Lease & mods

Question: what can be modified and what cannot? Im leasing a 17 taco trd and was told by the salesman that i can do whatever i want since I basically own my taco for the next 3 yrs., problem is I don’t believe that cause reading into the fine print of the lease contract says that no modifications!!! I just bought a set of steps direct fit from a guy and im hesitant about installing them if its gonna screw me when the lease is up there are a few other mods that i want to do vent visors trd pro grille or steel grille! unsure if will keep or turn in for the latest when the time comes. And dealers will tell u anything to make that sale! Any insight would be appreciated

 

i work at a toyota dealership and lease my truck. wheels, tires, step bars, grills after market lights are all fine. i have wheels and tires and suspension on mine. and i just did the bhlm but i plan on trading mine in at the end not turning it in.when i get another truck ill just transfer that stuff over. if it can be bolted on and off you will be fine. just don't do anything that involves cutting body pieces. this is my 5th toyota truck and i have modded all of them

 

This right here is best advice

 

Hey thanks for the info! I will keep that in mind on future decisions. Like I was maybe thinking about a light bar. What about spacer lift kits are they a no no? They’re generally bolt on

 

you mean like this? its a bitch to install but worth it. from cali raised

 

i did the bilstein shocks up front

 

but a spacer lift is fine

 

Yeah thats what im looking at and as to the lift i have the off road which comes with bilstiens i was thinking the spacers that go on top of the struts like these

 

there are a few guys that work with me with leveling kits and they have nothing but good things to say about them. I've had the leveling kit on a couple on my tundras that I had and they are great

 

Why modify a leased vehicle? Seems like just throwing money away.

I guess if you plan on buying it out it may be ok but other then that I don’t see the point.

And no you do not own the truck for the next three years. The bank owns it.

 

While you have it, you can do whatever you want. Toyota isn't going to repo it just because you modified it. At the end of the lease you an turn it back to stock, turn it in as-is (if they'll take it...might be a penalty involved), or buy it out.

 

well i like getting new vehicles and so far with the tundras ive had ive usually had a couple thousand of equity at the end of the lease and i just trade it in and cash the equity out. but to each his own. so far on 4 trucks prior to this one i haven't had any issue

 

This is wrong actually. In most scenarios, dealers will pay more for lifted vehicles (que in the “mods don’t add value” crowd)

So you’re building equity. I don’t lease, but I generally always come out ahead on my mods.

 

thanks for all the info yeah I'm gonna wait on the leveling kit but i can see them penalizing me for putting factory steps and maybe visors that be like getting them installed b4 i signed or after, i know they won't repo it cause of some bolt on parts that inhance the trucks value in the end i already got a sweet deal on the lease anyway and should be way head of the book value in 3 years so no worries

 

Fwiw, I'm a dealer, and love 4wheeling. I never give more for a lifted truck. It reduces my pool of potential buyers. Not saying you're wrong though.

 

I've modded the crap out of my truck but I will be buying it out at the end of the lease, the only reason I went with a lease was because my payments are a little over 100$ a month. I would say if you're not planning on buying it out just stick with bolt ons.

 

Maybe in Texas. I don’t see it being the same here in jersey. I know if I was a dealer id shy away from something someone modified. Think it’s a lot easier selling a stock one. Something like those little visors for door windows I don’t really consider a mod that matters either way. Steps I’d prefer not to have them but doubt it would hurt value anyway. Suspension lifts bigger tires and things like that will hurt in my opinion. I know as a buyer I’d stay away from them. If the dealer did the suspension mods or there was paperwork showing a reputable shop did the work I’d probably feel better about it.

 

I’ve never leased but this is my understanding also. When you turn the truck in you need to be able to turn in the same stock truck that you leased. For example with my icon suspension I had to notch the rear shock mount, since that can not be un done that would be a big no no.

 

Ya if you turn it in put the truck back to stock more than likely they won’t catch something like the rear shock mount. But you never know

 

So how has trading in vs turning in worked out for you? I leased a 2019 and am wondering how that will work. I sell Mercedes Benz in Birmingham but you would never want to trade in a leased one of these due to insane depreciation. Any info will be appreciated. I plan on buying it at the end or trading in on a Tundra.