Honda/Acura Lease Return Self-Inspection Questions

Wondering if anyone has recently returned their leased Acura/Honda. There’s a self inspection through AutoVIN where you submit and upload pictures. No one comes to check your car though and when you return to the dealer, no one there inspects it either. They told me that an inspector would come and check the car on their lot and send me a bill for excess wear and tear (they make you sign saying you’re responsible for excess KMs/wear/tear). This makes absolutely no sense to me.

If there was excess wear and tear, how can they charge me without giving me a chance to fix the damage first? So if they send me a $240 for some curb rash that I could have buffed out, I’m somehow expected to just pay this?

How can they even say that I damaged anything once they take my keys and it’s on their lot? The whole process seems shady AF to me.

If anyone’s been through this, did you get a bill after you gave back the car? How long after you returned the keys?

I just did this process for the TLX back in November.

What you are saying (in the COVID world) is bizarre as doesn't give you the option to even repair any damages?

Ie. If they determine you need a new windshield, you will be auto billed for it rather than having the opportunity to shop around locally for a suitable OEM replacement?

When I did this, the guy came by, did a big inspection, I went back and fourth with him on a few things, he takes tonnes of photos and two days later I got a report of what they saw, how much it costs to get fixed. I called them and negotiated on a few things. I have also heard that if you lease again they will work with you/overlook it. I ended up selling the car privately in the end to take avoid paying some of the 'damage', they were pretty strict.

End of the day, this is a Honda Canada problem and I would take it up through them. I can't imagine this would ever fly, but I would ask them to sign a waiver of responsibility when you drop the car off and that you will take dated photos from the drop off location.

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Originally Posted by Neil4Speed

I just did this process for the TLX back in November.

What you are saying (in the COVID world) is bizarre as doesn't give you the option to even repair any damages?

Ie. If they determine you need a new windshield, you will be auto billed for it rather than having the opportunity to shop around locally for a suitable OEM replacement?

When I did this, the guy came by, did a big inspection, I went back and fourth with him on a few things, he takes tonnes of photos and two days later I got a report of what they saw, how much it costs to get fixed. I called them and negotiated on a few things. I have also heard that if you lease again they will work with you/overlook it. I ended up selling the car privately in the end to take avoid paying some of the 'damage', they were pretty strict.

End of the day, this is a Honda Canada problem and I would take it up through them. I can't imagine this would ever fly, but I would ask them to sign a waiver of responsibility when you drop the car off and that you will take dated photos from the drop off location.

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Did you do the self inspection through autoVIN then have the inspector come out? Apparently this self assessment thing isn’t just for covid, it’s how they do lease returns now. It stuns me that they can just send me a bill without giving me a chance to fix anything. I called Acura lease returns directly and they confirmed that I was given the correct information. She said normally an inspector comes to the dealer lot and sees the car within 2 days but with covid they’ll likely have to transport the car away and it’ll take a few weeks. She said they do the self assessments now because dealers end up purchasing and keeping the car a lot of the time and they’re buying it as is so an inspection becomes irrelevant.

If they give me a huge bill, I’ll definitely be making a big stink and escalating to the max on this one. I can’t see how it’s fair to slap someone with a bill after the fact without letting them be involved in the process.

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Originally Posted by oilerfan4lyfe

Did you do the self inspection through autoVIN then have the inspector come out? Apparently this self assessment thing isn’t just for covid, it’s how they do lease returns now. It stuns me that they can just send me a bill without giving me a chance to fix anything. I called Acura lease returns directly and they confirmed that I was given the correct information. She said normally an inspector comes to the dealer lot and sees the car within 2 days but with covid they’ll likely have to transport the car away and it’ll take a few weeks. She said they do the self assessments now because dealers end up purchasing and keeping the car a lot of the time and they’re buying it as is so an inspection becomes irrelevant.

If they give me a huge bill, I’ll definitely be making a big stink and escalating to the max on this one. I can’t see how it’s fair to slap someone with a bill after the fact without letting them be involved in the process.

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I didn't do a self-inspection, thats weird.

I feel for you, that would drive me crazy.

A bit of advice, if you think you have any damage try to fix whatever you can as well as you can. Specifically, I would think to the windshield. An OEM replacement is going to be very expensive, so try to either get your current one filled in, or replaced with a new one. Your theoretically supposed to replace with OEM, but I can't imagine they will check it to that level of detail.

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Originally Posted by Neil4Speed

I didn't do a self-inspection, thats weird.

