Returning a leased vehicle.

[leebee]

The lease on DH's Equinox will be up in the fall and we'll be returning the vehicle. We will clean the car thoroughly, inside and out, and touch up any paint imperfections (like if there's a minor paint ding or something). What should we expect when we turn in the vehicle? What kinds of things will the dealership be looking for to charge us? Will they charge us for minor damage or insist we repair it?

Also... is it reasonable to consider buying the SUV? We already have the money we've spent on the lease tied up in this car, plus the downpayment. How do we know if the buy-out price is fair/reasonable? Is it possible to negotiate a better sales price? We would need to finance the vehicle; should we do this through the dealership or look for our own financing?

If anyone wants to share their experiences or information, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[Mac4life30]

following as i can learn a lot from your post

 

[ronandannette]

Barring major damage, all they will care about is if the mileage is at or below your agreed upon amount. You absolutely WILL be charged for any overage. OTOH, you will be entitled to a refund if bought extra miles up-front. Besides the mileage, you will not have any trouble returning a leased vehicle if it's in anywhere near reasonable condition for it's age.

 

[Terapin]

Also, tires. I've had them want the tires in good shape.

The buy-out amount for the vehicle would be on your original documents. My understanding is that it's not negotiable as it's already been agreed upon.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

OP, what's the mileage on your Equinox as compared to the lease terms? If a good portion of your allotted mileage has not been used you may be able to use that to your advantage. Here's a quick read about "lease equity":

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/what-is-lease-equity-and-how-can-i-use-it-1595834519

 

[tvguy]

Depends on the lease terms. See the other thread on this.

 

[osopecoso]

We just went through this and we will never lease again. Pretty much of you do not lease again/buy out the car (which is a big mistake to buy out your lease), they will most likely charge an inspection fee. Your tires need to be almost new or they will charge you a premium on that. Do not worry about detailing the car. Just make sure you have any dings/damage removed. Return the lease car at night (better chance of them not finding anything).

The reason why you do not want to buy out your leased car is due to the buy-out on the car that has been agreed in your contract. If the buy-out is more than the car's appraised value, do not do it. If your buyout amount is less than or near the private-party price, buying your car could indeed be a good deal. Also is the car in good mechanical condition? Are you over the mileage allowed?

 

[piccolopat]

We've leased twice so far and bought out both cars. For the first lease, we opted to lease instead of buying because it was a new brand to us and we just didn't have any first hand knowledge of the dependability and quirks. As we paid the lease, we banked what we would need to buy it out at the end just in case. We tend to keep our cars until they are old because we are low mileage drivers. For our second lease, we opted to lease again because it was our first crossover and were unsure how it would compare to our old van. Although the people and cargo capacity are less, since we are empty nesters we realized it was big enough now and we also bought this one, saving again during the term of the lease. We didn't look at the value of the car at the end of the lease but rather what the total cost of the lease payments plus buyout was compared to the cost if we bought it initially. As long as your lease terms are good to begin with, this is a great way to make sure you really like the car before committing long term or if you want to be in a new car every few years.

 

[elgerber]

Try their website. When our last Ford lease ended, they had a list of all the things they look for and the amount of dings, etc the car could have, before you were charged. I was shocked at what they considered wear and tear! I would never consider what they allow acceptable if I were keeping the car, or if I were buying a used car. But it worked in our favor because we had a minor hailstorm, which left a few dings, and had a sizable deep scrape from something falling into my car, and those were all in the acceptable range. No fees, quick inspection, and all was good.

 

[nkereina]

Everyone's experience will be different. I'm on my fourth lease with GM. My first was a Chevy Cruze - the dealer was not interested in buying the car from GM, so they sent it back to GM financial. Since the dealer wasn't keeping it, our sales person advised us to take photos of anything GM may contest such as scratches, dings, etc. I had a minor door ding on the side and a minor scratch on the front bumper. I was not charged for either of these. However, about a month later, GM did send me a $400 bill for new tires which I hadn't changed prior to turning it in. I did do regular tire rotations, but I turned it in with about 35K miles which was right under my contract allowance of 36K miles. Luckily, I had purchased the additional insurance at the time I got the lease for the extra $12 per month, and that covered the cost of the tires in full. GM mistakenly billed me, but they were able to straighten it out with the insurance when I called.

My last lease turn in was an Equinox. I had about 7K miles less than my contract allowance and the vehicle had no damge to speak of. The dealer opted to buy it from GM financial and took it from me as is, so I was not charged for anything. It may have helped that I took out a new lease with them, although I don't know there was anything they could have charged me for. It was a very easy experience. My sales person told me that Equinox's do really well on the resale market and they already had a buyer in mind for the car I was turning in. So, you might find the same at your dealership especially if they do a high volume of resale.

No experience with purchasing after the fact as we always take out a new lease. I recall that if I wanted to buy my Cruze outright, I would have had to finance about $13K which I thought was a lot for a 3 year old Cruze at that point.

