[nuance]

Hi,

I picked up my leased MINI a week ago and i have to say I'm really disappointed in the stock hifi system. I asked around about retrofitting a H/K system, but since it's lousy bang-for-the-buck and the installing would cost me a kidney, it's not really an option. In practice, it would be possible to fit in an aftermarket system which could be easily uninstalled without any visible evidence afterwards. Anyone of you got any experiences on installing aftermarket hifi on a leased car? Generally speaking, do the financing companies allow such installs?

[mikeythemini]

You can change the stereo, & speakers without any modifications to the car so you will be fine

[nuance]

I guess I'm being a bit of a paranoid, but even if I get the stuff installed in a hifi dealer that's not a certified MINI dealer or so, it doesn't matter?

[Bugged]

It doesn't matter, if they are a decent dealer, they won't trash the car during the installation. Plus you will want to make sure that they give you the original radio so that it can be installed back in the car when you return it....

Although, you probably wouldn't get hit for a charge if you left the new radio in the car. Upgrading components like the radio (or most cosmetic stuff) rarely incurs charges on the lease. Although you really should check with the leasing company for sure. Some companies are very anal and might hit you up just because you tinted the windows, others only for excessive wear and tear (i.e. dents larger than a 50 cent piece or cigarette burns on the seats...)

We returned a leased vehicle to GMAC last year with a dent/scuff that was about 8 inches long along the wheel well thanks to an inattentive garage attendant. It was about 5 inches longer than the guides that GMAC sent us to indicate what they would and wouldn't charge for... GMAC didn't bill us for the damage. We did however get charged for the 1900 extra miles over our lease...

[nuance]

I recently returned a leased Opel Astra with a bump in the driver side door. Luckily the insurance will cover for it. I'm not that worried about accidents 'cause my insurances will cover for pretty much everything on that front, I'm just worried they will come up with a reason good enough to charge me after installing an aftermarket hifi system. Don't know what that reason would be, though, if no holes are left behind or so.

Come to think of it, the Opel had an aftermarket head unit installed at the local Opel dealer after the stock unit just stopped working. I guess I just need to check things out from BMW Financing. Sigh.