Are you leasing a car and turning in it back soon? You should be aware that there could be turn-in fees at the end of your lease. Unless you plan to trade in or sell your lease, you will have to have an inspection to assess any damages and mileage overages for the leasing company to bill you accordingly. How to survive the inspection and save on car lease turn-in fees at the end of the lease term? Here are some tips to help you save on car lease turn-in fees.
Pre-inspection
If you want to see what your lease turn-in fees will look like, you can arrange a lease-end pre-inspection done by a third-party company. The inspector can give you an accurate appraisal by checking your leased car. So that it can help you to have an estimate on the lease turn-in fees and plan ahead.
Excess mileage
When you signed up for your lease, the lessor offers a range of mileage allowances for every year. For example, lessors can offer a range from 8,000 to 20,000 miles per year, and you choose the mileage that fits best for your need for your lease. However, if you drove more during the lease term than you expected and went over the mileage allowances, you should call back the leasing company and buy more miles prior to turning the car in. Considering lessors generally will charge between 10 to 25 cents per mile, buying more miles might actually be more cost-effective and cheaper than paying the penalty fee in the end.
Repair damages in advance
Dents and scratches could be the toughest part when it comes to turning in your lease. It’s one of the most common issues your car may have received during the lease. Small dings, scratches, and stains are often considered to be legitimate wear and tear. So, if these imperfections are less than two inches in length, you will no need to worry about them since the leasing company will mostly waive them off. However, for scratches and dents that are larger than two inches, you should get them repaired via a 3rd party repairer that could charge you much less than your leasing company.
Damaged bumpers are another common issue, and they can be very costly if not fixed before turn in your leased car. Other equipment like window regulators, navigation systems, AC, and radio should work properly. Otherwise, it’s better to get them fixed in advance as you may save money on the repair than paying the penalty.
Last but never least, you will need to replace tires if they have under 4/32-inch of treadwear left on them. Since the leasing company can charge you a high fee for new tires. The most cost-effective way to replace them is with a set of used tires before turning in the car.
If you think the imperfections and damages are unavoidable, such as you have small children, or due to your driving habits. You might consider buying wear-and-tear protection. Your lessor generally should offer such coverage or insurance, or from an independent insurer. Such policies cover common repair costs up to $5,000 at your vehicle’s turn-in.
Make sure that your leased car gets scheduled maintenance
You should have scheduled regular maintenance for your leased car. Don’t forget to keep a written record of these maintenances. So that you can prove you have changed the oil regularly, checked fluid levels, rotated the tires follow the schedule. These records will help demonstrate that you were not at fault when you encounter engine trouble or any other mechanical problems.
Sell your lease or stay with the brand
If you get your pre-inspection done and the total amount of damages and repairs are too high for you to afford. You can get the car appraised at Carnex. If the amount that they appraise your car is higher than the “lease buyout” amount, or the amount is very close so it can be able to break even. Then you may consider getting rid of your lease since this will be the easiest way to circumvent the high lease-end charges. But if paying the lease-end penalties for the repairs is an effective way and totally affordable, then you may go just that direction instead.
Lastly, if you turn in your lease and decided to go with another brand, it’s likely that you will be charged a disposition fee. The free ranges from around $200 to $600, depending on the brand and there is no way around it. Unless you stick with the same brand then you can be able to avoid this fee.
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