What's actually going on
A maturing copier lease is not a yes-or-no decision. There are five recognised outcomes, and leasing companies rarely present more than two of them.
Because the decision is time-boxed by the notice window, most offices default to whichever option requires no paperwork — which is usually the most expensive one.
What to do in the next 48 hours
- 1Write down your maturity date, notice window and current monthly payment on one page.
- 2Ask the leasing company in writing for the buyout figure and the month-to-month rate after maturity.
- 3Price a replacement so option five has a real number next to options one through four.
- 4Send notice before the window closes. Notice keeps every option open; silence closes all but one.
The honest tradeoffs
- Return and replace: lowest long-term cost per page and the most work up front, because you own freight, wipe documentation and a new install.
- Buyout: cheapest twelve-month number on an aging machine, and rising service and parts cost every year after.
- Renew or extend: zero effort, and you keep paying new-machine pricing for equipment that is already depreciated.
Your next step
Questions people ask next
- What are my options when a copier lease expires?
- Return the equipment, buy it out at the stated residual, renew for a new term, extend month-to-month, or return it and replace it with new equipment. Each requires written notice inside the lease's notice window, except the automatic extension.
- Is it better to buy out or replace an old copier?
- Buying out is usually cheaper for the first year and more expensive over three, because service and parts costs rise as a device ages. Compare the buyout plus expected service against a new agreement's total cost of operations over the same period.
More on a lease that's ending
- My copier lease is ending and I don't know what to do
- My lease auto-renewed and I never agreed to it
- I have to return a copier and I don't know the rules
- I need out of my copier lease early
- What happens if I don't return the copier?
- How an evergreen clause keeps renewing my lease
- Should I rent, lease or buy the next copier?
- My lease deadline is days away: what do I do in the next 48 hours?
- FMV or $1 buyout: which copier lease should I sign?
- Lease or rent a copier: what's the actual difference?
- What happens if I just do nothing when my copier lease ends?
- My copier bill keeps going up and nobody can explain why
- I think I'm overpaying but I can't prove it
- My copier keeps jamming and I've stopped trusting it