Leveling a lease

My taco is leased and believe me, its anything but stock. Just make sure that when your lease is up you SELL the truck, do not give it back, your tacoma will have equity at the end of your lease. You can sell a leased car and get some money back. Although its not the case with every vehicle, Tacomas have high resale values that's the only reason this works on tacomas.

 

Why are you asking here???
Ask your salesman or finance manager.

 

Mine is also a lease. Will either sell mine or buy it out near the end of the lease. No way it’s going back to stock!

 

THESE ARE MY PEOPLES!

 

Exactly!

I made 10k off my 4runner when I sold it end of lease.(Ie it was worth 10k more than lease buyout amount) and it was modified. The dealer is who I sold it to also BTW. Don't listen to the total bs you hear on here from people who have never leased.

 

You WILL NOT be able to turn in a lease with mods on the truck without them charging you a fee for it. Theres a clause in the paperwork for damage/modifications. Do you think a dealer will miss a chance to make money off of you? Hell no.

So, mod your truck if youre planning on buying it out preterm or at the end of your lease immediately. Or mod your truck if its just suspension and you can put the oem parts back on before you turn it in. Those are the only two ways to dodge the mileage charge and mod/damage fee.

People are correct in saying you could sell the truck immediately and make a bit of money. In my area my truck would easily sell for 25k right now and my 'value' at the end of the lease (this is also in your paperwork) is 18k

 

Let's say you have no positive equity in your Tacoma, and you are simply handing over the keys to the dealer at lease end. If they give you crap over a levelling kit, I'd be looking for a new dealer. My dealer could care less about such a simple mod.

 

Having leased many vehicles in the past 40 years including several Tacoma's, I would agree with those who are telling you to not return the truck to the dealership at the end of your lease. The biggest issue is what is printed on your specific lease. Every lease can be different, especially private dealership leases. I have always used Toyota leasing and my comments are based on Toyota leases.

You have options. 1)Re-finance the buyout and keep the truck for the buyout amount which most lenders will approve because you have equity. 2) Find a private buyer and agree on a price which is higher than your buyout. You meet at the dealership with the new buyer who gives you a cheque for your agreed amount made out to both you and the dealership. The dealership gives you a bill of sale for the buyout amount and cuts you a cheque for your difference. (demand a cheque as they will all try to hold it towards your new truck from their lot which totally destroys your ability to properly negotiate the price of your new truck with that dealership) You in turn sign a bill of sale to the new buyer and watch them drive their new truck away as you sit infront of a team of hand rubbing smiling car salesmen.

All of my Tacoma leases resulted in $3000- $7000 equity positions at lease end. Only an absolute fool would return his Tacoma to the dealership and hand them any remaining equity and open themselves up to dealerships who will ding the return for worn tires, cracked windshields, burns in seats, the cost to remove the aftermarket items etc etc. Never - Never return a Tacoma at lease end unless the market drops and your Tacoma is worth less than your buyout. An issue to consider is if during your lease your truck had a serious accident and was repaired but seriously impacts the re-sale value to below your buyout amount. That may be a situation a lease return may be in your best interest.

Your modifications make your truck worth more, however somewhat more difficult to re-sell as your now looking for a smaller pool of potential buyers. Networking on this site would likely make your truck an easier sell.

Something to consider is to build your new truck with the dealership at the time you lease it and include the modifications into a new lease. There may be restrictions from Toyota as to how much they will let you add. Talk to your dealership.

 

Leased truck here....maturing this coming March, so I'm debating on keeping it or selling it. Not sure yet!

OP, do what you want with your truck, leased or not.

 

The leaser doesn't care really ...as long as their end is covered. Do what you want, just know the agreement. jMO