Lease Warranty Thread

[Drake]

I have a friend of my dad that works at the dealership i picked mine up from, and he said that you can mod on a lease but would either have to return it to stock or turn it in with mods, unless you are going to buy it out. I have a lease and the only mods im going to do during the lease are the ford racing tune and a CAI.

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[JimmyTwoTimes]

You must have had a bad experience with a leased car, no?

No, but I'm a lawyer and I read contracts and know what happens when you ignore their terms.

 

[DarthLepard]

You must have had a bad experience with a leased car, no?

No, he is right. It has nothing to do if the warranty will be honored. If you modify a vehicle from the factory specs you are "technically" liable for any depreciation because of that. That is at the manufacturers discretion. I have seen customers be charged for aftermarket wheels and tires instead of the factory on lease returns. It really all depends on how hard the inspector is at the lease end. But when it comes to leasing, not only should you think you will get ZERO return on any mods, but be prepared to come out of pocket for the mods you have done, not always but it can happen. This is from experience, not conjecture.

 

[GT-T]

I am leasing and will be modding during my lease term once I take delivery.

I will be financing at the end of the lease term so might as well treat her like she's mine now.

 

[dabsevo]

Lease to own: do as you please

and technically, if you finance a car that car isnt yours for 5 years or whatever the length of the loan is. and while you wont get docked for it by Ford, you will lose money on the mod and the used car market will dictate the "depreciation" so it's not all that different.

But for leases that are going to be returned for sure, I would make sure not to do anything permanent.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Lease to own: do as you please

and technically, if you finance a car that car isnt yours for 5 years or whatever the length of the loan is. and while you wont get docked for it by Ford, you will lose money on the mod and the used car market will dictate the "depreciation" so it's not all that different.

Although it might seem the same to you, it's completely different. One is yours, and one is not.

When you finance something, you own it, but somebody else has a security interest in it. Sort of like owning a home; you can make whatever modifications to it you like. Just because the bank has a mortgage on it doesn't mean it's not yours.

When you lease something, you do not own it. Somebody else is letting you use their stuff. Making modifications on a car that you're leasing is like renting an apartment and then tearing walls down and building new rooms. You can't do that without the consent of the person who actually owns the thing.

 

[dabsevo]

Although it might seem the same to you, it's completely different. One is yours, and one is not.

When you finance something, you own it, but somebody else has a security interest in it. Sort of like owning a home; you can make whatever modifications to it you like. Just because the bank has a mortgage on it doesn't mean it's not yours.

When you lease something, you do not own it. Somebody else is letting you use their stuff. Making modifications on a car that you're leasing is like renting an apartment and then tearing walls down and building new rooms. You can't do that without the consent of the person who actually owns the thing.

True but if I may rebut. Tearing down the wall = installing supercharger. Adding a picture or new toilet seat = bolts on. Obviously subjective and quite a gray area. but even when you lease an apartment you can make some non-permanent changes. So long as you return it exactly as how you got it.

But there is the issue of risk. Anything breaks because of a modification that would of course, be a risk a lease owner would have to take. For that reason I'm not 100% sure I would ever want to turn or touch the ECU. But I wouldn't hesitate to take 20 mins to install a cold air intake if I could stomach the risk of flooding the engine with water or any warranty loss.

Luckily, the 2015 mustangs looks good and perform pretty good out the box which is why I chose it. No need to do any major mods. I did put on a tint and was told by the dealership that it can stay on and they won't dock me for it.

 

[Mustang1260]

Just so everyone understands....what a dealer tells you now and what is said/demanded/charged upon lease return are two totally different things. If it ain't written in the lease- it don't exist and is strictly up to whim of the employees/manager at the time of return who ain't gonna have any recall, notes etc of earlier conversations.

Dealership employees change like the wind....

 

[Mustang1260]

Ford Racing Tune-- Everyone understands that your factory power train 5 yrs 60k miles is generally replaced by the Ford Racing warranty of 3 yrs 36k miles.... with a Ford Racing tune.

Your car...your life, but ya gotta understand the "risk" with power train mods....

Reality Check: The best performance mod out there is driving school.

Let me put it this way...Scott Maxwell (Mustang Boss 302 driver in the Continential (spelling?) Cup, or was, don't know current driver lineups) in a 2005 auto 6 Banger and YOU (anyone on this forum) in a 2015/16 GT350R and a 10 lap race at the road course from hell (Nurbergring-mis-spelled)) and YOU lose.

Except for serious drag race fans (I'd rather have a 13/14 GT500 for that sport) the 2015 GT has higher performance level capabilities then folks on this forum can use. Driving school is simply the best mod out there to get more from the car.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Ford Racing Tune-- Everyone understands that your factory power train 5 yrs 60k miles is generally replaced by the Ford Racing warranty of 3 yrs 36k miles.... with a Ford Racing tune.

Your car...your life, but ya gotta understand the "risk" with power train mods....

Reality Check: The best performance mod out there is driving school.

Let me put it this way...Scott Maxwell (Mustang Boss 302 driver in the Continential (spelling?) Cup, or was, don't know current driver lineups) in a 2005 auto 6 Banger and YOU (anyone on this forum) in a 2015/16 GT350R and a 10 lap race at the road course from hell (Nurbergring-mis-spelled)) and YOU lose.

Except for serious drag race fans (I'd rather have a 13/14 GT500 for that sport) the 2015 GT has higher performance level capabilities then folks on this forum can use. Driving school is simply the best mod out there to get more from the car.

It doesn't take a lot of skill to mash the gas pedal out of a stoplight. You just have to be able to limit wheel spin.

 

[TJP719]

Interesting debate fellas. I'm leasing now but I will be buying once the lease ends

 

[Mustang1260]

It doesn't take a lot of skill to mash the gas pedal out of a stoplight. You just have to be able to limit wheel spin.

And the 13/14 GT500 will kick your butt....
But then I have NO tolerance for street racing. A great friend lost his wife to some yahoos racing and blowing a red 20 yrs ago...left him with 3 kids to raise (ages 3,4 & 7) at the time.

And John Force in a V6 and anyone on this forum in a GT and Force cuts the light and wins....

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