Modified leased tacoma

My lease is almost up and my truck is modified. Has bigger tires, new rims, tinten windows, add a leaf kit and bilsten 5100. I had no idea i couldn't modify a car if it was leased. I dont have the original wheels nor tires. Im planning on financing the vehicle after the lease is done. How bad is it? What are my options? Im located in Bakersfield CA. Please help.

 

Yeah, you should always read documents before you sign them.

A lease is basically a rental, so yeah you definitely can’t modify them lol.

I’ve never fleased a vehicle, but the way I understand it, it doesn’t matter if you’ve modified the vehicle since you plan on buying the truck after the flease is over.

Maybe I’m wrong tho. If it does matter, not much you can do besides either pay the penalties, which I’m sure would be ungodly, or return it to stock.

Your best bet is to probably contact whoever your flease is through and ask them.

Did you go over your lease mileage too?

 

not keeping the stock stuff was kinda silly on a lease but im sure you know that now..
if you go back to stock it wont be a problem, but I think your hand is forced to buy the truck right now.

if you wanted to sell the truck you could buy some OEM TRD OR wheels off facebook, there's tons in our area for a decent price. I don't think they would care about the tint because SoCal.

 

If you are buying it then no big deal. If you were turning it in you would be on the hook for a chunk.

 

are you 100% sure about this?

 

You’d be screwed if you were planning on returning it, but you’re not so you’re fine.

 

Lol

 

I just bought out my lease. The dealer told me that is doesn't matter as long as your buying out the lease but I would definitely call whoever you have the lease from. I didn't really do much to mine either (265/75/16, a different air intake and side steps) I did keep all the stock parts though.

 

Your lease should actually tell you how much it costs to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease. You can finance that from the same group you leased or you can take out a loan from anyone you prefer and go in with a cheque to buy the truck. Since you are purchasing it they likely don't even need to see the vehicle... They just want the money at that point!

 

You really need to ask the company you have your lease with.

 

I had some light mods on mine when I bought mine out. They didn't even look at the truck until the transaction was done and they traded my plates back to paper.

 

Why are you worried if you're buying it?

 

Not 100% sure if it was for me. Toyota Finance (or the lender you choose) may care, but I suspect if the truck looks relatively stock (not lifted 6 inches, no snorkel, etc) they will care more about your credit score.

You are not ready to grab the pebble from my hand, grasshopper, unless you learn from this about keeping "stock parts" while renting.

 

you can absolutely modify a lease... I did it. Buying out the lease at the end was never not the plan But I knew that, and knew I was on the hook for the truck. I am a bit surprised that Toyota would ding you for mods. I think they would be fine with the mods, but financial recourse on mods is 0. So you poured money into a lease to make it cool/yours and if you give it back, that money is goneeeee

 

On that note, be sure to know that number before you walk in. That's the one shady move my dealer tried to pull, was they tried to tell me my buyout was 4k higher than actual.

There were some choice words spoken as I walked around him, went straight to the finance desk, and said "will you please fix it or do I need to find another that will do it for you."

 

Yep!

This figure, as you mentioned, is actually available on the lease contract itself, in your account details, obtaining a payoff via the lender (phone), I mean anyone that can't figure this out shouldn't be handling money to begin with.

It's like paying your electricity bill and not knowing how much energy was used.

 

Read your lease document (assuming you held on to it). It will clearly state the buyout value at the end of the lease term and will spell out any costs associated with the transaction, typically there's a junk fee of several hundred dollars.

You need to understand the numbers involved.

Armed with that information, call your finance company and speak with them about your situation.

No one on this forum can give you the answer you're seeking.

Also, have you lined up financing already? And are you certain that THEY will finance a modified vehicle?

 

check and see what your residual value is(buyout). Usually with Tacomas, this amount is less than what the truck is worth. Just make sure the dealer buys it out rather than retuning it. That truck should sell pretty easy in CA, so I can't see why a dealer wouldn't want to buy it. Chances are you might make a few bucks too.

 

They don't want a vehicle modified to your taste. They want a vehicle they can easily resell, and a vehicle that's not been messed with. Stock is easier to resell.

You can do whatever you want to your leased vehicle, but you either have to buy it out at the end, or pay the penalty for the mods when you turn it in if the lease contract allows them to penalize you (hint - it does).

 

Or the dealer he buys his new car from will buy it out so they can sell it on their lot. This is most likely the case.