Confused by lease return payoff quote

[laine_m3]

Hi All- I'm hoping someone here might be able to provide some context/explanation on the lease return numbers I'm getting. I've been going down a google rabbit hole and came across this forum, and you all seem pretty knowledgeable on Tesla, so I am really hoping someone can help here. Thank you in advance.

We have a 2020 Model 3, leased on March 22, 2020 for a 36 month term. We just paid our Jan payment, so I believe we have one left before we return it in March. We are looking at buying another car (non-Tesla), so thought we might pay off/return the car a little early (we are well under the mileage limit - we planned for 15,000 a year for commuting and then Covid hit). I went on the app for my lease payoff quote and it is really high. And I'm so confused.

How does this math work? The RV in the lease is $30,897.10 - and the payoff quote has it at $31,261.27 - so they can just increase the RV? Am I reading this correctly? Even with one payment left and the disposition fee (and the difference between either of those RV values), how do they get to over $4k for the payoff? Is there anyone who can help explain this math? What am I missing here?

I appreciate your help. Thanks again.

 

[Larry541]

Anyone able to give me some insight on my lease. I have 3,000 miles left on my lease until it ends in October. I’ll be out of miles by April I’m estimating. To return my lease I’m getting a quote from them for almost $14,000. Is this accurate? Is this something I can negotiate and get lower.


26,692 mi

Estimated Quote 0

Gross Cap Cost

Principal Portion of Payments

Made

Cap Cost Reduction

Adjusted Lease Balance

Vehicle Value

Residual Early Termination Cost

Base Lease Payoff

$58,790.00

-$13,112.40

-$2,494.61

$43,182.99

-$29,700.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

Property Tax

Account Balance

Disposition Fee

Tax on Disposition Fee

Total Due

Good through Jan 31, 2023

$0.00

$395.00

$0.00

$13,877.99

 

[laine_m3]

Here to provide an update. We got the email about getting our car inspected, but they don't have any local inspectors nearby, so they asked for a list of detailed photos:

To start your return process, please take the following pictures of your vehicle.

* Photos of the Front, back, left and right side of the vehicle. Make sure entire vehicle is in the frame.
* Left and right side of the vehicle angled from the front. Make sure entire vehicle is in the frame.
* Close up photos of all 4 wheels- attached is photo how it needs to look
* Close up photos of all 4 tires (using a quarter in the tread to show wear - President's head facing down towards the tire).-attached is picture of how it should look
* Interior photos-front and back seats
* Photo of the touch screen
* Photo of both keys together
* Photo of charging cable/kit
* Close up photos of any additional damage
Photo of Vin number on dash and inside driver's door

We sent these in and heard back today that they want to charge us for wheel/rim scratches on three wheels and replacement of all four tires. The email said this:

You may choose to perform any cosmetic repairs prior to returning your vehicle. If you choose to go this route, we suggest repairs are done at a Tesla Collision Center or at a Tesla Approved Body shop. Please follow the link below to find available shops in your area:
Collision Support | Tesla. After the repairs are complete, please email me with a detail receipt of the charges and I will credit your account.
If you decide to replace the tires, they should match in brand, size, load index and speed rating. After the tires are replaced, please provide me with a detail receipt and I will credit your account.

I emailed him back to ask if we could just replace with any tires (all matching) that match the size specs per the tire spec sticker (inside the drivers door). Waiting to hear back. Both Costco and America's Tire have random options for under $800 installed. They're just not the Michelin stock option.

We're not going to fix the rim scratches - we'll pay the $255 for that. I'm just worried that we take it somewhere and pay less, but then they aren't satisfied with the repair. But definitely do not want to pay full price for the tires.

Our final payment is due on 2/22 (this Wednesday) - so will request the return quote after that. Presumably it will have the tire replacement cost in there, so once we hear about that and make an appointment, it looks like they will credit us.

This was in the email as well:

Please note, your final bill may include additional charges including a disposition fee, additional mileage, registration fees and/or taxes.

