Handing back a lease or company car: fix the damage first?

For anything bigger than fair wear and tear, fixing it yourself before the inspection is almost always cheaper than the charge the lease company applies. Their repair rates include administration and are set to discourage damage, not to reflect what a local panel shop charges. The trick is knowing where the line sits.

What "fair wear and tear" usually covers

Every lease or novated lease agreement has a return-condition guide. The specifics vary, but typically:

• Accepted: stone chips, light scratches that don't go through the clear coat, minor scuffs on the bumper lower edge, small marks on wheels, normal tyre wear within the legal limit.
• Charged: dents (often anything over a coin size), scratches through to the colour or primer, cracked or heavily scuffed bumpers, kerbed wheels beyond a certain size, mismatched or poor previous repairs, cracked windscreens.

Read your own guide. It's usually a few pages and it tells you exactly what the inspector will mark.

Why fixing it first is cheaper

The lease company's charge for a bumper respray or a door dent is set by a schedule, and it includes their margin. A quote from us for the same repair is usually well under it. You also control the quality, which matters because a poor repair can be charged as damage too.

Do the inspection yourself first

A month before return, walk around the car in daylight with the return guide in hand:

1. Every panel at an angle for dents.
2. Every bumper corner for scuffs.
3. Each wheel for kerb damage.
4. Windscreen for chips in the driver's view.
5. Door edges and the lower doors for chips and scratches.
6. Interior for tears, burns and stains.

Photograph anything you find and send it through our quote form. We'll tell you what's a charge and what's wear.

The usual lease-return jobs

• Door dings and small dents: paintless dent removal. Keeps the factory paint, which inspectors like.
• Bumper scuffs: corner respray. See bumper repairs.
• Scratches through the colour: localised repaint and blend.
• Kerbed alloys: wheel repair and refinish.

Mismatched repairs

If a previous repair is a shade off or has orange peel, it can be marked as damage. A proper re-do with a colour match and blend fixes it.

Company cars and fleet vehicles

The same logic applies. Most fleet policies charge the driver, or the business, for damage beyond wear. A quick private repair before the car goes back is usually less than the internal charge, and it avoids the conversation with the fleet manager.

Timing

Leave two to three weeks before the return date. Paint needs a day or two per job, and if the car has several marks we'll batch them so it's in once. Call us on 0402 106 456 if the date's close and we'll tell you what's possible.

Keep the paperwork

Keep our invoice with the return paperwork. If the inspector queries a panel, you can show it was repaired professionally.