I have no problems with that
@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. Theyāre 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 itās unlikely your next lease will be through them so theyāre just trying to capitalize.
When you return the car to the dealer there is a 2nd inspection to verify no damage in the interim. Youād be bribing someone for nothing
Curb rash (at least in OC and TX) is approx $125 to fix. Itās 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 heās 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. Itās up to US Bank to put a dollar value on the inspection report he sends in.
The inspection was pretty painless. They charged me for what I knew iād get dinged on.
Take them to small claims.
Iām always scared of the outrageous excess wear & tear charges for a lease return. Which banks are known to have lenient lease returns?
We have leased 2 Mercedes in the past and both times they were extremely lenient w/ the damages. On our last GL we had several decent sized scuffs from living in Manhattan and MB didnāt charge us for the damages. We now have a BMW lease, I wonder if they will be as lenient as MB at the lease return.
Nissan/NMAC seems to be pretty lenient. My wife kissed the garage wall 3 months before turn in. Body shop estimated damages around 2,000. NMAC estimated it under 500. We turned the car in damaged, and ended up in another Nissan. NMAC had a damage waiver of 500 when leasing a new car, so we got away owing nothing. The captives are much more likely to be lenient than 3rd party banks, however, as they want to keep you in their brand.
How does a Check Brake light affect Lease return?
I am pretty sure its on cuz it needs a brake job.
Probably should list make model and lender for an accurate answer.
Audi Financial. Audi A4.
According to Audi youāre fucked.
Check your brake fluid level to see if that clears the light. That cleared it on my wifes VW Routan minivan once. The light would turn on and off and it was just the fluid sensor and which way the car was oriented on a hill. I topped it off with fluid and no more light.
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But the real question is is why is the brake fluid low. The brake hydraulic system is a closed system, so if the fluid is low it indicates either a leak in the system that could lead to a catastrophic brake failure or that the pads are worn enough to cause an apparently low fluid indication. In either case an inspector may see it depending on how in depth they inspect the car. It shouldnāt cost anything but time to have a shop check the brake system.
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Excess Wear and Use
āService indicator lights
are on indicating repair is
needed (i.e., check engine
light, airbag light, and
anti-lock brake light/ABS)ā
- Audi
Iām a little late to this thread, but I thought I would share my experience as well. My Lease āReturnā was horrible.
I tried paying my final payment online for a week but it never went through and I thought perhaps the online banking was down. After that week, I called US Bank and they said all final lease payments must be mailed in as a paper check. Looking through all of my documents and letters, this was never stated. So I mailed in the check. 10 days later I received a call that my payment was late and they had not received the check. I called my personal bank and the bank said it was sent but may have been lost. I placed a Stop Check and called US Bank back to let them know I was sending a second check. They gave me the address which was different than the one I was originally told to send it to.
The next day, I find out that US Bank processed the check but because of the Stop Check it was now sent back. I was given a third address to send the new check to and I overnighted it asking for it to be signed for.
They received it and it took 5 days to process.
At the same time I had decided to buy it and one of the bankers I spoke to said that because there are no banks in Michigan that I would go through the dealer or another institution. I called the dealer I originally got the lease from and in one day had purchased the car and thankfully financed it through another institution. I was super happy the month long ordeal was over.
Just today, I received a bill from US Bank for $200. I called them and asked what was going onā¦banker says to disregard that, we owe you a refund of $200 nowā¦
Iāve spoken to the bank now every day for 3 weeks trying to figure out everything. They charged me two extra late fees and a return check fee all due to their malfunctions. They said I could ask for those fees to be returned to me, but it would take 5 weeksā¦ Additionally, when I mentioned that I would like to take the purchase option, the banker said it would take over a monthā¦
In short, donāt go through US Bank.
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Better check your credit report.
Iāve had no issues with US Bank. Then again it seems itās different from person to person. Kinda like experiences with certain dealers/car manufacturers.
So Iām considering leasing through US Bank right now. But This thread is giving me pause. Going with the Captive raises my price by $800 so the question is, stay with US Bank and save $800 now or go with Chrysler Capital and pay the $800 but hopefully have a better end experience.
Alternatively the dealership is offering āexcessive wear and tearā coverage for $699ā¦ So Iām starting to think that that coverage and sticking with US bank is the maximum amount of protection for the lower priceā¦ vs also rolling the dice with chrysler for a higher price but no excessive wear and tear coverage.
Any thoughts? This one is a toughy.