End of Lease Inspection

[NeilBlanchard]

Tomorrow we will be getting the end of lease inspection (done by SGS), and I went through this process with our LEAF a couple of months ago. So, I know generally what to expect.

Have any of you done this, and care to mention specifics, please?

 

[RecoverE]

Just joined this forum. I had my SGS inspection in DEC2017 at 24000 miles. No chargeable issues. The inspector noted one hood chip and one light scratch on front bumper cover, LT 1/8". Tire tread depth @ 5/32" -- just above minimum. Decided to extent the lease for another 6 months vs purchase of 2017 SEL. Other than key FOB battery life, I have had no issues with my 2015 SEL egolf.

 

[JoulesThief]

Just joined this forum. I had my SGS inspection in DEC2017 at 24000 miles. No chargeable issues. The inspector noted one hood chip and one light scratch on front bumper cover, LT 1/8". Tire tread depth @ 5/32" -- just above minimum. Decided to extent the lease for another 6 months vs purchase of 2017 SEL. Other than key FOB battery life, I have had no issues with my 2015 SEL egolf.

2/32" I believe is legal driving limit for tread depth. Take a penny and stick the top of President Lincolns head in the tread. If you can see the top of his head, legally, it's time for new tires.

I drive my Ecopia's very easy, I'm at 15,000 miles, and I don't think these tires will even make it to 40,000, 35,000 might be all she wrote.

 

[f1geek]

How did you arrange to extend the lease for 6 months? Did you monthly payment stay the same? How was the residual value recalculated? What made you decide to extend for 6 months?

Thanks!

 

[RecoverE]

The end-of-lease inspection package included a gauge for tread depth. I believe that the limit was 1/8". Discarded the gauge so can't re-verify. Don't really know what the wear-and-tear tire limit for lease vehicles imply. In six months I will probably need new tires. Does this mean that I am responsible for a new set of tires if I decide to turn-in after my 42 month lease or will I get a pro-rated charge?

 

[JoulesThief]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00WOA7HDW/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

 

[RecoverE]

As for the lease extension, i called VW credit with the intention of getting a buyout quote. During the conversation I asked if I could extend the lease. They said yes and we discussed the financials.
The monthly payments remained the same. My residual is reduced by slightly more than the sum of the payments over 6 months. If fact, the buyout will be cheaper at the end of the 42 months than after the original 36 months. They also increased the mileage limit by 5000 miles, I believe.

My original plan was to purchase a 2017 egolf. However, given the $10K delta of the buyout of the 2015 and the 2017, I decided against it. Now I have another 6 months to reconsider, hoping that we see 2018 models in NYS with purchase incentives. The car has been ideal for my wife and me. We live in a small community within a 25 mile radius of our local interests. Have a Level2 charger and have never needed to charge away from home. Have other vehicles for long-distance travel.

 

[RecoverE]

JoulesThief, thanks for the tire post. I have observed earlier posts by you and others on tires. Good info!

 

[RonDawg]

2/32" I believe is legal driving limit for tread depth. Take a penny and stick the top of President Lincolns head in the tread. If you can see the top of his head, legally, it's time for new tires.

2/32 may be the legal driving limit, but it's not unusual for a lease contract to specify a greater tread depth upon return. For the Leaf, NMAC required 4/32 tread depth, as does VW (who express this as 1/8).

BTW like Nissan, VW also publishes a guideline as to what they consider "normal" wear and tear: https://www.vw.com/content/dam/vwcom/PDFs/end_of_lease_process.pdf

I drive my Ecopia's very easy, I'm at 15,000 miles, and I don't think these tires will even make it to 40,000, 35,000 might be all she wrote.

Nissan Leaf lessees and owners would kill to get even 30k out of a set of OEM Ecopias. Most are worn out by 25k.

 

[vetaldj]

Well, did mine with them as well, except of over miles no charges, even though I have quite a few dents and scratches...

Returned my car today so no EV for me for now, replaced with MB C300 as it was my wife's car. I wish VW finally learn how to put little bit useful mirrors on Golfs. I had 3 and those mirrors are useless...

 

[TwoCarsAWeek]

VW credit normal end of lease options are return the car or buyout the car. If you call VW Credit, they mention the third option, which is to extend the lease for up to 6 months. The payment is the same, the residue value goes down correspondingly. (I assume the mileage limit goes up, but I actually did not specifically ask.)
The whole process is very short once you get connected to a live person.

