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Would you spend money on mods on a leased JL?

Snazzy4xe

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I recently leased a Sahara 4XE and I’m considering some minor mods such as Rubi wheels/tires…blacking out all the silver accents…etc…etc…just not sure if I want to spend all that extra cash on a Jeep that I’m gonna give back in 36 months…Thoughts?
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CWRUYOTE

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Don't do it. As you said, you're giving it back 36 months from now.....
 

DHahn

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Unless you're planning to walk away and not have any equity at the end of the lease you're going to have to buy it out afterwards to either keep, re-sell, or roll into a new lease so I wouldn't let it stop me from modding a bit.
 

Heimkehr

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Even if the lease contract allowed explicit modifications, a vehicle that I don't intend to own would get little more than fuel and the occasional vacuum while in my possession.

It wouldn't be abused, mind, but it wouldn't be personalized to any degree, either.
 

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The Last Cowboy

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Nope. It's not really yours, so why? I'm pretty sure the residual on it is so high that you 'll turn it in when the lease is up.

Putting bigger tires on a 4Xe kinda goes against what it's purpose is anyway. Maybe you could PlastiDip the emblems if it bothers you. It's cheap, easy and not permanent.

But then there are those who spend thousands, sometimes tens of thousands modifying their Jeep only to trade or sell it after a year, so you wouldn't be any worse off than them.
 

SlowPoke21

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Do what ever you want to it. Lift the damn thing 10’ off the ground and put 75” tires on it.

just return it to stock when you turn it in….

who cares if it’s a lease or not.
 

aldo98229

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Normally I'd say No. But i you are going to get Rubicon takeoff wheels and tires, keep those f-ugly 20-inch 4Xe wheels in the garage. At the end of the lease, swap them back.

You can resell the Rubicon wheels and tires in an instant.

Good luck.
 

Some Random Guy

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I feel this depends on your follow-on plans.
If you think you’ll be turning it in, like more than 50% sure, modding might not be good. I think if you’re modding it the lease was the wrong choice. Everything you do is a liability to mess things up at the end of the lease. One of the biggest positives of the lease is being able to walk away at the end. You have to take the time to return it to stock, you still risk turn-in charges if they notice, or take the penalty of turn-in with non stock parts. Even if it goes well, you’re potentially stuck with used parts.
If you plan to keep it, you have more freedom. However, to anyone else thinking of leasing to get a lower payment and then buy it after you’re throwing a lot of money away over the process of owning it 100% vs purchasing at the beginning.
There’s a hybrid option if you’ve got money set aside at the end of the lease. Mod away knowing up front you’ll trade it at the end. Most dealerships will exercise your buyout option as part of a new vehicle lease or purchase (so no lease turn-in charges, but there’s usually still a fee to do this). This avoids the turn-in with mods process, but you may be underwater at lease-end. That’s why you need money set aside by trade time. There’s additional risk too. If you get in an accident during the lease period, that will lower your trade in value, potentially putting you further underwater.
 

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SilverSurfer

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I would do modifications that can be reverted back to stock. That way when you return the Jeep you can sell the aftermarket accessories separately and get some of your money back.
 

WXman

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I recently leased a Sahara 4XE and I’m considering some minor mods such as Rubi wheels/tires…blacking out all the silver accents…etc…etc…just not sure if I want to spend all that extra cash on a Jeep that I’m gonna give back in 36 months…Thoughts?
I do it all the time.

If you're making payments, you don't own it. People frequently misunderstand leases. Nobody from the bank is ever going to show up at your house.

And how do you know you're going to give it back in 36 months? You might love it and keep it. Likewise, people who "buy" Jeeps rarely ever keep them long term. So I wouldn't let that hold me back.

When I change Jeeps, I reuse my parts or sell them for cash.
 

dalema

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Why not? Just so long as you keep the stock parts and are willing to put them back on at the end. Can always sell your mods at the end when you take them off (or put them another wrangler).

It's 3 years - you have to enjoy the thing the way you want it!
 

ThirtyOne

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I leased a sport s. At the end i decide to turn it in and get a rubicon.
Part of the deal was the dealer took all my mods off the sport s and put them on the rubicon.

i was just careful that all my mods were bolt on. For example i didn’t change out the exhaust which i wanted to do because i knew i couldn’t get that back.

a lot of stock parts can be picked up for free. For example i got a stock rear bumper for nothing and just replaced my dented one and avoided any charges.
 

LarryB

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First, I wouldn’t lease a vehicle with such a low depreciation rate as a Wrangler unless your payment totals reflected the low rate of value loss. … the exception is if you are more than likely to buy out your lease and just wanted an “insurance policy” to hand back the keys if you got a lemon.

If they are mods that you can easily take off and re-use/resell, or you are willing to receive next to nothing for them, not much harm. I don’t see a scenario where leaving the mods on when you return it helps you financially.
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