I am looking to lease a new Lexus, my current lease is up and I extended it. It is open-ended and I can end at any time.
However, over the weekend I noticed a scratch/dent on the front passenger door. I park in a parking garage daily, so it could have occurred there or a shopping cart, etc. A pic is posted. There are three scratches, it is slightly dented, and the longest is probably 8-10 inches. I’m beyond angry. I do not understand how someone can hit a car and cause this much damage and leave. Not sure how it could have happened and they didn’t realize it. I used some rubbing compound and buffed out some of the surface damage.
I went to a body shop, and they said $760 to “paint and make it look good” or $1,260 to blend the paint and do it right. My insurance deductible is $500.
Looking at the picture, I assume I’m better off to get it fixed then to take the hit from Lexus when I return it? Anyone have experience with this? The rest of the car is in great shape. Tire tread, bumpers, etc. Very, very minimal curb rash on rims.
I have returned a Lexus lease with a little damage. Do the free audit and they will tell you how much it will be. I took it to a shop and they were 3X more than Lexus said the damage was to repair. Lexus was very fair in my opinion.
I would like to lease something in the next day or two if possible to avoid paying a June lease payment. The soonest Lexus (AutoVIN) could get here to do an evaluation is mid June.
You’re rolling the dice not knowing how much they are going to charge. Hard to tell from the photos but i think my damage was worse and they charged $475 (waived due to excess damage policy). The repair shop wanted to charge $1,350. I forgot we had the extra damage policy.
So I actually saved the report. I didn’t pay much attention to it but the large damage looks like it doesn’t have a value associated to it. Maybe they missed it? I didn’t really care because it was not going to exceed the extra damage package I had. Here it is attached…hope it helps.
Do the free audit and they will tell you how much it will be.
+1 if you had it inspected already, call again and req they reinspect. See what they will charge, what your allowance is, and if you are leasing another Lexus do they bump the allowance (eg Ford includes ~700 in dings and scapes without a warranty, if you lease another Ford they double that).
Say Lexus claims it’s $2k in damage, if I were you I’d pay the bodyshop cash/check (few hundred more than deductible) out of pocket and avoid insurance. But find out what Lexus will charge and go from there.
UPDATE–I just received the vehicle condition report from AutoVIN. The gentleman that came out did a great job and was very precise and professional. My car is in great condition except for a scratch dent on the passenger door. I was worried about it and estimates from a body shop were well over $1,000. I received the report from AutoVin today (pic below). It says $55.00 for the wear and tear. In the fine print, it said that “actual repair costs may vary”. Is this the same amount that Lexus will bill me for? Does anyone have any experience with the scenario? Thanks!
