Miles on a leased car count against a limit written into the lease. The car goes back at the end of the term, and the odometer is read at that moment. A service contract runs on its own clock with its own term, its own mileage cap, and its own cancellation rule. The two clocks rarely match, so the job is to line them up before anyone signs.
Start with the lease, not the contract
Pull the lease and find three things: the end date, the mileage allowance, and the charge for miles over that allowance. Those terms belong to the lease company, and this site does not publish them. Write them on the first page of your notes. Every other question depends on them.
Check whose name is on the paper
Ask the seller whether a leased car can be enrolled at all. Ask whether the contract names the lessor. Ask who receives any payment and who has the right to cancel. Then read the lease for any clause about repairs, modifications, or third-party service agreements. Many leases set rules on those points, and the contract cannot override the lease.
Match the contract end to the return date
A contract bought for a longer term than the lease leaves coverage running on a car you will no longer own. Ask whether the term can be shortened to end at the return date. Ask whether cancellation returns an unused share, and how that share is worked out. Read the cancellation clause for any fee or notice period. Those words decide what you get back if the car is returned or sold early.
Ask what a mileage cap does near return
Some contracts stop paying once the odometer passes a set point. A car close to its lease limit may pass that point before the lease ends. Ask the seller whether the contract ends at a mileage, at a date, or at whichever comes first. Ask whether a repair started before the cap is still covered. Get the answers in the contract wording, not only on the sales call.
Questions to bring to the counter
Is the car leased, and does the contract name the lessor? Does the term end before the lease return date? How is an unused share worked out on early cancellation? Does coverage end at a mileage, a date, or whichever comes first? Who approves a repair on a car that is not yours to keep? Is there a waiting period before the first claim can be made? Who pays to find the fault when the cause is unclear?
Reading the contract
Find the definitions section first. Terms such as breakdown, covered part, and wear item decide most claims. Then find the term and mileage clause, the cancellation clause, and the transfer clause. A transfer clause tells you whether a later owner can take over the contract. For a leased car, the transfer question and the return question often come down to the same answer.
Where the figures live
This site does not publish lease terms. The threshold guides here cover the printed limits and questions to bring at the mileage and age levels where contracts most often change. Use them to understand the contract side, then compare the lease line by line against the contract wording before you decide.