Give some reality to a new Lessee

[Revvdmedia]

I recently stepped into a lease a few months back, the first time I have made that move. Every vehicle prior (since 2009) that was purchased from new was purchased via financing. In every instance, I had the though that I would keep the car at least 5 years, if not longer. Of course, due to my nature, the longest I kept any of them was 3-1/2 years. Since each of those vehicles was purchased with the thought of keeping them relatively long term, I always installed clear stone guard (sometimes more and more as time goes on) and meticulously tried to negate any potential cosmetic niggles on the cars, like adding the mesh to the vents in the Stinger to prevent stone damage to the door, also stoneguard to the door front edges that were catching rocks.

Now that I am in my lease, which I wholeheartedly intend to return after the 4 years are up (because German "reliability"). I am still fighting with the idea of just leaving the car alone, knowing that my usage should easily constitute normal wear and tear, plus I did purchase supplementary wear and tear as it covered tires and I expect to deliver the car back with bald Pilot Sport 4's, which equals the cost of the coverage alone.

I noticed a lot of rock pitting and scratches behind the fenders and along the bottom of the side skirts, and also behind the rear wheels. I did put the summer tires on a little early before the roads were really well swept, so I don't blame the car for that, I blame our city for their love of basically gravel covered paved roads. I also noticed on area inside the door that is seeing some mild scratching due to how the weather-stripping collects dirt and scratches this area when the door is closed.

Right now, I'm not really disappointed with my car or the choice I made. I'm just struggling with the idea of letting the car degrade as much as I anticipate it will over 4 years. I expect the fenders and side skirts to be absolutely blasted and look terrible. There will be rock chips with more prevalence than normal. I should not spend any money on these things because it's basically a rental!

So, how did all of you car folk get over these things if you leased a car? I completely get that it is truly an appliance, and if used, will wear out. I have detailed cars for years though, so watching it go downhill just kills me. Give me some sanity!

 

[MerlintheMad]

How could I enjoy driving a performance car (from new) that turned steadily into a rashed, dinged shadow of its newness? I couldn't!

But, as you say, if turning it back in the way four years made it, and Kia won't penalize you for normal wear and tear: then how can you justify putting PPF where it matters most? Your expense on THEIR property. It makes no sense.

If, on the other hand, there is a likelihood that Kia (I am thinking Kia, of course, despite you being in league with BMW) will point to more cosmetic degradation than they assert is acceptable over four years, and hit me with a penalty to cover their cost of making the car saleable, then I am going to want to protect myself long before that day of reckoning: and in the meantime, the car will look spiff and give me satisfaction. Nobody wants to drive a junker, no matter how well it performs.

(edit) Another thing: when I first signed on my lease I purchased what I can only now call "ding insurance". As I recall, it was around $850; and I was told that I could bring the car in anytime and they would repair any paint damage that could be hidden by a business card. I bought out the lease and never used that, so, wasted money. Hah. But, could you talk about this with BMW and see if they do something like that? It would be a ton cheaper than PPF on you, and your ride wouldn't look like a degrading mess.

 

[Revvdmedia]

How could I enjoy driving a performance car (from new) that turned steadily into a rashed, dinged shadow of its newness? I couldn't!

But, as you say, if turning it back in the way four years made it, and Kia won't penalize you for normal wear and tear: then how can you justify putting PPF where it matters most? Your expense on THEIR property. It makes no sense.

If, on the other hand, there is a likelihood that Kia (I am thinking Kia, of course, despite you being in league with BMW) will point to more cosmetic degradation than they assert is acceptable over four years, and hit me with a penalty to cover their cost of making the car saleable, then I am going to want to protect myself long before that day of reckoning: and in the meantime, the car will look spiff and give me satisfaction. Nobody wants to drive a junker, no matter how well it performs.

