Open Today Sales: 9 AM-9 PM
A quick glance at the calendar and you realize that the clock is ticking away as you near the end of your Chevy lease. Throughout your lease, you’ve reaped the benefits of Chevrolet’s lease program and are now faced with a few decisions. Do you lease a new model, buy a new model, or buy your leased vehicle? Before you can make a decision, you’ll first need to take a few steps to ensure your Chevy end of lease goes smoothly.
Throughout the last year of your lease, there are a few things you’ll want to consider to ensure you reap all the benefits that leasing has to offer. By then, you’re accustomed to the lower monthly payments than what you might finance on a traditional loan, and you’ve skillfully avoided that new car depreciation. But what happens at the end of a lease, and how can you best prepare yourself and the vehicle? As your premier Chevy dealer, the team here at Rick Hendrick Chevrolet of Buford has these answers and more as you prepare for the end of your Chevy lease and the beginning of a new journey on the road.
If it’s your first time leasing a Chevy, nearing the end of your lease will likely raise a few questions. One of the biggest questions we get from our first-time lease customers is, “What do I do when my lease ends?” Chevy gives you three options depending on your needs. You can purchase your leased vehicle, purchase a new vehicle, or lease a new model.
Once your lease ends, you’re well aware of the benefits that leasing has to offer, especially when it comes to getting behind the wheel of the newest Chevrolet every few years. This means that once your lease is up, you can lease a new Chevrolet and enjoy all the benefits the model has to offer, from that new car smell and the latest technology to avoiding its rapid rate of depreciation. Since you’re essentially renting the car for a period of its lifetime, you’ll continue to enjoy low monthly payments as long as you stay within the mileage cap and keep the Chevy in good condition.
Your second option is to buy your leased vehicle, which is ideal if you love your Chevy and aren’t interested in driving anything else. One benefit to purchasing your lease vehicle is that you know the car’s history because you’ve driven it since day one. If you’re meticulous about taking care of vehicles, then you know the vehicle is in pristine condition, and you know exactly how it handles. On the other hand, if you haven’t been great about maintaining the vehicle and expect a few extra fees for excessive wear and tear, you can avoid these fees by purchasing your lease vehicle. On a similar note, if you’ve significantly exceeded the lease’s annual mileage limit and know you’ll be charged a hefty fee, purchasing the car is a way to avoid those overage charges that average anywhere between $0.15 to $0.25 per mile.
Your final option is to return your leased vehicle and purchase a new Chevy. By purchasing a Chevy, you’ll discover new freedoms that leasing doesn’t offer. These freedoms include personalizing the vehicle with accessories and other modifications, as well as the freedom to drive as far as you want without mileage limits. Since you’ll own the Chevy outright, you also won’t have to worry about wear and tear on the vehicle and will actively be building equity in your new car, truck, or SUV.
Whether you choose to lease a new model, buy your leased vehicle, or buy a new model, there are still a few steps you’ll have to take at the end of your Chevy lease. These steps start about four months from the end of your lease and end with the return of the vehicle. So, what do the steps include, and how can you navigate them successfully?
Chevy requires that you schedule a pre-return inspection within 120 days or four months from the end of your lease. Before your complimentary inspection, it’s a good idea to conduct a self-inspection of the vehicle using Chevy’s Wear-and-Use tool as a guide to determine any potential issues. In the guide, Chevy clarifies what is considered normal and excessive wear and tear. For example, normal wear and tear on the exterior can include a dent or scratch in the panel that’s less than four inches. Cracked headlights, mechanical defects, missing equipment, stains that cannot be removed, and severe upholstery tears are considered excessive wear and tear.
Once you’ve completed your self-inspection of the vehicle, you should have a good idea of what needs to be repaired. The official pre-return inspection will confirm this as well as any other issues with the vehicle. From there, you’ll know what repairs are needed to avoid charges for excessive wear and tear upon the vehicle’s return.
We encourage our lease customers to visit our dealership about two months before their lease ends to start shopping for their next vehicle. This will give you plenty of time to browse our inventory and test drive the latest Chevrolets on the lot. You’ll also have time to evaluate your finances and determine the best option at the end of your lease and whether that means buying or leasing.
Before you return your vehicle, thoroughly clean your Chevy inside and out. Remove any personal belongings from the vehicle and clear any data from the infotainment system using the vehicle’s owner’s manual. Be sure to remove any other items like parking passes, phone chargers, garage door openers, and sunglasses. Once you’ve cleared the vehicle of your personal items, it’s time to gather the Chevy’s belongings, so to speak.
When you return your Chevy lease, you’ll need to present all the keys and key fobs as well as the owner’s manual. If you leased an electric vehicle, you must include the power charging cable. For Chevys with entertainment systems, some lease packages include headphones that must be returned at the end of the lease. Other items include third-row seating as well as the original manufacturer’s tires and any other accessories the care came with when you got it.
Now that you have completed the end of lease process for your old vehicle, what are you going to lease next? Chevy has a lot of excellent 2022 vehicles coming out that you are definitely going to want to consider getting as your next ride. Here are some of the vehicles you may not want to pass up on.
The Chevy Camaro is an American icon with roots in automotive history and is one of the few pony cars still being built by an American automotive company. Power and performance never looked so good! With the striking bold exterior that offers endless opportunities for a customized style, the 2022 Camaro rules the road. Choose from a coupe or convertible body style to live the dream in a vehicle that lets you drive in the open air any way you like. Whether you go with racing stripes, hood inserts, or a high wing spoiler, your 2022 Camaro hits the streets with all the style a pony car deserves. Four available engines offer everything from 275 horsepower in the 2.0-liter turbo to the available 650 horsepower from the supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
Technology takes the power of the 2022 Camaro into the future with features like the performance data and video recorder that allow the driver to capture both video and audio recordings of track time. This feature lets you analyze your time in the driver’s seat to optimize your skill and improve your timing and performance, or it can serve as a means to simply record your cruise through picturesque countryside. A digital color instrument display can be personalized to your settings, and available features like a head-up display and memory settings make driving time safer and simpler. Enjoy standard tech like wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Chevy Connected access, and OnStar capability to stay connected anywhere you go.
