Misleading Lease Extension Terms
02-16-2003, 05:56 PM
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2006 Acura RL
Misleading Lease Extension Terms
I am wondering if anybody here had encountered the rather misleading terms of Mercedes Credit's "lease extension" program.
Some background: I leased an E430 in April 2000 on a 3 year lease. Naturally, my lease is ending this April. When I leased the car, I put a lot down upfront to keep my payments low ($415 a month).
I am tight for money right now and cannot afford to get a new Benz or lease a different one. So I called the dealership about extending my existing lease about 6 months ago. They said "yeah, its real easy, you can extend it as long as you want, all the terms remain the same, etc. etc." Cool. So I planned to extend it 1 more year so I could save up some cash to get a new or different benz.
Well, when I called this last week to get the extension done, they said my payments would go up to $750 per month. They weren't going to "extend" my lease, they were going to "re-lease" me my same car and, naturally, up the costs, lower the residual, and basically make it impossible for me to keep my E430.
I felt kind of screwed by this arrangement. When I tried to talk to them about it, they were completely unhelpful. One ***** at MB Credit actually hung up on me when I asked where in the contract these stipulations were covered.
I don't feel like they use the word "lease extension" fairly. I am not extending my lease in anyway. They are re-leasing me the same car at crummy terms.
Has anybody else had this experience and if so, what did you do. I should note that I probably will sell my E430 or just turn it in. I simply cannot afford an extra $350 a month right now. And I don't want to go to some scumbag leasing company that charges rediculous interest or extends the terms out a zillion years.
Thanks in advance.
Andrew Plato
Some background: I leased an E430 in April 2000 on a 3 year lease. Naturally, my lease is ending this April. When I leased the car, I put a lot down upfront to keep my payments low ($415 a month).
I am tight for money right now and cannot afford to get a new Benz or lease a different one. So I called the dealership about extending my existing lease about 6 months ago. They said "yeah, its real easy, you can extend it as long as you want, all the terms remain the same, etc. etc." Cool. So I planned to extend it 1 more year so I could save up some cash to get a new or different benz.
Well, when I called this last week to get the extension done, they said my payments would go up to $750 per month. They weren't going to "extend" my lease, they were going to "re-lease" me my same car and, naturally, up the costs, lower the residual, and basically make it impossible for me to keep my E430.
I felt kind of screwed by this arrangement. When I tried to talk to them about it, they were completely unhelpful. One ***** at MB Credit actually hung up on me when I asked where in the contract these stipulations were covered.
I don't feel like they use the word "lease extension" fairly. I am not extending my lease in anyway. They are re-leasing me the same car at crummy terms.
Has anybody else had this experience and if so, what did you do. I should note that I probably will sell my E430 or just turn it in. I simply cannot afford an extra $350 a month right now. And I don't want to go to some scumbag leasing company that charges rediculous interest or extends the terms out a zillion years.
Thanks in advance.
Andrew Plato
