Magellan

For anyone who leases their Maxima or is thinking of it, I want to relate a positive experience with the Nissan leasing people.

First, they allowed me to actually turn in my 2000 GLE to the Infiniti dealership where I leased my G35 Coupe, which was quite convenient. They said they would have the car inspected and the leasing company would get back to me. I knew I owed them around $315 for excess mileage and there were some minor scratches, dings and a small pebble hit on the windshield for which I was prepared to pay.

Well I got the final bill yesterday, and I called them to confirm their calculations. They assessed no damage at all, and gave me full credit for the last month (August) because I didn’t have the car for the full month. So I ended up owing them only $43. I think that’s excellent customer
treatment.

Frank Fontaine

Again, I had never heard about such a thing until last year. A girl in my office leased an Accord 4-dr, then 2-dr, then Pilot. A lease is such a winning situation for the lessor, one has to wonder why in the world would they not simply make you pay out your monthly payment times the number of months left? Because you are willing to pay them even more per month for even longer. Try to turn in the car and say you don't want it anymore and don't want to make any more payments, it wont fly. I guess my point is good customer service and sound financial decisions are not necessarily one and the same.

Magellan

I’m not sure I understand your point. Certainly one cannot turn in their car before the lease is up and expect no more demand for payments, no more than one can move out of an apartment before a lease is up. That violates the contract.

In my case I asked them to extend my three year lease on a month-to-month basis until the ‘04 Infinitis came in. They agreed with both my monthly payments and mileage allocation the same.

In a general sense there is some quid-pro-quo here. Yes, I pay more than if I just buy the car. But in return I get a brand new car every three of four years that’s always under full warranty with little or no down payment required, and I avoid the hassles of selling the old car. To me it’s worth it.