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Turning in a damaged lease car

B

bignateyk

Lifer
I have a 2008 V6 RAV4 that will have about 30K miles on it when I turn it in. The maximum mileage I got was 15K/year, which would be 45K total miles over the lease, so I used well under what I paid for.

The buyout on the car is about $15K.

I have a damaged bumper that I was quoted at about $1200 to fix by a different garage at the time the damage occurred (a year ago).

The blue book retail value of my car is $21K in good condition.

I don't want to buy the car, but I think it gives me some room to demand that I not have to pay for the damage to the car. If I turn the car in to them, they can easily make $4-5K more re-selling it even after they pay to fix the damaged bumper than they would get if I were to buy the car from them for $15K.

Do you think this argument will work in my favor when they try to tell me I have to pay to fix the bumper?
 
Are you going to be buying a new Toyota from the dealership? If so they will probably me more lenient on letting the damaged bumper slide.
 
I'd bet, if damaged, you are responsible for it. Pretty sure they anticipate turning a big profit off of turned in, leased vehicles. So despite what they will make from turning around and selling it, that is the business of used cars. Damage to the vehicle caused by you should be fixed by you, as far as I am aware.
 
You have an allowance for damages. You probably went over it. What they do with the car is their business. Unless you buy it, they are gonna take you for a ride.
 
You won't get a dime of leverage for the under milage. But wait to have it appraised. You might be surprised. On my last lease I had a bumper that was pretty scuffed up from some very polite person who though thought they'd shove a shoping cart at me. And I had a self inflicted issue with a small dent behind the door and a faint scrape that was about a pencil thickness tall and about 2' long along the side.

Total "overage" for those was only $200. If I went to a body shop it'd probably be $1500 to $2000.
 
mvbighead said:
I'd bet, if damaged, you are responsible for it. Pretty sure they anticipate turning a big profit off of turned in, leased vehicles. So despite what they will make from turning around and selling it, that is the business of used cars. Damage to the vehicle caused by you should be fixed by you, as far as I am aware.
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I know I am responsible for it. My plan is to threaten to buy the car from them for the buyout, which is $6k less than what they could re-sell the car for.

They would make several thousand dollars more if they were to pay to fix the bumper and I didn't buy the car from them.
 
Wouldnt your insurance cover the damage?
I doubt you will have much leverage on them to demand you not pay for damage incurred under your watch.
 
bignateyk said:
I know I am responsible for it. My plan is to threaten to buy the car from them for the buyout, which is $6k less than what they could re-sell the car for.

They would make several thousand dollars more if they were to pay to fix the bumper and I didn't buy the car from them.
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You can try that, or if possible you could buy out the car yourself and just re-sell it to make all the money back.
 
bignateyk said:
I know I am responsible for it. My plan is to threaten to buy the car from them for the buyout, which is $6k less than what they could re-sell the car for.

They would make several thousand dollars more if they were to pay to fix the bumper and I didn't buy the car from them.
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You can try it. But most likely they would rather take the 15K up front from you than hope to get 21K with a damage vehicle.
 
dpodblood said:
You can try that, or if possible you could buy out the car yourself and just re-sell it to make all the money back.
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Depending on how the state treats leases, he might eat $1000+ in sales tax alone buying it outright.
 
bignateyk said:
Making 30% more on the sale isn't leverage?
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That is potential. They have to find somebody willing to take a damaged car for that price within a given time frame the depreciation doesnt degrade its value lower than 15K. Or put money into the car to have it fixed.
 
And can you post a pic of the actual damage? How bad is it? I still say see if you can arrange a return appraisal and see what it will actually cost you.
 
bignateyk said:
I know I am responsible for it. My plan is to threaten to buy the car from them for the buyout, which is $6k less than what they could re-sell the car for.

They would make several thousand dollars more if they were to pay to fix the bumper and I didn't buy the car from them.
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What they can sell it for and what you can sell it for are two different things. Especially in this car market...used cars aren't worth as much as you think they are and the dealer will likely sit on it for a long time before selling it.
 
BoomerD said:
Unless he makes a habit of visiting the body shop, or has a poor driving record, one minor repair SHOULDN'T cause his premiums to go up.
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I have a high deductible, so it just wasn't worth it to have insurance fix it. I never got it fixed because it is just cosmetic damage, which doesn't bother me.

The left corner of the bumper is dented and cracked, so they need to replace the entire bumper and the reflector to fix it.
 
Lol! You sure have them by the balls! I'm sure they'll gladly take 15k rather than your damaged vehicle. Oh you don't want to buy it back? Let's have this repaired in a Toyota certified $hop and we'll bill you for it.
 
This can only go three ways....

You haggle, they say ok we will let it go. Good for you!
You haggle, they say pay us the $$. Your out ~$1,200
You haggle, they say pay - You buy the car (you don't want). Your out $15,000

IMHO: They will call your bluff on buying the car and make you pay the money. BUT that does not mean it won't hurt to at least try.
 
That's some decent profit you have right there. Sell it, give them their money (15K) and pocket the rest. Or just take it to carmax an see what they'll give you for it. They'll even cut you a check for the difference between what you owe the dealership and what they're offering.

WHATEVER YOU DO, do NOT turn that vehicle into them if it's worth more than the payoff, you will be throwing away thousands of dollars cash if you do.
 
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I don't even know how this is even a discussion. OP believes the dealership can get full retail value on a used car in today's economy? Did you even consider what it costs them to have it on that lot come tax time? what it costs in having to pay salesmen to sell it? They'd happily take 15k and not have a depreciating asset on their car lot. Go ahead and try it. They'll call your bluff and you'll be in the dealership looking like a fool. You can either have it repaired and turn it in or buy it back.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
I don't even know how this is even a discussion. OP believes the dealership can get full retail value on a used car in today's economy? Did you even consider what it costs them to have it on that lot come tax time? what it costs in having to pay salesmen to sell it? They'd happily take 15k and not have a depreciating asset on their car lot. Go ahead and try it. They'll call your bluff and you'll be in the dealership looking like a fool. You can either have it repaired and turn it in or buy it back.
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Used car prices are actually at all time highs right now. Demand for used cars has skyrocketed. OP has some good money to be made here.
 
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