QuestionI leased a Nissan 350Z Roadster. My buyout price is $20,500. I owe 5 more months at $629.
I totaled the car.
The insurance company wants to pay $27500. I believe they will go up (They basically said they would agree on $29500. Fair cash value is about 30,000.
Anyways, Nissan is trying to tell me I can not buy the car at this point and simply pay them the buyout plus remaining lease months.
I believe this is wrong. I do not believe my lease contract says I can not buyout the car if I crash it.
They want all the money to go to them and on top of that, they want my $1000 deductable too even though they are getting $3000 more than I would owe them...
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Sean
Answer
Hi Sean,
Well, that is what you get for not buying American!
Just joking, Sean—it is a nice looking car. But it is NO joke to have to deal with a Japanese leasing company, is it? The car dealer is not your lessor, it is instead the FOREIGN mother company that controls the strings for your leasing company.
For some reason Japanese leasing companies have had a run of bad complaints. Consider this page directed just at your Nissan leasing company:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/nissan_lease.html
"Do not lease a Nissan unless you desire to further enrich NMAC at the end of your lease. I am adding my name to the growing list of unhappy NMAC customers. This was my first, and last, Nissan lease."
I bring this up not just so you will know that you have company, but also so you can use the fact of their bad publicity on the Internet as a bargaining tool to get your desired result.
Tell them that they already have complaints and you will be adding yours unless you are dealt with fairly in this transaction.
NOW, on to the specifics of your question. In the first place, I am just a personal injury attorney; what do I know about lease contracts? I have never in my life even seen one or studied about them. Plus, I would be out of order to give any advice regarding a contract that could have any number of different terms regarding early termination and totaled cars. So, because I do not have any experience in this field whatsoever, we are going to refer you to other attorneys who deal in contract law, and you can ask them about the terms.
But first, since this is my forum, I will put in my two-bits worth. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD CLAIM TO WORK A DEAL FOR RETAINING AND PURCHASING THE CAR.
Of course I do not know about your penalty for early termination. But why can't you declare your own early termination, take the penalty, and buy the car? Hey, if they can get "creative" with the contract, why can't you?
You only owe $3,145 on the lease. Why can’t you tender that, figure the penalty for early termination, and take the total payment from the insurance company? "Ahhh…I like the way you're thinking", says Sean.
Problem is: will a "real" contracts attorney agree with you and me? But common sense tells us that a sharp attorney could find a way for you to do just that. If you cannot tender the cash, figure a way to do so with a loan from someone. You can give them security in the payoff from the insurance company.
Here is the plan:
1. Post on the forums below and get some guidance;
2. Go for an even higher actual cash value. My favorite sites for valuation are www.Edmunds.com and www.autotrader.com. They want to know your zip code, and then they ask for a range in miles to search. Don't limit yourself to your city: it is reasonable that someone could go up to 300 miles to pick up a used car. That way you will get a lot more information. Be aware that you should pick the option "any distance" from your zip code. You can use information from local papers, advertising flyers, car dealerships, and the Internet. Be aware that the prices shown are the "asking" price, not the actual cash value. But also be aware that the insurance adjusters have used a computer scan of sales that were at the trade-in value, NOT the actual cash value.
3. OK, Sean, I may not know contract law, but I know how to light a match under a company that does not want further bad news. Here is what to do now:
• Write to both NMAC and the insurer and lay out your plan to buy the car.
• Tell them that this is an abuse and in violation of the Consumer Leasing Act; and that you are going to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
• Tell them that the FTC prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices and that this is an early termination scam to steal the equity of lessees.
• Tell them that if they would like their procedures regarding early termination WHEN THE LESSEE HAS EQUITY IN THE CAR (as you do) to be investigated nationwide, then proceed with their plan to steal your equity.
• Tell them that you have been in contact with your congressman's office about this (give them a call anyway).
• Tell them that you have called KING TV Consumer Hot Line Investigative Reporters (whatever local station you have) about this and they expressed an interest in doing a story to alert other consumers of this equity stealing scam by NMAC (give them a call also)
4. If all else fails, then call a local attorney and pay him to review this case; you will save a lot more than his fees.
I checked on allexperts.com for contract attorneys, but I could not find a place where they are listed. Thus, I am sending you to some forums. Make your posting concisely and ask for their ideas of arguments and approaches to use, and while you are at it, ask why you cannot do as I suggested above, since you intended to buy the car in December anyway.
http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/
http://forum.freeadvice.com/
http://chat.lawinfo.com/
http://www.palidan.com/forums/messages/board-topics.html
I hope I was not too aggressive in suggesting how to hit them, but I have seen such approaches BRING IMMEDIATE RESULTS. Ask which of them wants to appear on camera first so you can pass along their name to the TV investigative reporters, and that can often bring a more satisfactory solution than a dozen lawyer's letters.
Best wishes on this, Sean. I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the feedback form on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Dr. Settlement, J.D.
Http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
