J-McDonald

The lease on our 1999 VW Passat will be ending in July and we are considering buying the car. I called and spoke with VW Credit Corp. (US) and obtained their buyout number as of the end of the lease. Although their quoted buyout number is more than the fair market value of the car, we really like the car and would like to buy it.

The VW Credit Corp. rep said that they do not negotiate the buyout on their leases - it's take it or leave it.

I read the posts on this board about negotiating buyouts on Porsches. The consensus seemed to be that certain companies negotiate and others don't, independent leasing companies are less likely to negotiate than car company affiliate leasing companies, and the maximum leverage point for negotiations is immediately prior to lease expiration.

Please let me know if you have negotiated a lease buyout with VW Credit Corp (US). If you'd rather respond offline, please e-mail me at jjmcdonald@hhlaw.com.

Also, does anyone know of a good online Volkswagen message board (where I can ask the same question)?

Thanks very much for all replies.

Mark Buka

Try this VW site:

<a href="http://www.vwvortex.com/" target="_blank">VW Vortex</a>