Lease Car Return Problem

[Deleted User]

tala2012, That's why I will never take out a lease car as they almost always try to rape your wallet when the lease is up.

tala2012

Your solo right as I'm now learning to my detriment - having said that I've had a lease car for some years and have never has such a excessive charge but this is the first through Lombard.....never again with them again that's for sure!

hollata

I've just had my Citroen C1 lease car inspected and got charged for 2 of the tyres which each had a small slit in them. I hadn't noticed but fair enough. However the charge was £141 per tyre which is extortionate for such a small car. A quick Google brought up tyres between £30 and £50. I asked if I could drive the car to a garage to have the tyre changed but the assessor advised I would incur a penalty of £250 + VAT from Citroen for delaying the inspection.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Hintza

hollata wrote: »

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Not about that exactly but it really pays to triple check the car from top to bottom before return.

albionrovers

Deleted_User wrote: »

tala2012, That's why I will never take out a lease car as they almost always try to rape your wallet when the lease is up.

==

I've returned an Audi and a BMW and no charges whatsoever. Audi had a scuffed alloy too.

worried_jim

vikingaero

Oh the irony and stupidity of Ultimate Car Leasing - spamming a forum on a thread about leasing companies charging for spurious repairs!

lfrank

I worked for a council and I took a Renault Clio on lease in November 2006, initially for a period of three years with 14k miles a year. My contribution to this lease was £81 per month, the rest was paid by the council which I'm guessing would equal an overall lease charge going to the lease company (Fleetcare) of roughly £250 per month. (the same model of clio, taken out now, would be nearly £300ish per month).

In May 2008 I changed employer to the NHS (a Primary Care Trust) and my lease contract on the same car was moved to a different lease company (automotive leasing) and it continued as per the figures above. At the end of the three year period it was extended by twelve months as I was on a temporary contract and this would take me to the end of it. In 2010, the year the lease was due to end, I was made permanent and wanted to get a new lease car, however at this point the Tory government's plans to scrap PCTs was in train and so my PCT was offering no new lease contracts, but they were extending existing ones "on a month by month basis". This continued until April 2013 when the PCT ended and I was TUPEd back to another council.

I gave the car back, there was some scratch damage on it, some dents and a a cracked wing mirror. I have now received a bill for this work totalling nearly £1000.

My issues are this:

1) Given this is an exceptionally long lease and the car has done 110k miles, can I make an argument about greater wear & tear should be taken into account?

2) On my research, my model of Clio would've cost 11.5k new, but that is without fleet discount, so I can assume that the car would've cost the company about 10k. They have recieved 66 payments of £250 during the lease period, which is £16.5k, and they probably sold it for at least 1k. A gross profit of £7.5k or 75%. Therefore can I make the argument that they have made more money on this vehicle than any initial lease agreement/contract would've been calculated on and that they should take any hit on repairs?

3) I did not receive any new contract or update from automotive leasing when I was transferred over and no-one from them or the initial lease company (fleetcare) has been in touch with me about this vehicle in years to do any kind of review of mileage, condition or contract status. It seems everyone was happy to receive the money and profit without asking many questions. Can I make arguments about that rendering any contract invalid, or that at least they should be reasonable about applying charges?

4) The contract was with the NHS PCT and the lease company. The NHS PCT no longer exists, so can I avoid these charges on that basis?

IF this level of damage was at the end of three years then I'd hold my hands up and pay it; but it galls me when you consider how much money they have made on this vehicle. Wear & tear guidelines are there, as far as I can see, to quite rightly ensure that lease companies make a profit and that they are no way out of pocket at the end of a normal lease.

Neither of these factors are the case here. They have made money on this car, more than they could possibly have expected in 2006 when they bought it.

Any views?

Wh05apk

"there was some scratch damage on it, some dents and a a cracked wing mirror"

To me that is not "wear & tear" it is damage? whether on a 3 year old or 7 year old car is not really relevant.

Looks like the lease company have made a small fortune from your contract, in hindsite, you should probably have tried to buy the car from them and re-sell?

Personally I would never touch a lease scheme, having always bought my own cars, even when running for business use, my simple way of looking at lease schemes is that they are out to make profit, so why not cut them out and keep the profit myself.

owen_money

Enfieldian wrote: »

Same here.

I have had company or leased cars for the last 15 years.

It all seems wonderful to begin with. A nice new fully maintained car with all servicing costs paid.

The problem is that you don't often get a choice in colour, trim or extras (purely cosmetic, I know)

With some companies a car can be used as a pool car but you will be charged for the scratches and dings on it's return....

Parking tickets become £100 a time, legal or otherwise, due to the "admin fee"

Best of all, you are sold on the idea of a 2,000 mile a month allowance and keep the car for 3 years. On its's return they expect it in showroom condition after 70,000 miles.

(Or they go bust halfway through the deal!)

I am buying my first car this week at the age of 37.

My choice of model, colour, trim and extras.

I will drive it as much or as little as I like and if it gets damaged I will decide if a repair is necessary.

Work for a decent company and you get to choose make, model, trim level and colour, and you dont have to pay for any damage on its return

Dont park illegally and you dont get tickets