The lease on my VW is ending soon, and I have never done this before so I have some questions about turning in a leased vehicle.

First, at some point some asshole keyed my passenger door, and there is also a noticeable ding in the same general area. Should I try to get the door fixed before I turn the car in? Or wait and see how much they'll charge me?

There are also some broken pieces inside the car (the crappy pop-out cup holder and cigarette lighter on the back of the center armrest). What (if anything) should I do about that?

Finally, I'm not exactly sure when I have to turn in the car...strangely, the lease does not say. What it does say is that the first payment was due 5/10/05 (the day of signing), followed by 47 more payments. So I take this to mean that the last payment is due in April. Since I've been paying at the beginning of the month, would this mean that the lease ends May 9th?

2/20/2009 6:07:19 PM

i would fix the items inside first. they are the easiest to replace.

i'd take the car to a body shop (garner collision) and ask them about the door and dent.

not sure why you wouldn't just call them about the turn in date.

2/20/2009 6:12:40 PM

OMG a Girl!

I would check the lease for the "normal wear and tear" section. You may not have to fix the door ding, and I don't remember how bad the scratch is. You know I can fix all of your interior stuff, and probably get a better deal on it than you can. Let me know what you decide on that stuff.

2/20/2009 6:24:03 PM

Swarm! j/k

Are you in Raleigh? Either way PM me and based on how your lease is set up I'll explain what you need to do.

2/20/2009 9:01:46 PM

it's a vw, if it hasn't fallen apart by now, they will be happy to get scrap value for it

2/20/2009 9:16:20 PM

Quote :

"it's a vw, if it hasn't fallen apart by now, they will be happy to get scrap value for it"

LOL, why do you think I'm turning in instead of buying it or getting another lease?

2/21/2009 9:36:22 AM

I'm gonna bttt this and ask my question, if you don't mind.

My lease is up in one month. I am turning in the vehicle. I have already made an appointment for them to come to my office to do my inspection. I just got a letter in the mail giving me a list of what to do next month. One of those items is: Bring Owner's Manual, including proof of maintenance.

I was not told to keep records of oil changes, tire rotations, etc. This is my first lease, so I didn't even think to ask if that's what needed to be done. Has anyone turned in a lease and been required to show this kind of proof? Without these kinds of receipts, am I in trouble?

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 8:43 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2009 8:41:31 PM

Unless you can take advantage of it for tax purposes as a business expense, why in the world would you lease a car to begin with?

3/18/2009 10:09:48 PM

Because I got a brand new 2007 LX V6 Honda Accord for $200/mo for 2 years. It was a great deal...so I did it. And unless they can give me 0% financing for 4 years on a 2009 LX V6 Honda Accord, I'm gonna lease again. Cars lose their value way too fast to warrant buying new. And I won't buy used, so that leaves but one option.

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 10:16 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2009 10:15:47 PM

you made a monthly payment for 4 years and now you don't have a damn thing to show for it. but this logic is probably lost on someone who "won't buy used".

3/18/2009 10:20:17 PM

i made a $200/mo payment for 2 years, and now i'm giving the car back. it's no different from renting an apartment. how about let's get off this "you're stupid for leasing" kick - because we all know where that leads, it's been done 100 times.

i'd just like to know who has turned in their lease, and if they have, were you required to show proof of oil changes and tire rotations during the course of your lease.

3/18/2009 10:31:13 PM

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 10:43 PM. Reason : you don't have the proof, so what does it matter?]

3/18/2009 10:38:08 PM

Quote :

"Unless you can take advantage of it for tax purposes as a business expense, why in the world would you lease a car to begin with? "

if the cost of the lease over the two years that she leased the car is less than the expected depreciation of the car during that time frame, then a lease is a good option. You also have to consider that a leased car that costs $200 a month would cost $500 a month to purchase and finance, so the lease leaves you with $300 a month that you can invest in something that doesn't depreciate.

3/18/2009 10:47:28 PM

Or you could pay in cash

or at least put a significant amount down and not finance much



and refusing to buy used is silly. i've MADE money on the whole on the last 3 cars I've bought and sold.