I feel for you, that would drive me crazy.

A bit of advice, if you think you have any damage try to fix whatever you can as well as you can. Specifically, I would think to the windshield. An OEM replacement is going to be very expensive, so try to either get your current one filled in, or replaced with a new one. Your theoretically supposed to replace with OEM, but I can't imagine they will check it to that level of detail.

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I don’t know what the exact car in question is but check your lease agreement just in case anything is actually cheaper if you return as-is - On my Honda, if I return the lease with a cracked windshield the cost is half that of a replacement done myself (about $500 savings). For that reason I have been driving with a crack for the last 9 months or so and am for sure returning it that way.

What's actually wrong with the car? What do you think you will be charged for?

Should be pretty obvious to see what marks etc. are excessive per the terms of your agreement?

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Originally Posted by Mitsu3000gt

I don’t know what the exact car in question is but check your lease agreement just in case anything is actually cheaper if you return as-is - On my Honda, if I return the lease with a cracked windshield the cost is half that of a replacement done myself (about $500 savings). For that reason I have been driving with a crack for the last 9 months or so and am for sure returning it that way.

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Not sure if my lease agreement had put out prices on specific things... I did notice that certain things seemed "reasonable-ish", I.e. a wheel scuff which they were going to charge $50.

Some that were not really were, a very shallow scratch that was above the grace amount. It came out with ScratchX 2.0.

I knew that I had a pillar "kiss", that luckily a good friend (and beyonder) was able to help me with.

I didn't have my second key at the time of inspection (wife took it to work), and they quoted $600 for a replacement when you can probably do that yourself for ~200.

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Originally Posted by Neil4Speed

Not sure if my lease agreement had put out prices on specific things... I did notice that certain things seemed "reasonable-ish", I.e. a wheel scuff which they were going to charge $50.

Some that were not really were, a very shallow scratch that was above the grace amount. It came out with ScratchX 2.0.

I knew that I had a pillar "kiss", that luckily a good friend (and beyonder) was able to help me with.

I didn't have my second key at the time of inspection (wife took it to work), and they quoted $600 for a replacement when you can probably do that yourself for ~200.

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Yeah I'd have to check my lease agreement again, but I think the windshield was one of the few things they had an explicit price for. Things like dents & chips had certain amounts per panel and diameters that were acceptable, but I don't remember if they had predetermined costs for those.

When I returned my TLX I left it at the dealership when I took possession of the new car. Autovin came and inspected it like a week later and I had no extra charges.

- I had just put in a new OEM windshield
- My wheels has some corrosion on them (cause Honda has shit finish on their wheels). Told Silverhill Acura to pound sand if they were expecting me to cover this 'damage'.
- 1/4 panel, bumper & tail light had all been replaced after an accident (which they noted on their inspection as they check paint depth!). Repair wasn't done great so I was a little surprised this didn't become an issue.
- They found a couple dings (which I hadn't noticed) but they were within spec I guess. I had zero additional damage or costs.

My brother who had returned his TLX a week prior to mine got dinged for $500 or something stupid for wheel corrosion and $100 for a roof dent. Our wheels were in near identical condition and I'd argue his car was in overall better condition then mine. He fought with Autovin (several phone calls and waiting on hold) and they settled on a slightly reduced amount I think... basically he got sick of arguing with them and just paid it. Silverhill was hands off at this stage and wanted no part of it, which is super lame.

Totally depends on who you get to inspect your car as ours were in very similar condition.

Thanks for the replies all.

I got a new windshield prior to giving the car back so I shouldn't get charged for that. It doesn't say anywhere in my lease agreement that it has to be an OEM windshield and I got something that works with the safety features. The only thing it says in my lease agreement is that I'm responsible for damages estimated to be over $200.

I'm worried about some scratches and scuffs on the trunk lip and part of the wheel well. If they check paint depth I'm completely screwed on the wheel well because there's no way it'll match. When I did the self inspection, it asked me if there was damage larger than a credit card. Since the answer is no, that's what I said but that's all it asked. They didn't even want detailed pictures of damaged areas. The lease guide itself says something different as the scuffs are deeper than clear coat and are probably chargeable going based on that. I could have easily sanded these down and repainted them so I'd prefer not to be paying ridiculous amounts of money for them to "fix" these. If the car is getting auctioned I doubt they even fix anything...probably take my money and sell it as is. In hindsight I wish I would have kept the car and fixed some of these first. I was expecting someone at the dealer to inspect it as that's what AutoVIN says happens after finishing the self-inspection.

