Lease assumption scam. Help!

[trendy26]

I'm convinced the OP is going to be ok at the end of the day. BMW and Swapalease will most likely take care of it as this is a clear case of fraud. Just ridiculous hearing about all these pieces of crap scamming people left and right lately....

[DML]

I'll assume you've got his proper name, right?? Get a lawyer and go after him, jail is on his horizon.

[Der_Wolf]

Originally Posted by swagon

Alright, I think this is a strong contender for nomination for the F80Post's Weird Corona Threads Hall of Fame

So far we've got:

Great Water Jug Job in which we may have seen a relationship break up

Burnout Kid in which someone died

M340i Drag Race in which an old man gets angry

Cuddly BMW Tech in which a pedophile attempts to repair a car

Washington Rim Job in which a scammer gets beaten up for life

Can you give me cliffs on the M340i Drag Race? Thread link is invalid. Thanks!

[Wjdrb0227]

I've been speaking to a few lawyer. They're very expensive to hire. I'm hoping that BMW FS can aid me this as there is nothing swapplease can do. I verified that BMW FS has a legal team.

I was reading the lease contract that the person signed, and under #18, it states that "I agree to maintain, service, repair, and recondition the vehicle during the lease term with new and genuine manufacture's original equipment replacement parts as recommended in the vehicle owner's manual. I am responsible for repairs of all collision, accident, and other physical damage that is not a result of normal wear and use. These repairs include but are not limited to, those necessary to return the vehicle to it's pre-damage condition, including, but not limited to , repairing damage to exterior panels and components, structural components, and the vehicle's interior. All repair must be made with new and genuine manufacture's original equipment replace parts.

Obviously, there is a breach of contract here as the parts were replaced.

[RustySeatbelt]

Originally Posted by Wjdrb0227

I've been speaking to a few lawyer. They're very expensive to hire. I'm hoping that BMW FS can aid me this as there is nothing swapplease can do. I verified that BMW FS has a legal team.

I was reading the lease contract that the person signed, and under #18, it states that "I agree to maintain, service, repair, and recondition the vehicle during the lease term with new and genuine manufacture's original equipment replacement parts as recommended in the vehicle owner's manual. I am responsible for repairs of all collision, accident, and other physical damage that is not a result of normal wear and use. These repairs include but are not limited to, those necessary to return the vehicle to it's pre-damage condition, including, but not limited to , repairing damage to exterior panels and components, structural components, and the vehicle's interior. All repair must be made with new and genuine manufacture's original equipment replace parts.

Obviously, there is a breach of contract here as the parts were replaced.

Are the parts aftermarket though? As I am reading this, it's just that the parts have to be OEM parts, not the same type of parts the car was delivered with. So as long as the parts are genuine BMW I'm not sure it's really a violation of the lease. As far as I can tell the parts you describe having been replaced are OEM. They may not be the same parts the car came with, but they are BMW parts. What has BMWFS said?

[Wjdrb0227]

Originally Posted by RustySeatbelt

Are the parts aftermarket though? As I am reading this, it's just that the parts have to be OEM parts, not the same type of parts the car was delivered with. So as long as the parts are genuine BMW I'm not sure it's really a violation of the lease. As far as I can tell the parts you describe having been replaced are OEM. They may not be the same parts the car came with, but they are BMW parts. What has BMWFS said?

Nothing yet. The issue has been escalated to s senior manager who will get back to me.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by RustySeatbelt

Are the parts aftermarket though? As I am reading this, it's just that the parts have to be OEM parts, not the same type of parts the car was delivered with. So as long as the parts are genuine BMW I'm not sure it's really a violation of the lease. As far as I can tell the parts you describe having been replaced are OEM. They may not be the same parts the car came with, but they are BMW parts. What has BMWFS said?

The car has to be returned in close to the same condition as you required it.

When you lease a car, you do not own the car, you are basically loaning it. OP got a car with parts clearly missing and sold for $$ before he acquired the car. Which basically means the original owner broke the lease contract by doing what he did.

