VTEC=happiness

Anyone out there know the extent to which one can modify a leased car?? I am having a decklid spolier put on (not by Acura dealer), springs put in, CAI, etc. Any ideas?? Just looking to avoid any special charges on the off chance I actually keep this car until the end of the lease.

Tripp11

One would think you should be able to add any like-kind accessories which would normally be offered by the dealership for the TL: body side moulding, lip spoiler, higher spoiler, etc...

I've leased everyone of my cars since I've gotten out of college and never had a problem with tinting and tire changes; although that's a far stretch from putting a ricer rear wing or something obviously not an Acura accessory on the car.

I'll check with my salesman next time I talk to him and see what he says.

VTEC=happiness

Much appreciated....the spolier is the OEM honda decklid, and I don't plan on doing anything to the car to make it obnoxious or loud ro to take away from the luxury aspects, so it sounds like I may be ok.

Tripp11

VTech - I think you'll be perfectly fine with the OEM spoiler as your only change. The last two people who inspected my car prior to me turning them in didn't know what was already on the car and what was added after the fact....the inspection is mainly them looking for scratches/dings/dents/etc....

I would slap that spoiler on and not even think twice about it.

Would love to see a pic once it's on though.

Z Factor

I would stay away from engine mods, or anything that isn't easily reversed.

Otherwise, I suspect you can do just about any reasonable mod, but you might still want to call to make sure.

TLGator

It's good to hear that others have made mods without ramifications, but I'd still be cautious if I were you.

Your lease contract almost certainly forbids ANY modification without approval, so you run the risk of being charged for anything you do. For example, the spoiler. Either you'll have to leave it on when you turn in the car and hope they don't mind that you added it, or you'll have to remove it and pay to have the holes fixed and so on.

I'm talking worst-case scenarios here, but that's what contract language forces you to think about.

Personally, I wouldn't want to pay several hundred dollars for a spoiler on a car I don't own. That's why I had the dealer put a spoiler on my CL as part of the lease deal.

You may decide to take your chances. Just read your lease and think about it carefully first.

VTEC=happiness

I'm thinking that the fact that I never keep my cars all the way to the end of a lease will probably work in my favor.

As far as putting money into a car I do not own...I am going to be using it for a couple of years just like I would if I did own it, so I don't see a huge drawback in that way.

automophile

ALSO - Please remember that you can always SELL the car prior to the end of the lease.

Due to the low mileage of my cars and the mint condition I keep them in, I usually make a couple thousand $$ from the sale to put down on the next one.

There are SO MANY cars leased now, that used car prices have dropped drastically. The banks REALLY don't want the car back, they will get zip for them at the auctions. I was able to negotiate the buy outdown a LOT with the bank. The closer it got to the end, the more they were calling me!! The buyout price came down $4,500 over the course of the negotiations.

TLGator

Actually, the percentage of new cars that are leased each year has dropped quite a bit in the last few years. At its peak in the mid to late 90s something close to 40% of new cars were being leased. It's now down to somewhere around 25% for all makes. Detroit reported about 21% for the last quarter, while the European builds still do a lot of leasing in the US. Here's the most impressive stat: the Japanese automakers reported that leases comprised about 10% of their American sales in the last year, down from about 21% the year before.

But you're still right, you can usually negotiate an end-of-lease purchase price that is far more favorable than what the lease contract shows. Whether you can then sell the car for a profit is a much less certain prospect and has to be considered carefully on a case by case basis.

Personally I like to lease so I can turn in the car at the end without a care as to what it might sell for.