Is it possible to change or add to a car lease mileage allowance?

It depends.

If at the beginning of a lease, the answer is yes. If in the middle or end of a lease, the answer is no.

At the time a lease is initiated, before the contract is signed, it is possible (with most lease companies) to “buy” extra miles if you feel you might them. For example, a normal lease offers 30,000 miles on a 3 year lease, but you want another 10,000 miles. You would pay at a rate of about 15 to 25 cents a mile, depending on the vehicle and lease company.

Instead of paying cash up front for those miles —  $1500 to $$2500 this example — most lease companies simply reduce the residual value by that amount. This results in a higher monthly payment but the effect is less than if you paid up front in cash. For example, let’s say the “cash” cost of your extra miles calculates to $2000 ($0.20 a miles in the above example), your actual cost, after increased payment amount, is only $1872 over three years for an average lease.

This means it’s cheaper to “buy” extra miles up front than to pay full price for them at the end of a lease.

Another benefit to an up-front miles purchase is that most lease companies will refund any unused portion of the extra miles.

Note, however, that unused normal miles are not refunded. For example, if your normal mileage allowance is 30,000 miles and you only drive 25,000, you will not be refunded for those 5000 miles you didn’t drive.

As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, it is not possible to add extra miles to a lease after the contract has been signed. If you see that you are exceeding your allowed mileage, you have some options that are explained in this article: Over Mileage Car Lease.