Car Lease Question

kmrosko404

kmrosko404

Member
Jun 1, 2007
679
0
#1
Ok- will try to keep this short...

I have an 06 Mercedes SLK 280 that is about to come off lease (last payment already made) and I have no intention of getting another Mercedes (ever). In fact, I already bought another car. I am WAY under my miles by almost 15K. The problem is that DH and I just realized that our lease requires us to turn the car in back in NJ where we originally leased it... but we live in CA now.

So worst case scenario, we are going to be out ~$1000 to have it shipped back but I was wondering if anyone had any advice/suggestions.

We need to locate the copy of our lease but I'm fairly certain we were informed of this at the time and it did not matter b/c we never planned on moving. DH is already on it to push back on the leasing company but I doubt anything will change.

We thought about buying out the lease since the mileage is low but we really don't want the hassle or risk of trying to sell it on our own. The buy out is about $28500 and the blue book value is about $34000. We just bought my 'new' car (actually a used BMW) and we paid in full so we really don't want to lay out anymore cash and wouldn't consider financing it.

I also looked into those lease trader websites but I really don't think anyone is going to go for a lease with 5 weeks left and the issue of having to get it back to NJ.

Hopefully someone will have some advice but I have a feeling we will be shipping the car back to NJ.
 
#2
You can't take a few days and drive it back...? i would be scared to ship it back.. what if something happened to it... you should be present when you return the leased car. what if they say there is a ding or scratch....? if you do not see the condition of the car..... upon returning it.. they could say anything.


too bad you don't know anyone who wants one... so you could.... sell it and make a bit of a profit.. maybe try posting something on CL.
 
#4
Are you SURE you have to turn it in where you got it? I've always leased Nissans, and have been able to return them at any Nissan dealer. Call Mercedes and check on it - they might make other arrangements with you.
 
#5
thats strange...

if you were going to ship it back i dont see a problem with that. considering that most companies that transport cars insure your car while it is being transported and they'll fix anything that occurred to the car while it was with them. i shipped my car from Alaska to Seattle and it only cost $700 and insurance was included. you should look into local companies in your area for the best rates. i was looking for rates online and they were asking $1200+ and then i called around town and got $700.

or take a road trip and fly one way home! it would be an adventure.
 
#6
I thought you could just turn in cars to any dealership? Although, being in CA there may be a problem if the car isn't up to CA emissions, but you've been driving it there so that shouldn't be an issue.

**I'm now running to check and make sure my lease isn't the same with GM**
 
#7
twiggers said:
I thought you could just turn in cars to any dealership? Although, being in CA there may be a problem if the car isn't up to CA emissions, but you've been driving it there so that shouldn't be an issue.

**I'm now running to check and make sure my lease isn't the same with GM**
Click to expand...

well.... considering I still have NJ plates.... I never got around to doing the smog check. I work from home now so I rarely drive, that's why I am so under the mileage as well. We were anticipating that fee as well as the lease termination fee since we had no intention of getting another Mercedes (for issues unrelated to this but this certainly doesn't do anything to win us back).

If we had leased through Mercedes Benz credit, we would have been fine I think, returning the car to ANY MB dealer. To get the deal we wanted, they used another credit agency for people with excellent credit (so we were told). I guess it was for people not planning to move that far out of state. I'm sure we were made aware of it and I'm sure at the time, we never thought moving that far in that time frame was going to be an issue. DH needs to find the copy of the lease. He did too good a job of making sure they didn't get lost in the move 2 years ago that he can't find them. I am sure they are sitting in his office at work though...
 
#8
Couture Dreams said:
thats strange...

if you were going to ship it back i dont see a problem with that. considering that most companies that transport cars insure your car while it is being transported and they'll fix anything that occurred to the car while it was with them. i shipped my car from Alaska to Seattle and it only cost $700 and insurance was included. you should look into local companies in your area for the best rates. i was looking for rates online and they were asking $1200+ and then i called around town and got $700.

or take a road trip and fly one way home! it would be an adventure.
Click to expand...

VuittonsLover said:
You can't take a few days and drive it back...? i would be scared to ship it back.. what if something happened to it... you should be present when you return the leased car. what if they say there is a ding or scratch....? if you do not see the condition of the car..... upon returning it.. they could say anything.


too bad you don't know anyone who wants one... so you could.... sell it and make a bit of a profit.. maybe try posting something on CL.
Click to expand...

We are planning on using the same company that shipped it out here. They were very meticulous and documented every little mark on the car. At first I was worried about MB trying to say car was damaged but DH reminded me of how thorough they were when they shipped it here.

Unfortunately, don't have the time to drive it back and besides with the cost of fuel, lodging/food for the trip, and airfare back, it's probably not worth it.

Thought about CL but not much time left and would be worried about deal falling through... don't wan't to have take the risk of buying out lease ourselves and then trying to sell it and take a lose.
 
#9
illinirdhd said:
Are you SURE you have to turn it in where you got it? I've always leased Nissans, and have been able to return them at any Nissan dealer. Call Mercedes and check on it - they might make other arrangements with you.
Click to expand...

We are definitely sure. DH called the lease agency b/c with our last payment it said to call before turning in to dealer. He is calling the dealer today to b*tch but I really think they are going to say tough noogies. Their customer service has been horrid from Day 1 and that coupled with the decline in quality/reliability is why we ae not getting another MB anytime soon.

For example, 3-4 months ago, our salesguy called and left me a message. I'm sure he was fishing to get me to come in early and trade up on my lease but he also said he thought we had moved to California and wanted to update his records. I called back and left him a message confirming but also asked him to call me back as I had questions about whether there was anything I needed to know about turning my car in in CA (obviously there was) and if he could recommend a salesman (or at least an MB dealer out here). He never returned my call. About 3 weeks ago, I got a similar call from a woman who was more like a receptionist at the dealer following up on leases that were up in the next 1-2 months. I spoke with her and again, I asked if she could look into a dealer out here to turn the car in. I told her I felt my orig salesman was rude for not calling me back since he probably figured he wasn't going to be doing anymore business with me. She agreed and said she would contact someone in finance for a recommendation since they work with dealers across the country. Of course, no one called.

These incidents and the issue with not being able to turn the car in in CA are just the icing on the cake really... I must say I am in love with my BMW though!

Sorry to complain... thanks everyone for support/suggestions.
 
#10
I've never had a problem shipping cars cross-country. Also, the covered auto haulers aren't THAT much more expensive. Just take pictures before you put it on the truck and you should be fine! And make sure you return all the keys and key fobs they gave you - I got dinged for $150 for a missing key fob on my last lease return. Doh!
 
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