I have a similar experience with US Bank 4-5 years ago on a Chevy lease return. I would not lease another vehicle through US Bank ever again.
No dealers would take the car return. I basically had to beg a dealer to take the car return for US Bank since I was picking up a new car from that dealer. They attempted to send me a bill for new tires and front bumper replacement. The tires were new replacementa less than 2 months old and the front bumper had a dime size rock chip.
I was able to have them remove the tire charge since I provided them with a dated reciept that all tires were replaced less than 60 days ago. At the end, I still have to pay a hefty price for a rock chip on the front bumper.
That sucks, I have a great experience with a return of a Camaro last year with USB. Try to see if you can negotiate the charges (I have had 50% waived if I agree to pay right away with a different leasing company. It cannot hurt to ask.)
Exact same experience with US Bank and my 2013 Volt. $1600 ding for excess wear and tear eventually reduced to $1000. Atrocious to deal with. My dealer said they are by far the worst financier to deal with.Leased another 2017 Volt with Gm Financial thankfully this time around.
@buster11xx My 2014 Camaro lease ends Feb. 2018 with US Bank. Did you have any noticable damage when you returned your Camaro? I currently have a scratch on the hood that should buff out, and a door ding that needs touching up. Other than that I don’t see anything excessive.
@GOMD No noticeable damage, just some curb rash on the wheels. They did not mention that at the inspection. It was a very smooth process from start to finish. I did get the pre inspection-- so if something was noticed I would have time to get it fixed.
@michael Your father’s experience lines up with the stories I have heard in the industry but none have been as detailed as yours. It sounds like US Bank is very disconnected internally with a very rigid business rule about their turn-in process. Every lender should make customer retention one of the top goals, if not the top one. They were one of the few banks that stayed in the game through the recession and have enjoyed a decent lease volume due to slight price advantages over the captives (on a few models) and flat fees paid to dealers.
I wonder if the experience is any different on a car that they aren’t taking a total bath on? Luckily the other 3rd party lenders actually care about retaining customers.
I don’t see how they could argue it is excess wear when your documentation clearly shows it’s within the limits of the wear and tear rules? No way to escalate?
It brings up a good point though- is there any official protection for consumers in these situations? Is it a process that’s protected by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Sounds like shady credit collection practices-they are a lender…they are leveling charges at you under duress that would hurt your credit if you don’t pay etc…someone more clued up on this kind of issue can weigh in.
Like I said before - they are used to dealing with subprime lenders, hence strong-arm tactics. All normal lenders have guidelines for normal wear/tear.
There is no way that this is plainly legal, where a business can contradict their own return guidelines, essentially ignore documentation, and have final say in the matter with no recourse. They have every incentive to abuse consumers.
If the lease has an arbitration clause for disputes, tell them that you’ll pursue that. Other options include threatening to take them to small claims court and/or get the Department of Consumer Affairs involved if you don’t get a more reasonable response out of them.
I hd a very similar experience. The inspector called out all sorts of things that should have been normal wear and tear as stated in the lease-end documents I received. Mine was about $1300 as well but I ended up advertising the car and sold it to a private party. He got a great price (thousands less than he would have paid at a dealer) and I didn’t have to pay for the repairs. A win-win which is very surprising when US Bank is involved.
I have autovin scheduled to come out tomorrow for a pre-return inspection. USBank lease. I have a few items I know need repair. One wheel has some decent curb rash as well. Not looking forward to this, based on above I’m preparing myself.
@RVguy remember i raised that concern when we were discussing using credit unions to lease.
I personally think lease return charges are just a profit center for US bank and most other non-captive lenders. They’re not interested in selling you another model unlike a captive would be and i think they just wanna squeeze out as much as they can at the end. They prob know it’s unlikely your next lease will be through them so they’re just trying to capitalize.
Curb rash (at least in OC and TX) is approx $125 to fix. It’s actually pretty scary how they fix it (they grind it first) and then paint it back. Guaranteed to pass lease inspection FWIW http://www.drwheel.com/
I had mine done (still 30 months before lease ends) because I hate seeing curb rash
I spoke to the inspector at length as he did my co-workers car three weeks prior to mine. Nice enough guy but he’s tasked with noting every ding, dent, paint ship, scratch, etc. He said the auction house wants detailed notes for their buyers and he only reports what he sees. It’s up to US Bank to put a dollar value on the inspection report he sends in.
