We get a lot of questions about what’s chargeable at lease end and what isn’t.
As I find them, I’ll add links to lease-end guides from various leasing companies so you know what to expect at inspection time.
Lease End Guides (work in process - missing links appreciated)
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CCAP Lease-End Guide (Jeep, RAM, Wagoneer, Fiat, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, etc).
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I never take pictures. But common issues my wife wins in
- curb rash
- Wind shield crack
- Running into walls/poles with paint scraping
- Tires below depth.
5 I think she’s also lost a few tow hook cover
When I returned a bmw last time, two of the rims had curb rashes over an inch, bunch of rock chips, and the tires were below acceptable on a few attempts, plus one of my pirelli run flats had busted and the only used one to match the size online was made for Mercedes (otherwise the same) and said so.
BMW is great.
I narrowed the scope of this thread for simplicity.
Ask your lease-end damage questions here.
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Notes on my Audi e-tron GT lease return:
- Audi lease-return inspections can be scheduled up to 90 days before return, and can be booked online.
- The inspection was done at my home, and the inspector didn’t bother having me back the car out of the garage for better light. “This is obviously a really clean car.” **
- Since my tires were going to be borderline at lease maturity, I scheduled the inspection on the first possible date that worked with my schedule (88 days before lease end)
- Inspection confirmed tires were borderline, but all were within spec.
- At the time of lease turn in, at least one tire likely needed to be replaced.
- The GM at the dealer where I returned the car, in an unrelated conversation, mentioned that on this vehicle it’s generally less expensive to turn the car in with tires that need to be replaced than it is to buy replacement tires. I have no way of verifying this, just passing it along.**
- Sometime between the inspection and turn-in, an interior trim panel in the driver’s side B pillar fell off (again) and was only loosely attached. I didn’t worry too much about it, since it had already been fixed once under warranty, and I still had the repair order.
- The policy at the dealership where I did the return was to only accept vehicles that had already been inspected. I had the inspection report with me, so that was easy.**
- The dealership paid for my Lyft ride home. The lease return coordinator accompanied me to the service department, where a service advisor booked the ride.**
- Car was returned on June 27.
- Disposition fee was deducted from the MSD refund check, which was printed on July 15.
- There was no charge for the broken interior trim panel. **
** Your M may V
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Mercedes (MBFS) lease end question:
Is lease end inspection absolutely required if I know for certain there will be no extra charge at turn-in?
Thanks.
I’m not aware of any bank, including MBFS, that requires you to get the 3rd party lease end inspection. If you don’t want to do it then you can just turn the car in and roll the dice.
But not getting the lease end inspection is careless. These are offered for your convenience. It’s free, takes 20 mins, and they will come to your house or office.
With no inspection then it’s typically up to the dealer to inspect it before they send it back. Dealers are not in the business of lease end inspections and we’ve seen some be way more scrupulous than the 3rd party inspectors typically are. Maybe you get dinged for a minor scratch that would have been normal wear and tear, maybe the lot hand accidentally backs it into another car when moving it around, etc. etc.
And if they were to find anything then you don’t have anything to stand on since you didn’t get the inspection done.
If you’ve completed the inspection then you drop your car off at the dealer, they sign off on it, and as long as the doors aren’t falling off no one will give it a second look.
There’s a guy here who did / said exactly that.
He must’ve bragged to the dealer because his wheels ‘vanished’ the next day, and since it wasn’t inspected, it was his responsibility to pay for them. (Eventually fixed with lots of headache).
Just get the inspection, it’s peace of mind. Unless you are with Ally, they don’t do that and you are SOL on anything and everything.
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I got the lease-end inspection done. What’s the most “secure” way to turn-in / check-in the car at a MB dealer so MBFS will see the car is returned promptly and with no surprises? I’m asking because my previous experience with BMW lease-end return wasn’t very good. The dealer wasn’t interested in doing the extra work as I wasn’t getting another BMW. I literally had to flag a reluctant salesperson to see the car. The car wasn’t in the BMWFS system until a couple of days later which was scary to say the least.
You make an appointment for a Lease Grounding.
They will assign you a salesperson who will attempt to sell you another car..hehe, but will have the paperwork for grounding.
Now that you have inspection, you are safe from most shenanigans and can return pretty quickly.
You need to sign an odometer paper he will give you as well as a copy of the grounding document when you leave
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Yea, there’s really no other way to do it besides:
- Call local dealer and make an appointment (if they require it, some do, some don’t, if they don’t then obviously don’t show up on a Saturday morning and expect great service)
- Turn car in, sign odometer statement & other lease turn-in docs
- Go on your way
As noted since you’ve had the inspection it will be quick and easy, there’s really nothing to worry about, the car not showing up in the system as “returned” immediately shouldn’t concern you as long as you’ve got the paperwork showing it was returned on X date.
At that point the dealer can drive the car off a cliff if they want to, that’s their problem, not yours.
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Would the below condition tires pass Mercedes inspection? Talking about the wear as the car had an alignment issue, not the tread. Thinking about turning in lease early rather than spend on tires. There’s nothing about condition of tires in the MB lease end guidance, just minimum tread requirement
Go to discount tire and check the 3 depths on each tire, visually hard to tell
They do it for free in the air pressure line
Yea, all they’re going to check is tread depth.
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Let me ask my glitch moment here:
I just had the weirdest lease return ever. Got to Bruce Bennet Nissan in Wilton, CT
Told them I’m returning the lease. They took the plates off and gave them to me, took my key, and said That’s it.
I’m like, what about paperwork, and they said no paperwork. And kept insisting it’s a new policy. And I was like, ‘About the odometer statement,’ and they said, ‘No, need.’
I glitched and didn’t ask for a manager and just left. Came home and chatted online with Nissan Finance, and they said they are not aware of this policy change…
So… just to let you all know… don’t make my glitch and walk out without signed paperwork.
Unless it is a really new policy for Nissan… Is it?
Updated the list with Porsche Financial Services