Maybe I got lucky but my 2015 i3 return process was a breeze. I’m sure it helped that I picked up a new i3s the same day.
My salesman tracked down the inspector immediately upon my arrival so while I was signing the deal, inspection was being taken care of. Rear tires needed a replacement but for i3, it’s cheaper to return the car as is than trying to replace it. They charge $150 for a rear tire which is cheaper than tirerack or any other place I’ve checked.
Was more than 15% under on mileage so I had a nice $250 credit on my new i3 statement! nice!
This was Socal dealer in Santa Ana. They might not have the best deals but they literally have an army of staff so it’s worth going there.
When I turned in my X5, the process couldn’t have been easier. They walked around the car, said looks good and we went inside and completed the paperwork. I think my local dealer wanted my car, Black with M package pretty loaded car. One rim had a little scratch and hood had typical tiny nicks, but that’s it. Previous X5 they took my offer of $2000 below buyout and they certified it w new tires and I bought it. 3 previous BMW’s a bought.
This sounds legit. I forgot their latest template but a number of lease return templates notate everything but then categorize them as “excess” or not. Only the excess ones are charged back to the customer.
I had a terrible BMWFS lease turn in almost exactly a year ago. I assumed a lease on swap a lease, so had no prior relationship with the dealer, other than maybe 1-2 service appointments. 3 months before the lease end, I get the letter to go over damage. I was under mileage, had a few dings so figured I was ok. But since I didn’t know this dealer well I did have the “independent 3rd party” appraisal done. Guy comes out to my work, checks for both keys, checks tires with gauge, has the BMW paper with the size allowed for dents etc. I talk him up for 10 mins he takes pictures and we are both on our way ALL GOOD. A few days later I get a 2 page email with EVERY detail of the car, tire tread, notated dents on right side door and trunk, 30 pictures etc. Estimated lease turn in fees: $0.
Now this was a 2nd car for me so I had no plans of buying it or leasing a new BMW. Got a few calls to put me into a new model, politely told them this was a 2nd car and I was just handing it in. So I hand the car in, guy looks it over takes the keys and says have a nice day. I point out the 1-2 dings that the appraiser mentioned in his report. The employee says “OK - have a nice day”. I leave.
A week later I get a BMWFS $500 bill for front fender damage and $350 dispo fee. $500??? I call right away, the person on the phone says let me check the pictures “I don’t see any damage”. I’ll have a manger call you back. Manager calls and says the underside of the front fender was scrapped and they would not waive the charge. I ask why didn’t the appraiser notate that. “Sir they are a third party and your letter says estimated charges”. Furious, I hang up and try to figure what my options are. The next day I get another BMWFS bill for $1150!! Dated one day after the first bill but 2 days before I called. $1150? Another $300 for rear fender scratch. Again I call, this time the person at BMWFS says I see no fender damage and I will refund the $300.
Now I am pissed. I file a CFPB claim and a BBB claim. I feel like I was 100% targeted. At this point I no longer have the car so I am put into a situation where I cannot have the damage for the underside of the front fender fixed on my own. I will admit there were scraps under the fender but I show the scraps were evident in the appraiser photos but he never notated them. I figured it was allowed wear and tear.
BMWFS responds to the CFPB and BBB claim saying they are right, they will not waive the damage. The appraiser is not a BMWFS representative and they are allowed “per the lease agreement” to charge for excessive wear and tear.
Long story short. BMWFS will try to put the screws to you. I have hard evidence of this. It is not the dealer (unless they decide to buy the car fro BMWFS)!
Audi sent a third party to inspect my lease return. The inspector noted every single ding and scratch on the report. Of course, there was also $0 next to all of them.
Just because they note something, doesn’t mean they’ll charge you for it.
UPDATE: I spoke with the BMWFS Lease Return department and they informed me of the following.
Any licensed BMW dealership can take your car back if they have space on their lot, but only the dealership you leased from is obligated to.
Even if a dealership already submitted a pre-inspection, you can have another pre-inspection done at a different dealership of your choosing. The second dealership has to call BMWFS and ask them to delete the initial pre-inspection and they can submit the new one.
All licensed BMW dealerships can do a final inspection on your vehicle. There should be only one certified inspector looking at your car (not sure why there were two people looking at my car when I returned it). The final inspection report is what is submitted to BMWFS so they can bill for any excess wear and tear. After this final inspection, there isn’t another inspection by a third party as both Beverly Hills and the other dealership claimed.
I understand there is a standard template that these inspectors follow, but clearly, there’s some discrepancy since the Beverly Hills and other inspector pointed out different things that had to be addressed on my car. Both inspectors measured my tires, yet one inspector said I had to replace four tires while the other one said two. Hmm. I would say the incentive here was to point out things that would have been classified as normal wear and tear, but telling the customer they were responsible for fixing it before turning the car in. Also, the genius manager I dealt with when I turned my car in was completely misinformed and added to the confusion of the lease return process.
Had a completely different experience than @Kerob. Sorry to hear that dude…
Just returned my car. Didnt do any pre-inspection (I already knew where the any damages were). Got some touch up paint to cover up a few scratches and got one of the rims repaired (cost me $120ish). I did search Yelp reviews for lease return to find the best dealer to return with in my area. Went to the dealer for final turn in, and they found a sneaky large scratch which I missed! bummer had extra touch up paint too, charged me $200 for it although they could have charged me $400. Accepted the charges. When I got my final bill from BMW, I called them and happily waived the $200.
UPDATE 2: Received my bill from BMWFS. No copy of the inspection report. Just a bill.
$300 - Excessively worn or mismatched tires
$175 - Exterior damages or excess wear
Calling them tomorrow to see if I can convince them to waive these. So after completing two pre-inspections (and a third “final” pre-inspection), they are STILL dinging me? This is the most ridiculous lease return process I have ever been through…
“Just went through the same issue, scratch on the front bumper, rear tires are below acceptable and passenger side wheels curbed (wife) =
$2400 worth of damage.
Bought used tires with acceptable tread ($100) Had the wheels repaired from a guy from yelp ($100). Had a reputable detailer take care of the scratches to the best of his ability ($60). Brought it to another dealership across town and didn’t get charged a dime.“
Someone PMd me about used tires: Call around in working class communities and buy a tire depth gauge. Find the exact brand and type of tire so you don’t raise any red flags, presto
Going to order used tires online and have Costco or some local shop throw them on. I tried the “local community” route last time and the guy sold me one good tire and the other had a pinhole in it so it had to be patched. A RUN FLAT had to be patched.
RFT tech doesn’t work like that. The sidewalls are thicker so you can drive on 0 PSI- the sidewalls support the car without needing air. But the tread portions are regular tires- so they can get pinhole leaks and can require patching. Been dealing with runflats for 12 years.
If the leak was in the sidewall- most places wouldn’t patch that.
Only real issue with a patched RFT is if its already been driven on 0 psi for an extended time- you’d think you have 50 miles at 50mph, but in reality, you’d have less.
But since you were returning the car- not your problem. Patch should’ve been 15 bucks or less.
Do BMW recheck your credit when you turn your lease in? My credit was dinged a few times since I got my car. It’s not as good as it was when I first got it.
Best thing to do is to have a full set of photos taken at the dealer when you turn it in and actual tire measurements with photos, photos of key fobs etc. Just to cover yourself. That damage to the door will be an issue. Chances are pretty good that if you think the tires have 50% tread they don’t.
