They are basically cheats ... I went to turn over my previous lease with 4 months remaining and clearly asked for an inspection of my lease which they would take over. I had clearly and categorically mentioned that I would proceed only after they inspected my car for excess wear and tear (which I had).
They agreed that they would take it without issues and no additional cost. This was asked repeatedly and confirmed. So I took over a new lease based on this. They missed making all my remaining old lease payments and I had to chase them for 3 weeks to get them to do that.
Then, I got a $1000 bill for the excess wear and tear from Toyota Financial. Sure, its within legal rights to do it - but that's pure cheating and unethical ... I would have happily purchased my previous leased car had they told me that upfront.
Toyota Financial Services is in this game as well and they play super innocent as if they are an innocent bystander...
Apparently the process is that the dealer takes the car on your behalf and processes the return based on a "3rd party" inspection - but there are no witnesses to it and by that time the customer is away ... so what prevents them from damaging the car and having the Financers bill the customer the money ? There is no LEGAL way to prevent this.
In my case, they simply cheated me by saying that they were okay with the condition of the car and would take it over and then I get billed. This is nothing but pure swindling ...