Modding a leased 2019 Civic Si?

[inducka]

I currently lease a 2019 civic si & I have been on the lease for a year now. The reason I leased was because this was my first manual car and I didn't know I would want to own or mod the car at the time. I currently have some small mods that are easy to put back to stock. Currently I have Ktuner, a PRL intake that I just installed the other day & PRL Intercooler on the way. I know when you return the car that it has to all be stock. After having the car for a year, I plan on buying it when the lease agreement is up. My question is, would the dealer give me problems for having mods during the time of lease since I technically do not own it yet? They haven't said anything to me about my Ktuner as that was the only mod I had at the time I had the car in for last service but not exactly sure about any of my newer mods or future planned mods.

Next I want to add a new exhaust as I do not like the HDMI. What are your thoughts? Can they screw me over at the end when I want to buy the car like raising the price to buy or charging me excessive fees? The residual value at the end of lease would be $14,800 which I am fine with.

Thanks in advance.

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[Shred]

If you buy it, you would be buying it from Honda/Honda Financial Services directly as far as I understand. The dealer won't have anything to say about the mods and Honda would be none the wiser either, it just needs to pass an inspection as there are some title changes to be made. But if you do return it, you will need to swap that exhaust back.

 

[iDerek2]

I'm leasing a Type R & I'm basically going to change majority of the car and use it on the Track so I don't see any issue unless I blow up the car.

 

[NazTehRpR]

I'm leasing a Type R & I'm basically going to change majority of the car and use it on the Track so I don't see any issue unless I blow up the car.

Wait......You can lease a type R? I may sound dumb saying that. But they don’t even let you test drive, less you cut a check, then they give the keys. By what others say on here.

 

[905Civic]

I mean it's a little iffy, but if you do modify, be sure to keep all your stock parts and return it to stock when you return your lease to the dealer.

 

[NoelPR]

Wait......You can lease a type R? I may sound dumb saying that. But they don’t even let you test drive, less you cut a check, then they give the keys. By what others say on here.

At least in Central FL I had seen offers for leasing. If wife doesn't hate manual I would had got one already.

 

[PdxJose]

If you end up buying it at the end of the lease term, it does not matter if you mod it or not. From my understanding, when your lease ends and you want to finance it or buy it out completely, you do not have to go back into the dealer and show them the car. That's what the general manager explained to me at least. You can handle all that with a simple phone call and they never have to see your car be put back to stock if you want to buy it in the end.

The only time they have to see your car is if you trade it in at the end of your lease term. so they can inspect it

 

[PdxJose]

Remember that buying out a lease is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than buying new or buying a similar used car.

That's true also, the APR that Honda will offer you will be shit. My fiance bought out her leased car but went through her Credit Union to buy it out so the interest rate wasn't that bad. She did end up paying a little more though compared to if she would've financed it in the first place.

 

[PdxJose]

Modifying a car that doesn't belong to you is like building a deck on a rental house.

Sure, you can do that, but now your landlord has a deck and unless it's exactly what he wants, he's going to be upset that you did things he didn't want.

I mean you could also say that for everyone that is financing their cars here. Unless you paid for the entirety of the car with cash then the car still isn't yours. Honda owns the title still. Leasing just restricts mileage and damage to the car, you will get hit with extra fees at the end of your lease when you want to trade it in. If you want to purchase/finance it, they don't care about the mileage or damage. They just expect you to purchase/finance at the residual amount they said your car would be worth at the end of the lease term.

 

[jtrader]

Remember that buying out a lease is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than buying new or buying a similar used car.

Really? $14,800 doesn't seem that bad for a 3 year old SI with low mileage. OTOH, I guess I don't know how much he put down and/or his currently monthly payments.

 

[inducka]

Really? $14,800 doesn't seem that bad for a 3 year old SI with low mileage. OTOH, I guess I don't know how much he put down and/or his currently monthly payments.

I traded in my 09 Honda Civic and got $2500 for trade in value and currently pay $290 a month for my 2019 Civic si lease for 3 years @ 15k miles a years. I’m only driving about 11-12k a year at my current rate. My monthly payment came with tire warranty and extra 3k Coverage of any damage at the leases end

 

[jtrader]

So, 2500 + (270 *36) + 14800 is about 27000 total. I subtracted 20 from the monthly payment because I don't want to count taxes.

So @Ducky was right, not the best deal financially....but if you're uncertain about keeping the car, paying a premium to dump it hassle free after 3 years could be worth the extra cash.

 

[inducka]

So, 2500 + (270 *36) + 14800 is about 27000 total. I subtracted 20 from the monthly payment because I don't want to count taxes.

So @Ducky was right, not the best deal financially....but if you're uncertain about keeping the car, paying a premium to dump it hassle free after 3 years could be worth the extra cash.

Yeah not the best deal in the beginning for sure. But at least in the end the car will be 14.8k with about 36k miles on it and I take good care of it maintenance wise so I’m thinking at the end it will be a good decision. Especially when I look up KBB Values on used Si’s with higher mileage than what I’m gonna have at the end and they’re worth 14-17k ish. I saw KBB valued a 2015 si with 71k miles to be about 14k from a dealer ?

 

[Shred]

I mean you could also say that for everyone that is financing their cars here. Unless you paid for the entirety of the car with cash then the car still isn't yours. Honda owns the title still. Leasing just restricts mileage and damage to the car, you will get hit with extra fees at the end of your lease when you want to trade it in. If you want to purchase/finance it, they don't care about the mileage or damage. They just expect you to purchase/finance at the residual amount they said your car would be worth at the end of the lease term.

While you are paying off the loan, yes it can be repossessed by the financer but unless you end up defaulting on the loan it is yours and you can do what you please. Same as with your house, while you might owe against it in the end it is still an asset considered yours. (Yes the car will depreciate and not really be as good an investment but that's not the point) You don't have to wait 30 years to make changes to a house that you bought.

You can trade your car in at any time and get money back, say it's worth 15k and you owe 10. You pay back the 10 and walk away with 5, not so with a lease. So yes modding a car that is financed might end up biting you later if you default, but that's less likely that a leased car.

 

[PdxJose]

You don't understand the difference between financing and leasing. I'm financing my Type R. I paid about $38000 for it, and so far have paid into it for about $5000 counting my down payment, etc. Let's say the car is worth $35,000 (it's probably not, but math). This means I have I have a car worth $35,000 that I owe $33,000 for, meaning if I sell it I will clear $2000. I own the car, the title is in my name, but a bank has a lien on it, the same way a house mortgage works.

If you're leasing your Si, and you have spent $5000 so far into it, you now have... a lease with $5000 less due.

A lease is exactly the same as a house lease. You are paying to use a car. You do not own the car, you do not have any equity in the car, and it does not belong to you. Honda Financial is on the title, not you.

Yeah, you' re right. It's not that I don't know the difference between the two, I was just being a smart ass with a stupid comment but it backfired on me haha. Didn't mean it in a harmful way.

But to answer the OP's question, from what I was told. Honda doesn't care if you mod your car, as long as you end up financing it at the end of the lease term. You don't take the car in for a vehicle inspection unless you're going to trade it in. You can handle everything over the phone with American Honda or whichever financial institution.

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