Quote :

" it's been done 100 times"

After about the 10th of those 100 times, I would've figured that maybe there's a reason people are saying it.

3/18/2009 11:00:02 PM

i've owned one used car, it was the first car i ever had. it was in the shop 10 times in 12 months with a broken water pump, messed up spark plugs, shit everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and that car cost my parents more money than it was worth. and after having that car for about 18 months it was enough to tell me that i'll never own another used car again.

also - who the fuck has $5,000+ to just hand over for a new car? i'm willing to bet 90% of the general population doesn't. so i don't know why you'd act like that's even a viable option.

3/18/2009 11:03:22 PM

and you'd still be putting a significant amount of money down on a vehicle that is going to depreciate. My first sentence is really the only evaluation that needs to be made on a lease.

I've heard you make that statement about making money on the last 3 cars you've owned, and I laugh every time I read it. It will be a cold day in hell before I believe you found someone to pay for the modifications you made to your cars in addition to the value of the car plus a profit.

3/18/2009 11:06:25 PM

I'm not trying to be an asshole here, I promise.

...but if you're 27 years old and don't have $5000 that you could put down on a car, the last thing you need to be doing is leasing a car, or even financing anything more than basic transportation. You're pushing that boulder up the hill just so it can roll back down...until you start living within or beneath your means and get some savings accumulated. $5000 in the bank at 27 years old? Umm, that's not far-fetched--that's just where you ought to be. I probably had double that sitting around in cash at age 27. One of my roommates had his truck paid off (I'm guessing it was worth $10k. don't know what he bought it for) and finished paying off his motorcycle, and I don't think he was even 27 at the time (although he had a good paying intership all through college).

as far as buying used cars, you know you can still buy one a few years old with a warranty, right? not to mention that having a bad time with one old beater is no reason to limit yourself to new cars only forever. My first car broke all the time, too. So what? Hell, it had worse problems than a water pump or spark plugs, too. Those barely even count as problems so much as just maintenance items. I've blown up 2 car transmissions and a motorcycle transmission--I still maintain that buying new is retarded. But hey, what do I know? I've only owned 8 cars, 4 motorcycles, and 2 jet skis.

Look at how much a brand new car depreciates. How much do you really think you're going to have to spend on repairs on, say, a 3-4 year old car over the few years you own it? Maybe you get unlucky, but the odds are OVERWHELMING that you'll spend way less than that new car is GUARANTEED to depreciate...especially since a 3-4 year old used car will still be under warranty for a year or three.

Quote :

"It will be a cold day in hell before I believe you found someone to pay for the modifications you made to your cars in addition to the value of the car plus a profit. "

All of my cars that have been modded had all of the major stuff done when I bought them.

Last 3 cars I've bought and sold:

2001 Honda S2000 (mods: supercharged, exhaust, nice stereo, $4000 worth of wheels). Paid $20,000, had 37k miles when I bought it. Sold it 2 years later with a blown stereo amp, bald tires, and 70k miles for $22k (or maybe it was $22.5k. I can't remember). I never spent a single cent on it except for oil/filter/air filter changes and tire replacements, which I would've had to do even if I'd leased it. I don't count that.

next up:

2001 BMW 330ci. Bone stock, with Harmon Kardon stereo and sport package. Paid $16k for it, sold it for $19k a few months later. I think I did one oil change on it...that's it.

next up:

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Bone stock, bought it for $26k with 7k miles, drove it for a year and a half, sold it with bald tires and 27k miles for $26.5k. Had to put a clutch in it ($1100) and replace the tires once ($850 or so, I think). Again, would've had to do that on a lease, so for this argument, it doesn't count.


I suppose I lose a few hundred bucks per car on the cost difference between tax/title fees and lease origination fee, and a little more on interest (although I think they were all financed at around 5%, give or take. Still, I MADE $5500-6000 over the time period where she lost almost that much, and probably drove nicer cars in the process.


