Excessive Wear & Tear for Lease Car

Not necessary. I took decent care of my BRZ that I'm returning next month. If there were any damages I'd fix them myself, after all, the damages list is pretty generous when it comes to things that can happen on your car, scuffs on the bumper the size of a paper bill, dents, not larger than a baseball, stains not larger than a quarter ...

Depends on the cost of replacment parts vs the cost of the plan.
Things you will need to change after 4 years are brake pads and tires. They allow certain number of chips and size of dent.

I have returned a few cars and i have no issue. only thing i replaced were brake pads for the last car i returned. OEM tires passed inspection. Had a few chips on hood which had no problem. A 3 inch dent on the door and they asked for $75.

I did on my Cadillac. Extra $20 a month for peace of mind.

Think it depends on the car. Buddy had an Audi and they raped you for every pin prick.

foodyforlife wrote: ↑Think it depends on the car. Buddy had an Audi and they raped you for every pin prick.

Here is the magic phase,

"If you decide to take a new model today, i will take care of your return."

Dealer was willing to take back a car 18 months prior to lease end for any condition without charges if they know that you are leasing a new one.

You could always buy some detailing products, and do a mass detail job on it before returning it. Hide all the scratches, and remove the stains etc. lol If the car is a little banged up it would save you some money most likely. Maybe not completely ethical, but than the dealers would sell you a cosmetically modified car in a heart beat too so.

It depends on you....and where you drive and park and how your drive and, how long the lease is. The longer it is in your possession, the more chance there is for the door ding gnomes to attack.
A scratch in excess of the allowable length will require an entire panel to be re-painted, at dealers body shop at dealer rates...that alone costs more then the insurance.

How strict are they on tire treads? Do they have to be not past a certain point (not talking to the point of zero tread).

Inclemental wrote: ↑Here is the magic phase,

"If you decide to take a new model today, i will take care of your return."

Dealer was willing to take back a car 18 months prior to lease end for any condition without charges if they know that you are leasing a new one.

Very common misconception.

Your lease belongs to a leasing company and has very little to do with the dealership (unless of course it is though an in house leasor.. rare)

When you return a car at the end of its term, the manufacturer / dealer have nothing to do with it.. The leasing company sends out an independent company to inspect the vehicle and report anything that is outside of the allowable wear and tear. If you are buying a new unit from them they are not "taking care of the charges" they are merely rolling it into the new car and you payment is slightly higher because of it.

If you are getting out of the lease at 18 months or even a few months before the end, the dealership is either transferring your lease to someone else, buying it out a slight discount from the residual + your payments or they are returning with the remaining payments. That being said.. either way your payments on the new car would be significantly less if your other car didn't exist.. the cost of terminating your current lease is rolled into your new one.

trixR4kids wrote: ↑How strict are they on tire treads? Do they have to be not past a certain point (not talking to the point of zero tread).

3.2 mm of tread.. the car must pass a safety.

Every dealer is now offering dent warranty when buying or leasing a new vehicle. Pay attention to panels covered, example hood, roof, trunk, doors etc. Most only cover side panels and not hood, trunk, roof. Pay attention to size of dents, diameter, and depth in the coverage. All these factors you should be watching for and asking questions.