Lease Return Penalty: Do I have to pay?

[max_boost]

I lease returned my 04 BMW 330CI back in May. I had a cracked windshield and a few scuffs on the wheels. Total for repair came to under $1200. Less my security deposit, I owe them $300.

Should I pay?

I feel obligated to of course and I don't mind paying at all. I feel they over charged for the repairs however. $600 for a windshield and $200 for each wheel?

Is there anything they can do if I don't pay? Report me to the credit bureau? Just curious.

[redline_13000]

Ya man shitty thing about leases, and they can take you to collections then credit gets ruined. I got charged 600 for a windshield(a little chip in it) 600 for not returning it with a spare tire, and 5900 for going over the km's allowed. Ridiculous

[jdmXSI]

Thats the thing with leases you are usually always better off doing the repairs yourself and returning it if the buyout is worth more than the retail value of the car. Of course on the other hand, if the car is worth more than your buyout, sell it privatley and pocket the differnce!

But you are obligated to pay the penalty for milage and or damages(that exceed normal wear and tear)

Good luck though!

[civicluva]

Collections are nothing. I've had tons of collections on my ass that last couple years for random shit and I just got approved on a new C6 Corvette. They really can't do anything but harass you, it doesn't go on your credit, they can look at it but that's about it.

[roopi]

Originally posted by civicluva
Collections are nothing. I've had tons of collections on my ass that last couple years for random shit and I just got approved on a new C6 Corvette. They really can't do anything but harass you, it doesn't go on your credit, they can look at it but that's about it.

Depending on what is being collected it does go on your credit report.

[benyl]

$200 for each wheel? WTF? do they want a new car when you return it?

[Spoons]

Well I can see the mistake you made in the first place... leased a car.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by benyl
$200 for each wheel? WTF? do they want a new car when you return it?

haha no idea! It's actually $175+tax to refinish the wheel. Kind of pricey imo! I returned the car with only 53,000kms too. Wishful thinking to get a rebate for going under the 60,000kms allowance.

Originally posted by Spoons
Well I can see the mistake you made in the first place... leased a car.

haha well it was a smoking deal at the time! $2500 off the price of the car. 60% residual and 3% interest rate. My payments were $900 for an almost $70K car. Good deal haha

[max_boost]

I'll probably pay this thing, I was just curious of the repercussions, if any. Just have to drop it off at the mail box

[TomcoPDR]

That sounds about right for retail charges for the described repairs for a Bimmer; better to be on the up and up on your records if you tend to lease/buy/return-lease from the same dealership.

It usually depends on the person taking and inspecting your lease return. Usually the fleet manager (you own a Chinese restaurant right? maybe bring him Chinese food from time to time)

I usually touch up paint on the scratches then wet sand then 3 stage power polish (hard to find for novice inspectors; it still has a paint line, but grossy and smooth), tire shine, $1 vaccum (maybe $2 if I'm in a good mood), Febreez the crap outta it. And pending on how my relationship life is going, either fix ALL the door dents, or just crank up and poke the crap outta the dents and park the vehicle in the sun at the dealers. (hey, like I educate everyone nothing "illegal" about any style of PDR dent repair)

But I like to return my work truck leases to dealerships I don't know (who doesn't know me), just blend in with the crowd since I know how to make a lease look "decent" than the average folks.

One time I was returning a truck lease to a dealership I know (thinking I'm "cool" knowing everybody), picking up another 9 months remaining lease (some customer wanted a new truck, just left that to the dealership as lease exchange)... brough my whole dent tool from day's work (in the returning truck), pulled up handed my keys in... and the manager was joking (I took him seriously): "Oh what the heck are all these dents here and there???" then he walked away from a speaker-page. So I thought WTF (I don't want to get dinged $$ for door dings), so I pulled into the detail bay, started fixing the truck under the PDR lights (which turns out MORE than in the sunlight), some damages on the boxside... all in all 45 minutes later. The manager walks in: "Thomas, what the frick are you doing?" I'm like fixing all the dents, and he's like: "Oh don't worry about those dude, pufffff" (kinda looking at me like I'm am idiot; let alone all the sales people walking in seeing me asking me to look at their used cars, or making jokes about missed a dent, you want another one? etc...)

So lesson learned, in the auto industry it's not always about the rules, but public relations.

[avow]

TomcoPDR - lol that was actually a pretty entertaining (and informative read) thanks lol.

[Altezza]

I'm sure they probably replaced the windshield, but I wonder if they actually even repaired the wheels or not. From what I remember, the curb rash wasn't that bad on your wheels the last time I saw it.

[SilverBoost]

Doesn't matter what they repaired and what they charged really... (within reason, but when have dealership prices ever been reasonable compared to doing it yourself? You signed a contract saying that when you brought it back those things would be looked at. Should have had it looked at before your lease ended and asked what might need to be fixed to not get nailed and then repaired it yourself. But you didn't and you just dropped it off and now you have $300 remaining that you should pay because that's what you agreed to when you signed your name on that little dotted line when you leased the car. If by scuffs on the wheels you mean curb rash, well, they have to fix that or take a hit on the price when they sell it to the next person. Windshield is obvious of course.

[Redlyne_mr2]

thats what you get for dealing with bmw.

[benyl]

Man, Chrysler doesn't give 2 shits.

My Mom has returned so many mini vans in very sorry states and has never been charged.

It is probably because you didn't lease another BMW. I bet if you did, they wouldn't have dinged you.

Aren't you allow credit card size damage? Or is that a domestic only thing?

[SilverBoost]

I've heard if you can cover it with a quarter you're good. (Within reason of course - 100 quarter sized bullet holes for instance would probably fail)

And I'll also put my money on you wouldn't have gotten shit if you went with another lease, or a purchase form the same dealer.

[rage2]

Originally posted by benyl
Man, Chrysler doesn't give 2 shits.

My Mom has returned so many mini vans in very sorry states and has never been charged.

It is probably because you didn't lease another BMW. I bet if you did, they wouldn't have dinged you.

Aren't you allow credit card size damage? Or is that a domestic only thing?

That's a mercedes-benz thing too. I had a dent on the car that I fixed 2 months before lease return, only to get that little credit card damage checker thing a week later and realized I didn't need to spend the money to fix it haha.

Mercedes pretty much doesn't care at all how the car's returned. You can have a huge ass dent and scratch as long as it's covered by their credit card sized tester, it's good to go!

[benyl]

yeah, she has lease 4 caravans now and we always get that Credit card tester in the mail before retuning it. We don't even clean the interior or wash the out side for the last 3 months... waste of money! hahahaha we are such cheap asians...

Sounds like BMW needs to be spic and span. BMW FTL.

[Tik-Tok]

I know Alberta Wheel costs were going to charge me $200 /wheel, and that portable place was going to charge me $175, so that's not out of line.

You should call the dealership pretending you need a new windshield and ask how much it'll cost for the glass/install