helix139

Ultimately Audi Financial is entitled to the diminished value. That payment can come from you at lease end (depending on the leasing contract clauses) or from the at-fault insurance company directly. Either way, you are responsible for making it happen as you are responsible for the car while in your possession.

CHAUCH

Ahhh I feel your pain. I got a door ding last week, and it felt like a dull blade in the gut. I hope the repair and everything works out, and you are able to get your s4 back asap

UmIsThisThingOn

I was going to recommend them. They had AoA's test RS5 in their shop two or three times. I saw all kinds of kick *** cars in their lot when I went to get a quote on repairs. I've heard nothing but good things about them, so I'm taking my car there for the fixes I need fo sho.

snagitseven

Sorry, I disagree. This would only come into play if the car is not restored to original condition which apparently will not be the case here. It appears to be relatively minor cosmetic damage that won't affect the value of the car once repaired.

CharlieG

You're right. Even in the case of more significant damage (much more significant), as long as the car is repaired properly, there is no diminished value payment at the end of the lease. About 15 years ago I had leased a VW Passat GLX VR6 and about 3/4 of the way through the two year lease got into a pretty major accident (had someone attempt a u-turn in front of me on a fairly major road with a 55 mph speed limit). The car was very nearly totaled (> $15K worth of damage) but was repaired and brought back to what appeared to be as new condition. The accident was reported to VW Financial Services and they requested copies of all of the repair paperwork. When I turned the car in, there was no additional fee that was required at the end of the lease due to the accident.

More recently, my wife's last Audi lease (2006 Avant) was hit by someone while parked in a parking lot. The person who did the damage was identified by parking lot surveillance equipment (turned out to be a co-worker if you can believe that) even though they tried to move their car and deny causing the damage (not really relevant here but does show the quality of some of our fellow human beings) ... anyway, again he damage (rear fender and door on the passenger side of the car) was reported to AFS. The car was properly repaired (using Audi parts) and again there was no diminished value fee at the end of the lease.

Perhaps it's different in other states but this has been my experience in NY. Sh*t happens but as long as you do the right thing as far as repairs are concerned, you shouldn't run into trouble at the end of your lease.

Imolamonster

Completely agree - i remember one time passing by and seeing 3 R8's a lamborghing, a ferrari, an RS5 - (THIS WAS ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO, MUST HAVE BEEN A DEMO CAR). on top of that, there is always expiensive cars there so they should do an amazing job!

helix139

You're wrong, and the law backs me up. Which used car would you rather buy for the same price? One that has been in an accident or one that has not? I know what I would choose, no matter how minor the accident.

helix139

You may not have been charged anything but that does not mean there was no diminished value. It means Audi chose not to be a dick to you about something that obviously was someone else's fault. Stuff like that makes leases cost more for everyone. After an accident, the car can no longer be CPO'ed, which affects its value, which is absorbed by everyone else.

SCHALTHEBELKNAUF

That's only the initial estimate. Things can quickly snowball. I was rear ended on the way to work last year and the initial estimate was 1200. Once the shop started diving into it they called me to let me know damage was much more significant and ended up being over 12k to get it fixed.

motivated1

They took the rear end apart and the cost just jumped to 4K.