Modifying a leased vehicle...

How many of you have modified your leased 4runners and take them off road? Also do you have every intention of buying the truck at the end of the lease? Also, if you do the above, how does insurance cover you in case of a major issue while taking your truck offroad, and by off road I mean more than just dirt roads. Anyone with personal experience with this? Just trying to gauge options before I do anything major or majorly stupid lol.

EDIT: BY MODIFYING I MEAN SMALL LIFT AND LARGER TIRES, NOTHING LIKE FRAME CHOPPING OR THE HALF WINCH BUMPER THAT YOU CUT THE EXISTING PLASTIC OUT OF THE WAY TYPE STUFF.

 

The leasing company will do an inspection at lease maturity if you do not buy. You may want to contact the leasing company before doing mods. Don't want to have a issue after you do mods.

 

And Toyota has a serious inspection policy at lease end. It was more a curiosity questio .

 

if you change anything (lift, wheels) keep the stock stuff so you can go back to original when you trade it back ( and sell the stuff for $$)

as far as off road get you one of these and you should be fine

 

A question from your question: I have never leased a car. If you go into in planning to buy it, isn't it smarter / cheaper to just buy it in the first place?

 

Isn't the point of a lease is to rotate a new vehicle in every couple years?

Not sure why one would mod. I wouln't want the hassle of removing mods or anything when its time to turn a lease back in.

 

Please don't thinking I'm talking down to you, but a lease is basically a 2 to 3 year rental car. Why would you spend time and money altering anything you have zero equity in only to have to spend time and money in the opposite direction only to return it back to original condition? You won't get a great deal buying the car at the end of lease either. You can take it off road all you want but you still have to return it in original condition. Insurance will cover any accidents but it really sounds like you really need to break out your lease agreement and read it. All these answers are in there. If you break any of the terms of that agreement they will get you for it.

In my opinion one of the worst financial decisions anyone can make is leasing a vehicle, only being topped by buying the vehicle after you leased it. Do the math....after a 3 year lease, then a 5-6 year loan, with the money you have to put down at the start of the lease, the interest you pay over the term of the loan...you'd end up paying 35-40% more than what the vehicle was originally worth over that entire 8-9 years of paying for that vehicle. Then in 10 years from now you're going to want something new again.

Of course at the end of the day I'm just a jackhole on the internet giving unsolicited opinions and advice.

 

No hate at all, I appreciate your input

 

Have you considered buying certified pre-owned next time. I would only lease luxury high end cars if I was wealthy, I knew maintenance was going to be outrageous, and I wanted the latest and greatest next model to stand out against my rich arrogant buddies to one up them.
Wise men advises here, that's why we drive Toyotas

 

Something to consider, thanks man

 

Concur wouldn't change a lease (it's not yours) nor would I attempt to buy one out at the end. Buy up front or look for a nice used vehicle.

 

I would not mod a lease, it is honestly not your vehicle. I would also never advise anyone to lease a vehicle but what is done is done. I hope you learn to enjoy it for the perfect vehicle it already is.

 

Yeah and do not fall for the 72 months financing lol.

 

Some people do what they have to do. For some folks it may make the payments fit within their budget.

 

Then they are buying outside of their means.

 

That really depends on your credit rating. If you have perfect credit you're only talking roughly about .25% point difference in an interest rate from a 60 to 72 month lease. Then if you look at the interest rate forecast over the next year you can determine if things are going to stay the same or possibly go down. If they stay they same or go down then you can refinance your loan in a year, when you have 60 months left, to an actual 60 month loan at the lower rate and reduce your payment (as long as your car is still under 5 years old). Plus if you're able to set any money aside through out the year you can apply that to the refinanced loan amount and reduce your payment even further. I am not suggesting that anyone do this because you should do what works for you, but this has been my plan for this year since interests rates weren't predicted to raise any in the next 12 months after I got my loan. So if I round up I'll eat about $700 for the interest in that first year of my loan, but I will lower that after the refinance and should be able to save at least $700 in interest over the rest of the life of the loan. So it's kind of a wash and kind of not depending how you look at it. I've never let any car loan go to full maturity anyway, so if you already plan on paying off a loan early go for the one that works best for you.

 

not always, we went with 72 mo financing as we still had a few months left on my wife's car. It afforded us a little more wiggle room while we were making 2 car payments. Now that we are not we are just overpaying the 4runner. And if during the life of the loan something were to come up, or maybe we wanted to splurge a little bit more here or there we are not tied to the higher monthly payment. As it happens my son was admitted to the hospital with complications from his diabetes and we were able to help him pay off the bills, I like having options.

 

Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. Do what suits your needs.

 

This is exactly my point. You are saving what $70ish? a month on a 72 mo loan. This small amount isn't much for a rainy day.

If you don't have this wiggle room already you are going outside of your means. I'm no financial expert but I know I cant afford a Ferrari on a Corolla salary. Kind of excessive example there but all I could think of.

 

absolutely not, I live within my means, put money away each payday etc. Just because I chose those terms do not assume i'm living above what I can afford, like I said I like the option to pay less if it came to it. There is nothing wrong with wanting 72 months, if it works it works simple as that. I am free to grossly overpay if I choose to each month or not.

 

You are right if you want to grossly over pay over the lift of your loan.

But you are putting money on the side so this doesn't really apply to you obviously. I bet a lot who go for the 72 months are not.

 

Yeah, that is my entire thought process...

 

This^^^^^


I work at a Toyota dealership and they do hardcore inspections on lease returns, independent of the dealership by a Toyota inspector. I guess you could go through the hassle of returning everything to stock before you turn it in, but you better hope you dont have any visible signs of extra wear an inspector might see or feel on a test ride...

 

If you're going to lease anything, lease a Toyota. They hold their value incredibly well. Also it's not like renting a car because when you lease you agree on a price that you will buy the vehicle for after the lease is up. Here in Utah you can actually gain equity in a lease. A friend of mine leased a 15' TRD and after three years the vehicle was worth $3k more than what the dealership was offering to sell it for after the lease was up. He ended up purchasing a 18' TRD and using the extra $3k as a down payment.

Leasing is definitely not for everyone, but in some cases makes a lot of sense for certain people, credit scores, lifestyles, etc. If you are going to lease, then a Toyota is one of the best vehicles to go with due to how well they hold their value.

Also, if you plan on buying the vehicle outright after the lease is up, then feel free to mod whatever you want on it.