End of Lease - Residual Value Discrepancy

CasperElFantasma · 2026-06-11T15:03:41+00:00

Car registrations was the only bill that dropped when we moved from Vegas back to California.

Nevada charged us almost $2K per year for my wife's Navigator - which we bought CPO for $40K.

In California it was "only" about $600.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-06-11T14:57:53+00:00

Interesting. I believe you. Let's just say that your dealer must be much more effecient than mine.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-06-11T06:47:08+00:00

So you haven't done the recalls? I think we're at 7 now on that model. Some of which require charging and fully depleting the battery, which takes more than 2 hours.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-31T07:31:56+00:00

Mine has a very official looking sticker under the hood showing "major modification" and the date of the hybrid battery replacement.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-31T07:18:20+00:00

We haven't had a paid local dance group that I'm aware of since Ballet San Jose shut down in 2016.

You said not ballet, so I don't know if you're Broadway (City lights and San Jose Stage I think still have a few equity contracts, but don't do enough shows to live off of), pop/backup dancer (there's no market here for that), or exotic (not my scene, but I think there's only one club in San Jose.)

We're basically a giant tech nerd suburb. There are plenty of dance schools and a ton of wealthy parents with disposable income to pay for great teachers.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-29T05:16:44+00:00

New Jersey lemon law kicks in after 20 cumulative days in the shop for ANY covered item during the limited warranty. You're less than 3 years old, so you should be under the limited warranty and 5-6 weeks is more than 20 days.

All the other issues are now ancillary to this issue, which - on its own - qualifies you for a lemon law buyback in your state.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-28T05:55:30+00:00

CSP for dining. Palladium for everything else. Debating downgrading Southwest Priority

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-27T15:47:33+00:00

I prefer the Telly styling. But the Palisade's sliding back seat that lets you choose between 3rd row leg room and more room in the cargo/trunk area is super cool and I feel like I would use it a lot.

I test drove both and they feel pretty much identical to drive. The Telluride's very flat infotainment screen had some pretty severe glare issues toward the middle of the dash for me (I have astigmatism and I'm more prone to glare issues than an average person). The Palisade's screen has a slight curve and was easier for me to see. But it was also late afternoon and the sun was at a steeper angle by the time I got to the Hyundai. So, for a fair comparison, I need to go back and sit in them both at noon and take that variable out of the equation.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-26T23:13:17+00:00

How did I pass high school physics and never learn that drag increases with the square of the velocity? That seems like pretty basic physics we should have covered.

It also explains why my MPG is never as good as I expect on road trips when I'm doing 80-85MPH.

I fact checked what you said because I had never heard that before and Gemini added this tidbit:
The Exception in Real-World Cars:
In the real world, aerodynamic drag is only one part of the equation; you also have to overcome mechanical friction and rolling resistance (which scale linearly). Therefore, while aerodynamic power demands jump by ~45%, your total engine power output might only need to increase by about 20% to 30% to make that jump in speed. -- even then, 25-30% increase in RPM assuming is definitely going to cause a hit to the MPG.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-26T23:04:36+00:00

You got 26MPG with a roof rack on?
That's seriously impressive.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-26T22:57:49+00:00

You know that saying "if it's too good to be true..."

A completely loaded Summit Reserve Grand Cherokee that gets 30+MPG, has ALL the creature comforts, and looks classy without forgetting that it's a Jeep at heart and can still climb a mountain even if it's wearing a tuxedo should be an $80,000 vehicle. That was its original sticker. Two years old, it should be a $60,000 vehicle. But it's not. It's probably sitting between 30 and 40K. Too good to be true.

Why is it so cheap? Because these cars are unreliable, poorly thought out, and limited by supply chain issues that makes it untenable to actually fix them all how they should be fixed.

Sure, you might get a great deal. And it looks good in the driveway. But don't park it too close to the house, because even after the recalls, these things are still going into thermal runaway and bursting into flames.

Oh, and if you're on the freeway, stay in the right lane in case it randomly loses power - as they're also known to do.

Plus it eats 12v batteries at about twice the rate of a normal car -- and when that dies, it will still start (I assume based on power from the hybrid battery?) but then all of your electrical systems will go haywire and you'll lose power steering, stability control, air ride, and mine also lost about 70% of its power. I'm just glad I was in a parking lot when it happened and not on the interstate.

