foxandhoun

A few weeks ago LFS told me I could do my buyout at any dealership and it would be no issue. Yesterday, Lexus Financial CS transfers me to the lease rentention team and tells me I *had* to do it at a Lexus dealership. So, I went to one. They wanted a crazy rate, crazy down payment, and $799 dealer fee (I already paid a dealer fee for leasing). We said we would think it over. Then, I call AutoNation (which is sort of affiliated with Lexus bc my lease was done at Lexus Auto Nation) and they tell me they can do my buyout with no dealer fee but the rates are not too great.

So, I contact my bank and bank says they can do the buyout and they offer a great rate with no money down! So, I decide on doing the buy-out with my bank. I call LFS and now I'm told that only Lexus dealer can do this transaction but I can use my bank for the loan. I call again and am told any dealer can do it. No one from Lexus financial can tell me how much their dealers will charge, they cant even tell me if tax is included in my buyout, and they cant tell me if I can go to any dealership, some say yes, others say no.

Then, my bank manager calls in as a third party and he is IMMEDIATELY sent a pay off letter and LFS agrees right on the spot. So, then we call once more just to make sure and this time, I realize all the people who are telling us we have to use Lexus dealer are in the "retention" department and I dont believe them as I cant find any of this in my contract at all. The retention department says we must use Lexus dealer to sign docs. Then I ask if we can do the buy out now and sign docs tomorrow at the Lexus dealer and they said yes, as long as its done in 10 days. I ask if they can email that to us or send us documentation to state that and the answer was no but they can make a note of it. It's exhausting. At this point, I feel like LFS retention dept folks are not being straight.

So, we continue to proceed with the loan. Then the banker admits none of us know if this includes tax so we call again. This time we are transferred to retention department AGAIN and this time a guy named insists my bank cannot send money and this must be done at Lexus dealer. This specialist had no idea about the tax and he refused to look at the notes on file from previous 10 calls. We got so fed up, we ended everything.

My bank has a payoff letter with all info on it and payoff instructions, how would that even be generated if we couldnt do this with my bank? My bank says they do this all the time and they were shocked with LFS various claims bc none of this is in the lease contract. Bank called LFS behavior as a scam to charge me or have LFS to process the loan themselves bc they are in the "retention" department.

The contract says no excess wear or milage will be charge if being purchased. It does state that we will be charged official govt fees, official taxes, official document fees charged for purchase. It says we will be charged all amounts necessary to meet any legal selling requirements. Seems to me they can only charge doc or true gov't fees. And no mention of FL, non dealership buy out, or non Lexus dealership buyout.