without being overburdened.

Here's what's going on. The salesman screwed up by putting down the 15,000 miles instead of 12,000. The lease finance company now is charging him additional $ which is eroding his profit, and maybe putting him at a loss. I'm sure it has wiped out his commission, no big deal from the dealership's perspective, but if the deal is now costing the dealership money, it is going to be a big problem for him. It could even cost him his job.

Let's face facts - the car dealers are going to screw ya - that's how they make their profit. They also have high overhead, so they kinda need to make a profit too. When I bought my wife's toyota, which I had negotiated a very favorable price on, a $500 rebate magically disappeared from the invoice at the last minute. "Oops, we're sorry. We'll put that right back on." Do you think it would have been placed back on once I came back to the dealership the next day after signing and driving? I doubt it...

However, there should be a happy medium. Legally, you are well within your rights to make them honor the terms of the contract. No discussion. Now, if this mistake is going to cost them $3000, that's a bit of a different story. It is one thing to copper your clients and grow rich, but another thing to rip their eyeballs out. That puts you out of business.

Here's what I suggest. Call the general manager and arrange for an appointment with him. Discuss this, and see the price of the lease service agreement for both 12,000 and 15,000 miles that THEY deal with. Figure out how much they have lost from this mistake. If it is $500 or less, they should eat it and it should come out of the salesperson's fee. He should treat it as a learning experience. Be a mensch and warn him you will be calling the GM and if his incompetence is revealed, he may lose his job. If its $1500 or more, it would be ethical to do the 12000 agreement AT COST and fair value. They won't make any money on the sale, but they won't lose any either. That should be a fair resolution. Any funny business, or impropriety, you say "C'ya!" & make them honor the terms of their contract. That's how I would handle it.

I guess I'm more than a little confused here. The original post says that the dealer wants to change the contract because the bank won't fund it. If such is the case, then it appears to me that the dealer knew exactly what the contract says, and the request to re-sign a new or modified contract is driven by something other than what you are being told.

I'm also confused by a bank being involved in a lease deal, since all my leasing experience has always involved the manufacturer's financial arm (GMAC, Ford Motor Credit, etc). Who actually owns the car? Who are the lease payments made to? These 2 things are surely covered in the details of the lease. If it is clearly stipulated that "the bank" is the owner, and payments are to be made to "the bank", then the dealer is acting solely in the capacity as an agent for the bank.

Does the lease agreement say that the deal is subject to review and/or approval by anyone other than you and the dealer? If so, then you don't have a deal until such a contingency has been removed.

As far as the mileage difference is concerned, if you agreed to 12,000 miles/year then what's the big deal if that's all that is changed? You'll be getting what you agreed to irrespective of how it got be 15,000 vs. 12,000. Don't know that anything other than revised numbers initialed and dated by both parties on the existing contract should be required, but maybe they require "un-altered" documents - in which case the onus is on you to make sure that nothing else is changed.

As far as it being worth something - maybe a good-will gesture of a few free oil changes is in order, but only in the interest keeping you happy. You've lost nothing but a little time, and you have to live with your conscience.

If, on the other hand, this is a scheme to re-negotiate the deal, then they weren't acting in good faith from the start - get your down payment back, hand them the keys, call somebody to pick you up, report them to the Better Business Bureau, and call Mazda North American Operations and file a complaint with them.

I'm not looking to "screw" the dealership, but I didn't really know that they had made an error. I signed the agreement assuming I would have the 15K miles like it said on both the purchase agreement and the lease agreement. Two documents! Asking me to have removed 9K at .18/mile is taking about $1600 out of my pocket which is more of a burden to me than it is to them.

I'm confused.

Apparently you had been negotiating with these guys under the pretense of 12K miles for a while. You yourself said that you "had been negotiating so much". And you came to an agreement (with 12K miles) and had them fax you the documents so you could really go over them. At which point you noticed it was 15K.

How are you "out" the 9,000 miles ($1600)? You agreed to 12K miles, so obviously 12K miles was acceptable to you. You either didn't think you would be driving 15K miles or you felt that the $1600 was acceptable to you when you finally came to agreement and had them fax the documents. So why, when they want to go back to the agreed-upon 12K, are you any more "out of pocket" than you would have been if the mistake had never been made?

By correcting the mistake, The dealer isn't "screwing you over" any more than they would be if the deal went through as originally agreed upon. You, on the other hand, are screwing the dealer by not allowing them to correct the mistake.

If you and your buddy were talking about doing some work on his house, and you agreed on $800 for the help, and when he wrote the check he wrote it for $1,000 -- would you say "Hey, why the extra money?" or would you shut your mouth and take the money? And, if the next day before you even cashed the check (remember, it's not like you've already driven the miles thinking you had them, you're out nothing here), he came to you and said, "Hey, man, I accidentally overpaid you yesterday, could I get that $200 back", would you think he was screwing you over? He's just correcting the mistake and you still get what was agreed upon.

