returning a leased car

[shark6286]

I have about 1 year left on my leased car. My plan is to just return it at the end of the lease. Should I expect any additional charges? The car does not have any problems except the cracked windshield.Is this something I have to pay for? If so, can I get it replaced for cheaper with aftermarket one? The car comes with all season tires and by the time I return it it will have aprox. 60k km on it. Is there a charge for new tires, etc. ?

I will appreciate any information about returning a leased car - it will be first time for me, so I really do not know what to expect.

The car is 2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5l

[lilmira]

They'll send you a package closer to lease end with a card for you to measure acceptable wear and tear. I don't think a cracked windshield is acceptable. I don't remember what the acceptable tread depth is, 60k sounds quite a bit.

I'll wait till after the winter to replace the windshield if it's still ok to drive with. If the tires are pretty worn, you might as well replace them earlier so that you get to use them a bit before returning your car.

[Aleks]

Originally posted by shark6286
I have about 1 year left on my leased car. My plan is to just return it at the end of the lease. Should I expect any additional charges? The car does not have any problems except the cracked windshield.Is this something I have to pay for? If so, can I get it replaced for cheaper with aftermarket one? The car comes with all season tires and by the time I return it it will have aprox. 60k km on it. Is there a charge for new tires, etc. ?

I will appreciate any information about returning a leased car - it will be first time for me, so I really do not know what to expect.

The car is 2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5l

My suggestion to you is to NOT return the car to them, instead sell it. I bet you anything you can sell your impreza for quite a bit more than what your buy out is. Sell it, then pay the buyout directly to toyota credit and pocket the difference.

I did this on my Forester and put almost $7,000 in my pocket instead of giving it back.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Aleks


My suggestion to you is to NOT return the car to them, instead sell it. I bet you anything you can sell your impreza for quite a bit more than what your buy out is. Sell it, then pay the buyout directly to toyota credit and pocket the difference.

I did this on my Forester and put almost $7,000 in my pocket instead of giving it back.

Unless it's a BMW, there are very few leases out there that you won't come up ahead by this flip.

I have only seen BMW inflate buy out and lower payments to get cars out the door. Making the flip not profitable.

[AndyL]

One option we got, was to buyout via a dealer... The dealers buyout price was substantially less than ours - as far as the finance company was concerned we traded it in and the dealer wanted to keep it...

Dealer made money, we saved significantly on the buyout... World was a wonderful place.

Probably need to have a good relationship with the sales guy to manage that :)

[shark6286]

Originally posted by Aleks


My suggestion to you is to NOT return the car to them, instead sell it. I bet you anything you can sell your impreza for quite a bit more than what your buy out is. Sell it, then pay the buyout directly to toyota credit and pocket the difference.

I did this on my Forester and put almost $7,000 in my pocket instead of giving it back.

I was considering this option but can I sell a car which has a lien on it (toyota credit)? My understanding was I had to buy the car first and then sell it which is not ideal because I will not have the money. Having to borrow the money and wait until the car sells is bothering me.

[shakalaka]

Or the buyer pays off what is owed with you at the Bank and gets a letter saying that it's lien free. That's what I did when I bought my old 350Z and the owner had a lien on the vehicle. Made out the draft to him, then went with him to the bank and got a letter from the bank saying that it is lien free.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by shark6286


I was considering this option but can I sell a car which has a lien on it (toyota credit)? My understanding was I had to buy the car first and then sell it which is not ideal because I will not have the money. Having to borrow the money and wait until the car sells is bothering me.

You can, but it's also more difficult as most buyers don't want the hassle. If the right buyer did come along though, he just has to pay you, then go with you to the bank to ensure you're paying off the lien.

[rage2]

The safest way is to go to the dealer, and pay Subaru for the car with a bank draft. The seller will get a check back from Subaru, and Subaru will get that lien wiped off. The dealer will also provide the bill of sale to the new owner to register the car.

[beyond_ban]

Out of curiosity, what is the buy out price at the end of your lease?

[you&me]

Originally posted by rage2
The safest way is to go to the dealer, and pay Subaru for the car with a bank draft. The seller will get a check back from Subaru, and Subaru will get that lien wiped off. The dealer will also provide the bill of sale to the new owner to register the car.


The leasing company won't concern themselves over equity settlements (cutting a cheque back, etc). Their only concern is that the amount owing on the vehicle and any fees are paid in full.

If there is equity in the car, separate drafts to the financing company for the balance of the loan / fees and one to the seller for the balance of the sale price is the way to do it..

If there isn't equity in the car, it's usually best to replace whatever wear and tear items you can as the bill from the dealer to do so will usually be higher than what the leasee can do themselves (I've know people who've saved almost $800 just on a cracked windshield by doing the replacement themselves).

[shark6286]

Originally posted by lilmira
They'll send you a package closer to lease end with a card for you to measure acceptable wear and tear. I don't think a cracked windshield is acceptable. I don't remember what the acceptable tread depth is, 60k sounds quite a bit.

I'll wait till after the winter to replace the windshield if it's still ok to drive with. If the tires are pretty worn, you might as well replace them earlier so that you get to use them a bit before returning your car.

I have misplaced the lease documents somewhere and cannot verify if the minimum thread is mentioned there but I came across several mentioning of 3.2 millimeters online for being the minimum. I have 5 mm left - very close. Driving another year will definitely go below the minimum and driving in snow with 5 mm thread will not be fun.

I have the idea to buy new tires and not using the original ones until I return the car (if I do not find a buyer). I was thinking about winter tires but it seems wrong to drive them in the summer too. Are there any good all-season tires that are better than original tires in snow? I hope to be able to sell those after that - they will probably have less than 15k on them.

[Aleks]

What I did was I got the exact buyout amount from Toyota for the Forester. I told the buyer to write 2 drafts. 1 for the buyout amount addressed to Toyota and other to me for the difference. We went to Centaur and handed in the Toyota one together. Done deal.