(edit) Another thing: when I first signed on my lease I purchased what I can only now call "ding insurance". As I recall, it was around $850; and I was told that I could bring the car in anytime and they would repair any paint damage that could be hidden by a business card. I bought out the lease and never used that, so, wasted money. Hah. But, could you talk about this with BMW and see if they do something like that? It would be a ton cheaper than PPF on you, and your ride wouldn't look like a degrading mess.

I also once bought "ding insurance" on a car, the 2012 Kia Sportage. It also included some degree of windshield coverage, door ding PDR, and key fob replacement. In the 3 or so years with that vehicle, I had 2 dings removed (estimated value of $200-300), and a denied windshield crack claim because apparently the windshield "coverage" is only chips...I think I paid about $850 for that package, so never again. With the next vehicle, the Mustang, I did not buy into that and paid twice for PDR for about $300 in 3-1/2 years, a much easier pill to swallow.

As far as the damage, I see zero reason BMW can claim excessive damage on my car. It is equipped with sticky summer tires that will throw rocks, and there are zero first party and seemingly zero aftermarket solutions for mud guards (not that I want to run them anyway), so these chips will happen, the joys of a sports car.

The current condition isn't too bad, it's so far just a light speckling, looks like tiny specs of dirt up close. I just can't imagine how bad it'll be in 4 years. I just need to get over it since it'll be going back, but wow it's hard to not obsess! Considering the condition of my first few cars, which I easily got over, up the point on the Sportage of filling paint chips, wet sanding and polishing, trying to make them invisible, I've become rather obsessive.

 

[RedCal]

BMW has it for sure - "appearance" package or protection or some such thing... A friend of mine was mad at his wife for being "tricked" into adding it to their BMW when she picked it up when he was out of town... Fast forward a year and someone scratched the rear bumper quite badly... fixed at no charge, and was more than the cost of the package she was "tricked" into adding... he still hasn't lived it down

 

[Mayhem]

My lease is for 3 years, ending March of 2023. I only had the dealer do the interior & exterior protection, plus the rust protection underneath the car as I couldn't stand to drive a car through salt and snow without it. I love the car so far, but if Kia discontinues the Stinger I'd probably turn it in at lease end. If the car did incur lots of dings on the hood I'd probably just have the car detailed before turning it in, but I usually haven't had many problems with chips from rocks in the past and wouldn't spend thousands for the off chance that significant defects would occur. It's been over 20 years since I last leased a car so I don't know if dealers are more strict with their turn in policy.

 

[stingerbeagle]

I turned in a BMW lease last December. We’ve also had a few other BMW leases in my extended family over the years and have found them to be very lenient with dings, scratches, etc. We’ve never been charged for anything other than worn tires, which we expected. If you really want to get into it, there are specific rules on how big dents can be, etc. before you will get charged. You can also ask for a pre-inspection a month or two before the lease ends so that you can try fixing things yourself if they flag anything.

BMW knows that if they start angering their lease customers, they will very quickly lose a lot of folks that roll into a new lease every three years. In general, I think BMW’s lease program is very well run.

I think your question was more around the emotional aspect of this though. On that I actually found a lease to be liberating. With previous cars, I cared too much about keeping things in great shape. With a lease, I felt free to to go the cheap car wash, and just treat it like a normal non-enthusiast would. Having a predetermined end date makes one realize that what you should value is not the physical car itself, but rather the time with the car. That’s true whether you lease or buy imho.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I think your question was more around the emotional aspect of this though. On that I actually found a lease to be liberating. With previous cars, I cared too much about keeping things in great shape. With a lease, I felt free to to go the cheap car wash, and just treat it like a normal non-enthusiast would. Having a predetermined end date makes one realize that what you should value is not the physical car itself, but rather the time with the car. That’s true whether you lease or buy imho.

That is exactly it, and it's good to hear it is possible. Just become increasingly more OCD with vehicles over the year as my knowledge and skill has increased, I think it's time, especially with this car, to just let some things go...it's just not as easy as I thought.