If I didn't sign the new deal, I'd be afraid to go back for service. They have ways of getting even. Choose your battles wisely. You may need to deal with these people at a later date. Play nice!!!!!

Sorry I would not sign again. Whenever you go to a dealer they try to give you as little as possible for your car and get as much as they can for theirs. Then you get to the finance guy and he hits you up with a finance rate that he makes his commission off of. Let the finance guy take the hit.

Maybe I'm sour on dealerships, but I traded in a 2001 FORD conversion van that was fully loaded that listed for 42,000 new. I had it 2 1/2 years, just put new tires on it and they gave me 10,000 for it on trade for the 8. When I traded it in, it did not have the DVD/TV in it and the salesman had the nerve to ask for me to bring it in. Yeah, I'll give you a 600.00 unit for the 10,000.00 trade in.

F**k you verry much! Bommarito South Mazda.

Maybe I'm sour on dealerships, but I traded in a 2001 FORD conversion van that was fully loaded that listed for 42,000 new. I had it 2 1/2 years, just put new tires on it and they gave me 10,000 for it on trade for the 8. When I traded it in, it did not have the DVD/TV in it and the salesman had the nerve to ask for me to bring it in. Yeah, I'll give you a 600.00 unit for the 10,000.00 trade in.

Did you sell it to them?

Then why are they in the wrong? I never get why people complain about what they got for trade-in. Giving it to the dealer at that price is no different than giving it to someone who walked up to you on the street for that price. Would you have sold it privately for anything close to $10,000? Then why sell it to the dealer for that? You could have sold it yourself if you thought that price was so bad.

When you trade something in like a conversion van at a Mazda dealership, you're going to get hit especially hard. That van will only sell for about $18,000 looking at the market for E150 conversions -- but the Mazda dealer ain't gonna sell it. He can't sell a conversion van at his dealership. He's gotta auction it. And a dealer isn't going to buy one at auction for more than maybe $13,000. So you'd probably be doing pretty good to get $11,500 for it. $10,000 ain't a horrible deal. And you could have walked if you thought it was.

I'm also confused by a bank being involved in a lease deal, since all my leasing experience has always involved the manufacturer's financial arm (GMAC, Ford Motor Credit, etc). Who actually owns the car? Who are the lease payments made to? These 2 things are surely covered in the details of the lease. If it is clearly stipulated that "the bank" is the owner, and payments are to be made to "the bank", then the dealer is acting solely in the capacity as an agent for the bank.

This is how it works: When you try to lease the first thing the dealers gives you is the manufacturer's captive lease company. For example, Mazda American Credit. MAC is offering about 7% APR on their lease. If you did some competitive shopping you will find that most dealers will offer you deals from other competitive banks, and, in my case, the dealer setup financing through USBank after the MAC offer was refused by me. My APR through USBank is about 4.75% instead of the 7% -- that's pretty significant. As an exercise, if you leased through MAC, go back and tell them, in hindsight, you've made a mistake with who your finance company is and you want to redo your lease agreement. :D

So, what then happens is that the finance company buys the car from the dealer, takes title, and then collects payments from you. In essence, the dealer sold the car to the bank. In many people's case this is MAC, but mine, it's another finanancial institution.

Does the lease agreement say that the deal is subject to review and/or approval by anyone other than you and the dealer?

Nope, the signature line for the dealer states that the dealer is authorized to make the deal on behalf of USBank.

As far as the mileage difference is concerned, if you agreed to 12,000 miles/year then what's the big deal if that's all that is changed?
How are you "out" the 9,000 miles ($1600)? You agreed to 12K miles, so obviously 12K miles was acceptable to you.

But this is the crux of the argument. I agreed to the 15K because you can see my signature a few inches below that on the lease agreement. Next to my signature is also the dealer's signature where they also agreed to the 15K. As the lease document clearly states multiple times -- like most other contracts -- the written document is the entire agreement. Whatever happened before is moot. I think other people have pointed out that if you had negotiated a deal for 15K and the dealer wrote done 12K in the agreement and you signed it -- there would be no way that the dealer would redo your agreement -- the first thing they would do is point out the multiple places that instruct you to carefully read what you're signing. Tough luck. Why shouldn't they be held to the same standard as they hold us?

As far as it being worth something - maybe a good-will gesture of a few free oil changes is in order, but only in the interest keeping you happy. You've lost nothing but a little time, and you have to live with your conscience.

That's the second issue. I've done the math and determined that by giving me 15K instead of 12K, the bank is out about $320, and the bank is apparently trying to hold the dealer responsible because, well, the dealer is responsible.

