BMW lease return

Guys this is my first BMW lease return. I normally buy out my cars but the residual in this case is way high. What things should I watch out for?

  1. I am going to be around 10K miles over so need to be prepared mentally for coughing up 18 cents a mile.
  2. The tires are pretty much done so need to changes all four. Does the tire need to be BMW rated?
  3. I a have a little scratch on bumper, the painter that I go to is just asking me $150 for touch up and painting.

I could return, pay the dues and move on to get another non BMW lease deal or I could negotiate on another car and have the dealer take care of other stuff. I am already getting phone calls/emails from BMW to replace my 528 with a brand new 530.
Does anyone have any experiences to share regarding BMW?

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  1. Isn’t it cheaper to buy miles before you return it, that may be the 18cents you are referring to, but I am just making sure
  2. Not sure about this
  3. Mini has a policy (believe its the same for BMW) that if its smaller than a credit card your good. Keep in mind I don’t think you can have many of these, there is a cap just not sure at what it is.

You could negotiate to have some things thrown in, but they could just hike up your sales price in return, if I were you I’d hand it in and move to an E300

@gluck
I want to start by saying that from experience, BMW is relatively lenient when it comes to wear and tear. I always have some dings and scratches, front spoiler scuffs etc and i haven’t been charged. However there are guidelines that they go by, so you have to make sure you are aware.

if you’re over you have to pay for it. You can pre purchase extra miles at a reduced rate. Not sure up until when but there’s a discount. If you end up leasing another BMW, you can ask them to try to negotiate with BMW to do some overage forgiveness. Not sure how much they will forgive but they tend to do that to keep you in the BMW family.

You have to return the car with enough tire tread to pass (i believe it’s 4/32" from thinnest tread but you need to find out from them for sure). They actually send you a little guide in the mail 3-6 mo before end of lease with all the details but you can call BMWFS to ask. If your car came with runflat tires you have to return it with runflat tires. If you don’t, they will charge you for new tires. I’ve done many BMW lease returns and i just buy used tires from craigslist right before returning. Doesn’t really matter how they drive as long as they pass the tread level. I usually buy 4 of the same brand (doesn’t have to be the same brand that originally came on the car) but others on this forum have suggested that you can have different brands in pairs as in one brand for the front pair and another brand on the back pair (not sure if that’s true, you should find out from BMW). You can typically find a decent used set for under $200 and have some cheap place slap them on.

The lease return guide usually includes a “BMW inspection wheel” that you can hold next to your scratch to determine which dents, dings or scratches may be subject to excess wear & tear charges. BMW allows for small scratches and dents on your car as part of normal wear and tear.
Here’s some info from a 2016 lease return i did, not sure if it’s till current:

Any ding, dent or scratch over 2" will be chargeable if not repaired.

Any damage greater than 2" but less than 4" should be listed as a small charge.

Any damage greater than 4" should be listed as a large charge.
There are also guidelines of multiple dings per panel etc. All that info is part of that lease return guide.

Again that’s from 2016, things might change so check with BMW.

I also want to mention that you can get a pre-inspection done ahead of the lease turn-in date and i would suggest you do it before you jump the gun and pay for paint touch up etc. Mine was offered at the dealership by appointment. They do a whole inspection and even give you a report (takes about 20 min). That way you have time to fix anything they might find before you finally turn in the car. Mine pre-inspection didn’t cost anything.

Lastly, make sure you have the spare keys present during pre- and final inspection. There is a hefty fee if you lost it and in my case, they marked it as missing even though i gave it to them and it was time consuming to resolve it.

Also, the above is from my experience last year, things might have changed. Just follow up with BMW and ask and request the lease return guide if you haven’t gotten it.

Good luck.

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They are anal with tires now. So, change it to any RFT’s. FYI, all RFT tires are almost the same price, so just get the tires that came with it. Dings and scratches, dont worry about it, as long as it less than a credit card size. I returned one of our bimmer with a key scratch on the entire right side of the car, I didn’t pay anything. So, i guess it depends on the inspector. Pay the 18 cents/mile. I think the last time around I paid, 16 cents/mile. And just find a new car you want. Don’t force yourself to get a car you don’t like. You’re paying for it, make sure to enjoy it! Good luck buddy!

forgot to mention, there’s a disposition fee if you end up not leasing another BMW. It was in the $350-$400 range if i remember correctly. Another way of BMW to try to make you stay with the brand but I wanted to make you aware that if you don’t want to lease another BMW that they will charge you the dispo fee.

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My current lease is $595 disposition fee.

@dotmike24
What model is your car? Never seen such a high BMW dispo fee

2015 535i. i think mb is $595 as well. Let me check the papers.

Just checked it, my mistake, it was my mb e350 that is $595 and the 5 series at $350

@dotmike24 thats for clarifying, was questioning my own sanity.

$595 is a ridiculous dispo fee. Anyone trying to lease a Mercedes should keep that back end cost in mind, it’s not a small amount.

Well said. In my experience, BMW has been fantastic when dealing with lease end issues. No nickeling and dining at all.

YUP!!! hate it, but my wife likes benz, I hope she won’t switch. I think MB has the worst disposition fee when it comes to normal cars.lol

I am also nearing the end of my lease. Not sure if tires will pass muster (close to 4/32) not buying out or re-leasing BMW so no allowance I’m guessing.
My question… should I wait until 3rd party inspector “fails” my tires or should I replace beforehand with decent used ones? If it fails do I need to get the car re-inspected if I change the tires or can I just show at turn in?

Thanks,
Dave

@DrDave
where i live, the BMW dealership has an “lease end inspector” on premise. Not a third party company. If that’s the case for you, you could do you pre-inspection whenever you want and then just make an appointment a few days before you return and ask him if the tires will pass (no need for full inspection). I wouldn’t buy a set of tires if you think they might pass unless someone tells me “NO”.

FYI The pre end inspection is only for you to find out if there’s possible damage/costs to you so you have enough time to fix before returning. The day you turn the car in, they will do another full inspection.

Great info, thank you. It’s third party here, but BMWFS gave me the info on the company so I can schedule whenever I want (up to 60 days before turn in).

Thanks for the replies guys.

Get pre inspection and do the fixes after that. I am going to do the same. If you are planning to lease another BMW then they might overlook the wear and tear. Also someone advised to prepay for miles.

Exception being the i3. AutoVIN came to my house over a month before my lease was up and did a full inspection. 2 rear tires were at 5/32" causing me some concern as this was a 2 year lease. The 20" summer performance tires have bizarrely little tread even when brand new.

The inspector said this would be the only inspection so throwing caution to the wind I ripped and roared around those remaining weeks enjoying that sublime low-end electric car torque. Turned it in at the dealer and they checked the VIN and odometer, I signed the statement, and left. Total time with the dealer rep: 3 minutes. :sunglasses: Already got the end of lease paperwork in the mail from BMWFS. No charges other than the $395 termination fee.

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i was going to write "i hope you returned with “range left to empty: 11 miles” like me but then i realized yours is electric :sunglasses:

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Quick update: Came back after pre inspection, wasn’t that bad. Only issue was a tread on one tire being less than 4/32 ($300) and a possible scratch ($100). Excess mileage extra!
Will update after final turn in.