Frequently Asked Questions

Because more miles mean more depreciation. Your lease payment is based largely on how much value the car is expected to lose during the term, so a higher mileage allowance lowers its projected end value (the residual) and you finance a bigger drop. The extra payment is usually still cheaper than paying overage fees on miles you would have exceeded anyway.

The lease price assumes the car will be worth a set amount at return, and extra miles reduce that value, so the per-mile charge recovers the additional depreciation. Under federal Regulation M (12 CFR 213.4(h)), the lessor must disclose this excess-mileage charge in your lease agreement — which means your exact rate is always written in your contract.

The residual value is the car's estimated worth at lease-end, set when you sign. Your allowance feeds directly into it: a low-mileage lease keeps the residual high (lower payment), while high mileage lowers the residual (higher payment). If you buy the car at lease-end, you pay this residual — and excess-mileage fees generally do not apply because you keep the car rather than return it.

If you return the car having driven more than your contracted mileage allowance, the leasing company charges a per-mile excess fee on every mile over the limit. The charge is applied once, at turn-in, against your total contracted miles for the whole term — it is not billed year by year. Among US captive lenders that publish a rate it runs roughly $0.15–$0.30 per mile, but most publish no standard figure, so your exact rate is set in your lease contract.

It depends on your lender and is set in your lease. Of the 15 largest US captive lenders, only five publish a rate — Toyota $0.15, Kia $0.20, Tesla $0.25, Rivian $0.30, and Nissan $0.15–$0.25 depending on allowance. The other ten set it in the individual contract and publish no standard figure; the Federal Reserve describes the typical range as “10 cents to 25 cents per mile or more.”

Take your odometer reading at return, subtract your total contracted mileage allowance, and multiply the miles over by your lease's per-mile rate. For example, 3,000 miles over at $0.25 per mile is $750. The rate is whatever your contract states; only a handful of lenders publish a standard figure (Toyota Financial Services, for instance, lists $0.15 per mile).

Once, at the end. Excess-mileage charges are reconciled a single time when you return the vehicle, measured against your total contracted miles for the entire term — not billed annually. A heavier-driving year can be offset by a lighter one, as long as your final odometer reading lands at or under your total allowance.

If you purchase the vehicle at lease-end instead of returning it, excess-mileage charges generally do not apply, because the lender never takes the depreciation back — you simply pay the residual (buyout) price in your contract. This can flip the decision for high-mileage drivers, but confirm the terms with your lender, since buyout taxes and fees vary.

Excess-mileage and other end-of-lease charges are a debt you owe under the lease agreement, so not paying can lead to collections and credit damage, the same as any unpaid auto obligation. If you believe a charge is wrong, dispute it with the lender in writing before the account becomes delinquent.

Sometimes — it is lender-dependent. Some leasing companies let you buy additional miles mid-lease, often cheaper per mile than the end-of-lease overage rate, while others only offer extra miles at signing. Ask your lender whether mid-lease mile purchases are available and at what rate, and get the price in writing before you buy.

Buying miles upfront is usually cheaper per mile than the end-of-lease overage rate, but only if you actually drive them, because prepaid miles are typically non-refundable if you finish under. Estimate your realistic annual mileage first: if you are confident you will exceed the limit, prepaying often wins; if you are unsure, paying only for the miles you actually use at turn-in can be the safer bet.

Choose the tier closest to how much you actually drive — check your last couple of years of odometer readings. A higher allowance raises your monthly payment because the car is projected to be worth less at return, but it is usually cheaper than paying overage fees on miles you would exceed. Do not pick a low tier just for a lower payment if you know you will go over.

Usually not. Standard leases do not refund unused miles — your allowance is a ceiling, not a balance you are owed — and prepaid extra miles are typically non-refundable too. A few lenders or specific programs differ, so check your contract, but plan as if unused miles have no cash value.

It depends on the lender. Some let you buy additional miles after signing, often at a lower rate than the end-of-lease overage charge; others lock the allowance in place at signing. Ask your leasing company directly and get any added-mile rate in writing.

About 1,000 miles a month, or roughly 33 miles a day. A 10,000-mile lease works out to about 833 a month (~27 a day) and a 15,000-mile lease about 1,250 a month (~41 a day). Comparing your real driving to these targets tells you quickly whether you are on pace.

Compare the miles you have driven to how far into the lease you are: if you are 40% through the term, you should be near 40% of your total allowance. Log your odometer regularly and project it forward to your lease-end date — if the projection exceeds your allowance, adjust now, while small changes still make a difference.

