72 Month Lease

by Marilyn
(Scottsdale, AZ)

Questions: I just leased a Honda CRV with a 72 month lease through Bank of the West and the dealership. I was told this was the best deal I could get and even though the lease was for 72 months, I was expected to turn the car in at 32-36 months.

I have A+ credit and was turning in another CRV after 2 years. The dealer said they could lower my payments and get me in a new car. The payments were lower until I went to finance where they tacked on stuff. I should have walked out but they wore me down.

This was yesterday. Can I get out of this now? I feel I was scammed.




Answer: Hi Marilyn. Being that you are in AZ, there is no cooling off period and once the contract is signed and you have driven all four wheels off the lot, you own it.

I would suggest going back to the dealer and letting the sales manager know how you feel about this deal. Let them know that you feel you've been scammed and you'd like them to work with you to make this right. If they won't listen, then go to the general manager and even tthe owner if you need to.

I'm assuming this is a new car, so I'd let them know that if they do not work to help you that the survey you get from Honda will reflect your dissatisfaction. These surveys are very important to dealers.

Lastly, when Bank of the West calls to do an interview with you, you can let them know how unhappy you are with the deal. They may refuse to fund, but be careful not to intentionally "kink" the deal as the dealer may have legal recourse, since you did sign a legally binding contract.

I'd also be very unhappy with whoever told you that you could trade out in 32-36. Yes, it's true you can, but you will more than likely have to have a ton of money down to make it work. 72 month leases are really tough and I highly recommend avoiding them.

All that being said, I'd probably suggest raising as big a stink as possible with the dealership management and see how they can help.

Please don't hesitate to get back in touch with me if you have any additional questions.

Take care,
Justin