I wonder if this whole self-inspection garbage is a way for them to recover the loss if the residual is higher than the market value of the car? Maybe I'm just being paranoid here...my residual is probably $2,000 more than what my car is worth right now so charging me $2,000 in damage would even that out?

The guy at the dealer said they charge $120 for curb rash, but the lease guide says up to 7.5cm that can be buffed is acceptable so god knows what will come of this as I had curb rash that was close to 7.5cm but can easily be buffed out.

I'll update the thread if I hear anything for future beyonders. I'm going to be fighting like hell if they try and charge me more than what an autobody quoted me for some of these fixes though. It comes off to me as a great way to completely screw over the customer by not giving them a chance to fix items on their own.

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Originally Posted by oilerfan4lyfe

I'll update the thread if I hear anything for future beyonders. I'm going to be fighting like hell if they try and charge me more than what an autobody quoted me for some of these fixes though. It comes off to me as a great way to completely screw over the customer by not giving them a chance to fix items on their own.

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I think this is just it - takes the blame away from the dealership.

All I can think about is the people (some of them are probably here, but I can't recall) that harp on about "how easy leasing is", and how it's great to just "hand someone the keys back". Well, seems to me that this part of the process is a real pain in the dick and never gets the airtime it deserves in the pro-lease discussions. :poosie:

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Originally Posted by cjblair

All I can think about is the people (some of them are probably here, but I can't recall) that harp on about "how easy leasing is", and how it's great to just "hand someone the keys back". Well, seems to me that this part of the process is a real pain in the dick and never gets the airtime it deserves in the pro-lease discussions. :poosie:

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I think it's just a reasonable counterpoint that should get some more discussion. Nothing wrong with the car/leasing and definitely the price was great, but there are just some things to think about.

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Originally Posted by 88CRX

Silverhill was hands off at this stage and wanted no part of it, which is super lame.

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To be fair, the dealer has nothing to do with it. They are required to be hands off to remain neutral .

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Originally Posted by cjblair

All I can think about is the people (some of them are probably here, but I can't recall) that harp on about "how easy leasing is", and how it's great to just "hand someone the keys back". Well, seems to me that this part of the process is a real pain in the dick and never gets the airtime it deserves in the pro-lease discussions. :poosie:

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Some manufacturers are better than others than when it comes to taking back leases. Mazda and Mercedes are top-notch.

Acura is awful. I encountered the same issues as the OP. Even had the same AutoVin inspector from my previous lease with Mazda three years before that, but he was much less lenient on the Acura inspection.

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Originally Posted by oilerfan4lyfe

I wonder if this whole self-inspection garbage is a way for them to recover the loss if the residual is higher than the market value of the car? Maybe I'm just being paranoid here...my residual is probably $2,000 more than what my car is worth right now so charging me $2,000 in damage would even that out?

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Probably. It's the punishment we're all getting for grabbing those sweet lease deals back in 2015/16 :thumbsdow:dunno:

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else has to go through the "new" process. As expected, they tried to fleece me on a few items but surprisingly they were very reasonable with a few other items. I called Acura and complained a bit, was able to get a few items reduced. My list:

-Tried to charge me for superficial rim scratches x 2 ($120x2). These could easily be buffed out or even taken out with sandpaper and 30 minutes. Acura reversed this for me without much of a fight.
-Tried charging me for not returning floor mats ($200). This one pissed me off the most. I walked down to parts and bought my all weather floor mats outright after signing my deal and didn't put the price into my lease. They installed the all weather ones but never gave me the cloth ones. After lots of bitching, I gave up and returned the floor mats that I had purchased. They claim I probably misplaced the cloth mats which should have been in the trunk. They definitely weren't...lesson learned, I guess.
-Hood chips, they claimed I had 35 which was complete bullshit. I had paint film on the first 24" so they're claiming I had 35 chips on the rest, but also said that the hood didn't need to be painted. I fought this one, was able to get it reduced by 50% but couldn't convince them to make it go away.

The rest of the charges were for body work that was legit. Interestingly, they charged me about half of what multiple autobody quotes came in at. I tried to repair some of the scratches with touch up paint, but they noticed and charged me anyways. One larger area of damage that I used color matched spray paint to try and cover they charged me extra for a "non-professional repair" because I had overspray and orange peeling (I didn't argue this, I deserved to be charged for it).

In the end my bill was still cheaper than what it would have cost for me to repair these items so I wasn't too upset...except about the mats.