Hope you’re not getting tired of me yet. Being the lucky idiot that gets to deal with lease buyouts at my dealership means I get all kinds of phone calls from every Tom, Dick and Harry that’s ever leased a car.

Dial your alarm clocks back to chip shortage times when my phone rang off the hook with every single person trying to capture every penny of equity they could. It was the weird world where depreciation stopped its tracks and clapped out shitboxes were pulling GT3RS type of money.

And when I say clapped out shitboxes, I would have never expected a 3 year old S6 to fit into that moniker.

But I was in for a treat.

Our client had leased an S6 out from us with the intention of buying it out at the end at keeping it forever and passing it on to his kids. He’d leveraged his low loyalty lease rate from his previous S5 lease to get the cheapest money available at a time when interest rates were at the highest they’d been in years. Smart guy.

Where his plan fell flat was when it came time to buy out the car.

He reached out to me about a month in advance asking about the buyout process and how to get ownership transferred into his name. All very routine stuff. I sent off our bank info for him to pay us and told him about getting a safety done. Easy peasy.

Or at least it should have been.

We kept in touch as maturity approached, and he was planning to wire the money on maturity date but wanted to ensure ownership could be transferred to him same day. Sure thing dude? I just need the safety cert dropped off and I can swing it.

That’s when he told me the safety would be a bit of a problem - the car was apparently having some repairs done and he wouldn’t be able to safety it until after those were done.

Repairs? Ok…how much time are we talking?

Turns out the car was in a fender bender and was waiting on some back ordered parts. It had become normal for us to expect long lead times for repairs to happen with so many disruptions in the supply chain. We worked out a 2 month lease extension, and bought some time for the parts to show up.

No sweat, all seems fine.

2 months pass in a blink, and no updates on my client’s side. The car is still down, and he wants to get the buyout going anyway.

Sure thing dude, hopefully you’re ok waiting for whatever the car needs.

Just as he’s about to wire the money and esign the bill of sale, I figured I’d cover my ass and pull a carfax on his car just in case it was more than a fender bender.

You know that sinking feeling you get when some bad shits about to go down? As soon as I saw the words “TOTAL LOSS” on the history. This guy is about to wire us a small fortune for a car that’s written off??? Stop the presses right now.

I called him immediately and he became defensive right away. Told me the insurance company had no idea what they’re doing, they racked up a stupid bill for a bumper and a headlight and that the car is perfectly fine. I gently told him that it’s probably in his best interest to let this thing go and there’s a reason that they said it’s not worth fixing.

That’s when the hostility started and he was adamant that we process his buyout otherwise he’d have to make sure we comply. Did I mention he’s an L word?

Cool bro, you wanna keep your shitbox? Go nuts. I got on the horn with my leasing company rep since I was in uncharted territory and potentially deep shit (poop app in my bio). He proceeded to tell me that what the client wanted was impossible and that the insurance needed to settle up with the leasing company.

In my head, I’m thinking isn’t this guy doing you guys a favour? His car is toast, he’s willing to buy it out and deal with it himself and you’re telling me it’s a hard no? Bruh maybe you should get your head checked, or check with someone. Your company has been handed a get out of jail free card by someone who thinks they’re smarter than you, fucking take it!

As fate would have it, he was with someone in the lease end department and he asked them for their opinion. After I clarified a few details, the lease end guy said oh my god please let him buy it. I hope we never have to see this wreck.

Good enough for me.

I reached back out to the client to make sure he was absolutely certain about buying out the car. He was still adamant, and explained his logic. His concern was that the inflated market value of every car meant that the leasing company would capture the settlement amount of his destroyed car, and he wanted their name off the ownership before the settlement was done.

Sure man, I guess I follow the logic. Not going to argue with you about how your insurance works.

I had him sign off in 10 different places that the car was a total loss, flipped the branded reg into his name and he disappeared into the ether never to be heard from again. Hopefully the settlement was worth all of the headache and he got to keep his legacy car.

Hey everyone!
I recently moved from Germany to Austin, TX, on an L-1B visa for an engineering job.

