After reading horror stories of getting unexpected bills, I was clenching (my you know what) in anticipation of that final invoice from Lexus.

I turned my lease in three months early and paid off every last payment early. Lease was under miles. Car was in good condition--but not perfect.

I skipped the pre-inspection by vin check (or whatever the name of the company is) only because they goofed an appointment by not showing up. I decided, OK, F it. I'll just return the car to my local Lexus dealer.

I turned it in, signed a few papers, showed my ID and reg, handed over two keys and the manual. And took an uber home--Lexus would not offer me a ride home even though I live two miles away. Whatever.

So a couple days ago I got the final invoice (the paper wasn't labled final invoice, but something like lease calculation I forget) and they said I only owed $110. Everything was zeroed out under wear tear charges, cleaning charges, auction charges, etc. 0 0 0 0 0.

The $110 was confusing though. I couldn't tell what it was for by the documents. I called lexus and got three different answers that didn't make sense. Finally they had management review it and said "administrative fees." Whatever I wasn't about to spend too much time to argue $110 and really it isn't worth my time past a certain point. I confirmed this concludes the lease in its entirety.

So 36 monthly payments + down payment + the $110 admin fee.

Not bad.

They did auction the car off really fast. I googled my vin and saw my car two weeks later for sale at a dealer up north. I refreshed the page two days later and the ad was gone. They must've sold it. It sold fast.

I hope this serves as a reference point.

I changed my own oil and filter and notated it on my Lexus drivers account.

I had a lip installed on the front bumper but the holes were on the bottom. (lip was removed long ago but the holes remained)

I made sure I washed the car inside and out thoroughly before returning it. It was spotless.

I had a small ding on the hood but that was it. Someone also scuffed the front bumper by backing into me two days before i returned the lease (just my luck), I polished 85% of it out.

I curbed all four wheels but fixed it for $15 using the method in my signature. I think this helped a lot!! https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-up-paint.html

 

Nice, i wish i could lease sometimes. I drive past 15k miles a year so leasing really isn't an option for me. What's your next car?

 

For now I just drive a commuter Lexus hybrid CT200h F Sport.

It's super cheap to run, operate, and insure. I'm enjoying thinking about my car less and less and less and less.

Spent too much of my life messing with cars, spending a fortune and living my life just to keep it running.

Love the CT200h cause it requires almost zero thought. everything lasts 200k miles and beyond. even brakes. tires maybe once every 5 years.

insurance bill went from $200 a month to $60

Gas went from $200 a month to $100 a month

Tires went from $1,000 a year to $0 a year

Brakes went from $200 a year to $0 a year

I just get in, put finger on start button, and mash gas. rinse and repeat.

 

Well said...... And, copy that!.......I've recently arrived here too.

 

Get an EV next time

Gas bill $0 per month; Electric bill +$35

Tires $1000 every two years

Brakes $0 a year (typically last 100k miles due to regenerative braking)

No required annual maintenance

 

I thought they have some BS $350 'turn-in' fee as well?

Either way, glad you were able to get rid of the car, I know you haven't enjoyed it from what I've read on the forums. Hopefully we see you sticking around the IS forums side, your posts do crack me up sometimes lol!

Best of luck

 

Good deal. I'm actually expecting to keep mine at lease end, and if I want something else, just sell it out-right and make some money on it. I don't think it can hurt to try, the market on these cars is fantastic, and I pretty much stole mine.

 

Hybrids are also 200k miles on brakes. We have regen braking too. Mine are just prius brakes though. $20 a set. I don't even want to know how much tesla brakes are. lol.

And yeah you still have the expensive sport tires.

Don't get me wrong I love the Tesla 3 and want one one day, I'm just not ready to take that plunge yet, dealing with the range anxiety. It should serve me fine for 98% of my driving, but that 2% when I wonder how far I can go is where i'll be freaked out.

I got 6k off mine too in 2016. I wonder if that helped me.

I'm still not sure I'd lease again. i gave Lexus 24k and i have nothing to show for it.

And thanks I'll still stick around. I'm on the CT forums so I may as well be on the IS forums. I love helping people and joking around with you guys =D

 

I understand but you don't really get range anxiety in Cali. There is always a supercharger within 20 miles and the car knows how many stalls are free. The new Model 3s have pretty good build quality too. Good luck with your car.

 

This is pretty encouraging. I've been having some doubts about my lease return as well. I'm hoping I don't have to fix the minor ding in my bumper - or if so, it ends up being cheaper to just eat the fee at lease turn-in. Sounds like you had some minor damage that's kinda similar to mine - I also have a tiny door ding on my driver's door. Oddly, it seems like that ding has worked itself out over time, as it used to be larger. Anyway, I am hoping to do the 3-month-early turn-in as well. Did you get the last 3 months waived?

 

Generally, if it can be covered by a credit card then they'll ignore it unless we're talking like a cluster of small dings in one area.

 

I believe the 3 months are waived if only you end up leasing another Lexus from them.

And I'm sure they'll tackle that into the price of the car somewhere too lol

 

I paid my lease in full. nothing waived. Just paid it off in advance. like $5,000 payment.

just fix everything you possibly can the best you can so you don't eat anything for curbed wheels, etc. i also returned it with good tires but the front inners had 5k on them and they were already starting to wear down visibly.

front brakes were halfway down too.

 

OK. I think it's possible to get the last 3 months waived if you do one of the following: A) Lease or finance a new car or B) Finance a "qualifying" L/Certified car through a Lexus dealer. That's what I am seeing on Lexus's website anyway.

 

yeah. i mean ultimately any dealer can pay anything to anyone for any reason technically. You can buy a new Ford Explorer and if the Ford dealer wants your business enough, they'll give you any amount of money they wish. But yeah Lexus does say something about waiving something if you get another.