Hi guys I was wondering if you could help me out with this problem. I leased my MCSa with a one pay up front of $10000 for 3 years/10,000 miles. I picked up the mini on July 27th and everything has been fine since then. Today I receive a call from the dealer saying the finance guy "messed up" and the bank returned the papers. The dealer told me that the lease was supposed to be for 2 years not 3 and I have to come back and renegotiate a new lease. Is this legal? I have a signed contract with them and they should have to honor it.

Thanks

 

If you have a signed lease and there are no conditional clauses, like "subject to approval by the lessor", I think you have them. Time to get a lawyer...

 

^+1 on that approval line.

It wouldn't be the first time they screwed up the financing paperwork. Mine's a long story, but since it didn't involve changing the terms, it worked out.

 

That sounds pretty weird as the deal also involved a set amount of miles-is that to change as well??

Read your lease docs carefully before you respond to the dealer. It seems odd that the dealer would put themselves that for out there over one year.
If the lease reads as you say you've got em by the short hairs.

BTW-I don't see how you could drive only 10k in 3 years-these cars are way too fun!

 

its 10k every year total of 30k miles One thing I'm worried about is on my pink copy of the lease the lessor (BMW Mini) didn't sign it yet but I would think they would have to sign it before sending it to the bank for approval etc...

 

This is pretty much all that counts. And if it was a problem, why didn't anyone speak up at the two year mark? It may very well have been a mistake, but it was their mistake on a contract that was entered into in good faith by you.

+1. Get a lawyer.

 

I don't know for sure what your remedies are, but did you negotiate for a 3yr lease or was that a bonus discovered after you drove off?

If that's what you asked for, then it's their bad, you should be able to keep the deal.

 

I've seen situations where there is a clause that allows them to change the terms; "subject to approval" for example; however, generally the contract would allow you to back out as well if the terms weren't accepted. If that is the case, tell them they can have the car back and you'll take your $10k back.

One other point when we're talking about up front leases- make sure that you have full replacement value insurance if you are going to do this. If not, and the car is stolen or totaled right away, you could be out several thousand dollars.

 

I'd probably walk away from the deal just because I hate being messed with. I had a simular thing happen in buying a house and I walked away and bought another house.Saved money too.

 

****The following is NOT legal advice. You are advised to contact an attorney licensed in your state in regards to any legal questions you may have. The following is for entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as the conveyance of legal advice from a person not licensed to practice law in your state****

More than likely, the lease paperwork has a provision that the contract is not final and binding until signed by ALL parties. This would include the financier (i.e. the bank).

However, as was mentioned above, since the contract is not signed by the bank, and it appears the bank will not sign the contract in its present form, you are under no binding obligation to fulfill your portion of the contract either.

Essentially, there is no contract. No contract exists until and unless it is signed by ALL the parties. Until the contract is accepted, the offeror (in this case, that is you) has the right to rescind his offer. While you may have signed it, you only signed your offer. Until both the dealer and the bank sign it, there is no contract.

If you don't want to deal with them again (which I certainly wouldn't blame you for), take the car back to them, drop it off, and tell them to have a nice day.

And of course, now the dealer would likely have to sell it as a used car which will substantially hurt their bottom line. If this truly was an accident and not the way they normally do business, someone is going to be in deep $#!# over this.

 

****The following is NOT legal advice. You are advised to contact an attorney licensed in your state in regards to any legal questions you may have. The following is for entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as the conveyance of legal advice from a person not licensed to practice law in your state****

Oh, and one last thing....don't take your time getting that car back to the dealer. If the dealer has already told you the deal is no good, take the car back immediately.

If you continue to drive the car and take your time, this could be construed in court as acceptance of the dealer's counter-offer (2 years instead of 3). The acceptance of an offer can be by actions instead of by signature in many states.

 

i can't wait to see how this works out.

lets try and keep this thread from random clutter like my input. Keep us updated on your dealer interaction.


no chit chat please :-)

 

Nice disclaimer Mike...opps sorry for the chatter.

 

Just talked to my MA and told him to either give us something better than a standard 3 year lease or we will return the car. The sales manager is going to deal with this now so I will keep you guys updated

 

If your MA doesn't work it out to an even or better deal in your benefit, get a lawyer.

 

After meeting with the sales manager they gave me the original lease price (10,000 for 3 year lease). Thanks for all of the advice guys. After all that I asked my MA what happened to the finance guy who messed up on my deal he told me they fired him haha :(

 

Nice that they honored the original deal. Which dealership?

 

mini momentum in houston

 

$10,000 for a 3-yr lease is a great deal.

Are you limited to the standard 10,000 miles/yr. stipulation?

 

well 30k miles total but I just drive back and forth from school so I put very little mileage on my mini

 

glad it worked out for you.