Is the Disposition fee negotiable?
 

I am wondering if the "disposition fee" or the amount they charge you if you return the vehicle, can be reduced? I am being told that the disposition fee is $495 on the 2019 Q5 Prestige. Anybody seen something different? Thank you.

it's the same fee on every car beginning January 2018; it's non negotiable. If you get another Audi, it's waived.

Every brand has this in one form or another, some more, some less $

I have leased 5 Audis in a row and never paid the disposition fee

Correct, but if you say you're not leasing another Audi, VW, Porsche or possibly another dealer affiliated brand, you'll likely be on the hook. Another way out is to buy the vehicle at the end of the lease. In that case, if went over your mileage limit, you would not have to pay for that either.

true, but then you have to look at how much you're overpaying for the car vs market rate - the fees are likely a lower number

I agree with you and never suggested differently. I know most people who decide to step off of the leasing merry-go-round and get a different brand or no car despise paying another $500.00 to walk out without a set of wheels.

Twenty+ years ago a guy I worked with was talked into leasing by a neighbor who worked for Cadillac. He loved the car and the dealer & salesperson were his new found pals. This was until the lease was up. To lease a comparable vehicle required substantially higher payments. He said screw it and was going to drive a spare vehicle he had for awhile. When he went to turn in the vehicle and could not be persuaded into another dealership vehicle; the music stopped.

His turn-in was scrutinized and required $1700.00 worth of repairs "beyond normal wear & tear". He had to write a check for $1700.00 to get rid of the vehicle.

The icing on the cake was how he recalled the dealership sent a driver in a Cadillac to his home to pick him up when he was taking delivery of the car. It was a "courtesy shuttle" he was told. After turning in the car he asked for a ride home in the courtesy shuttle since his wife was out of town. The now former best friend sales guy pointed to a pay phone in the service department and suggested he call a cab.

He said he will never put himself in that position again.

Sounds like an awful experience
I can’t wait to be able to lease again once my driving changes. I’ve done it across many brands, and while the cars were varied from “I love this” to “this was a huge mistake”, it taught me that when it suits my circumstances, lease works best for me. Ownership has had zero upside as I’m not at the level where I can buy truly appreciating value cars, barrier to entry is too much money...and I’ve stupidly sold the cars that eventually went up long before they hit their peak (they were just cool cars, to me, not something I thought would be truly sought after)

When your buying a car, everything is negotiable. The dealer might not get a break on it but they will just give you less of a discount somewhere else. To me, bottom line price has always what I shop for.

This reminds me of my past life as a RN at an inner-city Trauma Center/ER, we'd develop "creative" acronyms to describe or address those who'd come in seeking help for a minor injury or illness and, despite our best intentions to educate, help or assist them, they'd still be belligerent or verbally abusive to us. Therefore when ready for discharge we'd still be respectful to them but amongst ourselves make reference to "A-M-F-YO-YO" ...Adios M-F'er You're On Your Own....

That's precisely what you got from this dealership.

What is the buyout on your lease? Remember you agreed to this payoff when you purchased the car so it’s on your original lease agreement.

If the payoff is less than the Kelly Blue book value on the car the. just go shop for another brand like normal.
The new brand dealer will simply pay the payoff for you on the lease and thus avoiding the fee. Same as if you paid off the car and traded it in the next week.

This is will also avoid all the nitpick damage stuff the turn in inspection will uncover.

Audi wants you to feel pressure to get another car from them and give the impression you MUST turn the car in. Dealers like this because they get you in the showroom again.

But remember you have first option to do the payoff and keep the car.

That said, if the book value is less than the buyout then you are probably better off returning the car to Audi.