ECU Tuning on a Lease (not looking for warranty advice like everyone else)

[frankiebones]

First off let me say that if anything goes wrong with the car after doing a Stage 1 DME tune I will look to blame no one but myself and pay all repairs out of pocket. I fully understand the concept of "mod at your own risk," despite having never tuned a car in my life. Warranty is not my concern but turning the car back to BMW in 30 months is.

In 30 months when my 36 month lease terminates, my intention is to get another M (whichever one they still offer in 6MT by then...). In between now and then I will do my utmost to avoid the car being flagged, including flashing back to OEM during any services (the tune I am interested in gives me that option via a cable they sell).

When I turn in the car with the lease, presumably having had no issues from a stage 1 tune, can they void the lease agreement? Can they force me to buy a car even without any mechanical issue? Will I be unable to get out of the lease early? Do they scan the car for any codes upon lease termination to see what I was up to?

While an excellent driver (if I do say so myself) when it comes to technical subjects I'm a complete lay person. I have never seen an ECU in person haha.

Any advice is appreciated.

[swifty]

We have yet to see anyone this has happened to on the forums but is it possible in the near future, possibly.

Carmakers want to use Copyright Law to make working on your car illegal but the law didn't pass so it's legal for next 2 years. Down the line, we don't know what's going to happen, and will lease returns be subject to the same type of inspection like other parts (tire wear, overall condition of vehicle etc).

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/its-le...e-n-1788555068

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by swifty

We have yet to see anyone this has happened to on the forums but is it possible in the near future, possibly.

Carmakers want to use Copyright Law to make working on your car illegal but the law didn't pass so it's legal for next 2 years. Down the line, we don't know what's going to happen, and will lease returns be subject to the same type of inspection like other parts (tire wear, overall condition of vehicle etc).

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/its-le...e-n-1788555068

Interesting and helpful. they cant say "the dme was opened" we arent taking the car back.
Thank you sir.

[4everkidd]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

Interesting and helpful. they cant say "the dme was opened" we arent taking the car back.
Thank you sir.

Most dealers beg for M's / AMG / F's / RS back. They kill in the differential between trade in value and "certified pre-owned" resale.

I was say there is very little to no concern as its usually more advantageous to buy out your lease and sell the vehicle privately.

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by 4everkidd

Most dealers beg for M's / AMG / F's / RS back. They kill in the differential between trade in value and "certified pre-owned" resale.

I was say there is very little to no concern as its usually more advantageous to buy out your lease and sell the vehicle privately.

I put a ton of miles on my cars or I would tend to agree with you. Then again, they're so rare even if I have 55k miles in 36 months I should be ok.

Appreciate the feedback regardless.

[swifty]

Originally Posted by 4everkidd

Most dealers beg for M's / AMG / F's / RS back. They kill in the differential between trade in value and "certified pre-owned" resale.

I was say there is very little to no concern as its usually more advantageous to buy out your lease and sell the vehicle privately.

This isn't always the case as the buyout can be higher than the going value of the car. Plus there is always the issue of a claim on the car which devalues it dramatically. Ppl who lease are more likely to go thru insurance.

Anything can happen in the next few years. Especially with the uptick in ppl modding cars due to turbos etc, there's a good chance OEM will start looking at ECU's being opened. This is not the same as flashing thru OBDII ports (not possible yet on f8x) as that won't be easily apparent to dealers.

[exia_m3]

Well I got my car Nov 1, 2016 36 month lease its going under the knife next week Thursday for BM3 stage 2 nothing stock

[bd307]

Your first step "In between now and then I will do my utmost to avoid the car being flagged" is to change your info around here on the forums. It is known that people at BMW are reading around here.

Other than that, just go out and have fun with it.

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by bd307

Your first step "In between now and then I will do my utmost to avoid the car being flagged" is to change your info around here on the forums. It is known that people at BMW are reading around here.

Other than that, just go out and have fun with it.

good point. i am actually only kidding, i dont own a car.

[BMW9]

If being safe is more important to you than max power. Them consider a dinan tune instead of an ECU flash. lease your car from a dealer that sells dinan. Have the dealer install the dinan kit. And discuss your concerns about lease return before you lease. When it's time to return the car they are less likely to give you any problems since they are the ones that installed it. And the kit is removable without ever tampering with the ECU itself.