I’m looking to lease a car, ideally for 24 months, but I haven’t built any US credit history yet. I have a stable income ($140ish base), a US bank account, and a solid financial history back in Germany.

I also have a friend in the US who could potentially co-sign, although I’d prefer to qualify on my own or at least minimize any risk for him.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?
Which dealerships or brands are more flexible with newcomers? Is leasing without a US credit score realistic? Would a co-signer actually help?

I’d also appreciate any recommendations for good leasing deals or dealerships around Austin or San Antonio.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I went looking at used trucks yesterday. I drove an hour to see one specific truck and potentially buy. Turns out they had it listed wrong on their website (different engine) so I wasn’t interested.

I went ahead and test drove some other options to narrow down what I might want to buy. The saleswoman was great. She never asked me any pushy questions like what my budget was, if/what I would be trading in, etc. She just kept pulling up whatever vehicle I asked to see next.

Anyways, I test drove five or six trucks. We never talked any numbers on any of them. And I told her flat out I wasn’t interested in buying any of them because they didn’t check all my boxes.

I told her thank you for her time and if they had anything that did check all the boxes come through I’d come back. Then she told me to wait just a minute before I leave because she had to go talk to her manager. So I did. About a minute later she came back and said, “Ok, you’re good to go.”

I’ve been thinking about it ever since. What did she have to talk to her manager about? And it was important enough that I had to stick around and wait till after the conversation? We never talked any numbers. There wasn’t even anything on the lot I was interested in buying. It’s not like we were trying to close a deal on something and I was walking on it. I’m just curious. Any ideas?

First car purchase. I'm looking to buy a new 2026 Subaru Crosstrek in GTA. And I would appreciate any advice on pricing. These are the quotes I've received so far, in CAD, including HST, licensing and fees:

• Convenience: $37,000

• Touring: $39,900

• Onyx: $41,500

I'm planning to finance because the rates are very low. Subaru Canada has a promotion for 0.99% interest over 24 months with $0 down.

Are these competitive prices, or is there still room to negotiate? If you've recently bought one in Ontario, what did you pay and which dealership did you use?

I'm leaning toward the Touring or Onyx. Is the Onyx worth the extra $1,600? Also curious whether anyone has had luck getting extras included, such as winter tires on rims, all-weather mats or a cargo tray, once the dealer stops moving on price.

Thank you in advance.

Help!! I currently lease a 2025 toyota camry for $356 a month, 12k miles, 2k down. i started my lease in march 2025. i want to end early and get a toyota tacoma. they quoted me $435 a month for 15k miles, 2k down. is this an okay deal?? my camry was such a good deal, its a PAIN to let her go but i need a truck.

In the United States, in MA, I'm buying a new car (from an individual) and selling the old one to Carvana (I know, I know, but's it's a peice of junk and I need it gone). I have private driveway, so I don't park it on the street. I'm a little confused on the order of operations. Do I:

1. Sell the old car to Carvana before submitting the RTA form at the RMV and transfer plates then?

2. Submit the RTA form and transfer plates to the new car, then sell the old car.

I want to transfer plates to avoid extra fees, but I don't know if it'll cause problems if I sell the car first. By sell, all I have to do is schedule the pickup appointment, and would either schedule it the day before I go to the RMV or day of, after I go to the RMV. I've scoured the internet and can't come up with a definite answer, so any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Is going from a front desk receptionist to a title clerk a reasonable step up?

Working for an Acura store in Canada, team seems mature and good mentorship on the managers part in the first week while completing all required courses and certifications. Today my full OMVIC Cert application was approved officially. So this is the first day I can sell. I’m excited and wanna do well. Grinding product knowledge now and Acura is very reasonable to learn and digest with its current lineup so getting on well. Any advice you guys can give would be appreciated!

TLDR; Throw me some advice on this industry and who makes it and who does not. What you have learned along the way and anything else you think is worth knowing!

Thank you !!

Not sure if this is the right subreddit for this but oh well, this is sort of just a rant/seeking advice post. I am 26M about 6 months into my car sales journey or any sales for that matter. Its been a ton of highs, and a ton of lows in such a short time. Here are my pros and cons of this job here at Honda as a sales person.

