[caycemd]

I have a 2013 Volt with an Ally lease end in less than a month. I have two items that I'm contemplating before turn in.

One is replacing the windshield. I got a rock chip less than a week after leasing the car. The chip itself fits in the measurement tool they provided but there are two or three little lines coming from the chip that go outside the circle. I've had it looked at for repairing the chip but was told it would only cover the chip itself, not the lines. As for replacement, I haven't found actual OEM replacement glass, just Pilkington without the GM logo but made at the same plant as the logo-ed ones (or so I'm told).

The other item is the tires. I bought a tire gauge and they are borderline between green and yellow or yellow. I found Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires and believe they would be considered OEM.

So the items I would like to know others experience or opinions of are:

-- should I replace the windshield with the closest to OEM glass I can find? Or should I just turn it in as is? Should I repair the chip or not? Anyone been charged for a windshield replacement on lease turn in? If so, how much were you charged?

-- should I replace the tires? Anyone been charged for tires on lease turn in? If so, how much were you charged?

I'm happy to pay to replace the windshield and tires before I turn it in. I just don't want them to not be the correct ones and be charged all over again (at inflated dealer prices). I appreciate any advice you can give.

 

[trm2]

If the windshield is cracking, you will pay for a new windshield. Turn it in and let them figure a price or do it on your own and you pick the price. Check your auto insurance policy, it may be covered.

With the tires, what is the tread depth in inches? That will tell you if you need to replace them or not.

 

[davhamm]

My experience with a Bank of America trade in. They offered an early inspection, meet with that person and they went over everything and pointed out what was going to be a cost. Also in the turn in info, was a tire tread depth and as long as you had that much or more you were ok, if tires were replaced the only requirement was that all 4 be the same tire.

Good luck.

 

[TSquare]

On the day that you turn it in, take lots of pictures right there in the dealers parking lot. Get a picture of every quarter panel. If there are any dents or scratches, get a picture with the measurement guide on it. Take a picture of each tire with the depth gauge on it. Don't forget to take a picture of the open trunk showing that the EVSE was returned with the car. Take pictures of the interior, including the odometer and the center screen showing the date & time.

 

[sinnombre]

My daughter had an Ally lease . The was in my name because I co signed .

I wouldn't fix anything . They charged her quite a bit for a few minor scratches . If you fix the details they might just look harder for some other blemish . Also , she was over the mileage . I did however ask them to divide the excess charges in four payments and they did .

 

[Bacardi]

Are you buying/leasing another car? It's been reported multiple times that if you have a dealership do the inspection, they overlook at a lot of items vs a lender rep who often go over everything with a fine toothed comb...

 

[caycemd]

Purchased already

Are you buying/leasing another car? It's been reported multiple times that if you have a dealership do the inspection, they overlook at a lot of items vs a lender rep who often go over everything with a fine toothed comb...

I've already bought another vehicle. I jumped on buying as soon as CA extended the green HOV lane stickers back in mid-September. Unfortunately it's not a Volt as other plug-in hybrids had much better incentives than the Volt. I also have a reservation for a Tesla Model 3 so don't plan to keep this other vehicle for long.

As I've been searching for a dealership to turn my Volt in (I leased it in another state so returning to the dealer I leased from isn't an option), I've had dealerships tell me they were "space constrained" and wouldn't take my return without purchasing something else. Ridiculous.

 

[caycemd]

If the windshield is cracking, you will pay for a new windshield. Turn it in and let them figure a price or do it on your own and you pick the price. Check your auto insurance policy, it may be covered.

With the tires, what is the tread depth in inches? That will tell you if you need to replace them or not.

I had zero deductible glass coverage in Arizona but I do not here in California, it goes by your deductible so less expensive to pay out of pocket. I had an appointment today for replacement but it was missing the moulding and will take 10 or more days to have another in stock. I'm trying my luck with Safelite to repair the chip tomorrow. I was able to upload pictures to them ahead of time for review so they could determine if chip repair would work or if it needed to be replaced.

Three tires are 5/32 and one is 4/32. I've decided to gamble on the tires and leave them as is.

 

[caycemd]

My experience with a Bank of America trade in. They offered an early inspection, meet with that person and they went over everything and pointed out what was going to be a cost. Also in the turn in info, was a tire tread depth and as long as you had that much or more you were ok, if tires were replaced the only requirement was that all 4 be the same tire.

