Mileage Reconciliation
The lease-end math: total miles driven minus contract mileage allowance, multiplied by the per-mile overage rate.
Mileage reconciliation is the lease-end calculation of overage miles and the resulting charge. Formula: actual miles driven minus the contract's total mileage allowance (annual allowance times lease term), multiplied by the per-mile overage rate ($0.15 to $0.30 typical, set in the contract). Example: 39,000 actual miles on a 36-month lease with a 10,000/year allowance = 9,000 overage miles x $0.25 = $2,250 bill at turn-in. Strategies to reduce: buy additional miles upfront at $0.10-$0.15/mile (cheaper than overage at turn-in), buy out the lease and sell the car yourself if the buyout is below market (overage does not apply on a lease buyout), or lease-pull-ahead into a new lease where the captive forgives the overage on the returning vehicle. See mileage allowance.