We're under mileage, so assuming (hoping?) it will just be the $395 disposition fee + tax.

 

[beachsideev]

Your estimate looks just like the one I got except they only hit me up $80 for wheel repair. I wish I had paid more attention to the tires and replaced them a year ago. The tires are good for at least a few more thousand miles but least I would have gotten some use of the new tires. Live and learn I guess.

I've been shopping around for cheap tires now. Looks like it will be about $800. Good luck with your return.

 

[astrorob]

I emailed him back to ask if we could just replace with any tires (all matching) that match the size specs per the tire spec sticker (inside the drivers door). Waiting to hear back. Both Costco and America's Tire have random options for under $800 installed. They're just not the Michelin stock option.

We're not going to fix the rim scratches - we'll pay the $255 for that. I'm just worried that we take it somewhere and pay less, but then they aren't satisfied with the repair. But definitely do not want to pay full price for the tires.

i think it should be fine, but in my case costco had the stock michelins and i only replaced 2 of them. one thing that got me was that the local costco actually had the tires in stock, and the emails they sent about it somehow went to my spam folder. so i ended up making an appointment way out in the future thinking i was waiting for UPS to deliver the tires. so watch out for that.

it cost me $325 to get the rims repaired, so $255 is a bargain. though the guy that repaired my rims said he does used teslas all the time - he claimed tesla charges you the money and then doesn't actually fix the wheels.

as far as these early lease termination charges, i think it must be all about the used car market. on a whim, ~6 months before my original lease termination date of 12/2022, i asked for an early termination quote and there was no change in the residual nor any extra charges. at that time used car prices were thru the roof. i understand that the market has softened considerably, so maybe tesla is looking to make up the difference with early termination fees.

 

[derekmw]

As some others stated, just make sure you understand the normal wear and tear guidelines that are very detailed. They cannot charge you for anything that falls under those guidelines.

I returned my M3P back in September and it was definitely more detailed than the previous MS lease return I did back in 2018. I already knew the tires would be an issue so I found a new set of Model 3 aero wheels that I bought and then sold my old ones for just a few hundred difference. I had zero scratches on the car, not even underneath...

So they had nothing they could charge me for. All I had to pay was the disposition fee.

 

[SlimJim]

I will never lease or buy Tesla again.

Famous last words. I just bought a new Tesla. Fudge.

 

[SlimJim]

I picked up my new Model 3 today and found out that the charging cable is no longer included. And they are out of stock at Tesla.com
Had I known that, I would have kept the charging cable and returned the car without it. I bought one on eBay for $200+shipping. WTH.

 

[psquare]

I picked up my new Model 3 today and found out that the charging cable is no longer included. And they are out of stock at Tesla.com
Had I known that, I would have kept the charging cable and returned the car without it. I bought one on eBay for $200+shipping. WTH.

Curious to know if you would of returned it and kept the charging cable you think they would of charged you?

 

[beachsideev]

It depends on whether or not it came with one.

 

[rpiotro]

It’s great - “only pay for the part of the car you use.” /s

(Frequent ad on local radio station)

I was in retail auto sales then commercial heavy truck sales for three decades. Never pushed a lease. Only if the customer requested it. It made sense for some companies.

My favorite line was, "Well, you are always going to have a car payment anyway". No, I always bought at the right time and traded at the right time until I built equity. Payments got lower and lower. Three year loan and keep the car for five. Two years of putting what would have been those payments into a savings account.

Now that I am older and financially a little more secure, I pay cash.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

I was in retail auto sales then commercial heavy truck sales for three decades. Never pushed a lease. Only if the customer requested it. It made sense for some companies.

My favorite line was, "Well, you are always going to have a car payment anyway". No, I always bought at the right time and traded at the right time until I built equity. Payments got lower and lower. Three year loan and keep the car for five. Two years of putting what would have been those payments into a savings account.

Now that I am older and financially a little more secure, I pay cash.

Good luck ever building equity with a Tesla Model 3. They keep dropping the prices so much it is impossible to ever keep up.