We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Badly damaged lease car!!

Hello!

So I have a VW POLO on lease and I recently scraped the passenger door side against a brick wall (DISASTER) !!
It's caused a lot of damage, deep scrapes and dents and a scuff on my wing mirror. Completely my own fault, I know!
This is my first year of having it so I'm not returning it any time soon however I need to know if I'd be able to get it fixed at a third party garage or whether I MUST take it to VW to get fixed. I know it will cost me ALOT to get fixed anyway but I know VW will probably charge me x3 as much as a third party garage will.

Would I get away with getting it fixed elsewhere without declaring it to VW? Or is this too risky

Thanks!! :)

Comments

  • loskie
    loskie Posts: 1,761 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    what does it say in your contract?
    If you are confident of a good repair elsewhere at a better price that's what I would do but would not broadcast it on the internet if it breached my contract.
  • chrisw
    chrisw Posts: 3,840 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    When you hand the car back, they will walk round it looking for any damage as you might if you were looking to buy a car.

    A proper repair should be virtually impossible to detect visually. If the finish is poor with paint overspray they wouldn't be very happy, but it's unlikely they would notice if it's been done properly.

    It could be very expensive, so it might be worth considering going through your insurance.
  • vikingaero
    vikingaero Posts: 10,920 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    or whether I MUST take it to VW to get fixed.

    Very very few VW garages have bodyshops so the work will be subcontracted out to a third party. All that will happen is that the VW garage will add x% onto your bill.

    You've got plenty of time so don't panic. Ask around for recommendations on decent bodyshops local to you.
    The man without a signature.
  • Mercdriver
    Mercdriver Posts: 3,898 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    vikingaero wrote: »
    Very very few VW garages have bodyshops so the work will be subcontracted out to a third party. All that will happen is that the VW garage will add x% onto your bill.

    You've got plenty of time so don't panic. Ask around for recommendations on decent bodyshops local to you.

    Find out which bodyshop the local VW dealer uses and get a direct quote from them.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 600.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.5K Life & Family
  • 259K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.