End of Lease wear-and-tear

jawf3

Not sure that this goes in this forum, but here goes: Swore I would never lease, but leased my first vehicle, a 2016 CR-V EX-L, today. Things were going well until the finance part. Finance guy tried to sell us several services (paint protection, dent protection, wheel protection, etc…) to protect us from having to pay for major repairs at the end of the lease. Declined all. Finance guy said that Honda followed every other car company and reduced its wear-and-tear amount from $1,500 to $500 this year. He said that the end-of-lease inspection results are not revealed to us until after we turn in the vehicle and implied that it is typical to receive big bills for excessive wear and tear. Sounds to me like this is a disincentive to lease. Hoping that those of you with more experience can shed some light on this. Thanks!

kyfdx

That's a big lie.

Every major manufacturer's bank has a pre-inspection within the last month of the lease. They will come to your home or office to do the inspection. It takes about 20 minutes.

The inspector will record and give you a printout of his findings at that time. Honda has been known to be especially generous at lease end. Either way, you'll know right then what the deal is.

Mr_Shiftright

You may find this information on END OF LEASE VEHICLE INSPECTION helpful, as it comes directly from Honda Financial Services.

jawf3

Thanks you Mr_Shiftright. This is helpful!

jawf3

Thanks kyfdx. Appreciate your input. I've always taken care of my cars and driven them for years, basically until they were either no longer driveable or more expensive to fix then they were worth. I resisted leasing for years because I didn't want car payments for life, as many financial advisors say. But because we're older and technology is changing so rapidly, I thought leasing would be a good option for us. I was feeling very positive about our decision to lease until I heard "the sky is falling" pitch with finance guy trying to upsell me on protection services. At that point, I felt like it was a bit of a bait and switch tactic -- get me to sign the lease and then emphasize all the negatives. I'm still feeling positive about it overall. Again, thanks for your input!

prowler_mq5qm_

I was currently 31 months into a 36-month lease on a '13 CR-V and already over my mileage limit, so I decided to roll over into a new lease on a '16 CR-V. While test driving the new one, they appraised the old one and offered me exactly what the residual value was. I had kept very good care of it inside & out and the only blemish was on one of the wheels where I had gotten too close to a curb. The dealers will try to talk you into purchasing things you don't necessarily need, because while it drives up the purchase price, it also increases their commission! A couple of months earlier, when I had taken the old CR-V in for servicing, the tech told me my transmission needed servicing (was not in the Maintenance Minder code). He also told me the tread on the tires was low and I should get a new set. I declined on both, explaining that the car was a lease and I was planning on turning it in soon, anyway. Bottom line, the dealers (and service techs) will try to sales pitch you. Leasing works great for me, because if I purchase, I have to finance for 6 years or more to keep my payments affordable. By the time the car is paid off, I'm looking for a new one. I figure if I'm going to have car payments the rest of my life, why not keep them affordable and drive something new every 3 years?

isellhondas

Honda WANTS their customers to re-lease their next Honda so I always found them to be very liberal when it came to normal wear and tear. With technology and safety leap frogging and the cost of repairs through the roof combined with rock bottom money factors, leasing a Honda can be a very smart thing to do!