My '03 C4S is scheduled to come off lease this summer. I was wondering what your experiences were concerning "normal wear and tear?" The car is used as a daily driver; however, is in excellent condition. I have a clear bra, but there are 3-4 small stone chips on the hood/fenders. The interior is untouched. The tires have 50%+ tread left. The car is leased through Provident Leasing (not Porsche). I would say this is perfectly acceptable wear, but since this is my first leased vehicle I wondering if I should I anticipate issues (i.e. extra fees), and if so are the issues contestable?

 

Please don't take offense to my question here but why would you do a lease on a Porsche? You can't do any mods to the car? At the end of the lease your having to pay these fees isn't it cheaper in the long haul to just buy the car? I don't see the value in a lease what I am I missing here? So many people do it I must be missing something here?

 

MWHC4S: I did a lease return on a 2000 540I. Read your contract to see what they consider normal wear and tear. From what u described, it sounds like you should'nt have any problems.

 

CLS- it is simple, the company pays for the lease, insurance, etc. but will not make a "car payment." Therefore, I am driving the C4S for free. I may choose to buy the car at the end of the lease, release it (which I would never do with my own money, and this will further depreciate the car leading to a lower buyout), or turn the car in and choose another car to drive for FREE.

 

What IS the buyout? You or your company can sell it for much more than the buyout price I'm sure. My brother in law gets a company car as well (although not a porsche) every 2 years and there have been occassions where his company car was sold to an employee or employee's family/friends after the 2 years.

Lease definitely if it can be written off (i.e. business owner, realtor, etc.)...up to 80% including maintenance items from what I've heard. Any lease experts or business owners on the board to back this up??

 

Sounds like you should be OK. Stone chips is normal wear and tear. Tire should be fine as long as it's not down to wear bar. Read your lease terms for specifics though. Make sure you schedule a walkthru and agree on anything that is extra cost. Lots of ppl lease Porsche since we have a lot of doctors / lawyers, corp execs and business owners that expense their lease pmts.

 

Thanks I wasn't even thinking of a company leasing the car for you Sweet I would do the same thing.

 

Thanks for your replys. The buyout is $44K. I obviously could market the car for more than that; however, I would have to buy the car, title it, and then sell it. My costs would be more than $44K, and I don't want to take the time and effort to market the car, especially in a community where there would be very little interest in the car. I am still deciding what to do, an effortless 'lease return' would have some impact on my decison (hence the inquiry).

 

Turned into a thread hijack, so I'll chime in. To the lease questioners... other than the possible business subsidies you lease Porsches because they depreciate. The objective is to have a high residual and a low money factor (low interest on small amount financed). There can also be good tax savings by leasing. If you plan to own it for >5 years or plan to really mod it, its probably not a good idea.

To the C4S thread starter... normal wear & tear means what you have described on your car, not large dents, bumper rash, torn/stained seats, cracked glass, etc. You should get a guide in the mail with a few months to go that describes what is/isn't acceptible in detail. This gives you time to fix it or plan on the fee.