Marcust99

Hi Folks - just pulled the trigger on a 2013 Silver ES 300h with the leather + navi packages. First time Lexus owner and very excited. I actually don't pick up the car until Saturday but thought I'd cruise the forums to get up to speed. I do have a question if anyone would like to provide me any feedback. This vehicle is on a four year lease and the leasing manager offered me 2 different packages for basically "lease return protection". The two are:

1. Lexus Wear Pass protection. For $999 they offer up to 1k excess kilometres ( I'm in Canada)
damaged or bald tires, excess wear and tear/scratches.

2. Titan Vehicle Protection - $1199 - third party company offering tire/wheel protection, dents,
FOB replacement, windshield repair - thing is this is an ONGOING service you use as needed and
not when you return the car. Can be used as often as needed.

Anyone have any experience with this? The leasing person also gave me a copy of the lease inspection
return form to look at to see how they judge the criteria for damage.

I'm leaning towards biting on option #1 since after 4 years I may have to replace the tires, and this
alone would make it worth it.

Thanks!

gmanusmc

Just my opinion but I would be skeptical of such programs - they are usually just profit packers. If you take reasonable care of your car you should not have a problem turning it in. If you are leasing for 4 years, chances are you would be further ahead trading it in than doing a lease end turn in. Our last two Lexus's had trade in equity at two years. You might also consider a shorter term lease - we did a 24 month on our current car - payment difference was only $10.

Fly4u

Check very closely with option 1 regarding the expectation for a "free" tire replacement prior to lease-end.

I haven't leased for many years, but when I did the return process was quite reasonable, regardless of whether my next vehicle was destined to be the same make.

Dave Mac

This is a fairly new product the the finance guys are trying to sell and it is no better than the nitrogen filled tires, dent repair, oil changes etc. - just another profit maker. If you take reasonable care of your car you would have no need for this and if you don't it won't help much anyway. I don't believe it cover new tires - that might be something else they are selling and the extra 1,000 miles at lease end would only cost you $250 and they most often waive that anyway so again you are not getting anything for you purchase. Lexus Financial is pretty reasonable on lease returns.

Enjoy the the new car but pass on all of the dealer packages they will try to sell you.

Dave Mac

Marcust99

Thanks for the input guys!

As far as option 1 goes with the Lexus "Wear Pass" program goes, the leasing manager specifically said it DOES include damaged or bald tires upon return. Here's a picture of the brochure...

http://imgur.com/nV7kNER

corradoMR2

First, congratulations Marcust99 on your first ever Lexus. If you are like many of us, once you get a taste of that what quality represents, there's no turning back!

Interesting thing is that it goes to show how every dealer is different. I just signed on a 2014 IS from a reputable Lexus GTA dealer and not once were these protection plans offered. I had previously bought 3 Lexus vehicles at the same location over the last 5 years and never have they offered the plan nor provided any checklist to compare the shape of the car upon its return. It was totally transparent even when I had a few scratches here and there and a repaired rear bumper following an accident on my IS (which I claimed). I'm personally never a fan of these protection plans or extra warranties since as mentioned above, so long as you take care of your car and drive defensively with a solid awareness of your surroundings, you should be in good shape. However, the first option may be interesting from a tire purchase perspective but I'd check to see what the tire brand and treadwear is on the current sets and do some estimated calculations. From my experience, under normal driving conditions (non aggressive curves, some city stop/go, and highway), you should easily get 12-15K km per every 100 value of treadwear. So a tire with 500 = expect about 60-75K km with less than 1/8 in left of treadwear.

A final quick point is, if you will do lots of highway driving, you increase your chances of getting a cracked windshield and chips on the hood thanks to the many tractor trailers and never ending highway construction that always is present in one location or another. Replacing a three-layered laminated Lexus windshield can be pricey. I believe this would go towards Option 2 to meet this need...

Good luck and keep us posted!

Marcust99

Thanks for the input Corrado!

Dave Mac

The bald or worn tires at lease end is only of value if you are able to time it just right. If you need tires sooner for safety or comfort or just ride quality you have to buy them anyway. Only once was I able to turn a car in with just the minimum amount of tread remaining. And the windshield coverage should not be needed if you have zero deductible glass coverage.

The only problem I ever had on a lease return was when they tried to charge me for worn out bald tires, a cracked windshield and some door dents. I had several pictures taken just moments before turn in which showed no such details but most importantly the pictures they were using showed a car of a different color. I do however now had the service tech and the salesmen do a quick inspection just as I turn the car in.

Dave Mac