Somebody asked about funding to the dealer. The dealer told me that the finance company isn't going to "fund" the dealer which implied that the bank isn't going to pay for the car at all because the dealer jacked up the agreement. I believe this was a tactic to freak me out so I would resign. In reality, I bet the finace company is telling the dealer that you cost us $320 and we're taking it out of what we're paying for the car.

Maybe it would be easier to resign the agreement if the guy just said, "We're losing about three hundred bucks," instead of implying that they aren't getting paid at all! There was also the implication that I had to resign it, like this was just a procedure I had to do. I can handle the honest mistake, but being deceptive about correcting it...and I'm supposed to do the "right thing?"

I feel bad for the dealer, but that's why contracts are written up in black-and-white so that both parties are crystal clear what they are agreeing to. It's little ol' me who gets a car once every several years versus an organization that does this day-in-and-day-out with two or more people involved with every deal. It appears that I've benefited and they are out $320. I'm sure we can come to an equitable resolution where both of us walk away happy.

But this is the crux of the argument. I agreed to the 15K because you can see my signature a few inches below that on the lease agreement. Next to my signature is also the dealer's signature where they also agreed to the 15K. As the lease document clearly states multiple times -- like most other contracts -- the written document is the entire agreement. Whatever happened before is moot. I think other people have pointed out that if you had negotiated a deal for 15K and the dealer wrote done 12K in the agreement and you signed it -- there would be no way that the dealer would redo your agreement -- the first thing they would do is point out the multiple places that instruct you to carefully read what you're signing. Tough luck. Why shouldn't they be held to the same standard as they hold us?

I understand and agree with what you're saying here, but you seem to be missing the point.

You said that the dealer was, quote, "taking about $1600 out of my pocket", when that is not the case at all. You never intended to use (or you intended to pay for) the extra 3K miles, so the fact that you got them is entirely moot. You either don't need them, or expected to pay for using the extra miles from Day One, before you ever saw the contract, when you agreed that 12K was enough for you. The dealer trying to correct their mistake isn't taking anything out of your pocket that wasn't going to be taken out anyhow.

You also might want to look into some contract law. While contracts are rarely void soley on the merits of a unilateral mistake, they are void when the other party in the contract had reason to believe there was a mistake within the contract when they signed it. And the assumption that the dealer was being generous at the last minute by changing the terms despite the previous agreement, isn't likely to float. The parol evidence rule (where the written terms supercede all previous agreements) doesn't apply in such case where mistakes were made by one party and knowingly taken advantage of by the other.

Both sides agreed to 12,000 and there was a typo for 15,000. The honorable thing for you to do is to re-sign for 12,000. The honorable thing for the dealer to do is give you a modest compensation for the extra hassle and for your goodwill.

People can argue all they want about what the dealer *might* have done if the tables were reversed, what some other dealer did to them, etc. Doesn't have anything to do with it. This is an issue of honor and it is between you and you. You know what you really agreed to and you know the intent on both sides. Your honor is priceless. You're gonna sell it for $1600? That's a rip-off.

Another point is that if the contract is not approved by the bank or leasing company and you refuse to come in and sign a new contract that can be approved they will more than likely repo the car from you...

look at tyour contract and contact the leasing comapny directly and see what their side of the story is. FInd out what they approved and then have some ammo for the dealer. you might also inquire as to what their commsion on the lease is at end into that.

I'll tell you this though, unles he typed up the contract on a typewriter, the pc programs they use to do this now are nigh infallible. Everything is sent to them and they just pull up the best deal, for you or for the, i know, i walked on 5 arrangments & 3 interest changes before i got what i wanted. Be nice be firm ask for compensation for your trouble and walk if they won;t do it.. trust me they WILL call you back into the dealership. Ask them to come down on the price of the car to give you 15k at the price they quoted you if you want.

One thing to note: If the car is turned in with 36,000 miles on it or less - then the bank is out NOTHING for the mistake even if it is not corrected.

The difference in allowed miles (up front) is normally 1-2% of MSRP going from 12k per year to 15k per year. ON a $32k MSRP this is either $320 or $640 depending on the lease bank. So they only way this error costs them is if the car is turned in 3 years from now with more than 36k on it. If not, then none of this even matters.

I have been leasing for years and one thing that always bugs me is you get ZERO credit for un-used miles. They hit everyone with a steep charge for miles over and any dents and dings - but if you turn in a perfect low-mile car you get nothing back - and the bank just makes extra money off the deal.

In my case, I have been able to sell my cars coming off lease and make a little money on them. Sure beats paying a "disposal fee" and giving them back a low-mile car. :D

Dennis

I've financed all of my cars and don't know if it the same for leases, but one of the documents that I've had to sign persuant to the finance agreement is that if financing the stated deal cannot found/approved, the deal is void and the car must be returned.