Conveniences are just as much a part of the package with the 2022 Camaro, with standard features like automatic climate control, keyless entry with a push-button start, and the classic look of the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob for true pony car flair. The comfort of the Camaro’s bolstered seats will keep you planted when you take those curvy roads just for the fun of it, and you can upgrade your sports car to the next level with available Recaro seats. Of course, heated and ventilated seats are available to make cool and warm days simmer down, and every day will be a good day when you hit the start button to hear that throaty engine rumble.
Whether you love the feel of driving a stick so you connect closely with your Camaro, or you want to let the automatic transmission make seamless transitions so you can finesse driving with paddle shifters, you have the choice. From the standard sport-tuned suspension that provides superior ride quality to the available Brembo brakes, this is a machine built for power and speed with the capability of going from zero to 60 in as little as 3.5 seconds.
When you want a spunky SUV with personality, the 2022 Chevy Trailblazer takes an old nameplate for a fresh spin. Now in a compact size, the Trailblazer gives you a lot of vehicle for a low price and with great fuel efficiency, too. Visit the pump less with an average of 30 MPG, and available all-wheel drive will handle the adverse weather and rough roads with its selectable drive modes. On the outside, the 2022 Trailblazer has a sporty style with its black cladding, available two-tone roof, and available roof rails. Inside, the best-in-class rear legroom and a large cargo capacity give you comfort and utility with flexible options for configuring your space.
Excellent for city driving due to its compact frame, the 2022 Trailblazer is at home on the streets where you need to master parking in tight spaces. Even with its small exterior, passengers have spacious seating for five that accommodate adults in both front and back. Running errands is simplified with the adjustable load floor in the rear cargo area that can be placed in two positions to optimize either space for larger items with a lower load floor or space to tuck items out of sight in the higher position. Even the load floor itself can be flipped over to have either carpet or an easy-to-clean vinyl floor for transporting messy items. Fold the rear seats and front passenger seat flat to make space for extra-large items, with up to 8.5 feet of room front to back.
Technology opens avenues of connectivity with numerous standard features you won’t find in every compact SUV. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make it easy to link your phone to your user-friendly infotainment system, Bluetooth connectivity allows active use of two devices at a time, and voice activation means you can operate your phone hands-free. Chevy Connected capability offers complimentary access to convenient features like the Marketplace and vehicle health management, and it can be upgraded to include remote features in any trim. Standard safety features in Chevy Safety Assist include Forward Collision Alert, Automatic Emergency Braking, and Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning as part of a suite of six active ways your 2022 Trailblazer keeps you protected no matter where you drive.
One of the best-selling trucks in America is the Chevy Silverado, and the 2022 model year redesigns the Silverado inside and out for a whole new style every truck buyer will love. An all-new ZR2 off-road model joins the trim levels, giving the Silverado capability to conquer the outdoors better than any off-road variant built for the Silverado. Nine available trims mean buyers have virtually limitless options to build a 2022 Silverado suited exactly to the specs you need, including four engine options, three cab choices, two bed sizes, and countless packages and features to create the truck you always wanted. For 2022, the range-topping High Country trim allows Silverado buyers access to Super Cruise for the first time in a Chevy truck for semi-autonomous driving that takes the best of adaptive cruise control into the future for driving hands-free.
New technology shows up in a long list of features available across the trim levels, from the available 13.4-inch infotainment screen that offers split views for interacting with two screens at once to the 12.3-inch digital instrument display for the driver. The fully redesigned interior for LT models and higher gains features like the electronic gear shift that saves space in the new console, added features from Google allow you to take your digital assistant anywhere, and expect wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity as part of these trims. Features carried over include the available camera views for trailering and parking, the rearview camera mirror, and the Bose premium sound system.
Chevy Safety Assist is standard for all models and will include IntelliBeam High Beam Assist, Front Pedestrian Braking, and a Following Distance Indicator as part of the suite of features that actively keep you safe on the road. The exciting new exterior style gives the front end a modern, clean look that still maintains the bold face of the Silverado with its imposing presence. Daytime running lights in LT models and higher will incorporate pattern features that coincide with turn signals, braking, and other activations, but don’t let the Silverado’s flashy appearance distract from its power.
With 2022 updates, the Silverado has more towing capability with its diesel engine, more torque for the entry-level turbo four-cylinder, and improvements to the chassis and cooling system to make the Silverado even better suited to hard work. The 2022 Chevy Silverado is donning a new mantle for this model year with a revised interior comfortable enough for long drives, more tech than ever before, and more capability than any time in Silverado history.
Is your Chevy lease coming to an end? What are your next steps after your lease is up? The team here at Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Buford is ready to help you navigate the end of your Chevy lease and help you find the best option for your future on the road, whether that means buying your lease, leasing a new model, or buying a new Chevy.
If you know your driving habits and are meticulous about vehicle maintenance, then you know that leasing is a great option for you. It’s also a great way to avoid the rapid depreciation of a new car, and it ensures that you can get behind the wheel of the latest Chevy every few years. What’s not to love about leasing?
There’s a good chance that you know the benefits of leasing firsthand and are looking to take the next step in your Chevrolet journey. Whatever that step entails, we’re here to guide you through the process to ensure you find the Chevy that best suits your needs. It’s our job to ensure you drive home happy, so what are you waiting for? Come see us today!