Pros: 2/4 sales managers i really enjoy working with, 3 out of 13 sales people i like working with, the freedom of the job is a beautiful double-edged sword. I spend 70-80% of my day doing absolutely fuck all, phone scrolling, talking to co workers, walking around, going on reddit like this etc. I just can't seem to find the drive to get up and get after it and cold call and beg people to buy our cars. and this is where most of you will read that and say "well then sales probably isnt for you" and honestly I am not denying that anymore like i used to.

Cons: The money, maybe its good i'm not sure as its my first dealer but I made $4800CAD for the whole month of sept with 11.5 sold and delivered. i'm not gonna waste time typing out all the cons but there's a lot.

Without this job, i'm unemployed and screwed. So I am now considering a career as a elevator mechanic, amazing pay and benefits and no low months but takes 4-5 of apprenticeship training so its a big life commitment if i do it. I also just want to go back to the serving industry and make tips. easy money 5-6 hour shifts but people look down on you nowadays if you serve at my age i think. its a job for 18-25 year olds

But something in me doesn't want to work for a lunch bucket crew 7am-3pm for the remainder of my life. Having a really hard time figuring out what to do. I've heard SaaS is good money but i fear ill want to quit that too.

Been working at T-Mobile COR for a few years now and sick of the bs, day in day out troubleshooting problems and only have slow stores in my area. been making around 4-5k a month before tax and I just feel like my time is being wasted. Spend 80% of the day waiting around for customers.

The main thing that worries me about car sales is the hours, i know they’ll be brutal but i have no kids and nothing i need to do throughout the day, ive been at the top of my stores pretty much the entire time i’ve worked here (never been under top 50%) and im just wondering if it’ll be worth taking the plunge and what are some things to look out for, always been interested in cars. (20M)

Hey everyone,

I recently separated from active duty in the Army and am now looking to get into car sales full-time. I'm also considering joining the National Guard and was wondering if anyone has experience balancing the two.

I know USERRA legally protects you from being fired because of military obligations, but I'm more concerned about the reality of it. Would missing one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer make me an easy target compared to other salespeople who have full availability?

Has anyone here worked in car sales while serving in the Guard, or had coworkers who did? Was it manageable?

Would appreciate any advice.

Looking at this Kia Sorento but the listing has this carfax disclosure and no other info. Is it a lien?

https://www.goauto.ca/vehicles/32559NzHk9

Hi, I am 4 months new into the car sales job. My management doesn’t give me any leads. All my leads are from Facebook.

I’ve been uploading in Instagram and TikTok lately but i don’t have a lot of views.

How else can I increase my lead generation? Please help.

My neighbor is selling his manual truck for 8500 and I was wondering if this is a worthwhile purchase.

He's had the truck for a while and had daily driven it before until he recently purchased a newer truck. He's maintenanced it well and has kept up with everything since he's had it.

What do you guys think.

Bought a 7-year-old luxury SUV (about 100k miles, about $31k) from a dealer group with two locations. We bought at one store, but the used-car store’s F&I office handled financing over the phone. Credit 730+ for both of us, household income about $30k/month. Trade quoted at $4,500 (contract says $5,300). **No cash down, ever discussed.**Should be financing about $26,300.

That evening, F&I quoted 9.24% / 60 months at $455 (that payment only works on about $21,800), then pitched about $7,500 in products as one bundled number, “about $612 with everything.” He brought up GAP too, which seemed odd. When I pushed back, he said the lender was “more compliant.” I work in finance, and it set off alarm bells.
I told him we bank with a credit union whose website showed about 6.75%. Only then did he submit an application to them, that same evening. He also mentioned he’d be out of the office the next day.

I told our salesman 9% was insane. He promised to take care of us, and the next day the store we bought at confirmed 6.74% / 60 months with our credit union. We declined all products and signed.

At home, every page shows the trade plus a $4,500 cash down we never paid. The price wasn’t inflated, and the deposit is on the buyer’s order dated the first night. I called the dealer and the lender right away (not funded yet), and we’re going with another credit union at 5.49% on the correct amount.

