Tesla delayed my trade-in leased car payoff check

[Good Morning]

I took the delivery of my new MYLR at 1/28/2023 and traded in my leased SUV to Tesla on the same day. My trade-in car pay-off quote is valid till 1/31/2023. However, the Tesla send the pay-off check to my previous dealer after 1/31/2023, which results in a increase of $300. Now a Tesla representative contact me to ask me paying this $300 amount shortage due to Tesla sending out the pay-off check after 1/31.
Any suggestions if the Tesla's requst is reasonable? Do they have the obligation to send my trade-in payoff check to my previous dealer ASAP?

 

[jjrandorin]

I am not an expert on this, but from my point of view, once you turn over the vehicle to them and sign it over to them, its theirs and their responsibility to make any payments due. What explanation are they giving you for "we received this vehicle from you on 1/28 but did not make the payment till after the trade in expired, so you are liable for this difference"?

I dont see how they can ask for that, but as I mentioned I dont know what the legal situation is.

 

[Good Morning]

I am not an expert on this, but from my point of view, once you turn over the vehicle to them and sign it over to them, its theirs and their responsibility to make any payments due. What explanation are they giving you for "we received this vehicle from you on 1/28 but did not make the payment till after the trade in expired, so you are liable for this difference"?

I dont see how they can ask for that, but as I mentioned I dont know what the legal situation is.

The Telsa finacing person states that "I signed contract, and it states that if there is any post delivery shortages, you will be responsible for paying it since it was your loan to start with."
The fineprint states "In the event it is determined that there is/are any outstanding liens or encumbrances against the title (other thatn as disclosed in the Item B above), You agree to be solely responsible for, and to pay any additional amounts necessary, to satisfy such liens or encumbraneces." The Item B is the pay-off lease value valid till 1/31/2023.
My understanding is since I took delivery on 1/28, we should settled on the pay-off trade in value in the "Item B", which is valid till 1/31/2023. If Tesla pay-off my trade in car late than 1/31, they should be responsible for the late fees.
Even though the $300 is not a lot, but I am really frustrated with the feeling that Tesla is passing their responsibility to customer due to their errors.

 

[ATPMSD]

The $300 is not a post delivery shortage, it is Tesla’s incompetence in paying off the lease in a timely fashion. So unless this is for something other than continuing the lease, their incompetence is not your problem. I would ask for a detailed statement as to what the $300 fee is for so you have a paper trail, then don’t pay them.

BTW, almost all car dealers call the leasing / loan company to get an exact payoff on the day they take possession because as of that day they own the car.

 

[jjrandorin]

The $300 is not a post delivery shortage, it is Tesla’s incompetence in paying off the lease in a timely fashion. So unless this is for something other than continuing the lease, their incompetence is not your problem. I would ask for a detailed statement as to what the $300 fee is for so you have a paper trail, then don’t pay them.

BTW, almost all car dealers call the leasing / loan company to get an exact payoff on the day they take possession because as of that day they own the car.

Yeah, I agree with @ATPMSD here 100%. That clause is there for if / when someone doesnt disclose some information about the vehicle (like tickets, leins, etc) to protect the purchaser. Since your trade in payoff was good till the 1/31 and you traded in the car on 1/28, it seems to me that this is Teslas issue and not yours.

The only sticking point is, I would recommend being sure that the what you are saying is in fact the case. Hopefully you have some documentation from the bank who had your car loan that you had a payoff amount of XXX to satisfy the loan on the vehicle, and that it was good till 1/31. If so, I would include that in a communication to tesla (proof that the trade off quote was good till 2 days after they took possession of the vehicle) and ask for an itemized description of the charges they are trying to make you pay.

 

[Goobers]

There could be a clause like, it takes up to XX days to process and it’s “your” responsibility to make sure it’s done in time.

 

[ATPMSD]

There could be a clause like, it takes up to XX days to process and it’s “your” responsibility to make sure it’s done in time.

Extremely unlikely. You have no ability to make sure Tesla does what they need too do.

 

[Goobers]

Extremely unlikely. You have no ability to make sure Tesla does what they need too do.

That’s true of a lot of places though. We can only hope they do things when they say they’ll do it.

And by “done it time,” I meant your responsibility to do it with enough ahead time, so even if it takes more than a few days, it’ll arrive to where it should be.

Sometimes you see stuff like it has to be “postmarked by,” but other time you see stuff that has to “arrive by,” no matter what happens during mailing/shipping.

My loan payoff notice was good for 10 business days (2 weeks) while I processed the trade-in 3 days before picking up the MYP. But here’s the thing… my next loan due date is in August, because I’ve been overpaying the loan every month from the beginning. I try to give myself as much cushion as possible.

 

[Good Morning]

I did some research and find this looks like not only the Tesla issues weren't able to payoff the trade in car value timely. In WA, the law requires the dealer to pay off the loan within two days accordingly to the following post: (the law case link):

“Washington state law requires auto dealers to pay off the remaining balance consumers owe on traded-in vehicles within two days after they make a new purchase. Typically, the amount owed on the trade-in — known as “negative equity” — is added onto the price of the newly purchased car.
According to the Attorney General’s office, “The Walla Walla County Superior Court..entered a preliminary injunction, ordering several Northwest auto dealerships owned by Mark Gilbert to comply with Washington dealer and consumer protection laws, requiring prompt payoff of customers’ trade-in vehicles.”

For the new buyers, I would suggest to leave enough time for Telsa to pay your trade-in car, otherwise, you might be suprised with some additinoal payment request.

 

[Goobers]

I did some research and find this looks like not only the Tesla issues weren't able to payoff the trade in car value timely. In WA state, seems the law requires the dealer to pay off the loan within two days accordingly to the following post:

“Washington state law requires auto dealers to pay off the remaining balance consumers owe on traded-in vehicles within two days after they make a new purchase. Typically, the amount owed on the trade-in — known as “negative equity” — is added onto the price of the newly purchased car.
According to the Attorney General’s office, “The Walla Walla County Superior Court..entered a preliminary injunction, ordering several Northwest auto dealerships owned by Mark Gilbert to comply with Washington dealer and consumer protection laws, requiring prompt payoff of customers’ trade-in vehicles.”

I didn't find the originial law term thought.

Here’s a question… 2 days or 2 business days?

 

[Good Morning]

Here’s a question… 2 days or 2 business days?

They eventually send the check on 02/03, so it's over 2 "whatever" days they should be.

 

[Goobers]

Dunno then.