Sorry I missed this post. I have been out of the office and actually took some time off.
I am an independent dealer.
In the last few months, I have purchased or traded for GM Financial, Chrysler Capital, and US Bank leases. I know US Bank is not an OEM, but I thought I would mention it anyway.
Chrysler Capital was an absolute pleasure to deal with. They specifically told me that they don't car who buys out a lease. I told them that I was an Independent dealer and that I didn't like surprises.
GM Financial was horrible. They were very specific that they would not allow anyone but the selling dealer to handle the buyout, unless the customer bought it out themselves. I issued my customer a check, and they then personally paid off the lease. They then issued the title to my customer, and our DMV tried to make her pay the sales tax on the buyout in order to get a title that she could reassign. I ended up contacting the Department of Revenue and got it all handled, but it was a nightmare.
US Bank was like Chrysler Capital, they had no loyalty to the selling dealership.
I understand why these companies want to hold the customer and vehicle hostage however I wonder if they are not ultimately hurting themselves more with these tactics. My customer that was with GM Financial told me that she would never lease or buy another GM product because of this experience. Interesting.