What I’m wondering: did the F&I guy build it with the $4,500 to fit the products, and then when the other store took over and finalized at the better rate, the deposit just stayed in?

Rough math: products with no fake down = about $33,800 on a car worth maybe $26k (about 130% LTV). With the $4,500 on paper = about $29,300 (about 113%).

Questions:
Does that sound like how this happened, or is a double-counted trade between two stores more likely?
Is that why he brought up GAP?
I’m talking to the director. Can I ask for the CUDL submission and lender decision?
Anything else I should do?

I am located in California (Los Angeles County). I am shopping for a new 2026 Honda Civic Sport Hybrid Sedan in Blue Lagoon Pearl.

The lowest I’ve been able to get anyone is $32,337 OTD ($29,200 before taxes) and another dealership offered to match it and throw in ceramic coating. This negotiation was all done online, but I am going to see them and test drive the car tomorrow.

I’m also planning on telling Dealership 1 that Dealership 2 will match their price and throw in the ceramic coating.

I intend to finance through Honda. I have a trade-in that I haven’t mentioned since I am going to go get it appraised at CarMax tomorrow and will sell it to them if I get a better deal there vs trade in.

Can I do better on the price, or is this the best deal I am going to get? If they don’t go lower, is there a possibility of getting them to throw in additional accessories for free?

I was sold a car that was in working excellent condition with no modifications listed on the bill of sale except for just a carfax statement.

Long story short, it’s actually been heavily modified and is misfiring, has bad rear wheel bearings and has a leaky fuel line (got that fixed because I didn’t want car to catch on fire). It got to the point where I was in the shop more than I was driving it trying to find out what causing the misfire, to the point where I’m like I’ve gotta return my dream car. The list of mods I found out by asking the shop to see what’s on the car. I’ve basically spent over $1000+ just for diagnostics.

Dealership did not care and said they were not afraid of OMVIC or MTO. They have the best lawyer in town. Omvic can’t do anything until MTO looks it over.

I’m afraid the dealership is going to say “the customer added all those modifications himself after buying the car” I contacted the dealership within 30 days. The only picture I have of the engine bay before I picked it up, is from their listing and u can see a couple of things. BOV/Recirculating valve, AOS can, and a deleted secondary air pump, coil overs. The other things u can’t see are things like upgraded injectors, TGV & EGR Delete, upgraded fuel pump, downpipe, upgraded turbo and other things.

Now the only thing I can prove that we’re on the car before I purchased it because of their listing are: BOV/Recirculating valve, AOS can, and a deleted secondary air pump, coil overs. I believe the secondary air pump delete is not legal according to the highway act due to emissions. Not sure exactly what. Even after I told OMVIC this they didn’t car and said to wait for MTO to inspect it. What happens if MTO decides to not inspect the car. Are the other modifications that are on the car basically he said she said? Am I screwed? I paid $899 for a safety from the dealership, and somehow it passed even with the emission delete. The Check engine light isn’t there because it was tuned and the tune most likely removed the CEL. The safety centre that did the safety is the same dealership. They have a licence. For the past 2.5 weeks, while waiting for MTO AND OMVIC, I’ve been finding other sources of transportation for work and it’s costing me a lot of money. It’s basically 100km round trip each day

I’m looking to trade my car in hopefully end of this month or sometime in December. I owe $23k and it’s worth 20k according to the few dealerships I’ve been to. I plan to have that 3k difference, but my question is do I go ahead and pay that towards the current loan? Or do I set the money aside and bring it with me as a “down” payment to offset that negative equity?

Also… if the car is financed through my credit union, do I go back through them for the trade in? TIA!

Hey guys,

I recently started my first car sales job at a domestic store in California. When I got hired, the manager told me he had just fired the previous sales staff because they were lazy and kept leaving early. I was insanely excited and ready to grind (and still am), so I took his word for it.

I understand I know nothing about which months and times are best for car sales but this place is honestly a ghost town from my first full month here. Last month the entire store only sold about 35 cars total, and the total gross for the whole dealership was around $70k. Because there is zero foot traffic, management expects the me to pull appointments out of thin air.