 

[Gracie09]

We leased a prius V. It was a great experience. We would do it again. We did buy our car at the end of the lease. We leased because we were not sure we wanted to go from a Traverse to a much smaller car. I don't like the prius but my husband loves it. So when his truck crapped out a few months before the lease was up, we decided i would get a new car and we would buy the prius for him. The dealer we bough my car from actually offered us more than what we were going to pay for the prius buy-out. So we did well with that. We know the history of the car. We know what it can and can't do.

 

[RedSox68]

Try their website. When our last Ford lease ended, they had a list of all the things they look for and the amount of dings, etc the car could have, before you were charged. I was shocked at what they considered wear and tear! I would never consider what they allow acceptable if I were keeping the car, or if I were buying a used car. But it worked in our favor because we had a minor hailstorm, which left a few dings, and had a sizable deep scrape from something falling into my car, and those were all in the acceptable range. No fees, quick inspection, and all was good.

We started leasing to explore what type of car we wanted and try different makes and models -- plus the lease payment was way less than a loan payment. We leased Toyotas twice (a Rav-4 and a Venza) and didn't like either and neither stayed to the mileage estimates they gave. I was told that Toyota charges a return fee if you don't lease or buy with them for your next car, but they never charged me anything. The next car I leased was the Ford Escape -- and love it. My lease is up in September and I was also worried about what was acceptable. I am a notorious curb hitter with my tires, and we have a scratch on the back from someone keying our car. Other than dog hair, it's in great shape and we are low mileage drivers. I just hate the whole process of returning it and waiting for the inspection and negotiating what you don't want to put down (we never put deposits -- only pay for tax, tags and registration).

 

[Klayfish]

Not to be harsh, but leases are only good for one side of the two parties involved in the deal...and it's not you. The dealer will first probably press you to lease another vehicle. If you decline, you will have to pay a fee to return the car, plus any "issues" they find with it. The buy out cost was determined at the time you signed the lease. Likely it's going to be a bad deal. Unless you had a sweetheart of a deal when you signed the lease, you're better off biting the bullet and just walking away. Cars that have a high depreciation curve are the worst ones lease...typically, as you're the one paying for that depreciation. GM cars don't keep their value.

 

[RedSox68]

Not to be harsh, but leases are only good for one side of the two parties involved in the deal...and it's not you. The dealer will first probably press you to lease another vehicle. If you decline, you will have to pay a fee to return the car, plus any "issues" they find with it. The buy out cost was determined at the time you signed the lease. Likely it's going to be a bad deal. Unless you had a sweetheart of a deal when you signed the lease, you're better off biting the bullet and just walking away. Cars that have a high depreciation curve are the worst ones lease...typically, as you're the one paying for that depreciation. GM cars don't keep their value.

Like I said, Toyota didn't charge us anything for walking away; and Ford has a no fee return policy even if you don't lease or buy another car. Not sure what other car companies do. Leasing works for me because there is no huge downpayment, monthly payments are much less, and every 3 years I want a new car anyway

 

[elgerber]

Like I said, Toyota didn't charge us anything for walking away; and Ford has a no fee return policy even if you don't lease or buy another car. Not sure what other car companies do. Leasing works for me because there is no huge downpayment, monthly payments are much less, and every 3 years I want a new car anyway

Agreed. We have leased many vehicles from Ford, we have much lower payments, never a fee to return the car, and never any wear and tear charges. Ours is a better deal than most, because we get A plan pricing, but it's been a good deal for us every time, so not everyone gets a bad deal on a lease.

 

[nkereina]

The dealer will first probably press you to lease another vehicle. If you decline, you will have to pay a fee to return the car, plus any "issues" they find with it.

These are assumptions that could happen, but have not in my experience. As I said above, everyone will have a different experience because it's totally dependent on the leasing company, the dealership, the volume the dealer does in resale, the time of the month/year, etc. Lots of factors at play.

 

[tvguy]

Like I said, Toyota didn't charge us anything for walking away; and Ford has a no fee return policy even if you don't lease or buy another car. Not sure what other car companies do. Leasing works for me because there is no huge downpayment, monthly payments are much less, and every 3 years I want a new car anyway

You are the perfect candidate for a lease. You want a new car every 3 years, you are paying for the part of the car's value you consumed, plus interest and profit for the dealer, and are willing to pay a little more overall than buying a car and keeping it.

 

[xlxo]

We leased a prius V. It was a great experience. We would do it again. We did buy our car at the end of the lease.

Another vote for the Prius V. Love the fuel economy!!! Getting just under 500 miles per 10 gallon tank.

 

[RedSox68]

Agreed. We have leased many vehicles from Ford, we have much lower payments, never a fee to return the car, and never any wear and tear charges. Ours is a better deal than most, because we get A plan pricing, but it's been a good deal for us every time, so not everyone gets a bad deal on a lease.

Thank you.