How a Hyundai Lease Return Works

When it comes time to return your Hyundai lease, you’ll need to perform a wear and tear self-assessment and make an appointment with your Hyundai dealer. Once there, you can either trade keys for a new lease, hand over your keys for good, or buy out your lease.

So you’ve been driving that leased Palisade or Sonata around for a few years and it’s nearing the end of your lease term. You’ve enjoyed the freedom of owning a Hyundai without the commitment of buying one, but what do you do now?

Returning a lease requires a few important steps to avoid fees or complications. That’s why Jerry, the trustworthy insurance comparison app known to save drivers money on car insurance, has put together a guide.

From your lease return options to some frequently asked questions, here’s everything you should know about returning your leased Hyundai, plus how to find low Hyundai car insurance costs for your next car.

How a Hyundai lease return works

As your Hyundai lease comes to a close, you’ll have three basic options:

• Ground your lease — return the lease and walk away
• Trade-in your lease — return the lease in exchange for a new lease
• Buy out your lease — don’t return the lease, buy it instead!

We’ve already outlined how a Hyundai lease buyout works, so let’s take a look at those other options.

Return your leased Hyundai and walk away

Your Hyundai lease contract is coming to a close, but you’re not quite ready to purchase or lease another vehicle from Hyundai. No worries! You’re totally within your right to turn in a lease and walk away. Luckily, Hyundai makes this lease return process even easier by mailing a Lease-End Kit to you four months before your contract ends.

The Lease-End Kit explains the process, which generally follows this timeline:

• Three to two months out: Using Hyundai’s online self-assessment tool, identify wear and use on your lease and schedule necessary repairs. You can estimate potential lease-end charges through this tool, but a formal inspection after vehicle turn-in determines the final costs. s
• One to two months out: Schedule a Turn-In appointment at your Hyundai dealer.
• One week out: Clean the car inside and out. Ensure all interior components are returned to their right place.
• Just before your Turn-In appointment: Fill out and sign an Odometer Disclosure Statement and fax it to (972) 590-3968. Make sure all garage door remotes and toll tags are removed. Delete personal data from your audio, navigation, or HomeLink system. Bring your car along with its keys, maintenance records, repair receipts, and lease paperwork to the Hyundai dealer.
• After the return: If required, send your license plates to your state DMV and fax the state’s receipt to (972) 590-3995.

When you return a Hyundai lease without trading in, you’re responsible for the following lease-end fees, which will be applied to your End-Of-Term Invoice:

• Excess wear and use
• Excess mileage
• Hyundai’s disposition (turn-in) fee — usually $400
• Past due or unpaid monthly lease payments
• Miscellaneous fees like unpaid late payment fees, taxes, or tolls

If you scheduled repairs for your Hyundai lease ahead of your Turn-In, you can escape paying wear and use fees. Just note these repairs must use OEM parts and follow industry standards. Contact your Lease-End Advisor for any questions or concerns regarding your lease’s repairs.

With these steps completed, your Hyundai lease is officially turned in and you can either look into new makes or enjoy your driving retirement.

Learn more: How to calculate a car lease payment

Lease a new Hyundai

Let’s say you’re not ready to let go of Hyundai just yet and you’d like to try leasing out another vehicle. For you, the lease-end process will start about six months before your lease is up. This is to give you plenty of time to explore new Hyundai models and trims and research lease deals and offers.

Once you’ve decided on the Hyundai you’re interested in, it’s always a good idea to test drive the vehicle at your dealer. From there, your lease-end return will look pretty much the same as previously described: perform a wear and tear self-assessment (or schedule a free inspection), schedule a Turn-In appointment, and prepare your vehicle and paperwork.

However, this time when you contact your Lease-End Advisor two months out, you’ll also want to discuss Hyundai Motor Finance loyalty benefits. Like many car companies, Hyundai rewards drivers who purchase or lease continuously. By trading in your Hyundai lease for another Hyundai lease, you could receive the following perks:

• Lower monthly lease payments and APRs
• Valued Owner Coupon discounts
• Competitive Owner Coupon discounts to help you trade up for less
• Cash bonuses
• Waived Turn-In fee

Hyundai’s Motor Finance offerings vary by state and situation, so get in touch with your Lease-End Advisor to see how you might benefit from trading in your Hyundai lease.

If you want to return a Hyundai lease early

While it’s not normal practice to end your Hyundai lease early, life has some wild card situations that may make an early return necessary—like moving to a subway-dependent area (like Manhattan) or experiencing a death or medical emergency.

Returning your Hyundai lease early is possible, but it’ll cost you. To prevent drivers from using leases as a means of trying on and returning cars like clothes, ending leases early comes with steep termination charges. On top of these early termination fees, you will also be responsible for paying the outstanding balance on the lease even though you won’t be using the vehicle anymore.

Because early termination is an unusual circumstance, it’s a good call to contact Hyundai Motor Finance to negotiate your specific options. Just be aware that you already signed a contract stipulating these early termination fees and charges, so getting out of these costs is extremely unlikely.

That said, if you’re ending your lease early for financial reasons, you may want to consider instead a car lease swap, where you transfer your current lease to another lessee. This will also require negotiating with Hyundai Motor Finance, and you will want to make sure the potential new lessee has an income and credit score better than your own.

Learn more: Is it better to lease or buy a car?

How to find the best Hyundai insurance

While returning your Hyundai lease is fairly simple, finding affordable car insurance to cover your Hyundai often isn’t. That’s why Jerry created a comparison app to do all the finding for you.

Here’s how it works: download Jerry (for free!), input some basic information, and in less than a minute you’ll have access to the lowest car insurance rates available to you from over 55 top insurers. Once you decide on a plan, just select it through the app, and Jerry’s expert brokers will help handle the transition calls and paperwork, including canceling your old policy.

The average user ends up saving more than $800 a year on car insurance, so it’s definitely worth a look to protect your Hyundai lease without breaking the bank.

MEET OUR EXPERTS

Shannon Fitzgerald

Shannon Fitzgerald is an insurance writer with five years of experience in publishing and writing. Shannon uses her background in communication to translate complex car ownership topics into digestible content that car owners can use to save time and money. Shannon has written more than 600 articles for Jerry, including on state-specific insurance processes, factors that impact your insurance rate, and car maintenance basics. Before joining Jerry, Shannon was a freelancer writer covering topics such as VR Production and NPO theatre.

Jessica Barrett

Jessica Barrett is a senior insurance writer and editor with 10 years of experience in the automotive and travel industries. A specialist in car insurance, car loans, and car ownership, Jessica’s mission is to create comprehensive content that car owners can use to manage their costs and improve their lives. As a managing editor for a team of writers and insurance specialists, Jessica has edited over 2,000 articles for Jerry on topics ranging from local insurance shopping tips to refinancing car loans with bad credit. Before joining Jerry as a senior content editor in 2021, Jessica created visual content for clients such as Expedia, Vivid Seats, Budget Direct Car Insurance, Angie’s List, and HomeAdvisor. Her content was published in Business Insider, Forbes, Apartment Therapy, and the BBC.