Hassles on returning leased vehicles at end of lease

[waLeaf]

How easy is it to return a leased vehicle at the end of the lease? What kind or additional fees/charges that I need to be worried about or negotiate up front?

What about minor scratches/dents/chips etc. All my cars got scratches by random vehicles in parking lots. Will I be responsible for these at the end or the lease. Considering that even a minor ding to the bumper could cause 500-1000$ to fix, little worried about leasing as this is going to be my first lease.

 

[MrIanB]

How easy is it to return a leased vehicle at the end of the lease? What kind or additional fees/charges that I need to be worried about or negotiate up front?

What about minor scratches/dents/chips etc. All my cars got scratches by random vehicles in parking lots. Will I be responsible for these at the end or the lease. Considering that even a minor ding to the bumper could cause 500-1000$ to fix, little worried about leasing as this is going to be my first lease.

You make an appt about a month before returning car with I believe a Nissan or indep company and they will look over the car, give you cost and what they consider damage. They allow for x amounts of dings and scratches as normal wear and tear. That gives you time to fix or pay at time of returning car.

Ian B

 

[cwerdna]

What about minor scratches/dents/chips etc. All my cars got scratches by random vehicles in parking lots. Will I be responsible for these at the end or the lease. Considering that even a minor ding to the bumper could cause 500-1000$ to fix, little worried about leasing as this is going to be my first lease.

I've never leased a car, but after getting some bad door dings on my previous cars, I make it a point to park far away and away from other cars, if possible. I hate door dings!

 

[planet4ever]

Someone clearly bumped me from behind one day while I was parallel parked. They left two hex-screw-head shaped indentations in my rear fender, obviously from their front license plate holder. I painted over them but they are fairly noticeable. I'm rather dreading what that is going to mean when I turn the car in.

Ray

 

[cwerdna]

Someone clearly bumped me from behind one day while I was parallel parked. They left two hex-screw-head shaped indentations in my rear fender, obviously from their front license plate holder. I painted over them but they are fairly noticeable. I'm rather dreading what that is going to mean when I turn the car in.

Yeah, that really sucks when people use the "braille" method of parallel parking. I once was at a parallel parked at a park and came back to my car to find the bumper of another car directly against and touching mine. :roll:

The original poster of http://priuschat.com/threads/problems-with-paint-chipping-away.82180/#post-1147574" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; really cracks me up about his paint complaints while being "exceedingly careful drivers". :roll:

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i put a rather large scratch on my back bumper (more like a gouge...) and covered it up with a bumper sticker.

oh maybe i should not have posted that on a public forum?

 

[vrwl]

i put a rather large scratch on my back bumper (more like a gouge...) and covered it up with a bumper sticker.

oh maybe i should not have posted that on a public forum?

Sounds like what we did with our refrigerator. Got ours from a huge scratch & dent sale for a $1000 discount. A few strategically placed magnets on the fridge "fixed" any visible flaws. :lol:

 

[ttweed]

Someone clearly bumped me from behind one day while I was parallel parked. They left two hex-screw-head shaped indentations in my rear fender, obviously from their front license plate holder.

Exact same thing happened to my wife. No note left, no responsibility taken, just bump and run. People these days! :evil:

Don't know if you have these guys up in Morgan Hill, Ray, but they can make the dings disappear for reasonable money:
http://www.kearnymesabumperdoc.com/?gclid=CI_EsOyDkLQCFUlxQgodJ0cAiQ

TT

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Someone clearly bumped me from behind one day while I was parallel parked. They left two hex-screw-head shaped indentations in my rear fender, obviously from their front license plate holder.

Exact same thing happened to my wife. No note left, no responsibility taken, just bump and run. People these days! :evil:

Don't know if you have these guys up in Morgan Hill, Ray, but they can make the dings disappear for reasonable money:
http://www.kearnymesabumperdoc.com/?gclid=CI_EsOyDkLQCFUlxQgodJ0cAiQ

TT

oh great! its probably "EV parking lot rage"

 

[redLEAF]

How easy is it to return a leased vehicle at the end of the lease? What kind or additional fees/charges that I need to be worried about or negotiate up front?

What about minor scratches/dents/chips etc. All my cars got scratches by random vehicles in parking lots. Will I be responsible for these at the end or the lease. Considering that even a minor ding to the bumper could cause 500-1000$ to fix, little worried about leasing as this is going to be my first lease.

