Anyone else return a BMW lately? I returned a flawless x2 with 19000 miles. I went over the exterior with a fine tooth comb, as I rarely keep leases until the end. I had msds of like $1700 on this vehicle.
They sent me a letter saying I owed them $2400 in damages, so essentially they wanted another $700 from me plus dispo fee. I videoed the entire car before return and of course disputed. I settled with $800 owed to them in damages just bc I didn’t feel like pursuing it further.
I had to remind them this was my 5th Bmw lease in 3 years blah blah blah for them to credit me. These were totally fabricated charges regardless.
Thank god I transferred my i8 and 740. I couldn’t imagine the charges they would come up with on them…
I was offered $500 under buy out for this car from carvana. In retrospect I’ll never make this mistake again. Just to save the Dispo fee and time bringing it back/Uber home it would have been worth it.
I returned in Feb with mismatching rfts (front and rear), repaired star chips, and a little curb rash. Clean otherwise. No charges. Dealer did take it for their inventory though.
Did you do the pre lease return thing at the dealer?
I didn’t bc I have a decent history with Bmw and really didn’t think they would pull this on a perfect car. Live and learn, just wondering if anyone else ran into it recently. They might be trying to increase some revenue, if they charge everyone, I’m sure only 40-50% at most would challenge them.
It’s like Comcast/verizon, I’ve caught them overcharging me many times. Do that to a million people and you have some serious added revenue. Most people don’t even notice $20 on a bill, that’s why they invented autopay!
I’ve never returned a BMW so I’m unsure how it works. Don’t they use an independent inspector , or don’t you receive an inspection report that acknowledges whether there are damages?
I just returned my X2 in March. Similar situation - also about 19k miles. My car was also perfect except for one ding on the rear driver quarter. The dealer that did the return and final inspection said one tire is borderline chargeable, but he won’t put it in. My bill was for $450 - $350 dispo + $100 ding. I called BMW FS and they waived the ding. Still had to pay dispo, but w/e. I do have another BMW lease - a 540 - that doesn’t mature until July 2022.
Just curious, what were the damages for? And how did you turn it in? When I worked at BMW, every lease turn in had to have the damage report signed so there was no surprise bills or issues down the road.
I returned a 428XI conv in 2017. Under miles. Did a pre - inspection, noted 2 scratches, no charge and 2 dings, $500. Turned the car in 2 weeks later. BMWFS said underside of front bumper was scratched, wanted $1000 for that, $500 for the dings and another $1000 for “scratches”. I asked for pictures of the scratches and they waived that. I had to call 3 times and finally got the bumper waived. I paid the $500 from the pre inspection, which was justified and dispo fee and moved on…but it was a headache to say the least. You’re right, I think they throw out a number and a decent percent of the population just pays it.
Got my BMW 430 pre inspected, noted hood indent about size of quarter and scratch on rear trunk lid.
$200 in damage.
I was $11000 miles under mileage allotment.
Got the bill from BMW, was $200 plus $350 disposition fee.
Called them up and they waived the damage as they only credit mileage as loyalty if getting another BMW, so I only owe $350 dispo fee.
From what I can see / how lease returns work. (For all cars and not just BMW)
You get a Pre Inspection (Free most of the time (some CU’s make you pay) and is usually part of your disposition fee)
You get a sheet of ‘charges’
You turn in the car, and pay the ‘charges’ OR fix it yourself OR convince the bank that they are BS charges.
Now things that are special for BMW (Haven’t seen this done at any other dealer)
It appears that BMW Dealers can buy the car direct before going to wholesale. (Not confirmed but highly likely after following the threads)
They then ‘inspect’ it right there to ensure that the car they want to sell is in good shape.
If they buy the car, then no other inspection is needed (If preinspection is missed) as the car is now ‘purchased for something around residual’ (and sell for $$$ thanks to COVID)
From reading OP’s statement
He has leased 5 cars in the last 3 years.
He turns them into the dealer without preinspection.
This car appears to not have been purchased by the dealer and they got a ‘true’ inspection.
Sheet with a bunch of charges shows up that OP denies but he will fight.
Note: If the dealer took it for a joyride and dented it, without preinspection OP would be held responsible.
So the moral of the story? Always get a preinspection.
Yep if no preonspection I think they have carteblanche to charge what they please. I did ask for one and brought that up when they waived some fees. If they don’t send me color photos of the damage I’ll call again and ask for the rest of my money back. I hooked a local Bmw gm up with a couple deals and didn’t want to have to go through him, but if they don’t show me the scratches and refuse to refund me I will.
Exactly, the moral is clear to all. I was confused as to how it was blindly turned in, unless the dealer promised to buy then instead send back to bank.
I purchased extra wear and tear and how it works, is that I turn the car in with all the damages, the bank sends a bill to the insurance company, then they “determine qualified damages”
Once I heard that I told them keep the $600 I paid and I repaired and turned the car in perfect condition with my pre inspection report. No way I’m giving back a damaged car blindly waiting for anyone to assess damages after turn in.
I blindly turned it in bc they said I was too late to get an inspection, blah blah corona shortages or some excuse. I guess is should have called sooner, I just wasn’t worried bc it was perfect.
I know cars and damages it had none and figured with my BMW lease history they wouldn’t nickel and dime me. Typically it’s bad business to do that to someone that had an i8 and 740 in the last year…
Just confirms my belief to never take your lease to term. Always have an exit plan, especially these days with used cars so high.
on transfers? 