# Lease Return - Horror Story



## XJSChris (Jun 28, 2007)

FYI.. Anyone read about this?

http://consumerist.com/consumer/dea...agon-you-dont-deserve-to-own-a-bmw-307874.php

*Brecht BMW Tells Customer "Go Back To Volkswagon, You Don't Deserve To Own A BMW"*

"Raquel. She only wanted to return her leased BMW. Following instructions to bring her car to any authorized dealership, she arrived at Brecht BMW in San Diego. Brecht's manager refused to accept the car, a decision he conveyed by screaming in front of her kids, threatening to call the police, and telling her to "go back to Volkswagon" because she didn't "deserve to own a BMW." Raquel writes:"



> On July 19th, 2007 I drove my leased BMW in Escondido, Ca. (Brecht BMW). I was told by Chase (the lender) to take the car back to any dealership. That I should take a photo of the car in front of the dealership I am leaving it with and have the dealership verify the odometer reading, leave the keys with them and I would be done. If I did not turn the car into a dealership by the 19th, then I would be financially penalized.
> I walked into Brecht BMW and the first sales person I met asked me if he could help me. I said yes I am here to turn in my lease. He asked if I had bought my car from them. I said no, I bought it from Irvine, but I was told by Chase that I could take it anywhere. He said no he couldn't help me b/c Chase was closed and he needed the buyout amount. I said no, they told me that he wouldn't need to do that b/c they aren't buying the car. He then told me that he wouldn't help me. I told him I would be penalized if I didnt' turn it in today and that it was a fast transaction. I also told him that I lived 45 miles away and have little ones (who were with me) and it was hard for me to get down that way. He said he would talk to the manager. After a couple of minutes he came back and said no again, they couldn't help me but could if I came back the next day. I again explained that I worked and lived 45 miles away. I asked why they couldn't do it now -- telling them that I am sure they would be able to help me if I was buying a car.
> 
> Next the manager came out and said, you need to leave or I am going to call the police. I asked for his name. He took out his business card and threw it at me. I said, I don't understand why they are unwillinig to help me. I then started to explain all the problems I had had with the car over the 4 years. Based on my miles my car should have been in for maintenace 2 times -- it was in about 10 times. Each time was 3 hours round trip of my time and gas for the extra diving. I was starting to tear up and he smiled. I told him that I was doing everything I was told to do and that they could provide me customer service, but were choosing not too. I said, I don't understand why they won't just sign the odomoter form. I said that I had better treatment from VW when I owned my BMW. He told me to go back to VW, because 'I don't deserve to own a BMW.' He again said to leave or he was going to call the police. By this time my children were in tears because he was yelling at me and threatening me. We left without them ever assisting us.
> ...


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## Steve Wilson (Aug 23, 2007)

Yikes.


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## Mace14 (Mar 10, 2007)

Sounds to me like we need to hear "the rest of the story". All that's in this are her claims, not backed up by any witnesses and the website with her "story" doesn't even appear to have contacted the dealership to get their side of the story. 

While she could be 100% accurate, what she claims doesn't make sense. I've never had any issues with returning leased vehicles to dealerships other than the original one I purchased them at so can't see any reason at all why this dealership would refuse just for the sake of refusing especially given the fact that they are most likely compensated by BMW or the lease company.

It also seems to me that the CA was correct in that they needed the lease information before committing to receiving the vehicle. Also, it seems somewhat inane that this woman would just show up at a dealership without contacting them first to find out what she needed and to make an appointment. Imagine being the CA and someone just walks in and expects you to accept a vehicle you have no information on. 

As far as the "screaming" at her, and "throwing" his business car or the alleged comment that "you don't deserve to own a BMW"....well, lets just say those are allegations from someone potentially with an axe to grind, someone not smart enough to find call ahead and be prepared.

I'm not excusing this dealership and heaven knows there are dealerships that are arrogant and condescending, it just sounds to me that there's a lot more to this story than the claims of one apparently lazy and not too bright person.


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## kyfdx (Aug 4, 2003)

XJSChris said:


> FYI.. Anyone read about this?
> 
> http://consumerist.com/consumer/dea...agon-you-dont-deserve-to-own-a-bmw-307874.php
> 
> ...


There is no excuse for a dealer acting like that.... BUT..

She had a Chase lease. No dealership in their right mind would take back a Chase lease, unless they sold the car in the first place.

If it were BMWFS, then this would be news..


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## hk_usp9f (Sep 28, 2007)

kyfdx said:


> She had a Chase lease. No dealership in their right mind would take back a Chase lease, unless they sold the car in the first place.


kyfdx, can you explain what's up with Chase?


