Lease Return Pickle

Ask the Hackrs
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1

My BMWX3M lease return is due at the end of the month and I’ve decided to go with another vehicle (not BMW).

Here’s the deal:

My tires are shot and one is barely holding air. I’m not sure I would even trust the tire to hold up during the 20 minute drive to return to my local dealer.

I avoided buying tires knowing my lease was coming to term. Unfortunately, I didn’t read the fine print that I would be responsible for tire wear at the end of the lease.

Questions:

  • Any experience with lease returns where BMW charges you for new tires… trying to get a sense for cost.
  • Should I just bite the bullet and throw new tires on? My local tire shop wouldn’t repair and insisted that I replace all 4 tires.
  • Totally random, but if I just keep the car at my place, would they come pickup? Note - I purchased out of state.

Looking to get creative and save as much $ as possible here.

Thanks.

2

Just get a used tires from https://utires.com

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You should have had a lease return inspection done and they’d have listed everything out for you. If you’re close to your end date, it’s probably too late to schedule one (because it’s done by a third party). You may want to check around.

And any BMW dealership will be able to ground your lease. The pickups were only during the early days of Covid.

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4

Make sure you read the rest of the lease-end guidelines here.

https://www.bmwusa.com/return-vehicle.html#inspection-guidelines

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5

Thanks for this. It looks like local dealers can do a pre-inspection.

6

I considered this, but it appears that if it’s not the exact same tire w/ ‘run-flat’ I’ll be charged for a new tire(s) anyway.

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If at all possible, I’d highly recommend that you get your inspection done via the 3rd party (AutoVIN) rather than leaving it up to the dealer. They will come to your house or office and do it.

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yes, but you can get the used tires ordered and installed cheaper than the cost of new ones

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9

That’s not what the guidelines say. Look at tire section on the link I posted for the actual requirements.

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I’ve had a situation like this before in which I bought tires USED that had enough tread to pass the inspection process at 1/3 the cost. I suggest doing the same and calling used car tire shops to see who can get you the best deal so you can return without spending the full amount to replace.

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Roger that. I misread - “Same specifications as original equipment supplied on your vehicle (size, speed rating, and run flat, if applicable)”. I’ll see if I can find the same used tires from utires. could save me a few bucks. Thanks!

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I did buy the runflats at a used tire dealer and they threw them on for me at 1/3 the price. It had enough tread for them to “pass” and they recycled my old ones that weren’t high enough % to pass.

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Isn’t there a cap on the charge if tires don’t meet the minimum requirements? It may have changed in the years since but I know once I returned my BMW and tire charge was $200 , not the cost of a new one. Again maybe that’s changed since then.

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call a bunch of used tire shops in your area and see if they have your exact tires. make sure you don’t have mismatched, they’ll charge

15

Also eBay or Craig’s

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