My husband and I leased a Lexus ES300 in Jan 2006 for 3 years. I have only put on 15,000 miles on it so far.?

Question

The lease is up in 6 months. I was allowed 12,000 miles a year so I'm way below. A couple months ago I hit a pole and damaged the side door. It's scratched and after getting an estimate it would cost about $1,300 to fix. Should I fix the car or should I return it that way hoping that they would give me a break since I've put so few miles on the car. Also should we buy the car and resell it? I checked to see if I'm allowed any damage fees on my contract, but we couldn't find anything like that.

Answer 1

if you return it damaged they will bill you for the repairs. rest assured they will inflate it. with the low number of miles you drive -lease again. the buyout wouldn't be worth it for what you can resell

Answer 2

Don't assume you'll get a break due to the low mileage.  The leasing company will stick to what is written in the contract.  

While you may be able to make some money buying the car and then selling it privately, is it worth the expense of fixing the damage first and then dealing with the hassles of selling the car.  That is something you'll have to look at when the lease is finished.

Answer 3

To fix the damages yourself will be cheaper than the bill the lease company will send you if you return the car with the damages. You will get no break for returning the car with low mileage.

However, if the car has low mileage, it may be worth more than the purchase price specified in your lease contract. This means you might be able to buy it and sell it for a profit. Whether you repair the damages would be completely up to you, not the lease company.