[ZTWsquared]

Scorcher000,Mar 5 2009, 09:37 AM Wrote:Thx Ken.
It is for me, because my lease is up on May 27th. I'm having trouble with my insurance company, father and figuring out what Ford is going to stick me with.
I have a, roughly estimated, $9500 buy back.
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Here's something that's relatively new at Ford Credit and it is in relation to the returning of lease vehicles.

It used to be that the dealer inspected the car and essentially decided what damages or excess mileage etc needed to be accounted for ... as you can imagine most dealers would bend over backwards to reduce the impact on their customers.

The result was though that overall Ford Credit took a beating in the auctions - damage / mileage etc that dealers didn't collect on but that reduced the car's value at auction.

So just last year Ford Credit starting sending out its own inspectors - who as you can imagine because they work for Ford Credit will try and ding you (no pun intended) for every little thing they can find. That's why Ford started selling their LeaseCare product - to protect customers from the cost of returning the leased vehicle.

So, if you decide to actually return the car, make sure you know what is chargeable and do whatever you can to fix it yourself.

I assume, however, that you plan on buying the car at the end of the lease and hence the credit check question ... and in that case yes, the first thing you should do is get a copy of your credit record from Equifax and see where you stand.

If you've been good with Ford Credit in terms of making your lease payments on time etc ... you may have a good standing with them in terms of financing the purchase ... although the Ford Credit rates suck compared to bank rates, but it could be an option.

Good luck John.