[jmatero]

Hi all.. I'm about to lease my first BMW and the dealer suggests I pay $600 for "AutoGuard" protection... essentially, it's a policy that covers excess wear/tear items at the end of the lease like stains on carpeting, tires, wheels, chipped glass,dings/minor dents. I treat my cars like gold but after 36 months, a few dings, scratches, blah blah blah are hard to avoid. Does this sound like it's worth it? How bad is BMW when it comes to judging your car at the end of the lease? Just getting a little nervous.... thanks!!!!!

[ZenDriver]

In my experience (which is intrinsically limited), you do not need such a policy with BMW. At the end of your lease, you are usually so far on the right side that BMW is going to make plenty of money with your car either at auction or at the Certified Pre Owned side of the sales department that BMW does not stick it to customers at lease end.

Data points: I leased a Land Rover Disco II through BMW FS and turned it into a BMW dealer with a couple of dings and damn near bald tires. No extra charges and got my deposit back.

Same thing with a 2002 325Ci that I leased.

[Meatnog]

There are federal guidelines for what is considered normal wear and tear. Small dings, scratches that are less than 4" in length and do not go through the undercoat, small stains on the carpet, etc... are all considered normal wear and tear.

When I recently turned in my last lease, the only item on my car after 4 years which was beyond the normal wear and tear was a 3" scratch that went through the undercoat (I had it clearcoated to avoid rust after the fact). I was charged $137 to fix it. That's it.

They also cannot charge you for bald tires, worn brakes or worn belts so long as you adhered to the maintenance plan as those are all wear items and go through normal wear and tear.

Generally speaking, much like most (not all) extended warantees on electronic equipment, this AutoGuard insurance is a scam.

[espo]

Originally Posted by Meatnog

They also cannot charge you for bald tires, worn brakes or worn belts so long as you adhered to the maintenance plan as those are all wear items and go through normal wear and tear.

Actually the one thing out of that list than can charge you for are the bald tires... Tires are your responsibility even as part of the maintance plan. Can you imagine BMW paying 200+ for each performance tire every 15000 miles on a SP equiped car?

As for the "AutoGard" protection, it really is not worth it. I wouldn't call it a scam, but all of these "insurance" plans are there to make someone money and that someone really isn't you. Many things are covered under your auto insurance (like chips in the glass).

When I turned in my old 2003 325xi, there was a couple of scratches one of which went all the way down to the primer on the passenger side skirt (obviously caused by a rock hit) but it was only about 1" in size. There was also a slight crease in the drivers door (like the door opened too much) and my spare rim was bent (which was on the car at the time I hit a good sized hole in the room), and there were a number of "rock chips" on the front of the car (but not really too many) I got the whole security deposit back..

BTW in NY atleast, they actually have to have a third party do the final inspection. That company has no vested interest in charging you anything so they usually are very forgiving about the small stuff. Also with the amount of money that BMWFS makes on leases they don't want to put a sour taste in any ones mouth, esp if they see you as a continuing customer.

[pharding]

BMW is exceedingly reasonable when it is time to turn in a leased car. Your dealer is full bs when they recommend this insurance. It is an absolute waste of your money and the dealer knows it.

If you lease, do yourself a favor and check the dealers math at edmunds.com. Dealers routinely stick in extra hidden charges and make math errors that, surprise, favor them. Always negotiate the purchase price, then the lease deal. Also on a lease your goal should be to get the car for the "buy rate". Leasing is snake pit for the average consumer.