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## chuck92103 (Oct 9, 2005)

Incredible. Any dealer should be able to take any lease. They are not committed to buy it. They get some fees paid for their trouble and ship where ever the leasing company wants it to go. :dunno:


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## 760Lifan (Oct 6, 2004)

kyfdx said:


> There is no excuse for a dealer acting like that.... BUT..
> 
> She had a Chase lease. No dealership in their right mind would take back a Chase lease, unless they sold the car in the first place.
> 
> If it were BMWFS, then this would be news..


A lease is a lease - please explain why Chase is different and why the Mercedes dealership took the return - a BMW..:dunno:


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## Havelcek (Oct 1, 2007)

I had a Chase lease, they sent a flatbed to my house to pick up my car. They were a pleasure to deal with and even refunded my entire security deposit, which was amazing.

Sounds like the typical "what's the other half of the story" story.


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## SARAFIL (Feb 19, 2003)

chuck92103 said:


> Incredible. Any dealer should be able to take any lease. They are not committed to buy it. They get some fees paid for their trouble and ship where ever the leasing company wants it to go. :dunno:


I don't agree with how she was treated, if this story is true. I don't think there is any reason to treat a customer like that. If they didn't want to help her, they could have just told her so without doing what she says they did (once again, if this is true).

That being said, BMW dealers will take any BMWFS leased vehicle back because they have instant online access to the customer's account info, they can confirm the car was turned in online, and if they don't want to buy the car they can scheduled to get it picked up immediately.

Chase (and other non-captive finance companies) are a different story. Unless you are signed up with Chase and have access to their system (many dealers probably are not) it's a PITA to take in one of their leases and get someone to pick it up in a reasonable period of time. We are signed up online with Chase and even then it is still a PITA to take in a Chase lease and get it picked up in a reasonable period of time. I can't blame a dealer for not wanting to deal with this, and if she had called first instead of just showing up they could have told her over the phone that they would not take the car. As for the Mercedes dealer? Maybe they have better experiences with Chase? Maybe they just felt bad when they heard the story? I don't know.

For the record, dealers get $0 for handling this stuff, so I can see why a dealer wouldn't want to deal with a Chase lease if they didn't sell the car originally and they had no relationship with Chase. Trust me on this one... I took in several Chase leases when I was at the BMW store and dealt with plenty of headaches.


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## mclaren (Jan 5, 2005)

I'm guessing when they told her they wouldn't take the car she blew up. It always amazes me how some people don't understand the word no and when they here it they can't deal with it. Any reasonable person would assume they knew their business and had a good reason instead of escalating the situation to the point where they were going to call the cops. At the end of a lease with a third party what does BMW have to do with it ?


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## rpa (Sep 20, 2007)

mclaren said:


> I'm guessing when they told her they wouldn't take the car she blew up.


Agreed. The jump from "we won't take your car" to "leave or we'll call the cops" (from the point of the story teller) just doesn't seem logical AT ALL.

To be honest, I blame her for everything that happened. She wasn't dropping off a letter at the post office; she was dropping off a freaking car. Call ahead and be SURE that the dealer is going to take it.


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## SARAFIL (Feb 19, 2003)

rpa said:


> Agreed. The jump from "we won't take your car" to "leave or we'll call the cops" (from the point of the story teller) just doesn't seem logical AT ALL.
> 
> To be honest, I blame her for everything that happened. She wasn't dropping off a letter at the post office; she was dropping off a freaking car. Call ahead and be SURE that the dealer is going to take it.


This is very true. I did all the lease returns at BMW, and whenever someone called ahead I would always set up a time when I knew we wouldn't be busy so I could get them in and out quickly, and they appreciated it. Then there were always the people that would show up on a Saturday afternoon when we were slammed with customers in the showroom, never made an appointment, and they bitched when I made them wait because I was in the middle of something else.

Please, do yourself and the dealer a favor and call ahead to schedule an appointment at a time that is convenient for both parties, and make sure that they will take your car before you drive an hour away.


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## lennynchris (Oct 14, 2005)

It is interesting that folks are so willing to not believe this happened. I have no idea either way. Others have had ridiculously frustrating experiences that have been recounted first hand. Her story is on the fringe, but it is certainly believable. Her car was successfully returned the next day - what does she have to gain by fabricating or misrepresenting this story? Just my $0.02...


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## Mace14 (Mar 10, 2007)

lennynchris said:


> It is interesting that folks are so willing to not believe this happened. I have no idea either way. Others have had ridiculously frustrating experiences that have been recounted first hand. Her story is on the fringe, but it is certainly believable. Her car was successfully returned the next day - what does she have to gain by fabricating or misrepresenting this story? Just my $0.02...


Easy, there is only one witness to this and it's her. I don't think anybody completely discounted the possibility that it happened and, as you say, many have had frustrating experiences with dealers so maybe she's 100 percent accurate. I'm just very skeptical.


