When a lease is over

[Lease-V-cross]

Anyone familiar with leasing?
I had my lease inspection done about three weeks ago and I am still waiting on the paperwork.
The inspector pointed out that my window was faulty. I tell him that I have had my passenger window fixed about five times and I have all the paperwork to back it up. I was basically told that the window was "unfixable" and I should expext it to malfunction again.
I tell the inspector this and he says "I'm just a middle-man...that's between you and the bank".
Nice, huh? He must get that a lot.
He also says that I have several blemishes on the black molding around my VX. I told him that those marks were on there before I leased it and the salesman took note of all of them. Naturally, I never got a copy of this "checklist". I ran my VIN number on CARFAX and apparently there was a prior owner in Florida for 11 months. He leased it too as a demo.

The inspector didn't say anything about the new CD player I had to put in after the 6 CD changer broke after its 2 year warranty ran out.
My question....should I remove the CD player I had installed and replace it with the broken six-CD changer deck?
Anyone ever have a situation like this with a leased vehicle?
I'm not sure if I should just let them have the new CD player or not?
I have a feeling I am going to get slammed with some closing fees when I turn this in, so at the same time I feel like keeping my CD player and installing the Isuzu Factory player back in.

[JAFO]

I've never leased a vehicle but I would think that it would be a reasonable expectation that if something broke on the vehicle that you leased, you would be obligated to have it replaced.

Idealy if you lease a new vehicle most all parts are covered under the factory warranty, so the factory pays. The problem occurs when the warranty runs out or does not cover the part. I would say yes, you are obligated to pay or replace it with a comparable part.

[nfpgasmask]

Well, you really should not get dinged too bad unless you went over your miles. Thats when they really stick it to you. We had a Nissan 240SX leased before we got the Xterra. It was only a few hundred miles away from going over the alotted mileage when I returned it. The car was in good shape with only some minor wear. In our case, we got a sweet low interest rate on a new Nissan if we turned in a Nissan leased vehicle. We made a deal with the dealer to waive any and all lease return fees and give us a good rate on a new Nissan vehicle. So, after we got it worked out, the Nissan dealer detailed the heck out of the 240SX and made it look pretty much brand new. I returned it at the Nissan inspection place without any trouble. I think it really just comes down to the mileage and overall condition. But, I don't know how it works if you change out stock parts.

Hmmm, I guess I really was no help here
Bart

[Raque Thomas]

On the CD player, they have the right actually to charge for non factory equipment you put in; however, they rarely do this. I'd put the factory unit back in and keep your new one. If the inspection's been done, you should be good. On the dings tothe black - normal wear and tear is allowed without charge - so unless these are big marks or actual dents, you should not be charged for those either. Normally, the inspector and the leasing companies are not related except contractually. The inspector's job is to note anything he finds - that doesn't mean the leasing company will charge you for all of it.

[thedutchguy]

I would never lease a VX window myself

[VXD959]

What are you planning to do with the VX? Return it or buy it back? What's the residual value at the end of the lease? Please let me know. I might be interested in purchasing it depending on price/miles. I'll hate for the dealership to send it to an auction. Let them know that you have someone that is interested.

Thx,

[darkl4805]

I just turned in my leased 2002 Honda S2000. I had a 4yr lease and bought it straight from the dealer. I upgraded the center console and one of the cover plates to the new 2004 interior. I also put in a killer sound system replacing all the speakers and head unit.

The inspector told me to talk to the dealer and and my leasing company.

I spoke with them and they said they would charge me to re-install the stock stereo/speakers and center console/cover plate. I was told the leased vehicle needs to be returned in the exact same manner as it was leased. IE, I leased it with sport racing tires so it had to have sport racing tires when it was returned, etc...

I had everything returned to stock prior to returning it and never had an issue after that. Hope this info helps.

[nfpgasmask]

Right, just like renting an apartment, you can paint the walls hot pink and the trim green if you want, but you either need to repaint it all back to the original color or be prepared to pay when you move out...thus, leasing is not a good idea for us who like to mod and upgrade...

What I am trying to figure out, is that when you lease a vehicle you typically have the option to buy the vehicle when your lease is up...so why not just buy your leased VX? At least then you wouldn't have to part with it!

Bart

I just turned in my leased 2002 Honda S2000. I had a 4yr lease and bought it straight from the dealer. I upgraded the center console and one of the cover plates to the new 2004 interior. I also put in a killer sound system replacing all the speakers and head unit.

The inspector told me to talk to the dealer and and my leasing company.

I spoke with them and they said they would charge me to re-install the stock stereo/speakers and center console/cover plate. I was told the leased vehicle needs to be returned in the exact same manner as it was leased. IE, I leased it with sport racing tires so it had to have sport racing tires when it was returned, etc...

I had everything returned to stock prior to returning it and never had an issue after that. Hope this info helps.

[Lease-V-cross]

Well, my VX was turned back in and a week later I get a nice letter from my bank saying that I owe over $600 in closing fees. Wow!

Some of the fees I totally expected, but the bank is also trying to get $150 out of me for excessive "wear & tear". Most of this so-called damage was already on the VX before I even leased it. Now I have to call the original dealership and try and get some paperwork proof when I first leased the vehicle five years ago.

It never ends...