Risk of signing new/next lease BEFORE "end-of-term inspection" on current lease?

alexiajohannes

What risk is involved in signing new/next car lease BEFORE "end of term lease inspection" on current lease?

The VW dealership is pressuring me to pull the trigger on my new/next lease tomorrow (primarily due to a Labor Day corporate rebate that ends tomorrow), however I've not yet had my current car inspected (or turned it in).

If I agree to the new lease terms before finding out what repairs I might be responsible for on the old lease will it come back to haunt me? Limit my ability to negotiate what I'm responsible
for repairing? Are there other risks I'm not considering? This was my first lease.

Turning In: VW Passat 2012 SE with Navigation/Sunroof
Planning to Lease: VW Passat 2015 with Navigation/Sunroof (essentially the same car)

Michaell

alexiajohannes said:

What risk is involved in signing new/next car lease BEFORE "end of term lease inspection" on current lease?

The VW dealership is pressuring me to pull the trigger on my new/next lease tomorrow (primarily due to a Labor Day corporate rebate that ends tomorrow), however I've not yet had my current car inspected (or turned it in).

If I agree to the new lease terms before finding out what repairs I might be responsible for on the old lease will it come back to haunt me? Limit my ability to negotiate what I'm responsible
for repairing? Are there other risks I'm not considering? This was my first lease.

Turning In: VW Passat 2012 SE with Navigation/Sunroof
Planning to Lease: VW Passat 2015 with Navigation/Sunroof (essentially the same car)

If the current lease is through VW Credit, I don't think there is a lot of risk. They want you as a return customer.

However, if you had a Honda coming off lease, I might be more concerned.

You take good care of your cars? You should know before the inspection if there are any major items that could be of concern.

isellhondas

If the VW dealer intends to hang onto your trade to resell it, you'll have no problem since they will make the payoff to VW.

And, yes, you should know if your car has damage.