My lease is up next month and I have a few minor scratches that I should probably get fixed before I turn the car in. I have been overcharged GROSSLY in the past from overlooking these repairs. My fear is getting these scratches fixed and then getting charged for other stuff that I may have not noticed. Where can I go get a proper inspection so that I don’t get hit with a nasty bill?
Start with the free AutoVIN inspection you’re entitled to and go from there. You shouldn’t need a third party inspection.
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Thank you for the quick response. Someone else on here referred me to AutoVIN. I called them and read my VIN to them and they told me I need an ‘inspection number’. I was not sure what they meant. The website is not very helpful. How do I get on their system?
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Whoever you captive bank (never mentioned the mystery car) - call or message them through their website and ask for your lease end instructions.
It’s a BMW. I received an email from them suggesting I take it in to my service center to do the inspection but i was advised to get the inspected done 3rd party else BMW would nudge me to make unnecessary repairs.
Not saying this applies to you, but people have come here mortified when BMW charges them $200 for returning a car with only three wheels. 
BMW’s inspection guidelines are in their lease-end guide, to help you assess what to expect with various cosmetic and other issues when you turn the car in.
Step 1 says an inspection at a BMW dealer is the alternate flow if you don’t want to do a pre-inspection with a third party.
If you haven’t received instructions for using a third party, call BMWFS for guidance.
https://www.bmwusa.com/return-vehicle.html#inspection-guidelines
Even the BMW Lease End information leaves room for interpretation. Don’t bother going to the BMW dealer for your lease end inspection. It is just an opportunity to get you into the showroom and give the dealer a chance to buy your vehicle from BMW Financial at lease end. I learned this the hard way and had to fight BMW Financial after the dealer told me there would be no additional charges, but got a bill for $1300 in excess wear and tear. BMW Financial uses their own 3rd party inspection to determine the lease end charges regardless of what the dealer tells you if the dealer does not buy the car. Of course you have no idea of the dealer keeps it or sends it to auction after you turn it in. Best to get the name of a 3rd party inspector acceptable to BMW if you have any concerns.
It’s possible that I’m not understanding what you’re saying, but…
Their language is clear that going to a dealer is the alternate flow (recommended path from BMW is a pre-inspection by a third party who has no financial interest in the matter, other than collecting the inspection fee from BMW).
But if I’m wrong and they send you to a dealer for the pre-inspection, that still gives you the opportunity to know in advance what the charges will be.
You can then address any issues you desire before turn-in, or turn it in with outstanding problems and pay the corresponding charges. And you can pick and choose if there are multiple items.
Often, but certainly not always, the individual items are more expensive (and less convenient) to have fixed before you return the car.
If you wait until the last minute and just turn the car in, you’re rolling the dice, a risk that you can mitigate with some simple planning.
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The language was NOT clear in the official communication from BMW. The official communication urged us to take the car to the dealer and have the inspection done. The BMW dealer told us there would be no additional charges, so we proceeded to drop off the car the next day. A week later we get a bill from BMW Financial saying we owed $1800 in excess wear and tear, including $1200 for new tires. When we called BMWFS to find out why we were being billed when told by the BMW dealer there would be no other charges, then we were told about BMWFS using their own 3rd party estimators and the BMW dealer did not count. The tires had well over 4/32nds tread, so that charge was waived. They also could not produce pictures for the alleged dents. We were left with $200 in scratches to the bumper that were not visible without the rear hatch open. The point is, what the BMW dealer tells you is worthless unless he buys the car from BMWFS.
It doesn’t sound like you got a pre-inspection.
It sounds like this
BMWFS owns the car until the lease is terminated in one of the ways that’s spelled out in your contract.
So nothing that follows this is relevant since it’s isn’t the dealer’s car.
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You are missing the point. I received several letters from BMW stating to take the car to the dealer for a pre-inspection. I did that, and the dealer told me there would not be any extra charges. Once the dealer returned the car to BMWFS, I was told there would be additional charges. No communication from BMWFS distinguished between the dealer vs a 3rd party inspection. To most people, the dealer where the car was purchased is the point of contact with BMWFS, and represents BMW in general.
I understand that this can be confusing, and I’m sorry this happened.
If you turned the car in with damage beyond normal wear and tear, you are liable under your lease agreement for whatever isn’t fixed when you give the car back.
When you leased the car, the dealer sold the car to BMWFS, who then rented their property to you. A dealer’s verbal statements do not modify the contract you have with the lessor.
I’m not trying to argue, I’m just trying to clarify the roles of each party so you don’t have this unfortunate outcome again.
Since my goal isn’t to antagonize, I’ll just stop here.
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Thank you for the replies. I was able to schedule an inspection with AutoVIN. I had to call BMWFS, not a my dealer/service center. They actually come to my home to perform the inspection which is super convenient.
Seems like BMWNA and BMWFS failed you in terms of being clear about the process
We have leased many BMWs, so it is more like BMWFS changed the process for these final inspections. It was definitely not clear that we needed to find someone to do a pre-lease end inspection. We thought that was what the BMW dealer was doing. We usually just turn them in and lease another one, which is what we did this time as well. Maybe the difference this time is the dealer did not keep the car. We did not ‘trade’ it in.
Who pays for the AutoVin inspection?
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