Lease Returns

You’re coming to the end of your car lease and you have to set up an appointment for your lease return inspection and it suddenly occurs to you: Will I get charged for all those scratches on my wheels?  Is there anything you can do to offset these lease-return charges?

Leasing companies will charge you for any damage it considers to be more than normal wear and tear. Manufacturers want to minimize what they will have to spend on reconditioning, any damage to the car that’s going to cost them more than an average amount of money to refurbish is called excessive wear and tear.

What Dealerships Look For

• Mechanical problems
• Cracks, stars or excessive pitting
• Abnormal or excessive wear
• Tears or stains
• Dents, dings, scratches and scrapes: In this category “Curbed wheels” are a frequent issue.

At the end of the inspection you will receive a condition report that lists any damage above the normal wear and tear and what it costs to fix the problem.  Depending on how bad the damage is you can be charged anywhere from $125 to the cost of a new wheel.

Many lease return companies won’t charge for wheel damage that’s 2 inches or less.  If damage is 2 to 4 inches it’s considered minor damage, but any damage over 4 inches is considered to be above the normal wear and tear.  A good rule of thumb, if the damage is greater than the size of a credit card it will more then likely be considered to be excessive damage.

At Wheel Medics we can help you avoid the high costs that a lease return company will charge you.  Get a quote from your dealership then call us to see how much we can save you!