Common methods are a manual spreadsheet, a glovebox logbook, or a dedicated lease-tracking app, each of which compares your odometer against your allowance over time. The main difference is alerting: a spreadsheet only shows a problem when you open it, while an app can warn you before you are on pace to go over.

Know your allowance, track your odometer against it from day one, and adjust early if you are trending over — combine trips, carpool, or use another vehicle for long drives. If you are going to exceed the limit regardless, compare buying miles from your lender against paying the overage at turn-in, or consider buying the car, which usually removes the overage entirely.

Normal wear is the light, expected deterioration of ordinary use — minor scuffs, small stone chips, and shallow scratches within your lender's published tolerance. Damage beyond that, such as dents, tears, cracked glass, or bald tires, is typically chargeable. Every lender publishes a wear-and-tear guide, so review yours before the inspection.

The inspector records your odometer reading and checks the body, glass, tires, wheels, interior, and whether all keys and equipment are present, comparing everything against the lender's wear-and-tear standard. Excess mileage and excess wear are noted as separate charges. Many lenders offer a pre-return self-inspection so you can fix cheaper issues yourself first.

Yes. Request the inspection report and photos and raise any charge you think is unfair with the lender in writing — some charges are negotiable or waived if you re-lease or buy the car. Repairing minor damage yourself before turn-in, within reason, is often cheaper than the lender's assessed pricing.

Possibly. Most leases require tires to keep a minimum remaining tread (commonly around 4/32 of an inch) and be free of damage, so tires below that or mismatched sets can trigger a charge. Check your lender's specific tread requirement near lease-end and replace tires yourself if that is cheaper than the assessed fee.

No. When you assume someone's lease you inherit the original contract, including the total mileage allowance and the miles already driven — you get only what is left, not a fresh limit, and the same per-mile overage rate applies at return.

26,000 miles, spread across whatever time remains on the term. Before assuming a lease, divide the remaining miles by the remaining months to see the pace you would be held to; if the car is already over pace, factor the likely overage into whether the deal is worth it.

In a formal transfer approved by the lender, the new lessee generally takes on the remaining obligations, including any excess mileage at return. Policies vary — some lenders keep the original lessee partly liable — so read the transfer agreement carefully and confirm who is on the hook before signing.

No — exceeding your lease's mileage allowance does not void the manufacturer's warranty. But the warranty has its own separate mileage limit, and driving enough can reach it before the lease ends, leaving repairs uncovered for the remaining miles. The lease allowance and the warranty are two different limits.

Generally no. Gap insurance covers the difference between what you owe and the car's actual cash value if it is totaled or stolen; it does not pay excess-mileage or wear charges. Those are end-of-lease obligations tied to returning the vehicle, which is separate from a total-loss claim.

You could be. 15,000 miles a year over 36 months is 45,000 miles, but a 36,000-mile warranty runs out at 36,000 — so roughly the last 9,000 miles of that lease may fall outside factory warranty coverage. If you lease higher-mileage tiers, compare your total contracted miles against the warranty's mileage cap before you sign.

On a UK lease (PCH or PCP), an excess mileage charge is a per-mile fee — quoted in pence per mile — for driving beyond your agreed total contracted mileage. Your finance provider sets the rate in the contract; the BVRLA publishes no industry-standard figure. You are charged when the car is returned.

It depends on your finance provider and vehicle, and it is stated in your contract. Toyota UK's published PCP examples run roughly 8p to 17p per mile depending on the model. Because the BVRLA sets no industry rate, any single figure you see quoted generally is not a standard — check your own agreement.

At the end. Excess mileage is reconciled once, against your total agreed mileage for the whole contract, when the vehicle is returned — not year by year. A heavier year can be offset by a lighter one as long as your final odometer is within your total allowance.

Typically no. On PCP, if you pay the optional final payment (the Guaranteed Future Value) and keep the car, excess mileage charges generally do not apply, because you are not handing the vehicle back. On PCH the car is always returned, so mileage is always reconciled.

It can — how VAT applies to excess mileage depends on your agreement and provider. Because the charge and its treatment are set in your contract, check the terms or ask your finance provider so you know the total you would owe.

LeaseMiles is a free iOS app designed to help car lease drivers track their mileage and avoid costly overage charges. It provides real-time insights into your daily driving pace, projected mileage at lease end, and potential overage fees so you can adjust your habits before penalties add up.