Oh, and I bought a truck. Haven't sold it yet, but I paid $2900 and then spent about $600 to fix a few things on it, add a trailer brake controller, etc. Should roughly break even when I sell...plus the $8k or so it allowed me to net on a XC move.



Again, I'm not trying to be an asshole or be cocky or anything. I'm just trying to spread a little financial knowledge that I finally figured out, as most people are WOEFULLY ignorant (and undisciplined) when it comes to personal finance.

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 11:43 PM. Reason : asfd]

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 11:51 PM. Reason : aasdf]

3/18/2009 11:30:49 PM

will someone please just tell me if they were penalized in any way for not having the proper "maintenance" paperwork?

fuck it, i'll just call my Honda guy tomorrow. you people are worthless.

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 11:50 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2009 11:50:10 PM

that's the best way to settle that question anyway. just go to the source.

3/18/2009 11:52:47 PM

duke, did you buy from stupid people or sell to stupid people?

and don't try to bank that $8k from your PCS move...not everyone out there gets to rape the government for big bucks whenever they move. hell, i made a grand moving from newport to norfolk with nothing more than clothes and a computer in a 951

3/19/2009 5:33:42 AM

^^^also ask them if they charge a fat people penalty. Often times fat land manatees will ruin the springs in the seats over a long period of time, and they'll charge you for that shit.

3/19/2009 9:25:04 AM

actually i paid a little extra up front so they wouldn't charge me for broken springs.

3/19/2009 10:17:01 AM

im hurt that duke thinks im a loser cuz i dont have 5k in the bank. then again, house down payment will do that to ya quick.

[Edited on March 19, 2009 at 10:33 AM. Reason : i realize i also own 2 cars. though one is a piece i wont close to break even on.]

3/19/2009 10:30:31 AM

Quote :

"duke, did you buy from stupid people or sell to stupid people?"

Bought from stupid people. Actually, I wouldn't even say stupid people. The S2000 was from an electrical engineer who designed satellite avionics who had just bought a new Cayenne as a DD and an STi for him and his son to do track days and auto-x with. He just had enough money that he didn't really care about a few thousand bucks, I think, so much as he just wanted to go ahead and get the car sold. He was the kind of guy who had the valves adjusted on the S2000 at like 25-30k miles...you know, just in case.

The BMW and Evo were from dealers, believe it or not. I guess they robbed people on trade-ins, because they sold to me for great prices. At any rate, I never count on trying to sell for a huge price. That's tough to do. You can always find someone willing to sell it to you dirt cheap if you're patient, know what you're looking for, and are willing to drive a little to pick it up.

Quote :

"and don't try to bank that $8k from your PCS move...not everyone out there gets to rape the government for big bucks whenever they move."

yeah, obviously that doesn't count in terms of making money on cars. i'm just saying that the truck has been very good to me. That was a move from Whidbey Island to Cherry Point with like 9000 lbs. I think I actually grossed about 10k after taxes, but that V-10 Ram burned a lot of gas over 3000 miles at 7 mpg...haha.

and anyway, I didn't rape the gov't. I saved them 5%!

Quote :

"im hurt that duke thinks im a loser cuz i dont have 5k in the bank. then again, house down payment will do that to ya quick."

I didn't say anyone was a loser, and if you just made a house DP, that's a little different. I'm just saying that it's ridiculous to think that having $5000 sitting in savings by your late 20s is some sort of fantasy, unattainable by most. I'd say it's very doable by pretty much anyone with a career level job, in addition to saving for retirement, like at least maxing out an IRA.

The point isn't that I'm rolling in the dough or anything, or pointing a finger and calling anyone a "loser". The point is that most people are financially illiterate and don't even have a frame of reference for where they should be, even if they actually knew how to get there. It's not rocket surgery...it's just that people are surrounded by so many other people who do stupid things that they think it's just normal. Well, it may be "normal", but that doesn't make it not stupid. If you don't have a measley $5k in the bank, you're WAY off from the 3-6 months of living expenses that pretty much any financial advisor will say you should have socked away, and you're already behind the power curve for ever getting to retire comfortably. Time to buckle down.