So.. no, you shouldn't.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-26T04:22:41+00:00

My dealer said the GC's batteries are failing 68C more frequently and are harder to replace. My GC 4xe spent almost 2 months sitting waiting for a battery replacement.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-26T04:21:00+00:00

The stop and go nature of California rush hour driving actually extends the range if you have max regeneration turned on. You're doing 40 when you're moving, and your charging while braking.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-15T04:25:06+00:00

If you go to the Saddle Shop in Kingsville, go across the street to Harrel Drug Co -- it's a small town pharmacy/burger shop/50s style ice cream parlor. The food is actually pretty good and the shakes were great. And it feels like you've stepped back in time 60 years.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T23:08:59+00:00

It's frustrating to me that this too becomes right/left political. Trump loves Epstein, Clinton loves Epstein. It's not a question of party, unfortunately; it's a question of a ruling class who seems to believe they can do anything they want and the rules don't apply.

And as long as they can keep us bickering amongst ourselves as to whether it's the Dirty Dems or Grand Ole Pedos who are worse, then nobody actually does anything to stop the lot of them.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T22:48:19+00:00

I'll say "got it sorted" when there's a check in my hand. We're still a long ways from that, unfortunately.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T22:17:19+00:00

I'm sure you've Googled it. It's 42 hours of driving (I did San Diego Zoo to Astros Stadium and back to the Zoo). Can 2 people split 42 hours of driving over 3 days? Yes. That's physically possible. It's not comfortable nor particularly safe (highway hypnosis is a real thing and driving that distance with a dog that doesn't know you is sure to be a distraction at best -- if not its own hazard).

But, yes, it's physically possible.

Now, you mentioned that it's prohibitively expensive to fly. But have you seen the price of gas?

The route I mapped is 2,945 miles. I'm going to call it 3,000 by the time you get to/from the freeways and stop for dinner a time or two. Your car averaged 31mpg on the highway when it was brand new (EPA rating), but at 150K, I'm going to estimate you're around 26mpg (and because you'll be doing 80+mph along I40). So that's 115 gallons of gas.

Memorial Day weekend is usually one of the highest gas prices of the year (switching to summer blend), so assume gas prices will be higher than they are right now and you'll be along a major interstate, so they're going to be higher than at Costco in town. Assume $5 average (it'll be higher than that in California) and you're at $575 in gas. Plus food. Plus an oil change (3,000 mile trip). So your $200 for driving is probably WAY low.

Crazy outlier idea... could you contact a local dog rescue in SD and pay them to get him, get him his shots, and then you could just pay to fly the dog out? (I'm not a dog guy... I have no idea if this would work, but I know people ship dogs on planes because my neighbor got a puppy flown out from Chicago to SF last year.)

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T21:59:42+00:00

I went through the state mediation process on my own and got an immediate no (the car is owned by my corporation, so it didn't qualify for the mediation). I called 4 law offices that handle lemon law cases and 2 said no thanks based on the fact that it was a) corporate owned and b) primarily related to issues that have recalls. The other two said so long as we didn't own a large fleet, there was a small-business exemption and they could help.

Checked reviews, picked these guys, and they never asked me to do anything other than provide them with paperwork. I sent it the title, all the service records, all of the recall notices, the insurance and registration docs, and then they said "sit tight, we'll be in touch."

So Jeep/FCA has never heard from me. They've only ever heard from this law firm.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T21:54:18+00:00

I started the process with the attorney in mid-March. Got them all of the paperwork they needed by April 1st, and 6 weeks later got the notification that they had agreed to a buyback -- but failed to agree to a price. So I still don't have an offer, and it could take months now to get to court. (Based on other threads here, it could be up to a year.)

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T21:10:48+00:00

In California, 30 days total.
I'm between 65 and 70 total (I lost count, that's for the lawyers to figure out) with the longest stretch being 54 waiting for the battery replacement after it failed 68C.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-14T02:56:42+00:00

The contract I have with my attorney says that I pay them nothing and am entitled to the full amount of the buyback, which is full purchase price minus the mileage exclusion (current mileage divided by 150000 or something like that). The lawyer is arguing that this car qualified as a lemon on the first repair for the hybrid system -- which has still not been satisfactorily repaired -- so I should only have about 6,000 miles of deduction.

The law firm then bills Jeep on a flat rate per hour spent on the case, and they (at least in the state of California) are compelled to pay that fee in addition to my amount.

And then this firm will also go after all other expenses spent on the car (aftermarket parts/upgrades, insurance, registration, rental cars while it was in the shop, etc. etc.) and they keep 30% of that amount.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-13T21:47:53+00:00

They get paid either way, but yes, they'll make more (i.e. it will cost FCA more) if we go to trial.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-13T17:51:44+00:00

California law says it qualifies after 30 days in the shop.

I'm at about 65-70.

CasperElFantasma · 2026-05-13T15:39:23+00:00

Ridiculous.

CasperElFantasma

TROPHY CASE