Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Advice

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

Read this:
Special Tax Break Available for New Car Purchases This Year

The tax break is done in your taxes, but I think it's on a buy only, hon. Have them convert the lease contract to a buy, and then take the tax deduction when you do your taxes in 2010 (for 2009) ...

Or, can the dealership fax Toyota Financial proof that you'd pay 0 sales tax as a DC resident? Where is that written?

Sorry -- am clear across the country... so I am unclear on taxing where you are.

If the tax break is for buy-only, tell them to convert you to a buy. That's easy!!!

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

I would say your lease is void at this moment. Any attempt to force you into another less favorable lease I would consider fraud if your current lease says "no tax" in writing. They should do one of the following. 1. Take the car back and refund all your money IE payments and down payment. 2. Offer to sell you the vehicle at the market price (msrp currently) with an interest rate equal or less than your lease interest rate. 3. Rewrite the lease with the monthly payment reduced by the tax amount so that your cost per month stays the same.

A lease has same credit qualification as a purchase so why not just buy?

I know this dealers Honda dealership across the street (4 cars)and some of the salesmen on the Toyota side. I would be surprised and very disappointed if they didn't work this out in your favor.

Don't accept anything you don't like. If things go bad get an attorney and contact the Fairfax County Attorney's office.

In VA, a leased car is considered a rental car and you pay a sales tax if you and the leasing company are in state or a use tax if you go out of state. (Leased an Acura and tax was not disclosed at signing. Cost $60 plus extra a month. Never again)

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

OK -- I am confused!
Any Virginia dealership MUST do biz with DC residents... you're so close! How can TFS not know this tax issue exists??

:: scratching head ::

and oh heavens, ya give me too much credit. Things happen here too from time to time ... nobody's walking on water around me all the time LOL (and not me, I have my days TOO!!!!)

Thanks... and I sure hope you get this resolved. Perhaps a phone call a tad upwards to the GM of the dealership (not the GSM, the GM, or find their Finance Director) will answer your questions. Upper management often has a way of explaining better with power to resolve. Between me, a couple of bosses here and myself, we can always come up with a solution and have the power to settle someone's concerns and fix issues w/o asking "permission" of higher-ups.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

James, I agree with you here:

3. Rewrite the lease with the monthly payment reduced by the tax amount so that your cost per month stays the same.

That is how I would fix this IF the state of VA and DC ain't talkin'...

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

1 Give the the car back and tell them to shove it up their ***.
2 Keep the car and tell them to "sue" you. The DEALER AND YOU signed the lease...it's a binding agreement.
3 Have them rewrite the lease, lowering the price so the lease payments equal what you are paying now.
4 After this gets worked out, one way or another, NEVER return to this dealer again and make sure you tell everyone you know what transpired.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

I went through almost the same thing. Two weeks after I got the car they said my lease was not correct. See this thread.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...592-bank-tried-change-payment-after-fact.html


I called my sister who is a contract lawyer and she had me read a statement of contract law to the bank. The bank realizing I knew what I was saying and having legal backing did not have one word to say when I finished the statement. I left them with 2 options, live by the terms, or come and get the car and terminate the contract.

The short story is the bank realized that they could do nothing about it. We had a signed contract and taking back the car would leave them with a car that they could not sell for profit and I had no money in play on the deal so they had no financial penalty to hang over me. They are living by the terms as agreed to at purchase.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

Zaxcom, be careful on your advice. Your problem was a different residual. That is far from not paying tax.

Owl, let me throw some other advice into the thread. I have been a leasing and finance manager for years for dealerships. Every brand. The problem you are going to have with the current situation is the BACK of the contract. Yes, the side that nobody ever reads. Here is what it states:

Taxes and other Charges. You are responsible for and will pay when due all taxes, repair bills, storage fees, fines, and other charges and assessments in connection withthe vehicle. If you fail to pay these amounts the Creditor (TMCC) may do so for you. If the Creditor does so, you agree to repay the amount when the Creditor asks for it. You agree to comply with all registration, licensing, tax and title laws applicable to the vehicle.

What this means is that TMCC and the dealership can leave your contract as is if you decide to take up the firm stance and say, "Sue me". You have to be very careful on what you choose to say to them. If you mention "lawyer", the dealership, if they were smart, is say OK. And cut all communication with you. And let the attorney's fight it out, which will cost you more than the tax money due.

What I would do in your situation is this. Speak with the dealership, preferrably the GM as Dianne stated, and agree to re-sign whatever they want as long as your payment does not go up one dollar. It is the dealerships fault, not yours, that the tax wasn't collected. A smart GM will just back the tax amount out of the deal, which loses profit, but not nearly as much as a potential lawsuit and the bad word of mouth press.

