exBMWowner

Hello everyone. I have a couple of questions for anyone who has experience in leasing a car from Lexus Financial Services.

1) Has anyone been able to get LFS to waive the excess mileage fee at the end of the lease? I don't mean just rolling the cost into the new lease, but simply getting LFS to waive it if you agree to lease another Lexus from them?

2) Has anyone been able to get LFS to waive their $600 acquisition fee? Again, not just roll it into the deal, but truly get LFS to waive it? This will be my third Lexus lease in a row if I get another Lexus, and while other manufacturers seem to be offering all types of loyalty incentives to keep their existing clients in a leasing program, LFS seems to offer nothing.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

josephdoc

1) AFAIK, waiving the fee is not possible accroding to the contract.
2) I returned one in April and I did not get charged of any.

I would try to negociate the excess mileage fee, or maybe check to see if they are willing to discount if you want to do another lease.

I am not sure where and when this acquisition fee would apply, but I remember the manager was so cool that he did not even look at the car but only read the odometer.

Good luck,

Mike_TX

First, let me say I can't really answer your questions.

But I'll just say that I don't think any mfr. really waives excess mileage charges. After all, excess mileage directly affects the residual value of the car, and to the extent you've made a contract based mileage and condition, they would be "eating" the loss (and car mfr's rarely eat losses). Even when the dealer says they waive the charges, they usually just bury them in the deal somewhere.

As for acquisition charges, they're stubborn about these, too. In my opinion, this is nothign but excess profit, since the expenses associated with setting up and servicing your lease should be covered by the interest charges.

I have succeeded in getting the acquisition charge tossed out at Acura dealers, but only by completely finalizing the deal, then refusing to pay the fee. Get up and walk out and they'll cave. But I get the idea Lexus won't.

.
.

Mike_TX

The acquisition fee is charged when you first lease the car, not at the end.

.
.

usermel

I use to lease and wont ever again because of the very questions your asking now and many more things wrong with leases. I understand the dealer putting mileage rules into the deals because without them people would drive 20,000 or more miles a year instead of being careful as you are doing buddy. I say buy a car and just trade it when tired of it. Yes a 3 year lease has advantages to it but, you are restricted on miles and thats not good for piece of mind. Unless going to work school and doing only needs leases are ripoffs to a consumer who needs a car for more than just need to do driving. Dealers during these times wont waive fees buddy. They need the protection for themselves. Leases only benefit the dealer and person who buys the leased car. Unless getting free services on the car I say a lease is not worth it! When you buy there are no rules for miles modifications(i don't mod) etc.! Leases have you basically renting a rental car! L.G.N.M

josephdoc

Hmm... One way or another to make profit.

I guess it is a fee that no one can avoid.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

1) debatable. i know someone who is over mileage, he returned the car and leased a new one. he never heard from lexus about the over mileage fee.

when i returned my sc430, rear bumper had scratches from the body kits. i leased the ls460l, and i never heard from lexus about charges on the damage.

rumors are that if you return your car but at the same time lease a new one, lfs will get easy on you on the overmileage or damages. but there is no official writing and "rule" about this. so you play your luck

2) nop, the fee is charged and gone

Mike_TX

I guess leases aren't for everyone, but I'm the opposite of you - I wouldn't buy a car on a bet.

If you buy, there are too many uncertainties ... mostly related to how much it's worth when you trade. And I'll guarantee you right now, you won't get a fair price for your car as a trade-in. Period. The dealer makes most of his money off used cars and service work, so he will almost always lowball your trade to maximize his profit when he sells it again.

Another is marketplace uncertainty ... look how many SUV owners are upside-down because of gas prices. Those people are getting hosed big time when they try to trade or sell their vehicles.

With a lease, you get a guarantee when you sign the papers how much they'll give you for the car. No hassles, no negotiations, no upside-down.

