Lease purchase in Florida, my experience

[Paul32]

Florida is one of the states that require going through a dealer to purchase your lease. It is not an easy process and is open for less than honest transactions. Today, I am purchasing my 2018 Stinger GT1 after leasing for 15 months.

I tried to get a payoff amount from Kia Finance but they refused. Indicated I had to get it from a dealer. I explained to them I was not confident I would get accurate information and only wanted to verify the number with them. They could not help me.

I contacted three dealers for a buyout and received a wide range of cost. First, you should expect to pay for the finance payoff, sales tax, dealer fee, tag & title transfer. It's important that you contact several dealers for the payoff and pick the least amount. The following is my experience with each dealer:

Dealer 1: This was my leasing dealer and I had a very good experience 15 months ago when I leased the Stinger. Not so much with this purchase. The Kia buyout number was increased by $1,000.00. The dealer fee was $899.00, tax and tag equaled $329.00. Sales tax was about $300.00 higher than the other two.

Dealer 2: This was my local dealer. He provided a written computer Kia Finance payoff quote. This is where I discovered the correct payoff. His dealer fee was $998.00 and tag and title charge equaled $629.10. Both of these charges were excessive, IMO.

Dealer 3: Got my business. Accurate payoff, dealer fee $699.00, tag and title actual cost or about $85.00. I refinance through a Credit Union at 3.99%, Lease was 6.36%. Saved $50.00 on the monthly payment. Planning on keeping the car in the family for a long time.

Log story short, this is the cost of doing business in a state that makes you go to the dealer to purchase or buyout your lease. Hope this helps all the Florida lease holders that might be thinking about purchasing their Stinger.

 

[Paul32]

I now own my 2018 Stinger GT1, of course me and the Credit Union. It was a strange process. Seems strange to me that to buyout your lease you get so many different numbers. This was the final buyout quotes:

Dealer 1 = $37,435.73
Dealer 2= $36,564.51
Dealer 3= $35,685.82

Included in the buyout cost was Kia Finance payoff, sales tax, dealer fee and tag and title transfer. It pays to shop around.

 

[Lynix]

Wait, im planning on purchasing a stinger in a month or two via lease buyout. Do they not wrap the dealer fee up in the lease agreement or do you get charged double? Can you explain what other charges the dealer adds once you tell them you want to do the buyout, and how the price can vary from dealer to dealer?

 

[Paul32]

Wait, im planning on purchasing a stinger in a month or two via lease buyout. Do they not wrap the dealer fee up in the lease agreement or do you get charged double? Can you explain what other charges the dealer adds once you tell them you want to do the buyout, and how the price can vary from dealer to dealer?

You pay two dealer fee's, one when you lease and another when you purchase. Plan on paying the Kia Finance payoff, Dealer fee, tag and title transfer and sales tax. You can do the purchase from any Kia dealer in Florida so get several quotes and take the lowest.

 

[Paul32]

Wait, im planning on purchasing a stinger in a month or two via lease buyout. Do they not wrap the dealer fee up in the lease agreement or do you get charged double? Can you explain what other charges the dealer adds once you tell them you want to do the buyout, and how the price can vary from dealer to dealer?

Where do you live?

 

[Lynix]

SWFL

 

[Paul32]

SWFL

When your ready to buyout the lease, look for a dealer with the lowest dealer fee, most everything else should be the same. Although, a couple of the dealers I looked at tried to make additional profit on the tag and title transfer.

 

[Cas0484]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a GT2 AWD in Central Florida. Got a few questions for you: How was tax calculated on your lease buy out? How long did you have to wait to do the buy out at the dealership? I cant get the dealerships close on a straight purchase to where I want to be compared to the lease buy out strategy but I'm still a little weary of this process, especially having to go back to the dealer again. Appreciate your input on this.

 

[Paul32]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a GT2 AWD in Central Florida. Got a few questions for you: How was tax calculated on your lease buy out? How long did you have to wait to do the buy out at the dealership? I cant get the dealerships close on a straight purchase to where I want to be compared to the lease buy out strategy but I'm still a little weary of this process, especially having to go back to the dealer again. Appreciate your input on this.

Tax is calculated on the buyout price. I waited 15 months but I think you could do it after the first month. You will be paying two dealer fees within a couple of months if you buyout early. You will also have to pay title and tag transfer twice. Don't forget you will be paying Kia Finance a fee for the lease. I'm glad I purchased my lease when I did, living in Florida I think it was worth it. Florida makes it tough. If you buyout the lease, look for a dealer with the lowest dealer fee and tag and title transfer charges. Everything else should be the same. Also, check with more than 1 dealer to make sure your getting the honest Kia Finance payoff number.