Subaru Releases Widow From New Crosstrek Lease After Husband Dies Of COVID

Automakers say they will help customers hit hard by the coronavirus, but what happens when a tragedy does strike? A story from the NJ.com reports an Ocean Township N.J. woman lost her husband to the coronavirus just six weeks after purchasing a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. “The white Subaru Crosstrek was a joy for its owner, Jim Hemler, a retired engineer who kept his previous vehicle for 15 years,” says the report.

Jim Hemler drove his prized possession from Jan. 24 to March 3 and then took a vacation to Florida on March, 4. On March 16, Jim started not feeling well. Three days later, he had trouble breathing and could barely walk, according to his wife Nina. Her husband of 47 years was tested for COVID-19 and later died on April 4.

Nina said, “These were the saddest and loneliest moments of our lives, seeing my husband and my children’s father on the other side of a glass window,” she said. “There has been no closure or funeral due to our state’s shutdown and visitation rules.”

Now the grieving wife Nina was faced with her husband’s new Subaru Crosstrek car lease, which she also signed when he got the vehicle. The report says she didn’t need the car and she didn’t want to pay an unnecessary bill.

She contacted Chase Subaru Finance and was told she could pay off the buyout amount of $23,932.78 or be responsible for $312 for 33 more months. Or she could let them sell the vehicle at auction and she would have to pay the difference which could be thousands of dollars she would still owe.

Karin Price Mueller of N.J. Advance Media for NJ.com heard about the story and asked Chase Subaru Finance to look into her case. Nina got a call a few days later from a Chase representative and told her they would end the lease and she would only have to pay a $500 end-of-lease payment.

Before Karin Price Mueller got involved, Nina said she spent “over two weeks and twenty hours of calling the car dealership and bank to no avail.” The 2020 Subaru Crosstrek was picked up last week. “I was so surprised to hear this. I was dumbfounded by the news,” she said, happy at the resolution.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a variety of roles. All of his reports are archived on our Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Subaru Report. Check back tomorrow for more Subaru news and updates at Torque News!

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Photo credit: NJ.com