Generally if you do this, BMW just fines you for doing it. If worse comes, BMW can force you to buy the car. Although I do not know how expensive it is when they (BMW) fines you. This is a bit different because the OLED and CS door is expensive. Adding both is easily above 10k.

OP should be okay because he was scammed into it as I'm sure the original owner sold those parts for $$, didn't want to pay the fine BMW would give him. So swapped the lease in attempt to avoid it.

[BananaSlug]

That's wild, hopefully BMW FS has your back.

[White340]

With the parts he sold, he basically collected a years worth of lease payments.

[MisterF80M3]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

That sucks.. but why wouldn't you want to take a 1 hour maybe even less drive since theres no traffic right now due to Corona to check the car out?? I understand if you were across the country but that 1hr drive would've saved you a major headache and possibly thousands of dollars.

Originally Posted by Wjdrb0227

I've been speaking to a few lawyer. They're very expensive to hire. I'm hoping that BMW FS can aid me this as there is nothing swapplease can do. I verified that BMW FS has a legal team.

I was reading the lease contract that the person signed, and under #18, it states that "I agree to maintain, service, repair, and recondition the vehicle during the lease term with new and genuine manufacture's original equipment replacement parts as recommended in the vehicle owner's manual. I am responsible for repairs of all collision, accident, and other physical damage that is not a result of normal wear and use. These repairs include but are not limited to, those necessary to return the vehicle to it's pre-damage condition, including, but not limited to , repairing damage to exterior panels and components, structural components, and the vehicle's interior. All repair must be made with new and genuine manufacture's original equipment replace parts.

Obviously, there is a breach of contract here as the parts were replaced.

I would have a lawyer send him a demand letter first and see what happens. They typically cost less than $80.

[erictrainer]

Originally Posted by drexplode

i believe some not all of the removed equipment is called out on the monroney sticker. OLED rear tails, and 763m wheels.

According to M-decoder, doesn't appear this car has executive package; therefore, standard head lights.
https://www.mdecoder.com/decode/ac09616

Therefore, i see two options:
1. BMWFS voids the contract assuming the new owner didn't register the vehicle.
2. legal recourse for incorrect advertising. I believe the "verify equipment" statement was added after transfer initiated. Return the car to stock.

Bummer it wasn't caught before the transfer was initiated and reported to BMW or Swapalease.

Xenon headlights (which this car has) were not available for 2018. You could only get ICON or Adaptive LED. So even if he didn't get the Executive package which would've upgraded to the ICON headlights, he still would've gotten the LED headlights which this car does NOT have.

So yes, headlights were altered too.

[trendy26]

Originally Posted by Arcades

The car has to be returned in close to the same condition as you required it.

When you lease a car, you do not own the car, you are basically loaning it. OP got a car with parts clearly missing and sold for $$ before he acquired the car. Which basically means the original owner broke the lease contract by doing what he did.

Generally if you do this, BMW just fines you for doing it. If worse comes, BMW can force you to buy the car. Although I do not know how expensive it is when they (BMW) fines you. This is a bit different because the OLED and CS door is expensive. Adding both is easily above 10k.

OP should be okay because he was scammed into it as I'm sure the original owner sold those parts for $$, didn't want to pay the fine BMW would give him. So swapped the lease in attempt to avoid it.

To your point, the door cards are $5K alone and the tail lights are about the same if memory serves me correctly....

[Mazen189]

OP

what county are you located in ?

[9M71]

Originally Posted by erictrainer

Xenon headlights (which this car has) were not available for 2018. You could only get ICON or Adaptive LED. So even if he didn't get the Executive package which would've upgraded to the ICON headlights, he still would've gotten the LED headlights which this car does NOT have.

So yes, headlights were altered too.

WRT the headlights are you saying for the CS or in general?

My non-CS '18 has the same LED headlights OP got stuck with. did the scammer go through the hassle of coding the crappier lights and nodules?

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Kief

Gold 763Ms are rare, but not suspect:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

The M4cs is exclusively fitted with Orbit Grey 763M wheels from the factory. Any other fitted wheel on a new car is a dealer swap.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Flacht3

Pro-tip: You can also see the cached Google results for a given page.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Have at it.

