End of Lease 2007 Pilot - Excess Wear and Tear

Excess Wear and Tear-

So I received a letter from Honda in February 2011 reminding me that my lease was soon due to expire and I should consider my options.  Of course you have 2 options.... Keep the car or give the car back.  If you want to keep the car you simply send a cheque for the buyout amount to Honda Finance or if you want to return it you arrange for a post-lease inspection and they send you a bill for any excess wear and tear.  I downloaded the Honda wear and tear guide to get an idea of what I would be in for and figured I would definitely get nailed for a few small dents and scratches but didn't think there would be anything major.

At that point I really had not made my mind up about keeping or returning the Pilot, I really liked the Pilot but it is a bit hard on gas (to be discussed in a later post) and I had absolutely no luck with used cars in the past so I was a but gunshy.  On the upside I knew it was well maintained and cared for and the residual was less than I would have to pay for a used 2007 Pilot on the open market.

So I arranged for the inspection guy to come, he came to my house after work which was actually very convenient.  He was nice enough but not friendly mind you.  I felt like he was violating my vehicle, checking for every scratch and bump, being critical at times but that was his job.  Still, I didn't like it.

He pointed out some surface rust by the bottom of the door where you step into the vehicle I didn't notice before; I knew that would be a few hundred bucks for sure.  Overall the only thing to fix on the vehicle was one broken door lock, other than that just the two rust spots and some dents and scratches.... I figured no big deal.  So he went over the inspection with me, I signed it and waited for the bad news.

I was reasonably expecting a bill for five or six hundred bucks at which point I could go to a local body shop and get everything fixed up for half that price.  Well I got a bill for over $1,800, plus $500 allowance for the door lock!   I was aggravated beyond belief.

I was totally peeved at that point, but it did make my end of lease decision quite easy….. I was keeping the Pilot.  Seriously almost 2 grand for some minor dents and dings! Subsequently to this I received an email from Honda asking how my end of lease experience was and I told them exactly what I thought of their lease end experience.  I felt like I was being robbed is how I felt and I told them so.  I could have probably gotten everything fixed up for less than a thousand but that wasn’t the point.  I was looking at maybe going in to Honda to see if they could cut me some slack if I got a CRV but I was so aggravated at everything Honda I never bothered.  Also, the CRV didn’t appeal to me at all, it’s just too boring looking and underpowered in my opinion (more on that in a later post).

So shortly thereafter I went to the bank, got myself a loan and bought the Pilot.  Before and even after this I visited almost every car dealership in the St. John’s area looking for a new vehicle.  My posts over the next couple of weeks will discuss everything from the dealerships, interest rates, sales tactics and miscellaneous info related to new car buying / leasing.  I am still considering getting a new vehicle but I have the feeling I won’t be getting rid of the Pilot any time soon.   Below is the actual end of lease inspection report, you will notice the $500 extra was to fix a broken door lock.

Abnormal Wear

<><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> LN Action Description of Abnormal Wear and Condition Mech Hours Lbr/REF Hrs Paint Hours Parts Sublet Reserve Photo 1 N/C Exterior Bumper/cover-rear Scratch Thru Paint 1/2 inch 2+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 2 Repair Exterior Rocker Panel-left Rust 12 inches or more 1x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 250.00 0 3 Repair Exterior Rocker Panel-right Rust 12 inches or more 1x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 250.00 0 4 Repair Exterior Quarter Panel-right Rear Dent Thru Paint 4 inches 4x 4+ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 250.00 0 5 Repair Exterior Quarter Panel-left Rear Dent Thru Paint 2 inches 4x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 250.00 0 6 Repair Exterior Bumper/cover-front Scratch Thru Paint 2 inches 3+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 180.00 0 7 Repair Exterior Door-left Rear Chip Thru Paint 1/8 inch 9+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 75.00 0 8 Repair Exterior Door-left Front Chip Thru Paint 1/8 inch 9+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 75.00 0 9 N/C Exterior Door-left Front Scratch Not Thru Paint 2 inches 2+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 10 N/C Exterior Hood Chip Thru Paint Less than 1/2 inch 5+x RUSTY 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 11 Repair Exterior Fender-left Front Scratch Thru Paint 2 inches 2+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 180.00 0 N/C Exterior Door-right Front Ding Not Thru Paint 1/2 inch 2+x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 13 N/C Exterior Door-right Rear Scratch Not Thru Paint 2 inches 5+x CAN BE BUFFED 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 14 N/C Exterior Door-left Rear Scuffed Not Thru Paint 2 inches 5+x CAN BE BUFFED 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 15 N/C Exterior Quarter Panel-right Rear Scratch Not Thru Paint 2 inches 3+x CAN BE BUFFED 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 16 Repair Exterior Rear Gate Dent Not Thru Paint 1 inch 1x 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 $ 250.00 0 17 N/C Exterior Rear Gate Scratch Not Thru Paint 1 inch 3+x CAN BE BUFFED 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 18 Check/Inspect Interior Power Door Lock Inoperable NA 1x rear door 1.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 $ 500.00 <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> Mechanical Hours 1.00 @90.00 90.00 Body REP/REF Hours 0.00 @45.00 0.00 Paint Hours 0.00 @45.00 0.00 Labour Total 90.00 PARTS 0.00 SUBLET 1,760.00 TOTAL RECONDITIONING $ 1,850.00 RECONDITIONING CHARGES ARE SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE TAXES TOTAL RESERVE $ 500.00