Lease - Replacing the Wheel / Grille?

Hello, I’m finally ready to pull a trigger soon for Tacoma. I’m thinking about a lease deal. I drove a leased car around 10 years ago, but it was a company car, so I know basics but not sure about details. I’d like to get final wise words from experience, and avoid big whooops moments.

Here’s the detail.

19’ Tacoma TRD Sport
Dealership: Tustin Toyota (SoCal)
Don’t know the leasing bank
15k / yr & 3-year deal

I’m thinking about 3 mods
- Wheel (4runner TRD Pro Wheel)
- Grille (Tacoma TRD Pro Grille)
- Camper Shell

My questions are,

1. Grille swap (Tacoma TRD Pro)

• Is it better to get one from 3rd party and switch back to OEM before the time of inspection? (connecting TSS) - I think... I can do this? and keep the Pro grille.
• Or should I ask the dealer to install when I first get a car? (Not sure it’s possible at the dealership?)

2. Wheel swap (4runner TRD Pro)

• Is it better to get one from 3rd party and Swith back to OEM before the time of inspection?(connect TPMS and sensor) and I can keep the Pro wheel after returning a car.
• Or should I ask the dealer to install when I first get a car? (I think this is possible at the dealership)

3. Camper shell

• I think I’ll just remove it before the time of inspection.

4. Tire maintenance

• Is there a list of approved tire (the same size, style and speed rating, same all season etc) or must be the same OEM?
• I usually exchange tires around 30-35k, so when I return (45k), remaining depth would not be a problem.

How’s you experience?
Am I missing something?
Simple Yes/No or sharing any experience would be tremendous help for me.

Thank you.

 

Honestly doesn't matter what you do as long as you can return to stock for the lease turn in. Unless you trade it then it doesn't matter. Tires don't have to be the same make. Chances are you'll go through the oem ones in 30-40k. But don't turn in with 35s. Honestly you're keeping all Toyota parts, you'll be fine. Don't stress

 

I have a leased 18 off-road. Put a fake pro grill and different wheels on.

I will put it back to stock for return. I do not plan on getting a newer one in 3yrs

 

If your putting money into the mods you might as well buy it outright either up front or at the end of the lease.

 

If I was leasing anything, I wouldn’t put a dime in it for mods/accessories. But that’s just me. I’ve never leased a vehicle.

 

That’s right.
I was wondering whether buying mods straight up from a dealer and including in the lease deal is better. (Not sure it’s possible for my case, but I saw similar cases with MB. Dealer puts upgraded rims and the lease deal includes it.)

In this way, I can also only pay for depreciation of mods too.

 

Probably I’m going to do things like you.
Just not sure whether I better start a lease deal with mods or not.

Also, depending on a car, after taking out Oem grill, putting back is very difficult. I guess there’s no tricky parts for Tacoma.

 

I’m considering buying out a vehicle too, yet my personal situation is not clear enough to do it yet. I’ll keep in mind.

 

I did a lift, tires, and a grill on my lease. Don't worry. It's stuff that is damaging or irreversible that they are concerned about.

You shouldn't return the lease after its over anyway, it's value will be higher than the buy out.

 

You'll be fine switching back but buying it is better.

 

In case of a company car, I wouldn’t do it. Also I wouldn’t do any performance mods / mods that are difficult to restore.

But in case of wheels, I thought that I can even use it in the future. (Even for 4runners, new Tacos are highly likely share the same wheel size.)

Grille... probably I need to sell it on Craiglist.

 

Thank you for the advice.
I plan to do something very similar.
I want to know there’a any hidden, tricky stuff I need to know in advance.

 

I hear you.
Since in the future, I’m going to stick to 4runner/Tacoma, buying parts seems to make a sense.

 

I terminated early, made the new lease buyer pay the transaction fee and moved on. Didn't cost me a dime to stop.

 

Whats the logic in modifying a vehicle you can’t afford to own?

 

I don't understand either, seems like a second financial mistake. Find a nice used, cared for Tacoma, take care of it, and pay it off.

 

As mentioned by a few others above, I would not spend a dime in modifying a leased vehicle. Leasing a vehicle has its perks and is ideal for the following people:

1) Switches vehicles every 2-3 years
2) Doesn't plan on modifying
3) Can stay within the yearly mile limit

I recently got out of a lease in order to get into my '19 Tacoma. The lease term was for 42 months and to be honest, I was sick of the lease after 18 months with it. I was only 4k upside down on the trade in and I got a great deal on the tacoma. I knew with the great residual value, I would balance out within a year of owning the Tacoma.

Point is, a lease is a great option for some people, but it just wasn't for me since I found it pointless to dump money in modifications. Unless, of course you plan on going with the buyout option. For the OP, I hope this maybe helps guide you in the right direction.

 

Not everyone leases for the same purpose. I just leased a 2019 Tacoma, and have dumped close to a grand in it. It's a third vehicle.

Why? Because I want to. I'm a car person, none of my cars have every stayed complete stock for long.

Everything I've added can be removed in less than a few hours, and I should be able to fetch at least half of what I paid for the mods new. So $500 over the course of two years to further enjoy a vehicle is not bad at all.

Best case is I can buy it out at the end of the lease, and sell it for a little bit of a profit.

 

Not judging... just pointing out that ^this^ is a financial red flag. Perhaps delaying any lease/purchase would be your best option.

 

OEM parts I can't see them caring about since it's usually an upgrade and can only help resale value.

Tires too, if you bought expensive tires to replace the cheap stock ones they might not give you more value on a trade but they sure as hell won't ding you.

Aftermarket stuff I would stay away from honestly.