I did my pre inspection with autoliv. No excess fee in their report. I called GM finances to let them know that my plan is to return the car.
They told me there is an additional $495 fee when you the car. This is for taking the car from dealership to auction and …
Is this right? Is this fee included in lease payments or mentioned somewhere is contract?
It’s in the contract.
Unless the dealer buys the car, like @chrishs2000 said, this was in the initial contract you signed. It’s called a disposition fee.
If you stay with GM, or the dealer buys the car like a trade-in, you won’t have to pay. If they send to auction and you don’t buy another GM, you’re obligated to pay.
Thanks for your reply
For a $145 monthly lease, $495 disposition fee is a lot. I didn’t know that. This was my first lease.
Is this fee only for GM or other manufacturer also has this fee?
All captives have this fee. The only ones that don’t that I know of are Ally and some credit unions.
They all vary as well. 495 is pretty average though.
Chevy is 395
GMC + Buick is 495
Cadillac is 595
BMW is 350
Mercedes is 595 IIRC
Infiniti/Nissan is 395 IIRC
Just a few examples. If you re-up with the same brand, however, this fee is waived.
I turned in My Acadia about a month ago and Autovin put down a charge for One Tire … When I called GM Financial to ask about the tire they said it was unusual wear and I would not be charged so no need to replace. The women on the phone indicted that in NJ, where I am from, you can not charge for unusual wear… whatever it was I haven’t been charged.
Nissan has to be the best. Inspector came to my house 2 weeks before I had to turn in my Armada. She walked around once and handed me a form saying no charges. I laughed and she said that unless it’s obvious she never charges and hasn’t had a charge for months.
Ford and Ram both suck ass. Ford charged $1,500 for scratches in the bed. I told customer care that Ford has commercials showing them dumping boulders into the bed. No Bueno, I had to pay the money.
Ram sent me an invoice 90 days after turning in a 1500 for driver’s side bed damage and diminished value due to the damage. $3,500. I told them I haven’t had the truck for 3 months, where is it and where was the truck when the damage was found? They had no idea, but I had my inspection sheet from when I turned it in and it stated no damage or charges. Ram said that was just a preliminary inspection. Took me 3 months and a lawsuit to get out of it.
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May I know how I can know the dealer will buy my car? I have a Terrain returning in end of this year with low miles (11k out of 20k) so I think the dealer will buy it and then I can get disposition fee and wear and tear fee waived. Should I just go to all the GM dealers and ask them if they are going to buy it before lease end? Thanks!
The dealer you ground it at will get first dibs at a lower price than you can buy it for. If they don’t buy it, the remaining GM dealers in the country have time to buy. If they all don’t buy it, it will then go to auction.
There’s really no way of knowing if the dealer will buy or not. If your residual is more than wholesale price at auction, there’s a good chance they will pass. If they have too many rotting on the lot already, they may not take it. If they think they can make money on it, they will.
Low miles alone is no guarantee they will buy it though.
Thank you! This is what I thought and made it impossible to know if the fees can be waived before returning car 
So someone grounding the vehicle at lease end does not need to discuss the dealer buying the vehicle beforehand? It is something that will be determined after turning the vehicle in so the leasee won’t know if they will be charged the dispo fee until they receive the final statement from GM Financial? Interesting… although I doubt any dealership will buy my 2017 Acadia Denali with the 2020s coming out soon and me being about 1k over my 30k mileage allotment.
Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask. If your residual is higher than or equal to KBB (as a guide, it’s not gospel as wholesale is less, and that’s not published), you can always attempt to sell to vroom or Carvana too in hopes they will buy it and at least you’ll break even or even make a couple bucks. Doubtful on a GM though as they typically don’t hold value well, but there’s a possibility at least.
When do they not inspect your car at GM? Don’t they “eat “ it if you trade it in for another GM?