mods and leases?

[evilskier]

how do mods effect leases? if i put a OEM rack on myself? does that effect lease, just take it off if i turn it back in?

at this point, i PLAN on buying it after the lease ends. so doesn't matter then...just curious how dealers react to any mods?

[RubiconSS]

You are Modding a Rental. Turn it in as you got it OR they will be happy to receive the Free Gift.

[philipl]

If you're going to buy it why make the fleece payments?

[evilskier]

best option for me right now. and since a first year production. (yes, i love it) but just in case, i have the option simply to hand it over...

just want to know if any warranty or penalities exist if i turn it back in with a rack on it...i know i can just take it off and sell it. but might be hard 3 years down the line...

[RubiconSS]

evilskier previously said:

best option for me right now. and since a first year production. (yes, i love it) but just in case, i have the option simply to hand it over...

just want to know if any warranty or penalities exist if i turn it back in with a rack on it...i know i can just take it off and sell it. but might be hard 3 years down the line...

No Penalty for returning WITH options. Removing would be a different story.
You can remove what you put on after the Lease however.

[ironmind]

there are too many stipulations with a lease. You might consider refinancing to buy when you get a chance. I realize the payments are lower on a lease, but if you really want to do a bunch of mods and make it "your own", why do it to a rental vehicle? If you plan on keeping the rig for any period of time, modding anything but tires and a rack, or putting any sort of miles on it, it's not the best idea for you. IMHO.

My wife used to lease all her vehicles before we met and changed them out every year or two when she got bored. She didn't commute very far and didn't travel in them. The dealerships happily took the cars back at the agreed upon trade-in values. It worked for her and her ex. I always paid cash for my cars, used ones and drive them untill I got tired of wrenching on them when the mileage got too high. Two very different philosophies. When we married I made enough money to keep her in new vehicles because I still drove my old paid-for hoopdeez, but she convinced me to lease the first two we put her in. The first one, cost us no less than $3500 to get out of and the second on cost us in the ballpark of 5K to turn in. Never again. If we can't make a solid payment we don't get a new car. The money we saved in lower lease payment did not compare to what we needed to scratch up to trade them in in the end. We put too many miles on our cars and void the lease agreement term so it's not worth it. Perhaps when we retire and don't drive anywhere we may reconsider. Hope that helps.

[poser]

I doubt you will have any problems either way. Turning it in with a added roof rack or selling the roof rack in 3 years.

I would definitely avoid aftermarket sunroofs though. Some on this site said they had the experience of it devaluing there rides (not FJ's) $300. And other big mods.. any thing that's hard to reverse, like built in sub boxes, lifts etc..

But manufacturer accessories... No problem

I will be in the same boat as you.

I only plan a few minor things though (I think these are pretty great right off the line). I would love to find a map light solution. An Atrack Button. If I ever manage to buy all the other crap I want in life I will need to add a hitch but I doubt that will hapopen before I retire. And I will get a rack if I need one, when I need one, but I would love to find one that doesn't make all the noise people have complained about.

If you're going to buy it why make the fleece payments?

Why pay for fleece? Cause I can only afford to pay for what I am using right now. In 3 years my 2 kids will be in school and done with daycare freeing up 14k a year. Some financial managers also point out that cars are very, very lousy investments. If you take the money saved by leasing and invest it really well you can make more than the interest you would have saved. But few really believe this. Ultimately the financing of a lease is very comparable, but you are borrowing for longer and therefore paying for it. Most people avoid them because they have more variable than a loan, meaning that they are more complicated and harder to negotiate. The ones who don't or can't give them due dilligence are the ones who really get fleeced and then give them a bad name.

[poser]

As Ironmind just pointed out above (while I was composing) violating your lease terms sucks. It is very hard to predict what the next 3-4 years of your life/ driving habits will entail. And penalties can be harsh!

That is a risk I am willing to take to have a FJ. If I get in trouble though I can buy it out. Conditions and mileage don’t matter then. Then I can sell it for fair market value if I need to for some reason.

Even if I am upside down... I am only paying for what I used.

[RubiconSS]

It is not uncommon to Lease a vehicle and buy it out at the end. It is not the shell game that some think it is. Especially when Lease rates are low (not the case right now) but you do what you can afford.

[DirtyLittleSecret]

Geez, RubiconSS. I like your take on many things it seems.
As a poor (and petty) grad student I can attest that many people simply cant swing some of the high interest loans (they will only get worse in the future). Sometimes to get your dream toy that allows you to dream at night you have to make some adjustments in financial matters...fortunately Im out of that position now!
By next year I can be easy, but not cheap. Used to be that I was both!