Simply download LeaseMiles from the App Store, enter your lease details including your annual mileage allowance, lease start date, and lease end date. The app immediately begins calculating your daily mileage budget and tracking your driving pace against your allowance.

LeaseMiles is free to download, and the core features — odometer logging, daily pace tracking, the overage calculator, and your mileage budget — are free to use. An optional LeaseMiles Pro subscription ($1.99/month) unlocks advanced features for drivers who want more, but you can avoid overage fees using the free tier alone.

Absolutely. LeaseMiles supports multiple vehicle profiles so you can track mileage for every leased vehicle in your household. Each lease gets its own dashboard with independent mileage budgets, pace tracking, and overage projections tailored to that specific lease agreement.

You will need your lease start date, lease end date, total mileage allowance or annual mileage limit, and your current odometer reading. All of this information can be found on your lease agreement. Setup takes less than two minutes.

No. LeaseMiles is an iOS app — for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Apple silicon — available on the US and UK App Stores. There is no official Android version. An unrelated Android app with a similar name exists from a different developer; it is not affiliated with LeaseMiles.

LeaseMiles uses manual odometer entry to ensure the most accurate mileage tracking possible. You log your current odometer reading periodically, and the app calculates your daily driving pace, remaining mileage budget, and projected mileage at lease end. This approach requires no special hardware or Bluetooth devices.

Because LeaseMiles relies on your actual odometer readings, the tracking is as accurate as your vehicle's odometer itself. Unlike GPS-based trackers that can drift or lose signal, odometer-based tracking gives you the exact mileage that your dealership will use at lease return.

Going over your lease mileage allowance typically results in per-mile overage charges ranging from $0.15 to $0.30 per mile depending on your lease agreement. LeaseMiles helps you avoid this by projecting whether you are on track to exceed your limit and showing you exactly how much those overages would cost.

The overage calculator takes your current mileage, driving pace, and remaining lease term to project your total mileage at lease end. It then compares that projection against your allowance and calculates the estimated overage fee using your per-mile penalty rate so you always know what is at stake financially.

The EV savings tracker is a feature that shows electric vehicle drivers how much money they are saving on fuel compared to a traditional gas-powered vehicle. It calculates your estimated savings based on your driving distance, local electricity rates, and average gas prices in your area.

EV savings are calculated by comparing your estimated electricity cost per mile against the equivalent gasoline cost per mile for a comparable vehicle. The app factors in your total miles driven, average fuel efficiency of gas vehicles, and current energy prices to give you a running total of your savings.

No, LeaseMiles works with any leased vehicle regardless of fuel type. The core mileage tracking and overage projection features are designed for all lease drivers. The EV savings tracker is simply an additional feature available to electric vehicle drivers who want to see their fuel cost savings.

LeaseMiles is free to download, and the essential lease mileage tracking features — odometer logging, pace tracking, overage projection, and the mileage budget dashboard — are free to use. There is also an optional LeaseMiles Pro subscription at $1.99/month for drivers who want the full feature set.

Yes. LeaseMiles is free to download with an optional in-app subscription called LeaseMiles Pro ($1.99/month, billed through your Apple ID). The free tier covers everyday lease mileage tracking, while LeaseMiles Pro adds advanced features. There are no ads, and you can keep using the core app for free.

Yes — the core mileage tracking, overage calculator, and pace monitoring will remain free. LeaseMiles Pro is an optional upgrade ($1.99/month) for drivers who want the full feature set, but you are never required to subscribe to track your lease and avoid overage fees.

Yes, your privacy and data security are a top priority. LeaseMiles only collects the information necessary to provide mileage tracking and does not sell your personal data to third parties. Your odometer readings and lease details are stored securely and used solely to power your mileage insights.

The Dealer Partner Program allows dealerships to maintain visibility with their lease customers throughout the entire lease term. Partner dealers receive exclusive branded placement within the app, keeping their dealership top of mind when it is time for the customer to return, renew, or upgrade their lease.

Customers of partner dealerships get a seamless experience with their dealer's branding integrated into the app. This means easy access to service reminders, lease-end options, and a direct connection to their dealership. It creates a better lease experience from start to finish.

Dealerships can apply to join the Dealer Partner Program by visiting our Dealer Partner page and submitting a contact form. Our team will reach out to discuss territory exclusivity, branding options, and how LeaseMiles can help your dealership retain more lease customers.