I went with that option for my 2016 SE with lease ending end of October.
Since I still have the intentions to keep the car after 6 months, I will schedule a service to double check on the conditions before the 36-months is up.

 

[forbin404]

Time for my car to go back (In Dec)
since I was under the 90 day limit I got it inspected.

Here's my charge/issue list:
Big Ding - No Charge (Under golf ball size)
Small Ding but deep - No Charge
Non Matching 4th Tire - No Charge (Got a blowout and they replaced it with a Bridgestone but not an Ecopia)
Water stains on 3 seats - No Charge (Damn these seats change color with any kind of liquid)
Missing 2nd Key at Inspection - $168 (Yikes)
Broken Front Windshield - $350 (I was quoted at $550 to fix, so I'm just going to turn it in)
Having 1 tire at 4/32 - No Charge

As a Note : The crack on the windshield has to be 2" or more to count. Small chips don't count.

My inspector congratulated me for calling it in early otherwise I would probably had to pay for at least the extra tire if he had shown up 3 months later.
I'm looking for a new car but no good specials are out (And I don't want a Fiat 500e again). The VW was nice, and was a good price ($200/month $0 Drive off) but I like my wife's Kia much more.

 

[miimura]

VW charged us for the "missing key" from the report even though the actual dealer return form indicated both keys were received. I had to call them and submit a copy of the dealer return acknowledgement. Then they took it off the lease closing invoice. Then, we only owed the Disposition Fee.

 

[pheonix]

Just completed my lease end inspection! The car is in excellent condition so no findings nor extra charge for anything. All tires are still above the minimum specs at 7/32 (with one of the tires at 6/32); not too bad for 36,750 miles.
I will most likely go for the lease extension since there seems to be nothing great available in the next couple months.

 

[RonDawg]

I will most likely go for the lease extension since there seems to be nothing great available in the next couple months.

If you are thinking of a GM plug-in for your next car, you may not want to wait too long. GM is expected to hit the 200k mark before the end of the year, so the $7500 tax credit gets reduced starting on April 1, 2019.

 

[RonDawg]

I'm looking for a new car but no good specials are out (And I don't want a Fiat 500e again). The VW was nice, and was a good price ($200/month $0 Drive off) but I like my wife's Kia much more.

Does Honda still have that excellent lease deal on the Clarity EV?

 

[pheonix]

Rondawg-Thank you for the info on GM! The Volt is on the bottom of my list as i want a pure EV.

Yes, i believe Honda is still offering the Clarity EV for $199/month (with $1,499 at signing). This is a good deal for someone driving a lot since Honda allow 20k miles/year. However, the range is mediocre at 89 miles/charge.
I think these are the current Mfgr offers for the bay area:
-Nissan Leaf: 151 miles/charge, $229/month for 36 months with $3,979 at signing, 12k miles/year
-Hyundai Ioniq EV: 121 miles/charge, $295/month for 36 months with $2,500 at signing, unlimited miles.
Hopefully there will be more attractive lease offers toward the end of the year.

 

[RonDawg]

Rondawg-Thank you for the info on GM! The Volt is on the bottom of my list as i want a pure EV.

GM also makes a pure EV...confusingly named the Bolt.

Yes, i believe Honda is still offering the Clarity EV for $199/month (with $1,499 at signing). This is a good deal for someone driving a lot since Honda allow 20k miles/year. However, the range is mediocre at 89 miles/charge.

It is but no worse than early EV’s like the 1st gen Leaf or pre-2017 eGolf. Having a standard quick charge port helps as well. For people who can live with the range, the price is irresistible.

 

[pheonix]

Rondawg-Thank you for the info on GM! The Volt is on the bottom of my list as i want a pure EV.

GM also makes a pure EV...confusingly named the Bolt.

Yes, i believe Honda is still offering the Clarity EV for $199/month (with $1,499 at signing). This is a good deal for someone driving a lot since Honda allow 20k miles/year. However, the range is mediocre at 89 miles/charge.

It is but no worse than early EV’s like the 1st gen Leaf or pre-2017 eGolf. Having a standard quick charge port helps as well. For people who can live with the range, the price is irresistible.

Yes, I am aware of the Bolt! However, i don't think you can lease a Bolt for less than $375/month!
I agreed, it is a great deal for those could live with the range! However, those kind of ranges are barely work for me.

 

[nupami]

Do they check if the scheduled maintenance has been completed or not ?

I am approaching my lease return date and 30K maintenance is due.