Our Tesla leasing return experience: procedure and interesting facts

The disadvantage of leasing is that the day comes all too quickly when the beloved Tesla has to be returned. We at Teslabs also recently had to go through this Tesla leasing return experience when a Model 3 reached the end of its "loan period".

The benefit: We can now pass on valuable and helpful information that we learned during the process to you - and that's exactly what this article aims to do.

Tesla leasing return: what to do

In order to return a leased vehicle to Tesla, a so-called inspection report is required. This records whether there are any defects or damage and what the actual mileage was. This information is then used to determine whether you will incur any additional costs.

The nice thing about this is that you can take care of rectifying the defects yourself before returning the vehicle and thus reduce the costs or even avoid them altogether. The prerequisite for this is, of course, that you take care of the inspection report in good time - Tesla recommends at least 18 days before the lease expires.

What options are there

Tesla has commissioned DEKRA to assess the vehicle and prepare the report. They offer you three options.

Inspection on your own: You can upload images and information about your vehicle via the free DEKRA Handover Webportal. The software guides you through the process and explains exactly where and how to take pictures. At the end, you sign digitally - done!

Remote inspection:If you prefer to be guided through the inspection by a person, you can opt for the second option, which is also free of charge. You will be connected to a DEKRA employee via video call, who will guide you accordingly. This requires you to make an appointment by email or telephone (0049 69587096339).

Inspection by DEKRA expert:If you want to leave the work entirely to a professional, an expert can also visit you. However, this costs 127.75 euros; you can make an appointment using the contact details above.

Tesla leasing return experience: Our way

Our return journey began with an email from Tesla. "Your Tesla mileage lease ends in 120 days " read the information, along with a request for us to take care of the inspection report. We have opted for the inspection on our own - the "preferred" method by Tesla and explicitly mentioned in the mail - and can therefore only report on this variant.

A DEKRA handover account was quickly created. All you need is the VIN and, of course, an email. Here you can read what the Tesla VIN actually is.

After that, we got started and were diligently taking pictures . It was also easy to provide details of any damage by selecting the relevant component. It always helps to clean the car beforehand and then park it in an easily accessible and well-lit place such as a garage.

At the end, contact details were requested, a signature was provided and our work was done!

The status report

A few days later, we received the completed inspection report with - fortunately - only two minor complaints. The MOT was no longer valid for long enough, for which a lump sum of €150 was charged. A short trip to the TÜV, which renewed the HU for €95, at least brought us a small saving .

In addition, the vehicle pictures showed a sticker that Tesla would have charged €15 to remove. Of course, we also took care of this ourselves and saved ourselves this flat rate.

It is important that you actively object to the defects that you want to solve yourself so that Tesla can remove them from the condition report - and fortunately there are quite a few of them. You can even repair minor paint and rim damage thanks to the Teslabs touch-up pen .

The handover

After all the defects had been rectified, we made an appointment with Tesla for the handover, which was completed without any further problems. If you can't or don't want to resolve all the complaints yourself, you have to pay the corresponding amount in the Tesla app before the handover .

Tesla lease return tires: Further findings

It is also important to return all accessories present at the time of delivery. This includes the charging equipment as well as the original key cards . The tires are also a much-discussed topic.

The tires that you get when you pick up your car (usually summer tires) Tesla would of course also like them back. Since we had put on all-season tires, we asked Tesla and were able to simply bring the original summer tires in the trunk - there was no need to move them.

Do you have any further questions about our Tesla leasing return experience? Feel free to write us a comment!