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Edwelle
May 16, 2009
Auto Lease RipOff
I leased a vehicle (2000 Mercedes SLK 230) from Fleetway Leasing in 12/2007. A few months later, I began experiencing severe back and leg pain and was diagnosed with sciatic nerve damage due to a herniated disc. I was no longer able to comfortably drive the vehicle. I contacted Fleetway, explained the situation and asked if I could swap the vehicle for another car that was driveable with my condition, ideally an SUV. Of course, Fleetway did not care. They said the vehicle was worth only $5, 300 and I would have to pay them $6, 000 to get out of the lease. I would then have to pay them another $4, 000 (approx.) to get into another lease for an SUV. Edmunds.com valued the car at $11, 200 dealer retail and $9, 800 third-party retail. Again, Fleetway did not care. The rep at Fleetway told me that I could try to sell the car myself. I then asked for a payoff amount. Fleetway said it was $12, 300 and that the interest rate they charged under my lease was 16%. (The interest is not in the lease - not required by law!). I contacted an expert on auto leasing who did the calculations based on my lease terms and found that I was in fact charged an interest rate of 25%! and the payoff amount should be $10, 100. I found a website that shows you how lease payments are calculated and using their formulas, I got the same amount - about $10, 000. The bottom line: Fleetway is attempting to extort an extra $2, 000 out of me to buyout the lease. Fleetway charged an outrageous interest rate and lied about it when confronted! NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH FLEETWAY LEASING!
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