I've financed all of my cars and don't know if it the same for leases, but one of the documents that I've had to sign persuant to the finance agreement is that if financing the stated deal cannot found/approved, the deal is void and the car must be returned.

That is a true statement. So I assume (as someone else pointed out) that if the bank would not fund the lease and the lessee would not sign the new contract, then they might just repo the car. Any/some up front money paid might be in jeopardy as they could claim this as exenses in repo'ing the car, etc.

A local dealership here got in trouble because in place of the simple "if the financing does not work out, you have to immediately surrender the car" agreement they had one that involved penalties. $xxx per day that you had the car and $0.xx per mile you had driven it. So what they would do is promise folks a low rate/payment and they sign and drive off. A couple of days later they call them to tell them the "bank would not go for that deal" and the new rate/payment is higher. If you don't come back and sign the deal is off. If the customer tries to return the car they whip out the agreement the customer signed and calculate how much the customer owes to return it. I heard they keep a person at the BBB busy with the complaints from this dealer alone.

Dennis

This one needs to go to the state attorneys office not the BBB...



That is a true statement. So I assume (as someone else pointed out) that if the bank would not fund the lease and the lessee would not sign the new contract, then they might just repo the car. Any/some up front money paid might be in jeopardy as they could claim this as exenses in repo'ing the car, etc.

A local dealership here got in trouble because in place of the simple "if the financing does not work out, you have to immediately surrender the car" agreement they had one that involved penalties. $xxx per day that you had the car and $0.xx per mile you had driven it. So what they would do is promise folks a low rate/payment and they sign and drive off. A couple of days later they call them to tell them the "bank would not go for that deal" and the new rate/payment is higher. If you don't come back and sign the deal is off. If the customer tries to return the car they whip out the agreement the customer signed and calculate how much the customer owes to return it. I heard they keep a person at the BBB busy with the complaints from this dealer alone.

Dennis

If the customer signs an agreement to pay the dealer for the use and miles on the car if financing falls through, I don't think they can sue anyone over it.

Is it legal? Sure - nobody made them sign it.

Is it explained to the customer what could (will) happen? I am sure not.

Is it ethical? I don't think so.

Dennis

Just because some dealers and sales people are jerks doesn't mean we should treat them all poorly... re-sign at 12k miles.

Hey
How much are you paying for the lease...Maybe you are over paying and should of gotten 15k per year.

How many miles were on the car when you got it.



So I leased my 8 last week and instead of 12K miles (like it should have been), they had 15k miles written on the agreement. I signed the agreement, made payment, now I have my car.

Now the dealer wants me to sign a different agreement with the 12K miles because the bank won't fund the dealership. It sounds like the poor guy is in hot water, but...

The contract is signed. It's a done deal.

What would happen if I decided to call them and say that I want something changed on the agreement? Do you think they would redo it?

What do you guys think? Can I tell the dealer that I'm sorry, but they should have read their own fine print?

Hey
How much are you paying for the lease...Maybe you are over paying and should of gotten 15k per year.

How many miles were on the car when you got it.

The dealer came back to me at least three times with different leasing options (because I was getting bids from other dealers)and on the last one I asked him to fax me the lease agreement so that I could review it. It had a great payment, a great drive-off, and the 15K miles (when I really had only asked for 12K the first time I contacted him). I'd been getting numbers back from dealers for four year terms instead of three, for cars with options I didn't want, different colors, so I didn't think anything of this lease with a different mileage. I thought he had found a great deal for me, so I told him I'd come in and sign papers. It was only until the dealer contacted me about their error and I looked at other leases that I was able to confirm that the residual made more sense with a 12K lease and that's what they should have had. It was too good to be true.

Really now, the purchase agreement and the lease agreement both list the 15000 so there was no reason for me to think of it as an error. The agreement also stress how important it is for you to read the agreement carefuly, because it implies once you sign it, it's set in stone.

I spoke to the dealer on Saturday and they are deeply sorry fo the mix-up and have told me that they will fix it with the bank on their end, without reneg'ing on the deal they offered me. I'm anxious to see what happens next.

Both sides agreed to 12,000 and there was a typo for 15,000. The honorable thing for you to do is to re-sign for 12,000. The honorable thing for the dealer to do is give you a modest compensation for the extra hassle and for your goodwill.

People can argue all they want about what the dealer *might* have done if the tables were reversed, what some other dealer did to them, etc. Doesn't have anything to do with it. This is an issue of honor and it is between you and you. You know what you really agreed to and you know the intent on both sides. Your honor is priceless. You're gonna sell it for $1600? That's a rip-off.
Well stated, Nubo.

Bill