Lease companies use trained inspectors to thoroughly examine the condition of the vehicle upon return and you will be liable for the cost of any damage found, no matter how small. The inspector will usually spend anything from 20-45 minutes to assess the vehicle and will complete a lease return check sheet detailing any damage found. The lease company will then charge you a penalty – often the cost of a repair at a main dealership.

But did you know there is a much cheaper way?

We recommend that you carry out your own inspection a few weeks before your vehicle is due to be returned. This should be done in good lighting conditions and the vehicle should be clean and dry before you begin your inspection. You should go around the entire vehicle checking very carefully for scratches and dents. Any scratch which has gone through to the base coat of the paint, no matter how small, could result in you being charged for a re-spray of the entire panel! Similarly, even the most difficult to notice dents will be picked up and noted by a trained inspector which is why we recommend you examine your vehicle thoroughly from different angles in good lighting conditions so you don’t miss that tiny dent you didn’t even realise you had!

Other things to look out for are bird dropping marks, sills and front and back valances, wheels and tyres, door shuts, windscreen chips and cracks, lights and previous poor quality bodywork repairs among other things. We recommend that you take care to check the vehicle thoroughly for any damage or defects and note any findings on the checklist which can be downloaded using the button below. If this all seems a little too ‘DIY’ for you just make an appointment to bring your vehicle in and a suitable member of staff will either assist you with the inspection or carry out the examination themselves.

What next?

Car Body Care Centre offers a service whereby we will repair any damage to your leased vehicle to an ‘as new’ standard in our fully equipped repair centre BEFORE you return the vehicle to the lease company. The cost of these repairs will be significantly lower than the lease company repair costs and all at your convenience.

Once you have completed your check sheet bring it into Car Body Care Centre along with the vehicle and ask a member of staff to give you a quote for the repairs – you will be amazed at how competitive our prices are! Alternatively, you can scan the completed form and email it to us for an estimate, although please note that the quote could be subject to change if you use this service without one of our estimators viewing the damage and required repairs first. We will always give you a full and final quote before carrying out any agreed repairs and we will never hit you with any hidden small print or added costs.

I’m happy with my quote – now what?

We offer a ‘collect and deliver’ service so once you have agreed on a suitable date with our technicians for the work to commence we can collect your vehicle, carry out all of the required repairs then return your vehicle to you. We even offer a courtesy car option (subject to availability) and in addition to repairing your vehicle, we also offer a full professional valet service at a very reasonable cost. It is important to remember that your vehicle must be returned to the lease company in a clean condition inside and out so if you haven’t found time to clean the vehicle on a regular basis we do recommend a professional valet to avoid any unexpected added costs later on.

And that’s it!

If you would like further information about this or any of our other services please feel free to drop in and speak to a member of staff, phone us or email us and we will be happy to help.