So my lease is coming to an end, sadly, in a couple of months. That means, on top of my building anxiety of finding a new car, I also have to get the car checked out for any damages. So, I wanted to share how that experience is going so far. Lexus Financial does this via a company called AutoVIN, which is pretty much the worst name I can think of. Cars have unique identifiers called VINs, yes, and cars are also known as "autos" sometimes. So the name AutoVIN has essentially no relevance to the services they actually provide.

In any case, I set up an appointment, and the inspector came directly to my driveway, and began taking photos and notes while idling my car for what seemed like 30 minutes. Then, a few days later, he returned, admitting that he missed getting the sizes of the rear tires, as he assumed it would be a squared setup since "usually with those all-wheel drive cars they have all four tires the same". OK, then...

Once that was fixed, I received an inspection report the next day.



It's pretty detailed, and I am genuinely surprised that, of all things, the one issue that was pointed out in the report was a scratch on my front-right wheel, which I had never noticed before. This resulted in a $100 damage charge.




I also noticed a disclaimer that there's a disposition fee:

So it looks like I am going to have to pay some disposition fee, plus the $100 for the wheel - though, I am thinking I might just take advantage of my road hazard warranty I purchased through the dealership and have that repaired. I would appreciate any input if any prior owners have done something like that before.

In any case, I admit this whole process has me a bit sad. I have thoroughly enjoyed this car, and am worried the next one will leave me missing my first Lexus, and really, my first "fun" car if you will. Somehow I got lucky - even though I didn't shop around as much as I could have, I ended up with a car that has been thoroughly satisfying for my 3-and-a-half-year lease. Have there been times where I was bored or annoyed with it? Absolutely - after all, it is still just a car, not a magical machine incapable of faults. However, it's been through a lot - spirited drives on winding Ozark roads, a 4-hour drive through the closest thing to a blizzard I've ever seen, and of course commuting daily in between. Through all this, it's been able to hold up with no issues whatsoever - and miraculously, incur only the most minor of lease-return wear.

 

Thanks for sharing - I will be interested to see what your next one will be.

 

you're lucky to have done it this way! I used US Bank as the loaner and typically I would go to the dealer..in the last case before this one it was Chevy they did a walk around,reported mileage and condition to the bank and from there the bank usually would send their own person and do their own inspection either in a week or so or right before the auction.

So the most recent lease that I did before I bought this lexus was for a challenger. same bank..same terms but it's a hassle because you don't know what they're going to find or report so I took pictures of EVERYTHING including my VIN. I also did a video walkaround. Dealer inspected gave me a thumbsup but US bank is non-trusting of dealer inspections so they send out their own person who then contacts the bank if there's any damage or mileage overage and then it goes from there... such a headache.... I'm happy this went clean for you! I said im done leasing and bought an amazing lexus.

 

Interesting about the Chevy. I guess I certainly prefer using something like AutoVIN to that, haha. I guess the nicest part is that I actually have access to all the photos my inspector took.

 

Think this is standard how Lexus is doing lease end inspections now with AutoVIN. Mines was the same way, had access to all my photos almost immediately. I had zero charges on wear and tear, and I remember him telling me it was a showroom condition car lol. As far as your wheels, get that fixed prior to your lease return since they will charge you if you didn't take car of it before, even if you have the wheel and tire package. Pretty stupid, but it needs to be fixed beforehand. Disposition fee is normal, I tried to get out of it too but the only way is to get another car from Lexus (which I was not doing).

Excited to see what your new car will be, I know we talk from time to time so we will def stay in contact. I know you missed out on that M235i, but now go for the M2 instead lol.

 

I had a good experience with them. They met me at my work and spent about 20-30 minutes with it. I didn’t have any extra charges despite pretty bald tires and a tiny scratch/dent. Then again, I paid to fix a curbed rim at the dealer when I had one and it was surprisingly inexpensive. Had access to the report that same day.

 

Yeah the M235i was great, although not as sporty as I was expecting. I'll probably post something somewhere on CL when I do get it lol.

Nice. Yeah my report took a couple days because of the aforementioned tire size issue. My tires still have at least 7/32" so they aren't charging me for that.

 

I wouldn't worry about the wheel scratch, just return it as is. It's listed under normal wear and tear (not chargeable), and you won't be charged anything.

We went through this a few month ago with my wife's car, also first time leasing. She had three curb rashes on one wheel, one on the other, all under 5" and quite shallow, you'd have to look hard to notice them. Some light scratches under 5" on the rear door that I noticed the morning the inspector came. The tires were original, under 2/32, and one had exposed cords (that I also noticed that morning). I wanted to install some used tires with enough tread before the inspections, but didn't find them locally in that size. The report listed $100 for each of the two wheels with rashes, $100 for the door scratches (all normal wear and tear), and $279 for each of the four tires, three of them under normal wear and tear, and one under excessive (chargeable).

I was quite concerned with the report, not quite sure what it meant, but ended up paying just for the excessive damage. We went to the dealer almost a month before it was due to ask some questions, and made a deal on a new one. She was also feeling attached to the car, and was seriously considering just buying it out, but was completely used to the new one in no time. Pretty much the same car, just more features, bigger display, nicer interior trim, and liquid platinum looks so much nicer and shinier than silverline. When I finally borrowed it once after a few weeks, I had a big smile on my face.

 

Very detailed report on a lease return. $100 for a small curb rash - only because it's a Lexus