Something is definitely fishy with this car. Headlight washers were not fitted to the M4cs and that is not even an OEM front lip...

[Wjdrb0227]

Originally Posted by Mazen189

OP

what county are you located in ?

Los Angeles

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by erictrainer

Xenon headlights (which this car has) were not available for 2018. You could only get ICON or Adaptive LED. So even if he didn't get the Executive package which would've upgraded to the ICON headlights, he still would've gotten the LED headlights which this car does NOT have.

So yes, headlights were altered too.

Not quite. These are not xenon, these are the base post LCI LED headlights. The post-LCI base LED headlight are non-adaptive; only the Icon LED headlights are adaptive.

[Mazen189]

Originally Posted by Wjdrb0227

Los Angeles

My fiancé is an L3 in law school. Although she can't practice law

Her suggestion was to wait to hear from bmwNA as you mentioned and to contact the attorney generals office since it's grounds for fraud.

They may recommend an attorney that you can use that would be affordable, all the way down to pro bono, states usually have a list of lawyers that are affordable/free.

Best case scenario is bmwNA just go after him, and you be clear of all the BS. I hope it works out for you.

[Wjdrb0227]

Originally Posted by Mazen189

My fiancé is an L3 in law school. Although she can't practice law

Her suggestion was to wait to hear from bmwNA as you mentioned and to contact the attorney generals office since it's grounds for fraud.

They may recommend an attorney that you can use that would be affordable, all the way down to pro bono, states usually have a list of lawyers that are affordable/free.

Best case scenario is bmwNA just go after him, and you be clear of all the BS. I hope it works out for you.

Great, thank you for this. I also appreciate everyone's insight and help. Hoping to hear good news from BMW FS.

[bayarea328xit]

Think about the scenario in which I lease a new car through BMWFS and, after that fact, decide to tint the windows. I decide to swap my lease and tell you that I tinted the windows after I leased the car. You like the tint and decide to assume my lease anyway. When you go to return the car, BMWFS can ask you to pay to remove the tint on the windows.

In the above example, BMWFS doesn't really care about the state of the car when you assumed the lease. They care most about the state of the car when it was first leased to me (the original owner) and the state of the car when you return it at the end of the lease term. The only thing different about the car at the end of the lease term should be "normal wear and tear." You are responsible for making BMWFS whole for anything more than "normal wear and tear" - you assumed this responsibility when you assumed the lease.

Now, let's take the hypothetical that the original owner of the CS made $20k by parting out pieces of the car. They offer to let you assume the lease with you knowing full well that the car has been parted out. To make it worth your while, they pay you $10k of the $20k they made - equal share. You assume the lease. At the end of the lease term, you go to return the car to BMWFS. BMWFS notices that the car has been parted out. What is BMWFS supposed to do? Let you off the hook (and go after the original owner)? No -- they ask you to make them whole based on your lease assumption agreement.

BMWFS is going to want to be made whole. Unless someone else is brought forward to be responsible to BMWFS (by you), BMWFS will want to be made whole by you.

Your situation is different from the hypothetical I describe above, but just be careful assuming that BMWFS's interest aligns perfectly with yours. Consult a lawyer. Just my $0.02.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Something is definitely fishy with this car. Headlight washers were not fitted to the M4cs and that is not even an OEM front lip...

The ad mentioned "Upgrades"

I hardly see any upgrades from what I can tell from the ad. All the previous owner did was removing a few, quite expensive OEM things. Probably sold them for money then after being bored or not used to the car, decided to swap the lease.

CS door, CS front lip and rear OLED tail lights at the very least.

If OP says door is not the CS pull doors and his car is Alpine White. Original owner probably straight up replaced it since Alpine White is the easiest color to replicate. You can check this if the door doesn't have the original paint due to it's thickness. I'm iffy on the rims too. BMW NA will have the original owner's information. It shouldn't be too hard for them to chase this guy down. The OP should be perfectly fine as he was scammed into signing a car with missing parts, especially since it's a lease. Too many newbies mistaken what a lease is supposed to be.