Most six-figure cars on the road right now have a lender on them. The Lamborghini Urus in the driveway is on a Chase loan. The Porsche 911 GT3 is on Porsche Financial. The Ferrari Roma is on a Ferrari Financial Services lease that has two years left. The Mercedes-AMG G 63 is on a Mercedes-Benz Financial lease with a buyout in the contract. None of this stops the sale. It is one phone call, one payoff letter or buyout quote, one wire to the lender, and one wire to the seller.
Here is how Exotic Auto handles both from Ewing, New Jersey, on a car picked up anywhere in the country.
Loan payoff: the lender holds the title, not the owner
On a financed car, the lender holds the title (or the electronic title, in most states) until the loan is paid. The owner cannot sign a clean title to anyone until that happens. That is the only thing in the way of the sale, and it is routine.
### Step one: the ten-day payoff letter
Exotic Auto calls the lender with the owner’s permission and requests a ten-day payoff letter. Chase, Ally, Bank of America, US Bank, Alliant, Pinnacle, Woodside, Ferrari Financial Services, Porsche Financial, BMW Financial, Mercedes-Benz Financial, Rolls-Royce Financial, Bentley Financial, and the credit unions on exotic paper all turn a dealer payoff letter in one to three business days.
The payoff letter states a specific dollar amount, a good-through date (usually ten calendar days), and the wire instructions for the lender’s title release account. Exotic Auto uses that exact number in the deal paperwork.
### Step two: the three possible outcomes
The appraisal is the appraisal. The payoff is the payoff. The seller’s position is the difference.
- Offer higher than the payoff. Exotic Auto wires the lender and wires the seller the difference on pickup day. The seller walks away with money and no car payment.
- Offer equals the payoff. Exotic Auto wires the lender, the seller walks away with no check and no bill, and the monthly payments stop.
- Offer lower than the payoff. The seller is upside down on the car. The seller brings the difference to closing (by wire, cashier’s check, or certified funds) and the deal closes. Exotic Auto says so up front, in writing, before anyone signs. The seller decides whether that works.
### Step three: the title release
The lender releases the title to Exotic Auto directly, not to the seller, once the wire lands. Most lenders release in two to seven business days after payoff. The seller does not have to chase anyone. The seller has already been paid.
Lease buyouts: the leasing company’s number, not the appraiser’s
A lease is not a loan. The owner does not owe a declining principal on a lease. The owner owes the leasing company a specific dollar amount to purchase the car outright, and that number comes from the lease contract.
### The dealer buyout path
Exotic Auto requests a dealer buyout quote from the leasing company with the lessee’s authorization. Most exotic leases allow a third-party dealer to buy the car out of the lease. On a dealer buyout, the leasing company usually waives the lessee’s state sales tax and charges only the dealer’s resale certificate. That saves the seller money in a state like California, New York, New Jersey, or Texas, where personal buyout tax is not small.
Porsche Financial Services, Mercedes-Benz Financial, BMW Financial, Audi Financial, Lamborghini Financial, Rolls-Royce Financial, Bentley Financial, Chase, and Ally all allow third-party dealer buyouts on exotic leases. Ferrari Financial Services and a few others restrict it, and some older BMW and Mercedes contracts do too. Exotic Auto checks on the first call and tells the owner before anyone signs.
### The buyout quote
The quote has three parts: the purchase price (residual plus remaining payments and fees), the sales tax the leasing company will collect, and a good-through date, usually ten to fifteen days. Exotic Auto has that window to close the sale before the quote has to be redone.
### Three outcomes on the first call
- Offer higher than the buyout. Exotic Auto wires the leasing company the buyout and wires the owner the difference. Common on Porsche GT cars, Lamborghini Urus leases, and Mercedes-AMG G 63 leases that have appreciated since signing.
- Offer equals the buyout. Exotic Auto pays the leasing company and the owner walks away clean. The remaining monthly payments disappear.
- Offer lower than the buyout. The owner brings the difference to closing, or decides to ride the lease out. Exotic Auto says so up front.
### Why the owner should not buy the car out first
A personal buyout triggers state sales tax on the full residual. A dealer buyout almost always waives it. On a lease with a $180,000 residual in a state at 6.625 percent sales tax, a personal buyout costs the owner an extra $11,925 before anything else happens. A dealer buyout avoids that entirely. The exception is a leasing company that does not allow third-party buyouts; on those, Exotic Auto will say so on the first call.
What a seller actually signs on either path
- A bill of sale naming Exotic Auto as the buyer
- A power of attorney authorizing Exotic Auto to transfer the title in the seller’s state and register in New Jersey
- An odometer statement
- On a lease, one additional authorization that lets Exotic Auto pull the buyout quote and wire the leasing company
- On a financed car, one authorization that lets Exotic Auto request the ten-day payoff letter
Four or five pages in total. Exotic Auto fills them in and sends them to the seller for signature electronically. No printing, no notary unless the seller’s state requires one on the title (Exotic Auto will say so up front and can arrange a mobile notary on pickup day).
Timeline
- Paid-off car, title in hand: three to four days from first call to wire.
- Financed car with a payoff letter: five to seven days.
- Leased car with a dealer buyout: five to eight days.
The payoff or buyout wire and the seller’s wire both go the day the car is picked up and the paperwork is signed. The seller does not hand over keys before the money is in motion.
What to have ready
- The lender or leasing company name and the account number, or a photo of the most recent statement
- A photo of the title (if paper) or the registration (if the title is electronic)
- Mileage and a short list of service history
- Photos of four corners, interior, engine bay, and odometer
Where to start
Start at exoticauto.com/sell-your-exotic-car or call (609) 757-9830. Exotic Auto is in Ewing, New Jersey, and buys nationwide.
Photo: representative Lamborghini Urus, same model as a common lease buyout car. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
