Leased vehicle voluntarily surrendered

CoryG

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
In 2014 I leased a vehicle with the intention to purchase it at the end of the lease term. I was told by the sales person that I was allowed 10,500 miles per year on a 2 year lease. at which time I told the dealer I traveled a lot because my son was sick, and was in a hospital an hour and a half away from my home, plus the distance to my children's homes, one in a different state, and one Aprox 400 miles away, and I would certainly put on more miles than the allotted for the year. The sales person then told me since my plan was to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease, with a residual that I could then afford at that time that it wouldn't be a problem!! I contacted the dealer approx 4 months before the lease ended, and spoke to the finance manager telling him I was way over the miles allotted, and I wanted to find out about financing before the lease was up so I could be prepared. The finance manager said to call back closer to the end of the lease, and reassured me they would find a company to finance me when the time came. I called them 2 months before the lease was up, and now the problems began!!! No finance company wanted to finance me because NOW because of the mileage which was almost doubled what was allotted, the car had depreciated, and besides the residual, they now wanted almost $5,000 down in order to even consider financing the car for me!!! I know now, I should have gotten a written statement from the dealer stating what he promised! but since my intention was always to purchase the vehicle, I wasn't concerned about turning in the vehicle with so many miles, that I took his word for it!! Now I know way to late every promise needs to be written down and signed. The problem now, is since I had to voluntarily surrender the vehicle because I didn't have the money almost $5,000 to buy my leased vehicle, I had to buy another car for much less, because I couldn't be without a car. Now Ford has sued me for 6,500 after they sold the car I surrendered. What are my rights now? I tried to talk to ford credit many times, and tell them my situation, tried to have them finance me, answer was no! I made all my payments on time, except for the last two when I voluntarily surrendered the vehicle in excellent condition. My account has now been turned over to a debt collection lawyer whom i have spoken to, they say if I don't make arrangements to pay Ford they will take sue me in court, and it will cost a lot more. I know this is a long statement, but I feel I had to explain exacally why I'am writing this. I still feel like I was misled by the salesperson. My intention was sincere to own the vehicle I had leased, or I would have NEVER leased a car knowing I do a lot of driving. Question: do I have Any rights in this matter? If I do please le me know, as I need to call the debt collection lawyer by tomorrow 4/30/18. Thank you Corinne
 
Any rights in this matter?

No.

You owe the money. No question about that.

Car dealers are liars and thieves. They go to school to learn how not to cross the line into anything illegal.

Your lease contract covered everything you are experiencing now. It was all there for you to read including the part that said the contract was the entire contract and anything said outside the contract doesn't count.

The collection agency lawyer is correct. It will cost you a lot more if you get sued because your lease contract undoubtedly has an attorney fee provision that could add thousands to your debt.

I'm sorry that you got scammed. I wish more people would study up on car dealer scams before they walk into the dealership. Unfortunately, they don't generally come to sites like these until the damage is already done.
 
Thank you for your quick response. Unfortunately we don't take time time to read the whole contract, because we still want to have faith in humanity, and that we are getting honest answers to the questions we are asking at the time. Sad to say it doesn't pay to be so naive!!! I suppose if my old car had not began having major problems, which I had for 10 years, and I wasn't in such need of a car, and low in funds I would have made better decisions. Even though I can't afford it, I will have to make payment arrangements!! Guess I'am stuck with the bill!! Much thanks for your advice.
 
The written contract will always prevail over someone's promises. I'm sure the dealership had every intention of finding you financing, and it sounds like they did, but the bank required more money down than you expected. The dealership has no control over the banks, and your credit score is a major factor. So no dealership would ever give you a written statement promising to find financing acceptable to you.
 
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