Whats up everyone?
I just want to know if anyone who has leased the RX8 has done or plans on doing any mods to the car? Like exhaust, intake, midpipe, etc.? If you have already, has the dealership busted your chops about it? Any input would be greatly appreciated!


Thanx again,

Rich

 

i have alease, i plan on doing some wrk jsut nothing directly touchign the engine (ie, no turbo unless i buy it out) but and exhaust, etc. i will eventually do. if something goes wrong u can always swap the old parts back in

 

The only thing you have to worry about is keeping stock parts, otherwise when you return the car... 1) The Dealer "can" charge you to reinstall all the parts back to normal at your cost. 2) Give you $0 for all the fixed up parts, and kiss your *** goodbye.

Also if any of the parts screw up with the warranty, then you're screwed.

 

I would think that if you are committed to buying the car at lease end, then you should be able to have at it. I don't think the dealer even knows/remembers/cares if you leased or financed when you bring the car in for service.

The only way they will bust your chops is if you try and claim something under warranty that is directly related to an aftermarket component.

 

Most of the time your lease is not held by Mazda anyway.. Mine is through USBank. Set up by the Mazda finance guy.

 

You can not fix up a leased car. Read your lease!

The car must be returned in good working condition with normal wear.

Anything beyond normal and you will be charged.

Unless your willing to pay for new stock parts when you turn in your lease and pay for the installation don't do it. Of course if you keep it after the lease you can do anything now but still face violating the warrenty of the vehicle.

In fact your dealer may refuse to except the lease car back with Mods as you may have violated the warrenty. Lease means they own it. Not you.

 

Thanx for the info everyone. Well, I know what a lease it or else I wouldn't have leased. Anyway, I am just putting an exhaust on maybe an intake, and painting the calipers and hub(rust) and tints. Other than that, Im leaving the car stock. When I give the car back, the car will look like what they sold me, a stock 8. I will strip the car and sell the other stuff individually, If the stuff doesn't sell, the garbage man owns it. Not a bad idea huh? Little waste of money, but ****, thats why I get up everyday to go to work.

 

I figure that the car has to look like the way you bought it when you turn it in (if you turn it in and don't buy it). If that is the case, the anything that happens in between should be OK. Just keep the stock parts. If you plan to buy at the end, then no one will likely check the condition at the end of the lease.

Violation of the warranty is an issue that applies to all vehicles of any manufacturer, whether the car is leased or not, so this should be a separate issue from that of the effect of mods on lease termination fees.

 

You should also be OK because most (all?) leases require that your car be inspected a month of two before termination. You'll at least know before you drop the car off at a dealer whether you have any work to do (or undo).

 

It probabably depends on who you are leasing from. I called my leasing company (Huntington Bank) and they said that if you are planning to buy it at the end of the lease then it dosen't matter. They did add though that changing anything about the car is allowed but when it comes time to turn the car back in they may want you to put all the stock parts back in, so that could add up to some high repair costs. I put a Racing Beat exhaust on mine and I threw the OEM exhaust in the attick of my garage, should I ever need to put it back on. I wouldn't go drilling holes or cutting wires though, unless you have the skill to make it so it isn't noticable. But then again, I'm planning on buying this car when the lease is up because I enjoy it so much.

 

The exhaust and intake are definitely a "no-no" for the leasing co., but as long as you put it back when you return it, you're good.

Ironically, they look the other way with sound systems ... I turned in a minivan with an aftermarket sound system and they said nothing to me.

 

I don't lease, but I have a question about milage. What if you go over the milage limit in the terms of the lease. Can you purchase the car and not have to pay the penalty?

 

It depends on what you agreed on at the time of lease. For me I pay a cent per mile penalty for anything over 12k a year. But if I buy it at the end of the lease, I won't pay a penalty. I won't be going over my milage though, I only managed to put on 6k last year. My 8 stays in the garage during the winter.

 

It depends on the lease. But I know if you plan to buy or lease another Mazda from the same dealership, they usually don't charge you for the extra mileage. Its like a deal...sort of.....You buy from me again, then don't worry about the 2000 miles you went over.lol

 

Well here is the deal. I leased my 8. I did, and do still plan on keeping the 8 at the end of my term. So that being said, I saw NO reason to refrain from adding mods. I am light on the mods at this time, etched glass(driver and passenger) Greddy SP2 Exhaust, painted calipers, painted engine covers, and will soon be replacing all the speakers and adding some subs.

IF, I do end up turning it in, I kept all my stock parts and will re-install them prior to letting the dealer see it. For the painted items, I would need to purchase new covers, and buff the paint from the calipers. NO PROBLEMS!

The same dealership also does all the maintenance to my 8, and they have yet to make any comment about the paint nor the glass or exhaust aside from the incident where they all (WOW'ed) over the tone of the Greddy. Service has no reason to wonder if you are leasing or not, so I wouldnt worry about them reporting you. But then that could depend on your dealership.

As for miles, you pay a penalty for overage which should be FINE + CENTS X OVERAGE. If you keep the 8, then it doesnt matter if you have 200,000 miles and a Greddy Turbo installed.

Hope this helps.

 

One cent? I think mine was 20 or 25 cents per mile.

 

There's only one problem with "keeping" your car at the end of the lease and that's you have to pay the residual whatever that value is at the onset of your lease (which is the value they expect the car to be at the end of your lease). It makes sense: your lease payments are really you just paying the amount of the car you are using (and interest) and then if you want to keep the car you just pay what it's worth at least in -- but, this was determined the day you signed your lease.

So, if the lease company expected an RX-8 to be worth 49% at the end of three years and three years later it turns out that RX-8 haven't kept their value, then you're paying more than what your car is worth.

Many leases pump up the residual to value higher than the car is actually worth to make the payments more attractive. Keeping that car at the end of the lease ends up being much more expensive then if you had just bought it.