[chewbakam4]

Why not nust get another DME as a backup and run it with the tune if so worried? Best of both worlds get the best tune possible and not worry about warranty in case of major repairs.

[Liquid2.0T]

Originally Posted by BMW9

If being safe is more important to you than max power. Them consider a dinan tune instead of an ECU flash. lease your car from a dealer that sells dinan. Have the dealer install the dinan kit. And discuss your concerns about lease return before you lease. When it's time to return the car they are less likely to give you any problems since they are the ones that installed it. And the kit is removable without ever tampering with the ECU itself.

But all that money to go slow

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

good point. i am actually only kidding, i dont own a car.

Let's say you had a car. Where are you thinking about going for the ECU tune? I'm on the island also and have been completing a similar scenario as your OP.

[schnell1982]

My friend tried to sell his 2015 BMW M3 to 2 different BMW dealership's recently.
He had suspension, intakes, exhaust, etc on the car and put everything back to stock.
Both dealerships inspected the car and told him that they wont buy the car because they can tell that there must have been after market parts on the car due to markings on suspension bolts, etc.

Just thought it was interesting that they denied it, they said they cant offer it as a CPO since it has been supposedly modified.

He went to CarMax and they gave him top dollar

[Liquid2.0T]

So no one can modify their cars now. OK.

[BMW9]

Originally Posted by Liquid2.0T

But all that money to go slow

Lol. Yes it's not the fastest but it's better than stock and it's safe.

[BMW9]

Originally Posted by schnell1982

My friend tried to sell his 2015 BMW M3 to 2 different BMW dealership's recently.
He had suspension, intakes, exhaust, etc on the car and put everything back to stock.
Both dealerships inspected the car and told him that they wont buy the car because they can tell that there must have been after market parts on the car due to markings on suspension bolts, etc.

Just thought it was interesting that they denied it, they said they cant offer it as a CPO since it has been supposedly modified.

He went to CarMax and they gave him top dollar

Yes similar thing happened to me for my M5 lease return. They said they cannot offer the car as a BMW certified car. But they took the car back and sent it to auction. Dealers pick the nice and clean cars for resale and send the rest to auction or third party sellers.

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by BMW9

Yes similar thing happened to me for my M5 lease return. They said they cannot offer the car as a BMW certified car. But they took the car back and sent it to auction. Dealers pick the nice and clean cars for resale and send the rest to auction or third party sellers.

So you had no trouble getting out of your lease?

[DieGrüneHölle]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

When I turn in the car with the lease, presumably having had no issues from a stage 1 tune, can they void the lease agreement? Can they force me to buy a car even without any mechanical issue? Will I be unable to get out of the lease early? Do they scan the car for any codes upon lease termination to see what I was up to?

I suggest you read the fine print of your lease agreement. Keep in mind you technically do not own the car, in simple terms you are renting it.

The old sayings...mod at your own risk or pay to play.

Flash tunes require the ecu to be physically opened. Even if you flash back to stock, there will always be signs that the ecu has been tampered with.

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by schnell1982

My friend tried to sell his 2015 BMW M3 to 2 different BMW dealership's recently.
He had suspension, intakes, exhaust, etc on the car and put everything back to stock.
Both dealerships inspected the car and told him that they wont buy the car because they can tell that there must have been after market parts on the car due to markings on suspension bolts, etc.

Just thought it was interesting that they denied it, they said they cant offer it as a CPO since it has been supposedly modified.

He went to CarMax and they gave him top dollar

This. I have sold my leased BMWs to carmax twice and received my 7 MSDs back plus cash because they always offer more than the residual anyway. The fact that they don't ever bother checking to see if car was tuned, etc. is a huge bonus. Obviously, I remove the bolt-ons as they may offer less if the car still had mods. Plus I can sell the bolt-ons.

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by frankiebones

So you had no trouble getting out of your lease?

You can easily get out of any lease at any time by selling the car. Depending on how old the car is and how many miles you have on it, you may get more or less than the payoff. You'd just have to make up the difference if the selling price is less than the pay-off.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Can they void the lease agreement? Yes they can because the car has been modified and pushed over stock recommended power

Will they? no ... Out of the tens of thousands of cars that were tuned, none had that problem, highly doubt they will give you a hard time when returning it (assuming it has no problems)

They won't even check the ECU registry for any changes in the tables