Your end-of-lease options including return, buy, renew, and upgrade
Four distinct paths open up at month 36, 48, or 60 of a copier lease. Each path produces a different cost profile, a different operational outcome, and a different administrative effort. This guide walks the buyer through all four and identifies which one suits which office profile.
Return the device
The device returns to the lessor at term end. The buyer pays the end-of-lease return charge (typically €280–€420 per device) and arranges a new device through a fresh procurement cycle, possibly with a different vendor.
Exercise the buyout
The buyer exercises the end-of-term buyout option (€1 token for capital leases, fair-market-value for operating leases). The device transfers permanently to the buyer and continues operating on a service-only contract.
Renew on the same device
The lease extends for an additional 12 to 24 months on the existing device. Monthly payment typically drops by 30 to 50 percent because the hardware is largely amortised. The lessor retains residual value.
Upgrade to current-generation
The buyer signs a new lease on a current-generation device. The original device returns to the lessor under the standard return procedure. The dealer often waives or reduces the return charge as part of the upgrade negotiation.
The end-of-lease decision arrives at the moment when the office has roughly 90 to 120 days of notice on the term-end date and four distinct paths in front of them. Each path produces a different cost profile and a different operational outcome. The buyer who recognises all four early — say at month 30 of a 48-month term — has time to compare the economics, run competitive quotes, and arrive at the term-end window with a defensible decision rather than a reactive one. The buyer who waits until month 46 finds the conversation compressed and the leverage diminished.
This guide walks through the four options, compares them on the dimensions that matter at decision time, and provides a short decision tree to identify which path matches a specific office profile. The objective is to make the end-of-lease window a planned decision rather than a default outcome.
Side-by-side · four paths on six axes
return charge
buyout amount
continuation
charge waived
vs original
Six questions to identify the right path
The four-month forward conversation
The four end-of-lease paths should enter the office's procurement calendar at roughly month 32 of a 48-month term, four months before the notice window opens. Earlier than that and the decision feels premature; later than that and the conversation becomes reactive. At month 32 the office knows the device's performance trajectory, has reasonable visibility on its volume forecast for the next 24 months, and can run competitive quotes if the path forward involves a return or upgrade. The dealer's account manager typically welcomes the conversation early because their retention metrics depend on the outcome.
One closing note: the four paths are not always pure. Hybrid arrangements — buy the existing device while signing a new lease on a second current-generation device, for example — are widely available and often suit offices managing growth alongside continuity. Frame the conversation as "four standard paths plus available variations" and the dealer will surface the variations that match the office's specific profile.