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## SARAFIL (Feb 19, 2003)

I'm not saying it is not a true story. I don't know if I should or shouldn't believe it. Either way, an important lesson learned is to make sure you call ahead and schedule an appointment in advance. 

On the same topic, in my time in the business I have only had one experience with a client that was so bad that I was ready to call the cops, and it was because of a lease return. This guy assumes a lease on an X5, and brings it back at the end of the lease with 4 bald tires, both bumpers had huge scratches, several panels had large scratches and dents, it had 40k+ miles and the orange and red service indicators were on saying that the 30k service was never done (back when BMWs had 3/36k maintenance), cracked windshield, etc. I tallied up the charges and started to go over the bill with him and he launched at me... he was ready to hit me. "the previous owner did all of that... you should go after him... it's not my problem!" 

Several months later, he calls my GM and tries to tell him off over the phone because he was billed by BMWFS for the end of lease charges, never paid them, and the unpaid balance damaged his credit. :rofl:


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## Mace14 (Mar 10, 2007)

SARAFIL said:


> On the same topic, in my time in the business I have only had one experience with a client that was so bad that I was ready to call the cops, and it was because of a lease return. This guy assumes a lease on an X5, and brings it back at the end of the lease with 4 bald tires, both bumpers had huge scratches, several panels had large scratches and dents, it had 40k+ miles and the orange and red service indicators were on saying that the 30k service was never done (back when BMWs had 3/36k maintenance), cracked windshield, etc. I tallied up the charges and started to go over the bill with him and he launched at me... he was ready to hit me. "the previous owner did all of that... you should go after him... it's not my problem!"
> :


Funny you should relate this story. On my last lease return (a Dodge pickup) I did a detailed inspection of the truck with the dealer's rep and got a signed inspection report that clearly stated there were absolutely no problems with the truck. A month or so later I got an itemized bill from Chrysler Financial claiming I had a cracked windshild, broken headlight, broken taillight, dented front fender, dented and "torn" rear bumper, numerous undefined "severe scratches" and a few other things I don't recall. It was complete BS and none of these things were true when I turned the truck in. I don't know if something happened to the truck after I dropped it off or if there were some unscrupulous activities going on at Chrysler Financial but lucky for me I had the signed inspection report and could tell Chrysler to shove it.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

Always do a lease turn in at a dealer and get a signed inspection. Don't let the leasing company haul the car off on a flatbed. That happened with our Volvo (leased through AEA credit union) 

We got billed for $800 and I had no choice but to pay it. I have no way of knowing if the charge was justified or the car was damaged in transit.


BMWFS lease turn in went smoothly. The lease turn in kit is great. I made sure our car met the requirements before we took it in. Dealer followed same guide lines and we didn't get charged.


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## quackbury (Dec 17, 2005)

Andrew*Debbie said:


> Always do a lease turn in at a dealer and get a signed inspection. Don't let the leasing company haul the car off on a flatbed. That happened with our Volvo (leased through AEA credit union)
> 
> We got billed for $800 and I had no choice but to pay it. I have no way of knowing if the charge was justified or the car was damaged in transit.
> 
> BMWFS lease turn in went smoothly. The lease turn in kit is great. I made sure our car met the requirements before we took it in. Dealer followed same guide lines and we didn't get charged.


+1. We made the mistake of leasing our XC90 through Chase. Made an appointment for them to come to my house with a flatbed the day the lease ended to pick it up - they never showed. Next available appointment was 4 days later.

Guy shows up at my house with NO flatbed and NO paperwork. Has a buddy along to drive the car back with him. Called Chase, they verified this was an "acceptable" procedure with them. I took 25 digital photos of the car, all date stamped, and with the driver / bozo'sa in the background of as many as I could - documenting the mileage on the odo, the fact the tires were all fine, no dents, etc.

Chase tried to ding me for an extra month's lease payment (because THEIR employees blew off the pickup!), and also for the 85 miles they put on the car from the time it left my driveway! I put up a big fight and carried the day, but it was a huge hassle. I will NEVER lease from Chase again.

In comparison, lease turn-in with BMWFS was a dream.

With regards to the OP, neither the dealership, nor BMWFS nor BMWUSA owned the car - Chase Bank did. Why would she ever think she could just show up unannounced at a dealership, drop off Chase's car without prior approval, and make it the dealership's problem?


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## mclaren (Jan 5, 2005)

quackbury said:


> +1. With regards to the OP, neither the dealership, nor BMWFS nor BMWUSA owned the car - Chase Bank did. Why would she ever think she could just show up unannounced at a dealership, drop off Chase's car without prior approval, and make it the dealership's problem?


And this is the key point, as I stated in my previous post. :thumbup:


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## f1fan (Jun 22, 2007)

Sounds like she put herself in that position, got nasty. and....voila. People procrastinate all the time!!!!!!! An emergency on your part does not make an emergency on mine.


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