I'm like Dianne here, I have no idea what the taxes are supposed to be in different states. I need to know one thing though. Do you have a flat sales tax, a use tax, or both? Unlikely you have both, but I have seen it before (city of chicago for example). Are you familiar with what the difference is? Just in case:

1) Sales tax is charged against the difference between the selling price and the trade in value (if applicable).

2) Use tax is charged as a percentage of the payment, i.e. 6% use tax on a $300 payment would amount to $18 dollars per month. Total payment is now $318.

There is a big difference in the total amounts due, so one might be more easily had than the other.

IF all else fails, turn it into a buy instead of a lease. Since this is the newest Prius, The value will remain high enough to where in 2 or 3 years, if you decide to get rid of it, you won't get hurt financially (be upside down).

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

Don't take this as a personal attack, but as someone sitting in the peanut gallery, I have to wonder about some stuff.

So you have the financial means to pick up a ~$30K car 'on impluse' as a second vehicle and flip your cars every two years and you come to an internet forum for free contract law advice?

Did the dealer ever say how they needed to 'fix it'? Did he say that had to charge you more or were they going to play with the numbers to keep the gov't happy? (Your post only said the dealer wanted you to come in to 'fix it', you did not come out and say they wanted to charge you more.)

And the tax exemption was 'THE DECIDING FACTOR' for buying a Prius? There had to more reason than that for picking this car. Someone could give me a tax break on a Humvee and I would turn them down. Partially because it isn't the right vehicle for me and partially because I have never had to pay a dime for a hummer.

But jokes aside, the situation just sounds so foreign to me that I can't get my head around it. If I had the money to afford impluse purchases in this price range, leases which cost more than buys and rapid vehicle turnover, I would think I would have an attorney on speed dial. It just isn't a scenario that would ever come up in my life.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

people are different

if i wasn't paying a mortgage, saving for two retirements, two weddings, three college educations, two long term care insurance contracts and two regular term life insurance policies, i might buy more car, in the form of a lease, and only keep it two years.

not that i don't love my wife and kids, but every once in a while, when paying bills, i wonder what it would be like to have my income and not have all that "overhead". The places i would go, the cars i would drive, the hot babes that would still not want to go out with me! The truth is I would probably be lonely and probably have destructive habits, so what is best for me is what i am doing.

and on the point of seeking free advice from the forum - read the thread - two or three car sales/finance professionals have offered wisdom here, in short order, and on the weekend, so he can enjoy his vacation and deal with this later. its a beautiful thing.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

I had a friend in a similar situation with a trade-ion and purchase of a Mitsubishi several years ago. Basically the salesman/dealer made a mistake on the transaction and wanted to change the terms after the deal was made and all the papers signed. The signed Contract stood, in her case, and there was noting the dealer could do but eat the "loss" caused by their mistake.

Your situation is likely similar and to verify you need to check the fine print of the lease to see if there are anything which voids the lease if Toyota does not approve it. Otherwise I think you and the Dealer have a binding agreement and the Dealer and Toyota have the problem. Don't let the Dealer make it yours; let the dealer and Toyota work it out. Good luck and enjoy the car and vacation.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

But again bikr357, it is nothing to do with giving him the wrong price on the car, the wrong interest rate charged, the wrong residual used. If that was the case, he could tell the dealer to go pound sand and they have no choice. This is dealing with taxes. That is SPECIFICALLY mentioned in the terms of the contract, as I have quoted. No where on the contract does it say that if the dealership charged the incorrect interest rate, we have the right to change it at any time. In fact, it specifically excludes us from changing any terms on the contract.

I am not a lawyer, but I have been doing this long enough to know what can be argued for and against when it comes to vehicle financing.

 

Re: Odd Call from Dealership - Dealership is Claiming that Toyota is Not Honoring My Lease - Need Ad

I had a similar thing happen to me with GM. The dealership wrote a lease deal that GMAC would not honor because it was an unsupported mileage band (miles over the lease term).

In my case I got a call from the store manager informing me of the situation and acknowledging their mistake. I, too, had driven the vehicle for 2-3 weeks. The contract was void because of the change in terms and we couldn't come to agreeable new ones.

I said thanks but no thanks. They took the vehicle back and provided me with a full refund.

It seemed a bit harsh at the time but it is their business to know their programs and tax laws. After all, it is what they do for a living.

If you get any kind of unfair hassle from the dealership at all move on. They don't have any leverage over you to accept new terms.

By the same token, don't leave them hanging one extra day. That's when it gets sloppy and folks start saying silly things like 'your driving a car that you don't have a binding contract to use constitutes GTA' or implies agreement to new terms. Another consideration is that the vehicle is back to being their insurance liability.

I encourage you to wrap it up quickly with a clear 'yes' or 'no' decision so that everyone can move on.

Jabber had some good input. I think rewriting the agreement to arrive at the same price would be reasonable.