Good luck.

Ally does not offer early inspection. They aren't even able to give me a ballpark of prices ahead of time saying the third party inspector determines the cost that I am charged. Seems like it should be the same for everyone. This is the most frustrating lease return I've ever experienced (and I have leased 99% of my vehicles).

 

[caycemd]

On the day that you turn it in, take lots of pictures right there in the dealers parking lot. Get a picture of every quarter panel. If there are any dents or scratches, get a picture with the measurement guide on it. Take a picture of each tire with the depth gauge on it. Don't forget to take a picture of the open trunk showing that the EVSE was returned with the car. Take pictures of the interior, including the odometer and the center screen showing the date & time.

Thank you, I've taken a bunch of pictures so far and planned to take more at the actual turn in.

 

[caycemd]

My daughter had an Ally lease . The was in my name because I co signed .

I wouldn't fix anything . They charged her quite a bit for a few minor scratches . If you fix the details they might just look harder for some other blemish . Also , she was over the mileage . I did however ask them to divide the excess charges in four payments and they did .

Thank you, makes sense. I've decided to try chip repair on the windshield and not replace the tires. I have an appointment to have it detailed on Saturday and as soon as I can find a dealership that will accept the lease return, I'm turning it in. I've spent so much time and effort on this, it's crazy.

 

[Zoder]

Turned in my Volt Dec 3. Received the report from Ally today.

The inspector marked 10 items at $50 each that were covered under normal wear & tear. A crack on the windshield I never noticed for $300 that was also normal wear.

The only thing they charged me for was a missing key fob for $175 even though I returned both keys. I called the dealership and spoke to the manager and they still have both keys in their key locker so I don't know why the inspector said that but the manager is going to call Ally and tell them both keys are there. So once that's taken care of I should be in the clear with no charges.

 

[WS-Mtns]

I did an early return of my Brownstone 2014 on November 3. I cleaned it up inside and out. No dents or chips, good tires. We used 32600 of the 39k allowed. Local Chevy store did the return and said it was the cleanest they had seen on a return.

Why so early? We got a 16 Premium out of North Texas will all the tax credits for 28.6.

Ally wrote closing the deal upon receipt of the 3 months lease balance, and waived the 400 return fee.

 

[caycemd]

Turned in my Volt Dec 3. Received the report from Ally today.

The inspector marked 10 items at $50 each that were covered under normal wear & tear. A crack on the windshield I never noticed for $300 that was also normal wear.

The only thing they charged me for was a missing key fob for $175 even though I returned both keys. I called the dealership and spoke to the manager and they still have both keys in their key locker so I don't know why the inspector said that but the manager is going to call Ally and tell them both keys are there. So once that's taken care of I should be in the clear with no charges.

That's great! I returned mine on December 5th but was told not to expect a report for 4 - 6 weeks. I hope my report comes back as good as yours!

 

[caycemd]

I did an early return of my Brownstone 2014 on November 3. I cleaned it up inside and out. No dents or chips, good tires. We used 32600 of the 39k allowed. Local Chevy store did the return and said it was the cleanest they had seen on a return.

Why so early? We got a 16 Premium out of North Texas will all the tax credits for 28.6.

Ally wrote closing the deal upon receipt of the 3 months lease balance, and waived the 400 return fee.

That's great!

 

[Tim S FL]

Good to hear things have gotten somewhat better with Ally. There have been a few neg experiences.

In case you would like to prepare for some worst case scenerios
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?241841-Ally-lease-return-what-a-bunch-of-crooks%85

 

[Zoder]

Received a letter today that they located the key and the account has been closed with zero balance owed.

 

[Dakster]

Zoder - Great news.

I had lease wear and tear protection, so the cracked windshield and whatever scratches it had were covered including the vertical height of the bumper from where someone pushed a shopping cart into the car and it went through the paint. It took them a long long time to send me a final bill, which ended up just being for my remaining payments less interest, the turn in fee was waived because I got another GM vehicle. Then after I paid it, it took them about another month to give me a final, you don't owe us anything else letter...

No nightmare here either and the delays were because the dealer here didn't want to keep the Volt (Alaska) and so it had to be shipped to the L48.