Buy out your lease (go direct) (2013, premium, Toyota, Highlander)

[NC211]

True story that happened to me yesterday.


So, buying out my wife's lease on our Toyota Highlander (2013 Limited). Residual is ridiculously low and nothing out there that we want to buy that we (her) like better than what we've already got with this Highlander (actually, less when you consider the loss of the two captain chairs in the back and peace on earth between our kids because of them).


So, I leased through Toyota at the end of 2013. 36 month lease, standard fare. I extended 6 months this past winter, and bought it out yesterday.


I know the payoff (as I can see it via online through Toyota financial, and also called directly to confirm). They push hard for you to go to your local dealership to wrap up the buyout. So, I call my local Toyota dealership. I get the slick willy routine, and basically tell the guy to just tell me who to make the check out to. Then he says he's not the lease buyout "expert" for the dealership, and that he will have this "expert" call me right back.


He calls back in about 5 minutes. The buyout amount all of the sudden is $1,100 more than what I'm looking at on my computer screen via Toyota Financial. He tells me there is a $500 premium fee. I tell him I'm not paying for some document prep fee, at which point he corrects me and says that's a different fee at $599. So, there's the $1,100 difference. I ask him what the $500 fee is for, and he simply flat-out acknowledges that it's the dealership's profit for the sale. I told him that Toyota is waiving all fees here, and he said "they might, but we're not Toyota, we're the dealership".


I hung up, called Toyota Financial back directly and asked where to do I send my check. $0 fees that way.


What a scam!!