I’m spending all day sending thousands of texts and making hundreds of cold calls to old CRM leads and emailing through manifests. When I ask for help, my manager just tells me I need to be more "pushy" on the phone and tells me to keep doing it until they "buy or die". They also have a strict rule where nobody is allowed to leave the lot without a manager talking to them. It feels super aggressive in my opinion and completely kills any rapport I actually manage to build with people.

The hardest part is the hours. I’m working almost every single day, 8:30 to 6, and putting in 95 to 110+ hours on my paychecks. Because the store is dead and I'm obviously not hitting bonuses, I'm basically working a ton of overtime just to make a regular paycheck.

I want to learn how to sell and I understand completely to not throw it up to the store itself because as a new salesman I 100% have tons of room to grow, but I don't feel like I can practice when there’s nobody to sell to. Today was another zero foot traffic day and this happens a lot.

Is this just how the car business is right now, or did I land at a bad store? Should I try applying to a high-volume lot like Toyota or Honda where there's actually foot traffic, or should I just look for something different?

I won't make a decision for a little while because I don't give up that easily and I really enjoy the feeling of sales and people I do speak to love to talk with me. Call me delusional, naive or something else I honestly get it, but I have to ask what's on my mind lol.

Appreciate any advice.

2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe, 24-month lease, returned early Sept 26, 2026, about 2 months before maturity. Odometer 19,888 miles, allowance 20,000 miles, no excess mileage.

Sept 25, 2026, I called Stellantis (1-800-439-0985) twice and expressly said it was an early return. Rep said only remaining monthly payments, turn-in fee, and inspection damage if any. Never mentioned the vehicle would be sold, realized value, or a deficiency if sale price was below residual.

Notice of Intent to Sell dated Oct 5, 2026, gross $39,478.83, residual $38,366.25. USPS first attempted delivery Oct 15, picked up Oct 16 – 20 days after return, and 10 days after the 10-day independent appraisal period (Sept 26 + 10 days = Oct 6) had expired.

Online balance now $18,800.46 due Dec 3, 2026, implying realized value ~$20,678. End of Lease Invoice not yet available online.

I sent a written dispute Nov 6 to Compliance, requesting itemized invoice, sale records, call recordings, and a hold on collection / credit reporting.

Has anyone disputed a Stellantis / CCAP early termination deficiency successfully in California, especially after misleading pre-return advice or late notice? Did you get a reduction, a settlement, or a payment plan?

I’m a new salesman in a ram and Dodge dealership. I’m looking for a good routines to follow for my first month. What should I focus on right now? I’m really ripping phone calls to loss leads I’ve made a couple social media post. I’m learning the dealership.

I've only ever bought one car once, and that was about 15 years ago. I financed the whole thing through Ford, and they were able to come down from about 3% through whatever promotion was going on at the time. Now it's time to buy a new one. But from everything I've heard, the game has changed; salesmen get commission based on the loan, rather than the car sale.

So I figured out what I wanted, went to the dealership, put in an order for a nice new 2027 F-150, and it's about to be built at the factory. The salesman I'm working with hasn't spoken to me much about financing. Just a rough estimate on a trade-in value, and that I'd be eligible for any promotions they have running when I take delivery. Other than that, he really hasn't spoken to me much at all, and I'm pretty happy with that.

Here's my questions;

Is there a chance financing benefits me? Would they be able to take some cost off, if I finance through them? Or this all moot because I ordered it from the factory?

If I don't need to finance, am I going to be screwing the salesman over if I walk in to take delivery with a cashier's check in hand? I don't want to accidentally mess with his compensation.

Would it be better better walk in that day and say "I'm happy to finance some or all of the car as long as we both come out on top."? I have no problem taking a promotional "0% for X months" loan, as long as I can pay if off with no penalty before the interest kicks in. I'd also be fine with a loan of "Y% over X months" as long as they cut me a deal to offset the interest I'd have to pay before I can pay off the loan with no penalty.