I have about 1.5 years left on my lease. My wife is scared to drive it because of the potential acceleration / brake problems, imaginary or not. Do you think it will be possible due to the legal actions currently being leveled against Toyota? Thanks!
I hear public transit is quite safe! Doesn't your lease explain the penalties/fines for early termination? If you pay the remaining lease payments, any excess wear and tear, and over-mileage charges they will be glad to take the car back. Maybe easier if you sign a new lease for a Camry. They'll just laugh at you if you ask them to take it back with no charges because you're worried about a safety problem that may or may not exist.
I agree with everything Dave said. If you can't return it, and she needs something to drive, you coud just add a kill switch. I'd suggest the fuel pump circuit.
The kill switch is already there. It's called the power button. Press it for three seconds and the car will turn off.
Get one of those "Easy Buttons" from Staples. Stick it on the dash and tell her it's a kill switch. The car will still be safe, and she will feel better. Tom
If my wife were to be scared to drive the Prius, I'd shut her up rather than humor her with a post asking how to get out of a lease.
is she afraid to fly? much more dangerous. drink the water? transfats? cell phone? cross the street? get out of bed in the morning?
Of course, switching to a Camry will signal them that this is an irrational fear. The body count from the various alleged Toyota problems is spread over many models, including Camry. The Prius seems underrepresented so far, in everything except the media hysteria.
I would say your chances of getting out of the lease are about zero. It's a good car and it's safe, just keep it. I recommend you sit down with your wife and read the "myth vs fact" link referenced by Bob W. in post #1 of this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/77722-toyota-press-release.html Then you will have both sides of the story.
You can generally buy another car, and they'll roll the lease payments into the loan 'for you'. The loan payments will generally be higher than 'normal', but the 1.5 years of lease will be spread over the full term of loan. My recommendation would be to look at converting your Toyota lease into a purchase (Toyota will do that), THEN trade it in. New car dealers will generally pay off a car you owe on to sell a new car, but you can DEFINITELY expect to be screwed if you owe a penny more than 'blue book'. Especially a car as nice and desirable as a Prius. Toyota is having no trouble selling them to 'fools' like me who can recognize 'balloon boy' media hyped B.S. at a glance. Sorry to say it, but your wife's a complete ditz. She's more likely to drown in bucket than have the Toyota 'run away' on her. A LOT more likely to drown in a bucket if she really believes the car is unsafe because of all of the media B.S., IMHO.
Here's another nice site, to give you an idea of the scope of the 'Toyota Prius Problem' versus other cars from a customer complaint perspective. CarComplaints.com | Car Problems, Car Complaints, & Repair/Recall Information
Getting out of a lease is pretty easy, as I've done it a few times in the past. But on a Prius, especially with the issues going on lately, you'd better offer some really good incentives to entice somebody to simply take over the lease. As for the dealership or TFS taking the car back, not without a penalty (as with any other manufacturer). I like this.
i was able to get out of my lease which had 29 months remaining. The dealer purchased my car close to the payoff when I purchased my Prius. I shopped around to get best deal. Bob
Why would she be afraid to drive a Prius? The cars are rock solid, extremely dependable, and safe. Instead of being afraid of the Prius, she should be afraid of the nightly news. The news media just wants to post/report sensational stories to grab attention. The scarier the story, the better, and it doesn't even need to be true.
