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Leased X returned in May. Received invoice for $9800 in September!

Discussion in 'Model X' started by SeaBayR, Oct 5, 2020.

  1. SeaBayR

    SeaBayR New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2017
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Boca
    In Mid May 2020 I returned our 2015 (previously a demo) TESLA X with 5400 miles under the 30,000 allowed, in excellent condition and 3 days Early. All the 36 lease payments were made before the return and all the taxed were paid upfront.

    Today I received a invoice from Tesla Finance for:

    $635.00 Payment Due
    $395.00 Disposition Fees
    $1840.00 Excess wear and Tear
    $6,974.40 Termination Balance

    $9,844.69 Total Due


    WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON. Is this normal?
    Has anyone else had Tesla bomb them with a bill like this?
    What do I do?
     

    Attached Files:

  2. verygreen

    verygreen Curious member

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    this happened to me too (only mine was ~$2.5k)

    Did you get a new Tesla car to replace this one? If yes they are supposed to waive the disposition fee.

    You can request the excess wear and tear explanation (it takes over a month to get reply from the lease alias they tell you to contact, but chill, there's nothing bad happening if you just shoot your clarification request email, ignore all the nags to pay the balance).
    The termination balance did not happen to me but you can also ask about that.

    I documented my experience here: https://twitter.com/greentheonly/status/1304236441145430016
     
    • Informative x 1
  3. rjdoc74

    rjdoc74 Member

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    LA, CA
    Gotta say I am not surprised. Judging by dismal service experience recently, I wouldn’t expect anything different in finance department. Hope you sort this out quickly.
     
    • Funny x 1
  4. Kentucky3

    Kentucky3 Member

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    I’m not sure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing over there in their admin offices. I’ll be nice and blame it on the pandemic and everyone working from home but it took me nearly 4 months to get my registration documents sent to me from Fremont. I drove 2 full months on an expired temp tag. Obviously, you wouldn’t be liable for any termination balance and payment due if you made all of your payments. “Wear and tear”, outside of the norms, is discretionary and arguable. Did you take good pics (inside and out) when you returned it?
     
  5. jboy210

    jboy210 Supporting Member

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    Excess wear and Tear I have been charged on other cars at end of the lease. If you scrape up a wheel on a curb you get charged for that. Also, bumper dings, etc.

    But what is the Termination Balance is about? Did you not pay a lease origination fee upfront?
     
  6. SeaBayR

    SeaBayR New Member

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    Location:
    Boca
    No Idea what the Payment Due $635.29 is or the Termination fee.
    We paid all the licensing and state taxes when we started the lease totaling some $7900+, and made all the payments early.

    Tesla had been sending me a "return your car" notice starting the day after the car was returned...
     
  7. verygreen

    verygreen Curious member

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    now this is weird. did you use the self-guided lease return? got an email confirmation of the lease return?
     
  8. canadianeh

    canadianeh Member

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    Canada
    Termination Balance of $7000+? Something seems off.

    Excess wear and tear, they should provide a description of.
     
  9. trekkie

    trekkie Supporting Member

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    tires are a common thing, and for some reason leasing companies get the worst price on tires. otherwise paint chips, all sorts of things. Usually when i leased a vehicle there was a walk through you would do, but it's 2020 and it's Tesla, two crazy variables. The tires not having enough tread life could easily be that amount.

    the termination balance to me says they think you still owe payments on the lease amount. I'd double check your original lease paperwork and make sure you made the 36/39/48 payments and dig up all the statements showing that so you can prove it when they get back to you.

    Disposition fee, yep, waved if you buy a new one, owed if you don't has been my experience with the vendors.
     
  10. DCGOO

    DCGOO Active Member

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    Indianapolis, IN
    How were the tires? If they were near death, that could easily be most of the excess wear charge. I have no idea what a termination balance is.
    Leasing company sent a guy to me, that did perform a very thorough inspection, including a short drive, a couple months before it was turned in. I actually got a refund of over $900 when I turned my lease in. Turns out I made one too many payments, minus the $395.
     
  11. kvs25

    kvs25 Member

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    What's the point of leasing if you're going to be responsible for every little scratch, plus tires? It's a huge waste of money.
     
    • Like x 2
  12. verygreen

    verygreen Curious member

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    not every little scratch, they actually have guidelines for what scratches/dents constitute reasonable wear and tear.

    As for the tires - when you buy the car vs lease you still need to change the tires when the time comes, and if you are selling a car - the buyer would still likely try to either get better tires out of you or a discount to reflect the bald tires (if that is the case).
     
  13. ElectricIAC

    ElectricIAC Devil’s Advocate

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    US Bank?
     
  14. njhtran

    njhtran Member

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    that's funny because when the situation is reversed, they had no problem selling me a pre-owned tesla that had literally balding edges of all tires. Their justification was that the middle tread was fine. Ridiculous.
     
    • Like x 2
  15. jeffro01

    jeffro01 Active Member

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    I was forced to turn in my Model S without an inspection because the inspection queue from US Bank at the time was 6+ weeks out and my turn in time was up as my replacement Model X was ready and Tesla wanted me to take delivery before Q end... Was told repeatedly that I had nothing to worry about, that I wouldn't be at a risk turning in the car without an inspection, I'd be taken care of and blah blah blah... All lies, got a nice bill because they claimed my tires needed replacing (they didn't) and of course I had no other option but to pay and all Tesla could say was "sorry"... Learned the hard way never to trust this company with anything, ever. When my current lease is up, I won't budge this time and I sure as heck won't trust them on anything. If I don't have an inspection completed and done, I'm not turning in this time and I don't care what Tesla says.

    Jeff
     
    • Love x 1
  16. verygreen

    verygreen Curious member

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    on the other hand nobody forced you to accept delivery until they corrected the issue.

    When doing a self-assessment for a Tesla return they make you take a picture of the remaining thread depth. Hard to argue the thread depth was not enough after that.
     
    • Disagree x 1
  17. jeffro01

    jeffro01 Active Member

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    Oh I did, got told to go pound sand...

    Jeff
     
    • Like x 1
  18. verygreen

    verygreen Curious member

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    Well, I would not have paid in that case. Just as I did not paid BS charges Tesla tried to assess against me.
     
  19. Darren Donovan

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2013
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Key West, FL
    Wear and tear? Lol.
    Whatever myriad issues that customers have when picking up the car was considere " within spec", at the end of the lease, suddenly those same issues became "wear and tear".
     
    • Love x 1
  20. Watts_Up

    Watts_Up Active Member

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    #20 Watts_Up, Oct 9, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2020
    @SeaBayR I think you will have be well-off by throwing above a cliff your immaculate Model X and get the insurance money !!!

    What the real advantage of getting a lease over financing?

    Were you able to deduct the lease from your taxes, as I believe this is the case when a car is used for business.

    Did you have to get any complementary car insurance when you lease a car?

    What is the reason of the "termination balance" if you competed your lease as expected?

    Early termination option.
    Voluntary termination means that you choose to end your lease before its scheduled termination.
    Most leases give you the option of ending your lease early. In most leases, you may turn in the
    vehicle, pay the balance due (including any associated early termination and other costs),
    and end the lease. Some leases permit you to terminate early only if you purchase the vehicle.
     

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