yo, can you do nav hack on a lease? random question.

 

Is this true???

 

Don't do any mods on a lease that you can't reverse before turning it in. The notable exception is window tint...the dealer doesn't particularly mind if you add value to their vehicle by tinting the windows. However, if you return it with hp adding stickers, bald tires on spinners, and a big aftermarket spoiler with a custom pink leather interior, you're in trouble.

 

You have much more to worry about if you buy the car. For one, you don't own it until you pay it off - the bank does. Many of us here get new cars every few years. Purchasing rather than leasing is really pointless in that situation, unless you're putting high miles on your vehicle. In that instance, you're losing your butt no matter what...lease or buy, if you're putting more than around 15k miles on your car annually its value will drop like a brick. In that instance, it usually makes more sense to buy a lightly used car.

 

thats not the case with lexus financial services. they have an independent company inspect the vehicle after it is turned in, and the inspector has no idea if you got into another vehicle or not.

 

lfs is more liberal when gauging the overall condition of the lease turn in than others companies are. they dont expect the car to be in showroom condition, they expect it to have 3-4 years of use on it.

 

and the good thing about leasing is when it is up you just turn the car in and dont have to worry about selling it. just return the car anywhere. my parents returned their old LS430 to the dealer nearby and picked up another LS430 somewhere else that had the car in stock.

 

Yes, this is often true. If you managed to negotiate a high residual value, and the resell/market value at end of lease is lower, most leasing companies would rather entice you to buy the vehicle for less than chancing an even bigger loss in prepping & reselling the vehicle at auction or on the market. Unless it's a hot reseller like a Mini, they really don't want to take the car back at all if they can help it. Of course, this is a bad way to ultimately buy your vehicle, because you end up paying for it 1 and a half times over a straight loan, but some people get stuck and/or like the vehicle enough to stay in it.

In my story on the previous page, I forgot to mention that while the leasing company were jerks about wear & tear, they did sell the vehicle to me at a reduced price from the contracted residual. Don't remember the exact difference, it might have been around 10% less.

 

Actually the lease end inspections are done by a third party company
which I'm sure doesn't get paid by the amount of damage.

 

Whats the story on buying the car after 1 -2 years into a 4 year lease. Thanks Drew

 

100% true...

 

correct again

 

true...but not with LFS. The residual value/lease end purchase price is stated on your LFS contract. It is not negotiable with them. I have seen other leasing companies negotiate the lease buy-out price though...

 

i have never seen it to be advantageous to purchase a lease vehicle at any time during the lease. If your intent is to buy at one point, buy it in the beginning. In some states, you not only pay sales tax upfront in the lease, but you have to pay it again since most states treat the transaction as a pre-owned vehicle purchase.

 

FinanceGuy, do you agree with the general statement to put lil' or nothing down on a lease to offset the risk of losing your security deposit(s) due to theft or a total loss accident ? TIA.