You save the dealer fees.
You don’t save registration fees. And depending on your state you may end up paying a whole year of registration for a few months of use.
So depending on your deal and your state you may or may not have a better deal on (total) fees with an extension.
You save the acquisition fee though, which is pretty significant on a 24 month loan as far as the per month breakdown goes.
My lease is due on 4/28, going to call them on 3/30 to see if they can extend.
In my case I lived in Ohio when I leased, and they have a dumb rule that the registration renewal date is based on owner’s name (in this case, Acar leasing), so the renewal is in January. So for me, I had to pay 3 registration fees for the 24 months, and extending it will help spread that fee. I know that’s not the norm though.
I’ve extended leases on 3 Chevy vehicles and each time they ask, financial hardship, worked every time.
Blame your state rules for that. In PA, the car is registered to me, not GMF (Aka: ACAR leasing). Therefore, I register each year when I originally got my plate, that I can transfer at will between cars.
I don’t quite follow this, why do you have to pay to a whole year of registration if you extend?
Your state may let you renew for a few months, or give you credit for months not used.
My state (and others I suspect) doesn’t. You pay the whole year whether you use it all or not.
As @Masterblaster indicated, this will vary based on state law. In PA, my registration is due the same time every year, so if I extend, I have to renew my registration. PA also recently began allowing you to register for 2 years at a time, so depending on when I renewed, I may not have to renew if I extend. I am lucky that I can transfer that plate to a new car though, and won’t lose any registration time/cost. NY or NJ, can’t recall which, allows you to register a plate for multiple years, so you may not need to re-register if you extend. In CA, the plate stays with the car, so if you extend, you pay registration and lose the time you won’t use it.
TLDR: YMMV based on where you’re at.
Much appreciated.
Turns out since I moved states in the middle of my lease I have already double paid a bit and my current registration is good through October even though my lease is up this month. With 3k miles left and only a $109 a month payment, seems silly not to extend a few more months.
I called GMF on Saturday to inquire about extending my lease. They said they had to submit a request for someone in another position to extend and I’d get a call back within 3 business days. I haven’t received that call yet, so I called again just now. They said “it looks like there is already a request in” so I explained that I was calling back because I’ve yet to receive a call back from Saturday. They said it could take up to 5 days… which is today.
Anyways, has anyone else had to go through this back and forth? It sounded like from this thread it was more of an immediate response.
As I understand things at GM financial, they are working with a skeleton staff (Corona Virus). I would expect delays in everything. It’s just the times we are in - not your request so much.
I talked to them on Saturday and they said that the original extension request was filed incorrectly, so they had to file again. I received a call today. After some checking on what the new payment would be (one pay lease caused some confusion), it came back as $140.73.
This is on a one pay of ~$5000 for a 2018 Canyon Denali, 24 month lease. So the payments on the extension are less as has been the case for other people as well. Just another data point for anyone wondering.
I called them - they said for registration part - they will send me “power of attorney” and they refund me the registration fees.
For 1 month extension I would have to pay the one month lease amount
I just called to get an extension and they play a recording now that says “to extend your lease simply continue to make your payment each month for up to 6 months.”
I was just getting ready to call GM Financial myself. 2 weeks till my lease is due.
Can I get an extension on my lease?
You will receive a one-month automatic lease extension 11 days after your contract term date if you do not return your leased vehicle. This will happen regardless of the reason the vehicle hasn’t been returned. We will notify you through email or mail that you have received the extension.
The extension doesn’t increase the mileage in your original contract. Any mileage incurred in excess of the amount allowed in your original lease contract term will be billed at the rate per mile listed in your agreement. However, if you lease or purchase a new GM vehicle at lease end, you may be eligible to receive an additional monthly mileage allowance equivalent to the terms of the original lease agreement should you exceed your contract mileage.
We will continue to automatically process lease extensions in one-month increments, up to six months from your original maturity date. You will receive emailed or mailed confirmation that the extension has processed on a monthly basis.
You must continue to make your regular monthly payment during the month(s) extended.
*This Loyalty Program offer is only available to customers who received a lease term extension and terminated their lease after Feb. 1, 2021. This program is subject to change; GM Financial may terminate this Loyalty Program without notice at any time.
Any idea about if the extension payments continue to pay down the residual amount?
They do not. 
Ah bummer - I knew it seemed too good to be true!
The residual on my 19 XT4 is just about back to even. Lease up Dec 2nd. So I will just keep the lease for as long as they let me extend. And figure out something next year.
Understood that GMF does NOT grant additional mileage allowance, does NOT extend factory warranty, and lease extensions DO NOT get applied to residual value but wondering what would happen if six (6) months worth of payments is posted to account before maturity date?
I have a 2022 Bolt EUV Launch Edition from substitution of collateral due to the LG Chem battery recall. I am content with the car and it seems right now leases are especially weak, but I am not sure long term on keeping the car due to the new Ultium EV line-up, longevity/reputation of the Bolt, and (misguided, IMO) parking restrictions levied against Bolt EV/EUVs. I would like to do an extension but still may end up purchasing the vehicle if things haven’t stabilized in a few months.
That said my understanding is the following:
(a) Overpayments applied to the account before maturity would decrease the purchase price commensurately.
(b) Residual Value does NOT necessarily equal purchase price. Residual value is simply the actuarial value of the vehicle at lease end which may or may not equal the purchase price depending on number of payments made
If I prepay six months of my lease payment, at the end of the six months will the purchase price be (a) the residual value or (b) residual value - (6 * monthly payment)?
Also wouldn’t the additional payments only consist of rent charges since the vehicle depreciation has been fully realized? Any insight/experience would be appreciated. I called GM Financial and the representative didn’t seem to understand but said any payments made to the account before the maturity date will be reflected in a lower lease end purchase price. However, I am wondering if over the course of the six months will the overpayment be applied to extension usage and the purchase price reverts back to the residual value?
Did you end up figuring out the answers to your questions and/or extending your lease? I have 2 Bolt leases coming up towards the end of the year. I was going to purchase at least one of them, but I never thought about lease extension until reading this thread!