LEX Fairy

I dont know if this helps. My previous car (07 IS250awd) was leased. When I returned it, the front bumper was hanging loose on one side and there were more than a few dings and dents. Not to mention every wheel was severly scuffed to the point where powdercoat was flaking off. A local bodyshop quoted me $1300 for just the front bumper fix. Another place wanted $1600.
Later when I received my lease return bill I was charged only $460 and some change which was later waived for being a returning customer. Glad I didn't fix it before returning.

Fizzboy7

The consensus I've heard is if your parts are Lexus parts, you are okay. Any other brand and they will hit you. Lexus doesn't deal with parts they cannot warranty or backup.

don

iTrader: (2)

They might not see the difference up front, but as soon as your car is next to another stock 2IS, they will see the difference.

robertrios

iTrader: (11)

not worth modding a leased car unless you can easily go back to stock like upgrading the rims which you could put on your new car. If you want to do actual mods like suspension you might consider doing a lease buy back. However depending on the miles put on the car this might or might not be a good deal for you. For instance I bought out my lease early on my 07 is250 for 24k in late 09 i believe and I only had 19k miles on the car. So for me- it made sense due to the fact that cars in my area similar to this were higher in price, plus i know i had all the maint. done to my car and it wasnt ever abused. If your in that situation then jump on it. You might want to trade your car in for a 2011 fsport and have the fsport springs rolled into the cost of the car when leased...but im sure youll loose $$$

MyIS350G

iTrader: (6)

That's their job, I'm pretty sure they can tell. Even some of the members here on clublexus can tell diff.

ThermonMer

I am getting springs this week - one way or another.

maybe ill just go the hassle free route with F-Sports and return the car with them installed. F-Sport, install once...set it and forget it.

Is F-Sport that noticeable of a drop?

ThermonMer

...........

ThermonMer

solved. mods, feel free to close the thread, if need be. for anyone in the same situation, now, on in the future, see the verdict below:

i reached out to everyone possible. between the inspector, lexus financial, and the dealership, there are too many parties and variances with no gaurantees. even if i have F-Sport products installed, if they are not listed on my window sticker, then there are no guarantees that it will be accepted upon lease return. any installation after day 1 technically affects the resale value of the car...the inspector is checking off a list provided from lexus financial...and the dealership needs to make sure the car is 100% stock to give back to lexus financial.

i even made the argument: what if i went into a lexus dealership parts center and paid $10,000 for F-Sport products and labor, including a dealership warranty, and left the items on the car upon return...the inspectors response was that there is still a chance that lexus financial will make me take off the parts and return the car to its original form. after hearing that, it was a simple decision. in the end, no one will be swinging the bat for me.

im going to play it safe and order the springs i want (megan) which is a cheap 1.25" drop...then resintall the stocks when i return. besides, the megan springs with stock shocks may not even last me for the remaining 30 months of the lease anyway, so it doesnt seem like too much $$ thrown away for its use on a leased vehicle.

thanks for your help everyone. catch you at the JM Lexus meet with my new springs! hopefully, these findings will serve of good use to others leasees.

jasonis250

Im just saying I have saw some really expensive lease returns because of mod's. and if they are the f spring's maby. but not some random 1.5" springs. just tryen to save ya sum $$. and I only rape pp mon.tue,wed,fri,sat, and every other sun. so thats fair.

Thinktwice

If the inspector can't notice a 1-1.5" drop... well, he'd probably lose his job sooner than later because it's blatantly obvious to most. Dropping your car doesn't exactly give it a "luxury" feel when driving, so it's pretty unacceptable. This is why I'd never lease a car, it's not really yours to do whatever you want to without consequences if you can't make it how it was at first.

ThermonMer

from what i heard today (literally had a conference call with lexus financial, my dealership leasing agent, and their inspector), no one with authorize such a thing, even if its F-Sport. meaning, if you lease-return, youd probably be dinged for any springs, possibly even f-sports.

i could either ....

a: plan to ride with weak F-Sport springs for 3 years in the hope that i dont need to uninstall them...only to find out that my expensive springs are taken off (and kept!) by a lexus mechanic, and that i would owe $1500 for labor.

b: get a better drop with megans/tein s (less than F sports), then pay for the uninstall, and risk nothing.

ehhh...ill take option b please! case closed. take this as a warning for all of yall modding your lease.

jnguyen87

iTrader: (2)

why then, would you waste the time and money to buy cheap springs, get a mediocre drop, and waste more money to uninstall the springs just to return a car that doesnt belong to you. Its like borrowing your friends car, putting stuff on it, and then taking it off.

ThermonMer

tein s are quality springs. megan, not so much. going with teins.

and ill have them for 3 years man. the fact that its a lease doesnt change much. i just now know that i cant give the car back with them installed. its no different than purchasing a car, getting springs, selling it in 3 years, only to find out that the buyer requested that you remove the springs.