End of Lease Car Repairs in Oldham

Lease car going back soon? Scratches, dents, scuffed bumpers and kerbed alloys can all add charges to the bill when it’s inspected. Volksmaster repairs them at our body shop in Oldham before the car goes back, often for less than the leasing company would charge.

Send us photos and we’ll tell you what needs repairing and what you can leave. Most repairs are done the same day: drop your car off between 8am and 10am or between 10am and 12pm and collect it later that day.

End of Lease Car Repairs at Our Oldham Body Shop

Dent in a rear wing

When a lease car goes back, it’s inspected when it’s collected or soon after, and the leasing company charges for any damage beyond fair wear and tear. A long scratch on a door, a dent in a rear wing or a kerbed wheel can each appear as a separate charge on the final bill.

Repairing the damage first puts you back in charge of the cost. Our technicians repair scratches, dents, bumper scuffs and alloy wheels at our workshop at 387 Ashton Road, Oldham. Where the damage is in one area we use SMART repair techniques, refinishing only the damaged part of the panel or wheel. That keeps the cost down and is why most repairs are finished the same day.

What Counts as Fair Wear and Tear?

Scratches around a door handle

Most leasing companies judge returned cars against the BVRLA Fair Wear and Tear Guide, the industry standard set by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. Fair wear and tear is the gradual deterioration that comes with normal use. Damage from a specific event, such as a knock in a car park or a scrape along a kerb, is chargeable.

The limits most often quoted from the guide are:

• Scratches up to 25mm long are usually acceptable, as long as no primer or bare metal is showing.
• Dents under 15mm across are usually acceptable if the paint isn’t broken and there are no more than two on a panel. Dents on the roof or on a swage line, the styling line pressed into a panel, are usually charged at any size.
• Alloy wheel scuffs totalling up to 50mm around the rim are usually acceptable. Larger scuffs, dents, cracks and corrosion are not.
• Stone chips are normally fine if they’re small, but rust on any painted surface is chargeable.

Your leasing company may set its own limits, so check your agreement or the return guide it sends you. If the damage is within the limits, there’s no need to repair it, and we’ll tell you so.

End of Lease Damage We Repair

Alloy wheels being refurbished

Scratches and scuffs. Scratches that are too long for the guide, or deep enough to show primer, are filled, painted and lacquered to match. See our scratch repair page, or our guide to long scratches if one runs along a whole panel.

Dents. Door dings, dents on swage lines and dents with cracked paint are reshaped and refinished. Our dent repair page explains how.

Bumper scuffs. Bumper corners take most parking knocks. Scuffs, scrapes and peeling paint are repaired and the bumper refinished. Read more about bumper repair, or find out when a bumper scuff repair is worth the cost.

Alloy wheels. Kerbed, scuffed and corroded wheels are repaired or fully refurbished and refinished to match the others on the car. See our alloy wheel refurbishment in Oldham page and our guide to fixing alloy wheel scuffs.

Stone chips and faded paint. Chips on the bonnet and door edges are repaired before they rust, and faded or peeling paint is put right with a panel respray.

Accident damage. If the car has heavier damage, our accident repairs service covers it, and we handle insurance work.

Not sure what can be repaired? Our article on which dents and scratches can be SMART repaired explains where the limits are.

When to Book End of Lease Repairs

Look the car over two or three months before the contract ends. Wash it first, then check every panel, both bumpers and all four wheels in daylight, so nothing is missed.

Book any repairs for a few weeks before the collection date. Most are done in a day, but that leaves time if a part has to be ordered.

Service history counts too. Missing services are usually charged for even if the car is otherwise in good condition. If a service is due before the car goes back, our Oldham garage offers lease and fleet servicing, with a stamped service book as proof.

When the car is collected, take your own dated photos of every panel and wheel, and keep the invoice for any repairs. If the inspection report lists damage you don’t recognise, your photos will help you challenge it.

Repair It or Pay the Charge?

Matching the paint colour

Leasing companies price damage from their own charge lists, with each item charged separately. Having it repaired at an independent body shop can work out cheaper, especially for scratches, scuffs and kerbed wheels that can be put right with a SMART repair.

It isn’t always worth it. Damage within fair wear and tear doesn’t need repairing, and a single small mark may cost little to leave. Send us photos and we’ll give you a fixed price, so you can compare it with your leasing company’s charge before you decide.

The repair also has to be done properly. Inspectors look for poor colour matches, overspray and visible repair lines, and a poor repair can be charged as damage. We mix paint to your car’s colour code, blend it into the surrounding paintwork and guarantee every repair for 12 months.

Why Choose Our Oldham Body Shop for End of Lease Repairs?

Every repair is carried out in our workshop, not on a driveway, so wind, rain and dust never get near fresh paint. Most repairs are done the same day, and while we’re a VAG specialist, we repair cars of every make.

End of lease repairs are one of the services at our Oldham car body shop. If a wheel and a panel both need attention, our alloy wheel and bodywork repair page explains how we do them in one visit. We also repair company cars and vans before they go back at the end of a contract.

Customers bring their cars to us from Bury, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne and across Greater Manchester. Use our free quote form to upload photos of the damage, or call 0161 302 0201.