Has anyone sold their leases Model 3 to a dealer? [as of 10/28/21 not possible any longer]

[sdorn]

I have been to Carvana, Vroom, CarMax, AutoNation and Drivetime and all either state in their policies they don't buy any leased vehicles or was told specifically that they would not buy a leased Tesla. I even had the written buyout packet in hand from Tesla Finance with the payoff amount, instructions for sending title, etc. fully completed and ready to go and nobody wants to touch a Tesla lease.

So not sure what I'm going to do now. Maybe swapalease.com? Anyone had luck with that? I only have a little over a year of payments left on the lease. I might end up just sticking it in my garage and letting it sit until the lease runs out and then turning it back in to Tesla.

Anyone figured out a way to buy the car from Tesla yourself, even though there is no end of term buyout option in the lease? I could do that and then all these dealers would be happy to buy it from me if I held the title. Before they new it was a Tesla lease CarMax offered me $59,000 for it (only $4k below MSRP and $14k above what Tesla offered as trade-in credit).

 

[Slumpey326]

I have been to Carvana, Vroom, CarMax, AutoNation and Drivetime and all either state in their policies they don't buy any leased vehicles or was told specifically that they would not buy a leased Tesla. I even had the written buyout packet in hand from Tesla Finance with the payoff amount, instructions for sending title, etc. fully completed and ready to go and nobody wants to touch a Tesla lease.

So not sure what I'm going to do now. Maybe swapalease.com? Anyone had luck with that? I only have a little over a year of payments left on the lease. I might end up just sticking it in my garage and letting it sit until the lease runs out and then turning it back in to Tesla.

Anyone figured out a way to buy the car from Tesla yourself, even though there is no end of term buyout option in the lease? I could do that and then all these dealers would be happy to buy it from me if I held the title. Before they new it was a Tesla lease CarMax offered me $59,000 for it (only $4k below MSRP and $14k above what Tesla offered as trade-in credit).

I thought Carmax buy Tesla leases? Maybe try a different carmax location.

 

[AxelR]

Tesla leases can be traded in. Tesla does allow 3rd party dealer buyouts. Its just a matter of if that dealer wants to deal with the hassle.
As poster above stated Carmax had a heck of a time getting the title which I have heard from numerous other people. Carvana wont even
deal with them on leases anymore however will deal w them on purchases all day long

I guess the Tesla employee who told me that you can’t trade in or buyout new leases (October 2021) and sent me supporting documents had no idea what she was talking about.
That being said the insanely high money factor just makes no sense.

 

[MrFusion]

I thought Carmax buy Tesla leases? Maybe try a different carmax location.

I sold my leased Model 3 to Carmax in May… not sure if they have changed their policy since then.

 

[DiamondM]

They changed their policy on October 28 and under no circumstances will they allow any dealer to do a third-party buyout. Even though it does not state that anywhere in their lease contract that I signed. Looks like I’m going to have to start an arbitration case

 

[DiamondM]

As of 10/28 Tesla will no longer allow 3rd party dealer buys outs.
This seems highly illegal as there is no clause in the lease contract stating this.
Now if they want to change that then they must add it to the leasing contract would me my thoughts.
I called them as well and under no conditions will they allow this unless the process was started prior to 10/28.
Coincidentally after the planned tax credit bill was proposed...


Any attorneys wants to chime in? Class action suit?

 

[Tam]

...Any attorneys wants to chime in? Class action suit?..

I have no legal background but logically, in a lease, the owner is Tesla so it can pick who it wants to sell it to if some people (in this case a 3rd party dealer) want to buy.

 

[DiamondM]

I have no legal background but logically, in a lease, the owner is Tesla so it can pick who it wants to sell it to if some people (in this case a 3rd party dealer) want to buy.

Well it clearly states in the lease for a Model 3 or Y that the leasee has no rights to the vehicle after the term of the lease are completed however
no mention of not being able to sell the veh to 3rd party vendors. Now if they want to change that then in needs to be in the contract.
Most legacy mfg have done the exact same thing and their is a clause in the contract that states such. My guess is there will be a class action suit on this for
anyone looking to sell to a 3rd party prior to them removing the option on 10/28/2021.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

You're saying that the contract "clearly states that the lessee has no rights to the vehicle" but you interpret that to mean that you have unlimited rights to do whatever you want with it?

 

[DiamondM]

You're saying that the contract "clearly states that the lessee has no rights to the vehicle" but you interpret that to mean that you have unlimited rights to do whatever you want with it?

The lessee has no rights to purchase the vehicle. Correct.
The lessee is not purchasing the vehicle, a 3rd party dealer is

 

[DiamondM]

Maybe they can do this without anything stated on the contract? Im not saying if Tesla is right or wrong.
Looking for legal opinions.

 

[CapeOne]

GM, Honda, and perhaps others did something similar a few months ago. They narrowed the lease end options so that the choices are now either turn in the leased car to the manufacturer’s dealer or buy it out. They eliminated the option to let another non-GM or non-Honda (depending on manufacturer) dealer buy it directly without the lessee having to take possession first.

All of this is due to this year's inventory shortages and automakers wanting to get back as many cars as they (or their dealers) can to resell.