[Edited on March 19, 2009 at 11:31 AM. Reason : ]

3/19/2009 11:29:13 AM

i was just being a dick. i agree and got that much without too many issues in addition to saving 10% into my 401k. ive got a decent job though.

that said i have a lady friend with expensive tastes so i went from adding 8k a year to adding nothing. OH WHAT THEY'LL DO TO YOU DUKE. then agian...i know you know.

3/19/2009 11:48:14 AM

yeah, at least she's a friend, and at least it's not half-again more than that.

well, to be fair, only half of mine goes to line her pockets. the rest is legitimately needed for my daughter.

3/19/2009 11:58:07 AM

Hell, Duke I don't have $5,000 saved up that I could use for a down payment on anything. I lived in NYC for three years and made the most of that time there. However, I've got a lot more than $5,000 tucked away but its not very liquid. And I do own one of my cars.

Quote :

"i've owned one used car, it was the first car i ever had. it was in the shop 10 times in 12 months with a broken water pump, messed up spark plugs, shit everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and that car cost my parents more money than it was worth. and after having that car for about 18 months it was enough to tell me that i'll never own another used car again."

Shutting the door on the idea of a used car is pretty damn dumb these days. Hell most certified preowned cars are probably more reliable than new cars made 10-15 years ago. And most come with the option of a warranty!

I bought a 1 1/2 year old car with 4,800 miles on it in December for $13,000 below the MSRP when it was new. But by your logic I shouldn't touch used cars.

3/19/2009 1:29:10 PM

Having blown the engine on a brand new car I'm still paying for, I definitely advocate having a used car thats payed off.

If you're turning in a lease, you should find out how much they will sell you that car for. With makes that hold their value, you can often buy the car at the end of the lease and sell it for more then you payed for. Then again you're driving a VW and that may not be the case, but worth your time to find out.

3/19/2009 2:50:54 PM

to be fair, $200/month for a V6 Accord is a pretty good deal. A 2-year-old Accord will probably lose the same value anyway. I said this without knowing the lease details.

3/19/2009 3:12:09 PM

it was a very good deal, which is why we jumped on it. they gave me $1200 for my 8yr old clunker and also took $1,000 down, and i went home with a $200/mo payment for 2yrs. my terms were 12k/yr in mileage. and i am about 5k shy of where i should be in mileage - aka really low mileage. however, i don't feel right taking out a new car loan right now given the economy. so unless they give me some kinda no interest for 5 years kinda deal (and they very well might) then it looks like i'll be renting/leasing a new honda accord for another two or three years. i'm certain i won't get as great a deal as i did the first time around, but i have about $4,000 i can put down if i need to. let's hear it for the yearly bonus!

[Edited on March 19, 2009 at 4:18 PM. Reason : .]

3/19/2009 4:17:36 PM

so it's $1000 down, and $200/month?

3/19/2009 4:45:33 PM

the deal back in april 2007 was no money down, $260/mo. with my trade-in and an extra $1,000, i got it down to $200/mo and they made my first month's payment for me. also, the trade-in plus the cash covered all those other random fees you get, like doc fee and whatever else.

3/19/2009 6:07:42 PM

Quote :

"He was the kind of guy who had the valves adjusted on the S2000 at like 25-30k miles...you know, just in case"

They tick really loud.....louder then the injectors and its annoying. It's also a 30 minute job with a 10$ tool off amazon.

3/19/2009 11:09:18 PM

you couldn't hear them over the supercharger on this one, though, and he just ante'd up for the Honda dealership.

but that's good info if i end up with another one someday.

3/19/2009 11:24:13 PM

I imagine the blower hides a lot of sounds. That's a bonus really . They are fucking loud.

3/19/2009 11:26:51 PM

it wasn't that loud unless the hood was up or you were standing right beside the engine bay. barely noticeable in the cockpit. i'd really like to have another one, but with the MP62 blower this time.

3/19/2009 11:29:34 PM

Yeah I may look into that once my civic project is done. It's by far the best solution.

