Hi everyone here is an interesting lease issue:
We have 24 months Cruze lease until 1st of March but registration just came in and it says Feb 16th (I have no idea why it is earlier than the end of lease).
So can we return the car March 1st or they will send some fines for not renewing, and if we do renew it’s 340 for the whole year (CA) so kind of pointless to do it for 2 weeks, maybe it makes sense to request the lease extension.
Or just drop the car off 2 weeks early
unfortunately I can’t, we will be traveling with it to burn some unused miles as well
Those would be your options then…
extend the lease and pay the registration. GMF Allows a max extension of 6 months. You better hurry up if that’s the plan.
don’t register it and hope you don’t get caught in 2 weeks
Drop car off 2 weeks early.
But even if no one stops the car in 2 weeks to check registration, when we return the car it will be 2 weeks past renewal and I read here that the guy got a 478 fine 6 weeks after returning his lease for 5 days delay 
Then looks like you better register it.
It still doesn’t make sense if someone signed 24 months lease why would registration expire before lease end if it’s exactly 1 year renewal?
Call the DMV.
Are you sure your contract states your lease is up March 1 and not mid Feb?
Yeah, I called GM, lease end March 1st, Title end Feb 17th, super strange considering I leased the car on Feb 17th 2 years ago, why would GM ask to return it after 2 years and 2 weeks!
and I just checked on GM website it says Date Account Opened 2/29/2016 so looks like they sold me this car on 17th but actually filled paperwork with GM on 29th
It’s too late to quibble over that now. They aren’t going to change your contract at this point. It may have had something to do with when the contract was funded after the paperwork was filed. Who knows.
You don’t have many options other than what’s listed above. Ground it and buy a new one to take on your trip, Ground it and rent a car to take on your trip, or pay the DMV. Pay the 360 and hope they extend your lease the max 6 months if you’re ok with the car. You don’t have much of a choice.
So you think there is no grace period? And when we return the car DMV will not waive the 2 weeks registration gap?
I can extend the car for a month or two but I don’t want to do it for a long time as some tires are 6/32 and some are 4/32 (I think this is the minimum allowed).
Looks like because of the dealership mistake (not filling the paperwork the next day you signed) you can get hit for the next year registration, good to know for other members.
Did you call the DMV and explain the situation?
So here’s my confusion. you leased the car on Feb 17. Hence why it makes sense that you have to renew registration by Feb 16th. However, GM wants you to return it by march 1? they are giving you 2 weeks for free?
Quite a high reg fee. In NY we pay like $69 for two years, which includes license plates that could be transferred to a new vehicle. So the question is, can your registration be transferred?
My leased Ford had a return date of April 14th last year, but Ford allowed a 10 day grace period. The tags expired on March 20th because of the way the state of Ohio registers leased vehicles. They assign certain months to each lease company instead of going by when the vehicle was first leased, or by your birthday which is what they use for purchased vehicles.
Ford lease registration tags expire March 20th, my Toyota lease expires October 20th, and my Chevrolet expires January 20th.
I had to pay the full registration for the Ford even though I was turning it in within a month. Didn’t want to take any chances driving with an expired tag for those few weeks in case of being stopped or if involved in an accident. The fortunate thing is Ohio renewal tags are only $54.50 for the year.
Yeah seems like GM took some time to start the contract so yeah 2 weeks for free but now I have this issue with the title.
I can but it will probably take 1-2 hours on the phone (usual for CA DMV) and they will just say what they trained to do (pay even if it’s for 2 weeks).
It is not transferrable from what I know and even if it is I don’t plan to get another car soon
lol, they wrote the rules specifically for you:
I paid the vehicle/vessel registration fees for my vehicle and operated the vehicle for two weeks into the new registration year. I will no longer operate this vehicle/vessel. Can the registration fees I paid be refunded?
No. The fees paid for registering a vehicle or vessel can not be refunded once the vehicle is operated into the new registration year.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/refund/refundfaqs
I am still confused as to why this is an issue. You can drop the car off and walk away. Are burning a few unused miles worth the registration? You’re really making this harder than it has to be.