 

[bjrosen]

As of 10/28 Tesla will no longer allow 3rd party dealer buys outs.
This seems highly illegal as there is no clause in the lease contract stating this.
Now if they want to change that then they must add it to the leasing contract would me my thoughts.
I called them as well and under no conditions will they allow this unless the process was started prior to 10/28.
Coincidentally after the planned tax credit bill was proposed...


Any attorneys wants to chime in? Class action suit?

Are you asking if a third party can take over the lease? You don't have the right to buy the car, it goes back to Tesla when the lease is done. Because you can't buy it you can't sell it to a third party. As for transfering the lease, it doesn't make sense that you would be able to transfer a lease without their permission, it's not your car it's Tesla's.

 

[mspohr]

The lessee has no rights to purchase the vehicle. Correct.
The lessee is not purchasing the vehicle, a 3rd party dealer is
View attachment 728594

Well, the third party would have to buy it from Tesla. Tesla owns the car. They can decide to sell it or not.
In the past Tesla seems to have allowed a third party to buy it but looks like that is no longer true.
You don't own the car. Tesla owns the car and they make the rules.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Rental agencies have similar rules. You can't just rent a car "for the weekend" and then go off and sell it to a 3rd party dealer.

 

[jjrandorin]

Maybe they can do this without anything stated on the contract? Im not saying if Tesla is right or wrong.
Looking for legal opinions.

I dont have any background whatsoever to make any legal opinion, but with that being said, it sounds like you think someone that owns an item / good is obligated to let someone else who is renting it from them do whatever they want to, with it.

The owner of the vehicle that is leased in this case is Tesla. Tesla (as the owner) can do whatever they want to with their property at the end of the rental period (lease). As long as they are not breaking any legal discriminatory laws (like not selling the vehicle to someone due to race, religion, gender, etc), then they do not have to explicitly say "the renter can sell my property".

What this sounds like, is that you have a tesla lease and are frustrated that you can not take advantage of the market to either get out of it, or make some money on it.

This would be no different than if you were renting a house from someone and the rental agreement expired in a couple months, and the person you were renting it from told you they were going to sell it. YOU wouldnt have any right to sell that home you were renting. If they decided you could do so, they might let you (if they needed to flip the asset due to cash flow or something).

I just bought out my wifes BMW X3 lease because we put almost no miles on it in 3 years, and because, for once, the car is actually worth more than its residual, even though at the beginning of the lease period the residual was inflated.

My lease agreement specifically spelled out what the residual value was, and that I had a right to buy the vehicle for that price. I was also told that the "buyout price is for you" and that dealers may not receive the exact same buyout price" somewhere online, when I was looking at it.

Shrug... I dont think you have any legal ground here at all, but would be interested to hear a lawyer say something different.

 

[FARKLE!]

Bummer. I personally would have bought the car instead of leasing had I known that they could/would change their mind in the future and not let you sell to a 3rd party dealer. I normally prefer to buy over lease, and I got approved for both a lease and financing, but opted for the lease when I saw that selling to a third party was an option (in the event financial situations change, get a different job, if I have to move somewhere that I can't charge at home, etc.)

 

[jjrandorin]

Bummer. I personally would have bought the car instead of leasing had I known that they could/would change their mind in the future and not let you sell to a 3rd party dealer. I normally prefer to buy over lease, and I got approved for both a lease and financing, but opted for the lease when I saw that selling to a third party was an option (in the event financial situations change, get a different job, if I have to move somewhere that I can't charge at home, etc.)

That doesnt make much specific sense for a "lease vs buy" consideration, because one always (always always) has more flexibility when you buy something than when you rent it.... and this is coming from someone who was a "serial leaser" of BMWs for almost 20 years.

Being concerned about job situation, financial situation etc is considerations to buy, so you can get out of it easily with just "selling to someone". Leasing ALWAYS requires more jumping through hoops to get out of. The benefit to leasing is typically a lower payment, and being able to give the car back and get something else in a relatively short amount of time.

All those considerations you mention point to buying, not leasing.

 

[FARKLE!]

That doesnt make much specific sense for a "lease vs buy" consideration, because one always (always always) has more flexibility when you buy something than when you rent it.... and this is coming from someone who was a "serial leaser" of BMWs for almost 20 years.

Being concerned about job situation, financial situation etc is considerations to buy, so you can get out of it easily with just "selling to someone". Leasing ALWAYS requires more jumping through hoops to get out of. The benefit to leasing is typically a lower payment, and being able to give the car back and get something else in a relatively short amount of time.

All those considerations you mention point to buying, not leasing.

I'm not necessarily 'concerned' about those things I listed...but hey, life happens? I'm just saying it sucks that they took that option away. If a dealer or other 3rd party is willing to pay off the lease and make Tesla whole, Why not allow it? I just sold my BMW lease to CarMax two months ago, and everyone came out happy.

The only reason I can think of is if Tesla is 100% dead set on taking every single leased M3 back and using it for their supposed robo taxi fleet or whatever they're calling it.

But yes, you're right, if concerned about those reasons I listed above, probably better off buying. I like having my options open, but I also like a lower car payment

 

[jjrandorin]

The only reason I can think of is if Tesla is 100% dead set on taking every single leased M3 back and using it for their supposed robo taxi fleet or whatever they're calling it.

The reason I can think of is that, right now, they make more money by selling the cars themselves, even considering the overhead of doing so. It doesnt have to be anything related to that premature robotaxi idea, just simple money, right now, favors them keeping the car and selling it themselves.