Sure, you have to be smart when you lease ... make sure you have enough miles in the lease or be prepared to pay extra at the end. OR, just shop the car as a trade-in before the lease ends ... you might get enough to come out better than paying the excess mileage charges.

But for me, the main thing is not laying out as much money. With a lease, you pay only for the part of the car you use, whereas when you buy, you pay for all of it, then try to get some of your money back when you trade (and usually get screwed, per the above). Leases usually run you about 60-65% as much per month as buying, so you can either drive a lot nicer car or just use the extra dough for something else.

If you don't like leasing, that's cool ... but for many of us it's the only way to go!

.
.

dimapb

There are CONS and PROS to both. To a business owner, there will be more PROS to lease a car than to an non-bus owner. This also depends on how smart your accountant is.

exBMWowner

Unfortunately my company requires that I lease my car, so purchasing is not an option. The dealer told me that LFS will not waive the acquisition fee. As for the mileage, I suppose it's possible they will not bill me for it, but I will not know until I return the car. The dealer is only marking up the new car about $1,250, so I guess it's still a pretty good deal overall.

I test drove a BMW 550 over the weekend just to make sure I still wanted the Lexus. It was a nice car, but overall I still think the LS gives you the best dollar value in that price range. Plus, if I bought the BMW, I guess I'd have to change my screen name, so I'll just pass on that one.

stanatl

My new LS is my third Lexus with Audi and BMW interspersed between. I can tell you that compared to the other guys, dealing with the end of lease for the Lexus is a walk in the park. The recent BMW return was the most problematic. In addition to the mileage (which I can't complain about since I didn't lease another BMW), they are trying to hit me for $600 for a replacement windshield because of scratches/chips in the "windshield wiper swipe area". This is a special windshield because of the Head Up dispay. I can tell you that there is nothing on the windshield that is anything more than normal wear and tear or interferes in any way with the visibility. I have told them I will be fighting this charge. In addition, since the car was leased with run flat tires (sport suspension/package) they require that they be returned with run flats. I replaced the original tires with non-run flats but saved the tires. I put them back on (they required this) and they are charging me $250 for one of the tires that they say is below the minimum tread depth. The non - run flat tires that I had on the car were only 5 months old with great treads but that means nothing to BMW. They went through the car inside and out with a fine tooth comb in the final inspection looking for any minor scratches, dings, etc. I keep my cars in pretty pristine shape so they didn't find anything.

All in all not a good experience. I've leased many company cars over the years and the BMW experience was by far the worst.

Mike_TX

I think the lease-end inspection thing is one of the main reasons I trade before my leases are up. I've kept only one leased car until the end, and it was a BMW 740i ... oddly enough, they also carped about the windshield, since it had a tiny "pit" in it from a rock hit (that happened about 3 months into the lease).

The inspector told me it weakened the windshield and therefore was a safety issue. So I just called my insurance agent, told him BMW says I have to replace my windshield due to damage, and sight-unseen, he told me to go for it. Didn't cost me a penny, since I went to the State Farm approved glass company.

But we DID run out a lease on my wife's Cadillac STS recently, and they were certainly picky. Sent us a $600 bill for a paint touch-up on a bumper cover that I'd already paid over $300 to fix. Fortunately, her car was about 15,000 miles UNDER the allocated mileage, so I told them that raised the car's value and we should just call it even. To my surprise, they accepted.

The lease-end thing varies a huge amount from mfr to mfr and area to area. Most mfr's now use private inspection companies, and I think that's a mistake. These companies have to show they're earning their money, so they try extra hard to find something to nitpick. After all, if they did inspection after inspection with no damage found, it might look like they're not doing their job, right?

But as I've said before, you can avoid all that lease-end stuff by just trading a month or two before the lease ends. Of course, depending on the vehicle, you may do just as well to pay any excess charges.

Another tactic is to get the inspection done as early as possible, and if they try to ding you for damages, THEN try shopping the car as a trade. You're getting another car anyway, so just be prepared to trade instead of turning it in to the leasing company.

.
.