OK, OK ... back to the OP's question. I've leased two cars, a Ford and a Mazda so each ones take on 'acceptable' wear and tear may be yet a bit different than Nissan's but close anyway. The general rule of thumb is if it's larger than putting a credit card over it, its too big and you'll probably get dinged for it so if you use that and get the bigger stuff buffed out or dent less repair, etc. at your own cost may be better than losing any security deposit (if any, some waive that as well) if it doesn't cover fixing the damage. A pre-inspection as one poster mentioned is a safe bet as well as it's well before you turn in the car so you have time to fix it; they may give you an estimate and then you can judge yourself if its worth it. In my own case, the Miata was backed into across the door and part of the front fender and was fixed before turning it in, but I wasn't totally happy with the repair (it was a red car which are hard to stay fixed, re-painting can fade at different rates over time) ... did not lose my security deposit at all as the car still 'looked' fine. I came across this .pdf file from a Lexus 'return lease' document which does a good job of showing what you'll need to get fixed or otherwise be charged for, I'm sure Nissan is close to this criteria but may be more lenient or more strict but this is a good start ... if none of what you describe is this bad you're probably OK.

http://www.raycatenafreehold.com/UploadData/lfs_lease_end_brochure.pdf

 

[planet4ever]

I came across this .pdf file from a Lexus 'return lease' document which does a good job of showing what you'll need to get fixed or otherwise be charged for, I'm sure Nissan is close to this criteria but may be more lenient or more strict but this is a good start

Which reminds me - for anyone who hasn't found it, when you go to the Nissan owners site, on the left side you can click on END OF LEASE and then LEARN MORE under Return your Nissan. You'll find a general description there with a pointer to a Wear and Use Guide.

This is not specific to the LEAF; indeed they show pictures of eight other Nissan models, and not a LEAF at all, but I assume their rules and guidelines would be the same. In case you are puzzled when you open the PDF, the first page is blank except for a large blue spot and four pictures of cars at the bottom that may well be below what you can see on your screen.

Ray

 

[SSS]

A closely related issue --Car Fax, et al, report insurance body repair. We were scraped along the passenger side by a truck. His insurance paid 100% and our Leaf is fixed perfectly, but now we won't have a clear history. I'm wondering if we will loose at lease end?

 

[kikbuti]

A closely related issue --Car Fax, et al, report insurance body repair. We were scraped along the passenger side by a truck. His insurance paid 100% and our Leaf is fixed perfectly, but now we won't have a clear history. I'm wondering if we will loose at lease end?

Repairs need to be made in a manner satisfactory for resale. You won't lose out because the vehicle was damaged and repaired unless the repair was substandard.

With Nissan, if you lease another Nissan, they will waive up to $500 EWT, waive the termination fee, and waive a few payments so that you can get into a new Nissan early. They bend over backwards.

A big expense to look for when leasing a vehicle is damaged wheels. If your wheels have curb damage, they charge for a new wheel. On my Cadillac, it was $600 per wheel. However, you can get wheels repaired. We have a place in Cincinnati called the Wheel Doctor. They will refinish your wheels for very little money. So don't turn in a lease with damaged wheels.

 

[apvbguy]

A closely related issue --Car Fax, et al, report insurance body repair. We were scraped along the passenger side by a truck. His insurance paid 100% and our Leaf is fixed perfectly, but now we won't have a clear history. I'm wondering if we will loose at lease end?

you shouldn't have any issues as long as the car was repaired properly
My wife was involved in an accident in a leased car that had many thousands of dollars in damages, I made it known to the insurance company that the car had to be repaired in the dealer's facility so that when the time came to turn the car in if there were any questions regarding the repairs, the dealership would be in the middle of it. at turn in time there were no questions asked

 

[ksnogas2112]

My wife was involved in an accident in a leased car that had many thousands of dollars in damages, I made it known to the insurance company that the car had to be repaired in the dealer's facility so that when the time came to turn the car in if there were any questions regarding the repairs, the dealership would be in the middle of it. at turn in time there were no questions asked

That's a good recommendation for anyone who leases. I will file that away for the next car.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Stolen from an earlier thread:

"At lease end there will be an inspection of the car by an inspector provided by the leasing company. You could be held responsible for any unauthorized permanent modifications, and any damage or wear beyond what is considered "normal." If you lease through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp, they have a brochure which specifies their definition of "normal wear and tear." You are also expected to keep the car serviced as per the manufacturer's recommedations, and if the car is found to have damage which could have been prevented with routine maintenance, you could be held responsible for it. You must also return the car with tires in acceptable condition (NMAC defines this as a matching set with at least 4/32 tread)."

"If you find yourself beyond the mileage allotment and/or in worse condition than would be acceptable to the leasing company, you can get out of this by purchasing the car for the Residual Value, or finding someone else (like a dealer) to do so for you."