I just returned an XC90 after barely driving it for 1.5 years (7k total miles), and got a report stating that I have $360 in excessive wear and tear. I cannot tell much from the pics, and it seems sketchy. Most people probably just pay these amounts, but I am thinking of contesting out of principle. I am in NY and there is an arbitration procedure for it. Anyone have any experience with this?
For $360, cut a check and don’t waste your time. I’m sure it’s frustrating, but you’ll spend more than $360 worth of time arguing with them.
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Did you schedule a pre-return inspection?
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No, I am fairly new to leasing and frankly, given how little I drove the car and how well I took care of it, I didn’t think this was even possible. My only other lease before this, we had no charges. Do others nitpick like this too? I just leased a BMW for my other car.
Did you read the letter Volvo sent you around 3-4 months before lease end? If you did, it explains how to schedule end of lease inspection. I just did mine and have zero charges plus the detailed report.
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I ended the lease five months early to get into a new Volvo (which I regret now), so I was just getting these letters as I was exchanging for the new XC90. I might have even gotten them after I made the exchange. I don’t remember.
You should ask them to waive the charges given you apparently leased another Volvo from them.
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What was detailed in the report? Bumper scratches? Gouged rims? Tears in seats?
Do you have pictures in the area they described the damage.
You can try disputing it with Volvo Financial before escalating further.
Volvo used to have $1k waver for wear & tear. They may still have it, maybe lower amount.
Wheels and door. I even had a wheel and rims protection package. I think the door is complete bs. I have a photo of it luckily and shows no damage. Cannot tell anything from their photos.
I’d give Volvo a call first then before escalating. They may just drop the whole thing. Unfortunately this is why pre-return inspections are necessary; to avoid surprises like these.
Thanks everyone. I’ll call them on Monday. They don’t appear to have an email address.
I remember AutoVIN (the inspection company) started messaging me several months prior to lease expiration regarding scheduling an inspection. I bet that OP received those messages and letters in the mail too.
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You can send them a message from your account.
Does Volvo do 18 month leases? I’m curious if you ate some negative equity to begin with.
He did pull ahead, so no negative or positive.
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$350 in wear and tear charges actually means about 2k in wear and tear, because Volvo gives you like $1500 in wear and tear for free (this referring to all the sprucing up of a vehicle that gets done to get it ready for sale). Don’t quote me on that number, I’m just remembering a conversation I had with the volvo guy in the finance office.
If you didn’t damage anything, or stain anything, and you didn’t need new tires, I’m very suspicious of it. Like another poster said, they probably figure they can ding everyone for that amount and it isn’t worth fighting so they let it slide.
They’re going to need that $300+ per car with all the underwater T8’s rolling in at lease maturity…
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