Lease Return: Registration and other questions

[alexecar]

Hi,

I'm going to return my 2016 e-Golf in December and have a few questions about lease returns:

- I'm going to return the car a couple of days before registration expires. Do I need to re-register?
- I have a quarter-size scratch on one of the rims. Did you have similar issues, how much do they charge?
- Other than rotating tires, new wipers, and refilling wiper fluid I haven't done any maintenance. Is this something that's checked?
- Any other things to look out for at lease return?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[RonDawg]

1. As long as the car is back at the dealer, or at an authorized return facility, prior to the registration expiration, you don’t need to renew registration. You may want to let your local DMV know that the car has been lease-returned so you don’t get delinquent registration notifications or worse accusations that tickets were racked up while the car was still registered in your name.

2. Your lease pre-return inspection will tell you how much it will cost. A quarter-size scratch may not be large enough to trigger an excess wear charge however.

3. I did absolutely no dealer maintenance on my Leaf (except for the battery check, to maintain the warranty) and NMAC didn’t care, so long as everything worked. I don’t expect VW Credit to be any different.

 

[forbin404]

As my eGolf goes back in 30 days I found a few interesting things.

You are going back to December? Did you have it inspected yet? if Not, GO NOW.
Inspection is cheaper when it's pre inspection (Before you turn in) instead of Post Inspection. Pre inspection is Free BTW

The only time this isn't true is when the car has zero issues. In Post Inspection if they find something that occurred in the last 90 days (after a Pre Inspection - minor) it won't count. But remember that you aren't around for Post Inspections. What if the dealer put a big ding in it? You pay for that.

I was looking at my contract and it says 'Return your car on Jan 3rd' I was thinking why? I leased my car on Dec 20. Then I realized, I would have to renew the registration for those 14 days.
I asked DMV about getting a 2 week temp, and they said, nope. you gotta pay for the year. So I asked about a refund. They said , nope unless the car is salvaged we won't consider it.

Sneaky VW. Trying to get me to pay $400 (Thanks to the new EV penalty registration) for 2 weeks of car.
No thanks.

Rim rash is almost always counted. Have it inspected so you won't get sticker shock. A quarter scratch depends on how deep. If it's a quarter size Ding...you are right on the edge.

 

[johnnylingo]

- I have a quarter-size scratch on one of the rims. Did you have similar issues, how much do they charge?

You should receive a guide about 2 months before lease end that lists criteria for not being charged. Unfortunately I threw mine away last week, but it was something like you're permitted one scratch up to an inch without charge.

 

[forbin404]

So just to post my experience returning my eGolf

Got the Pre-inspection (Windshield $350)

Of course ignored the letter from VW that said I can turn in on Jan 5th because my registration expires on Dec 22 and I did not want to pay $500 for two weeks of car use.

Drove into my dealership, (no appt needed, 9-5 M-F) and they had a guy come out with a checklist and he went over my car for about 5 mins

Took off my plates as they are personalized

Went into the dealership and signed a paper that said I returned both keys, car was in this condition blah blah.
Took a picture of it.

Left the dealership under 15 minutes.

Now that was a nice Lease Turn in / Grounding. I've done FCA and those are a major pain as most dealerships are full of cars and turn down the Grounding.

Next step, waiting for the bill for the Disposition and Broken windshield.

As a side note : I was staring at a used eGolf they had on the lot 2016 with 18k, that had Red Stickers. Must've bought it around Jan 2017 to qualify for the red ones. (BTW it was going for $17k)

 

[RonDawg]

As a side note : I was staring at a used eGolf they had on the lot 2016 with 18k, that had Red Stickers. Must've bought it around Jan 2017 to qualify for the red ones. (BTW it was going for $17k)

If it’s the one I’m thinking of, per the CarFax it was first registered in California in December 2015. So the initial white stickers weren’t issued for over a year.

Many 2016 ‘s were sold in calendar year 2017 as the model year 2017’s didn’t show up at dealers until late summer.

 

[Snoopy]

Just returned my leased 2016 e-Golf SE this week. My experience was almost identical to that which forbin404 described above. Painless and quick at the VW dealership. No appointment was needed, I just showed up on the middle of a weekday, and the finance guy came out and processed my paperwork. I had already had my inspection done by AIM about a month ago. My car only had 14k miles on it, and it was in perfect condition, so there were no issues.

That e-Golf was the best car I have ever owned, and I will miss it a lot. My situation has changed though, I no longer have a convenient garage for charging, and I already have a Jeep that wasn't getting driven much, so I'll be going back to driving ICE for a few years. I look forward to rejoining the EV community sometime in the future.

 

[pheonix]

So just to post my experience returning my eGolf

Got the Pre-inspection (Windshield $350)

Of course ignored the letter from VW that said I can turn in on Jan 5th because my registration expires on Dec 22 and I did not want to pay $500 for two weeks of car use.

Drove into my dealership, (no appt needed, 9-5 M-F) and they had a guy come out with a checklist and he went over my car for about 5 mins

Took off my plates as they are personalized

Went into the dealership and signed a paper that said I returned both keys, car was in this condition blah blah.
Took a picture of it.

Left the dealership under 15 minutes.

Now that was a nice Lease Turn in / Grounding. I've done FCA and those are a major pain as most dealerships are full of cars and turn down the Grounding.

Next step, waiting for the bill for the Disposition and Broken windshield.

As a side note : I was staring at a used eGolf they had on the lot 2016 with 18k, that had Red Stickers. Must've bought it around Jan 2017 to qualify for the red ones. (BTW it was going for $17k)

I also turned mine in yesterday with similar experience! I had the car inspected couple months ago and put in about 3k miles afterward ( the car was at 39,575 miles when i turn it in). No issues as I took great care of the car so it was in excellent conditions!
Wow, they are asking $17k for the 2016 with Red Sticker? I guess i got a great deal for the 2018 SE with DC faster charger for $19,765. This is out the door price after Federal and PG&E rebate (i dont qualify for CA rebate).

 

[forbin404]

I also turned mine in yesterday with similar experience! I had the car inspected couple months ago and put in about 3k miles afterward ( the car was at 39,575 miles when i turn it in). No issues as I took great care of the car so it was in excellent conditions!
Wow, they are asking $17k for the 2016 with Red Sticker? I guess i got a great deal for the 2018 SE with DC faster charger for $19,765. This is out the door price after Federal and PG&E rebate (i dont qualify for CA rebate).

Probably better as the 2016 was an SE without DC fast charge.

Got my bill today from VW, they took off the key on the bill (No calling needed but it was documented as a $0 charge)
Paid the check and I am done!

Have fun folks!