7 On Your Side: How to save thousands at the end of your car lease

STATEN ISLAND, NY (WABC) -- There are three simple tips that may wind up saving you hours of aggravation and thousands of dollars when it's time to return your leased car.

One local couple learned a hard lesson when they returned the car in good shape, but it didn't stay that way for long.

Who knows what happened between pickup and delivery at the end of the lease, but the Staten Island couple says the car left their possession in mint condition and showed up pretty banged up.

Monica Harr is now busy taking pictures of her parents car, which is something she wished she had done a couple years ago. It would have saved them hundreds and a huge headache.

Last year, Eddie and Mary Ann Mauriello turned in their Nissan Altima after a three-year lease with just 16,000 miles. Eddie said it was in mint condition.

"Not a scratch," he said. "One hubcap had a scratch."

But weeks after the car was turned into the finance company, there were all kinds of damage found. It had pushed-in, scraped-up fenders and a dangling side mirror. And the finance company was holding the Mauriellos responsible to pay.

So they called the leasing company, who had picked up their car from their home in Staten Island and delivered it to a car dealership in North Plainfield. Eddie says a company rep dismissed him.

"I called them about the damage," he said. "They said, 'that's not our problem.'"

Months of emails, calls and certified letters asking the leasing company to pay soon fell on deaf ears.

"They just ignored us," Eddie said.

The couple paid $1,300 for all the damage they said they didn't do. Then, last year, the couple took the leasing company to court and won. But when there was no payment, the couple asked the sheriff's office for help recovering their loot. A check was sent, but it bounced.

So 7 On Your Side decided to pay a visit to the Brooklyn-based business. And after a discussion, we walked out with the promise of a refund. Just a couple of days later, that long-awaited reimbursement finally became a reality. The couple received a bank check worth $1,320.

"7 On Your Side, without you this wouldn't have been possible," Mary Ann Mauriello said. "I wouldn't be standing there with this check in my hand!"

"Two years, and you guys did this in a week," Eddie said.

The leasing company said even though it lost in court, it wasn't responsible for any of the damage to the Mauriellos' car. The big takeaway when returning a car from lease, first take extensive pictures and video of the interior and exterior the day you return it. Make sure you document the car's mileage. And get a detailed signed condition report from the company taking possession of it.