3/19/2009 11:32:03 PM

It's interesting that the average person considers an 8 year old car a "clunker".

I remember the day that I rolled into my cousin's driveway in a very rare old Porsche, one of 11 in the configuration that my car was in. She was even surprised it ran. It was a one owner car serviced at one dealer all it's life, not a single scratch, no issues what so ever. 20k miles. Insane really, that car remains one of the cleanest cars I've ever owned or seen, and she was surprised it ran because it was more than 10 years old...
Ahmet-->has bought/sold over three dozen cars. Just drove 2k miles in a 250k mile 19 year old car two days ago.

3/19/2009 11:35:13 PM

it was an 8yr old chevy cavalier with 120k miles on it. darn thing wouldn't have lasted much longer, i promise you that.

3/20/2009 9:56:07 AM

^ How do you figure? 120k isn't really that much.

I bought a 1995 truck with 112k miles, and drove it across the country with over 120k miles, from NW Washington State to Morehead City, NC, hauling a tandem-axle trailer and 8000-9000 lbs, across 3 mountain ranges. I've never had an issue with the truck.

I had a 1991 Maxima for my first couple of years in college. When I wrecked it (truck was stopped in the middle of the road, just over the crest of a hill, on wet pavement), it had 176,000 miles. It ran just like a brand new car. Never had a problem with it. It even LOOKED almost new.

[Edited on March 20, 2009 at 10:10 AM. Reason : 8 years old is NOTHING]

3/20/2009 10:09:50 AM

Quote :

"the deal back in april 2007 was no money down, $260/mo. with my trade-in and an extra $1,000, i got it down to $200/mo and they made my first month's payment for me. also, the trade-in plus the cash covered all those other random fees you get, like doc fee and whatever else."

I'm not understanding the logic in this. So basically with your trade-in and the 1k down, you gave them 2200 dollars at signup. And this gave you 60 bucks off a month from what you would have to do with nothing down. So you gave $2200 up front to save $1640.00 ((60x24)+200) over the two years? That would mean you lost 560.00 doing the trade in+down payment instead of just taking the 260/month payment.

Or were you trying to say they gave you 1200 and you essentially gave them 1000 of it back netting you 200 bucks with the trade-in and down payment.

Either way that was a pretty good lease term, I just think you got hosed with your trade-in and downpayment by the way you explained it.

3/20/2009 10:24:47 AM

not to mention that the car would've fetched more than $1200 if she'd just sold it, unless it had major problems.

3/20/2009 10:53:53 AM

just because you had old cars in good shape doesn't mean everyone has.

an 8 yr old CHEVY CAVALIER that was in shit shape does not sound that odd.

3/20/2009 12:04:51 PM

I'm saying that out of all the cars I've had, only 2 of them have needed regular repairs. One of those was an original 1971 Olds Cutlass...it was in pretty good condition, but still an original, unrestored classic car. The other was a 1991 Miata with probably 290 hp and about every modification under the sun, and over 200k miles on the chassis. Any fool would expect both of those cars to require periodic repair.

[Edited on March 20, 2009 at 12:42 PM. Reason : ^ sure, it's possible, but 8 years old and 120k miles don't themselves mean it's bad even for a Cav.]

3/20/2009 12:38:55 PM

An 8 year old cavilier is probably equiv to a 20 year old civic.


I daily drove a 92 civic for 2 years not a single problem i didn't initiate. It was getting 50mpg in the summer. Actually I did have to re solder the main relay during the first summer I owned it.

3/20/2009 12:57:06 PM

i know that an 8yr old cavy is equivalent to a 20yr old civic

which is why i've moved on to Hondas

3/20/2009 1:22:02 PM

I can't believe someone is trying to generalize all used cars based on a 8 year old chevy cavalier haha.

3/20/2009 5:50:06 PM

yeah, i'm not saying that a cavalier is of civic quality. no doubt about that.

i'm saying that a cavalier isn't used up just because it's a measley 8 years old with 120k miles.

3/20/2009 6:29:27 PM

120k is low mileage in my book

3/20/2009 6:49:23 PM