My Jeep lease is up next month and I got the inspection report today. I’m friggin livid. Background: I’ve had the car for 3 years. I was allotted 30k miles but put only 20k on. Took impeccable care of the Jeep. Guy comes by today and slaps me with a $350 fee claiming the right side tires are “worn” - specifically the thread is 3/32" and 2/32" respectively whereas they need to be a minimum of 4/32 or some BS like that. 20k miles of North East suburban road driving after 3 yrs and they’re trying to slap me with this crap fee? Is this not normal wear and tear? Michelin tires that came with the Jeep. WHAT RECOURSE DO I HAVE?
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Did you check that the measurement is wrong? Or are you just outranged that the car is very under miles and they should let it slide?
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Tire replacement is pretty industry standard with lease turn ins to be at 4/32 or better. Get them replaced cheaper yourself or you’ll have to pay that fee. Many tires wear out by 20k miles. You can put any tire on as long as it matches the original size and type (ie run flat or not).
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Yes, this is the standard tire wear requirement. If you’re at 2/32", you should have replaced the tires already as you’re a safety hazard to yourself and others riding on worn tires like that, especially during the winter.
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If they are in fact worn to those levels, you have 3 options. Buy used matching tires on ebay and have them installed or make a claim under the tire treadwear warranty which is prorated and might actually cost you more than the ebay route. You can also try to sell your car to a 3rd party like carvana, vroom.
This is gonna be a good meme
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Not typing in caps and being internet angry over a chargeable damage per the lease end inspection guideline is the first step. It’s not BS.
If the tread is worn unevenly and only on the right side tires, this is likely an alignment issue. Have you ever had the alignment checked like during routine service? Does the vehicle exhibit any odd driving behavior? It’s not uncommon for vehicles to be out of alignment from the factory. Too late now as the warranty coverage is only 6 months IIRC, but this is why it’s important to take a look at the vehicle you’re driving on a regular basis for the safety of yourself and others around you. If you got a snowstorm you’d be in for a real fun time with 2/32nd of tread on the passenger side.
More importantly - do you have positive equity and can just sell it?
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But he won’t have to worry about replacing tires on a totaled vehicle, so it will all work out in the end.
Just buy some used tires that meet the tread requirement and call it a day.
Is the fine $350 plus you have to pay for new tires? Or just pay $350 for tires (for all tires) being bad? If it’s just the $350 I’d pay that and not worry about tires at all. Probably avoid driving it if the tires are truly that low though.
I wouldn’t have thought to have the vehicle, specifically the tires, inspected. (My first time leasing). The car was brand new with 8 miles on it back in 2018. I have a BMW now and it seems as though they cover periodic inspections.
I agree the fact that they’re both on the right side leads me to believe it’s an alignment issue. The car felt perfectly fine driving it.
$350 for the two tires being bad. I’ll wind up paying it but it caught me by surprise. When I leased the vehicle in 2018 it was brand new with 8 miles on it. Chrysler ddidn’t call for periodic inspections. The car ran perfectly fine so not sure I would have known the passenger side tires were crap. I thought for sure the car was in good shape since I had only put on 2/3rds of the miles allotted in the lease.
Unfortunately, it was a lease. I don’t own it. I now lease a BMW but the difference being BMW wants you to come in periodically for inspections as covered by the lease. Not the case for Chrysler.
BMW is going to hit you up for Brakes. See other threads, then you really are going to go ballistic.
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Checking tire wear is a normal part of having a car. Just as one should periodically check the tire pressure, the oil level, if the wipers work, etc
Faaaak I should have bought the damn thing.
BMW has done all that for me in the past. Alright lesson learned I suppose.
With the light not on and it not showing up on the inspection? I wouldn’t count on it.
This is something one should do more often than an annual service.