Leasing a car - what happens if there's damage but you want to buy the car at the end?

bris

I asked about buying my XC90 6 years ago at the end of the lease and they were prepared to sell it to me, I didn't in the end but if you ask they can only say yes or no.


Most go to auction anyway.

Goudy

Going back to your original question, at the end of the lease (or PCP deal that you hand back) your car will be collected by the finance company (you may have to pay for this) and they will inspect it for damage in accordance to the BVLA's fair wear and tear guide.
https://www.pikeandbambridge.co.uk/uploads/tinymce/Fair%20Wear%20Tear%20Guide.pdf

Damage deemed outside of this, excess mileage, missing service history, missing keys etc will be billed back to you.

You can have the vehicle repaired before hand, but some companies may spot less than perfect repairs and still bill you.

The finance houses count on vehicles being worth a certain amount at the end of the leases/PCP deals, these have dipped as used car values have taken a hit recently so some houses have been pretty heavy handed with damage charges to try and claw some money back.
I know of a few people that were smug at their super cheap Pug and Citroen deals a few years ago are now digging deep into their pockets for expensive bills due to some minor repairs.

Of course if you buy the car at the end of any deal, you don't need to worry, they won't care what state it's in as long as they make their money.