What Can You Do About Excess Wear And Tear On A Leased Car
Most car lease contracts will involve some charge for excess wear and tear when you hand the car back. Many people however do not know about this charge and will be very surprised when they hand the car back if they are told they must pay for excessive wear and tear. Here is what you need to know.
Excess wear and tear explained?
Each car leasing company will have a different definition of excess wear and tear. Some companies may have a deal whereby they will pick up some of the wear and tear costs, but most don’t. The company will charge you for any dents or excess damage to the car unless you pay to get them repaired before you return the car.
Research done by UK Fleet News in 2004 found that the average charge per customer for wear and tear was £600. This can be very upsetting to be charged this amount if you had no idea it was coming. The real danger is that car leasing companies can go really overboard; you might only have a small mark on the car, but they can insist that it needs a full repainting and charge you for this.
How can you prevent these charges applying to you?
Ensuring that the car leasing company will have no reason to apply these charges is the best way to avoid paying them. Make sure the car is in really good condition when you hand it back. If any repairs need doing, you will probably find it cheaper to get them done yourself instead of paying the car leasing company to look after it. If you can get a deal where the car leasing company takes on these costs as part of the contract then this can be worth considering.
If you feel you want to look into contract hire, having a look at the different types availble to you is the one thing you should try to do. At the end of the day, you may end up with chrysler van leasing or even volvo car leasing options.
