When you lease a car, you have a responsibility to return it in good shape. Unfortunately, many people are left looking at loads of scratches and other minor damage when the lease expires, and face footing a huge bill. But it doesn’t have to be that ways, says Aaron Baird, who owns West Coast Recon, a mobile automotive reconditioning company based in southern California.
Leasing is popular here in southern California. It means you don’t own the car, that you make a payment monthly and you are given an allotment of miles you are allowed to drive up to every year. Usually it is around 10 to 12,000 miles a year. You lease it for usually three years. The car depreciates but it is not your concern as you do not own it; you are leasing it.
At the end of that lease term, you are responsible for any damage outside what they describe as accessible in that contract. Basically that usually means any dents larger than the size of a quarter or any scratch longer than a credit card, that is roughly what you are allowed.
Penalized for Damage
If you have damage that is large or excessive, then you will be charged for it. So what I can do is I can go around the whole car and tell you what they are most likely going to penalize you for. Then you can get a quote from me about fixing that, or take it to a body shop.
I would say that about 99.9% of the time a body shop is more expensive than I am. A lot of times people will bring me their lease returns. Either they have already found out they will be charged a pretty significant amount of money to repair a few things, or they have not had it inspected yet, and they want some scratches repaired before they turn it in.
Saving You Money
I perform that work for them, and then they turn it in without getting fined. Most of the time, for example, a body shop will charge $500 or more to repair a bumper. I can do that for $200 or $300. I can save you about 40% to 50% of the penalty you will be charged to get those scratches fixed.
Remember that lease companies hire people whose job it is to inspect your car with a magnifying glass to find every little dent and ding in an effort to protect the bank’s investment. So don’t hesitate; call us today before you even have your car inspected. Let us make your car look as new as the day you leased it.
