<p>I have a stupid question I hope you guys can help me with. I leased a car for the first time and the lease is expiring soon. I am under miles and the car is in good shape. Do I have to turn it in to the same dealer I got it from? I will obviously need another car, but I’m not sure what I want. And do I have to pay some sort of termination fee? I’ve always bought cars and drove them until they died, so this is a new concept for me.</p>
<p>It’s been awhile since I leased a car so bear with me. Our leasing company was with a bank not a car dealer. Before it expired a letter was sent out. I think I had to take it somewhere to have the mileage and condition inspected, I needed an appointment to drop the car off. It was not at the dealer. </p>
<p>A letter was sent out with the buyout but I remember the buyout was more than the car was worth and they would not negotiate with me.</p>
<p>Lease-end terms are all specific to your lease. The lease contract you signed at delivery will list any termination fee. You will receive a letter from the lease company explaining your options. There will be an inspection, and after returning the car you may be charged for damage, excess wear and tear, or excess mileage per the terms of your lease. You can always call them for more info. </p>
<p>Generally, if the lease is with a manufacturer’s finance company (i.e. Ford Motor Credit, Honda Financial, etc.), you would make arrangements to turn the car in at any of their dealers. If the lease is with a bank, they will let you know where to go. It could be a dealer or other location, or they might even pick it up at your house.</p>
<p>In our state (this may vary from state to state, I don’t know)…but when we leased the car the contract had a buy out claus with the price that you should/could pay if you wanted to purchase the car.</p>
<p>We turned in far too many cars with very low mileage. The last go around we decided to purchase both our cars…BMW and a Jaguar. I put less than 2000 miles per year on my car…yes, you read correctly…and Mr. Ellebud’s car gets a whopping 3,000 per year. </p>
<p>See what the residual amount is…You may want to purchase the car and may be able resell it at a profit. My car is the last of series…and will (according to family who are very into cars) will see for more than we paid for it. (Mr. Ellebud took my car in to get new tires…and sight unseen when told the mileage made a solid offer on the car.)</p>