Lease car damage

darkh0rse

Hi all,

I've a PCH lease car via Arval/Leasing Options which runs till November this year.

I've picked up a dent on the panel. The mark is about the diameter of a 10p coin. 

The term in the contract relating to damage/wear and tear is as follows:

At the end of the Contract Term (or on early termination of this Agreement or late return of the Vehicle) the Hirer will make the Vehicle available for collection. A representative on behalf of ARVAL will complete an initial report on the mechanical and bodywork condition of the Vehicle including its milometer reading. The Hirer or its representative will sign a copy of that report upon agreement of its content ARVAL shall invoice the Hirer for the cost of repairs (whether or not carried out) to a Vehicle returned to ARVAL that is subject to damage which, in accordance with the BVRLA Fair Wear and Tear Guide for the Contract Hire Industry, would constitute unfair wear and tear and/or for any diminution of the value of the Vehicle resulting from a previous repair to the Vehicle. All invoices for unfair wear and tear charges must be paid by the Hirer in accordance with Clause 3 of this Agreement.

If it were you, is this something you would look to get repaired before returning, or would you hand it back as is? Also, what kind of repair price would you expect to pay?

Many thanks

AdrianC

https://issuu.com/bfwsn67/docs/cars_fw_t_fleet_alliance?e=2001091/40087681
Here's the BVRLA Fair Wear and Tear Guide.

What do you think?

Page 13 is the relevant one.
"Chips of 3mm or less are acceptable". That's about the full size of the dent.
"Dents of 15mm or less are acceptable". A 10p piece is 25mm diameter.
"chips within dents are not acceptable".

It's not going to be an easy one to fix - poor rear access to the panel, and quite probably stretched metal. I think I'd be wondering what your lease company's cost on return was. They often have a fixed price-per-panel.

darkh0rse

AdrianC said:

What do you think?

Thanks Adrian - reading that, my thoughts would be that it goes beyond fair wear and tear 
Most annoying, all part and parcel of PCH I guess.

Ah yes the fixed price per panel might be interesting - Arval have a guide it would seem, thanks for the pointer.
"Dents >10mm in diameter with paint damage or on roof / swage line Repair & Refinsh Per Panel £195"

AdrianC

darkh0rse said:

AdrianC said:

What do you think?

Thanks Adrian - reading that, my thoughts would be that it goes beyond fair wear and tear 
Most annoying, all part and parcel of PCH I guess.

Ah yes the fixed price per panel might be interesting - Arval have a guide it would seem, thanks for the pointer.
"Dents >10mm in diameter with paint damage or on roof / swage line Repair & Refinsh Per Panel £195"

So you've got a baseline price. Now ask a couple of used car sales places who they use for this kind of bodywork rectification, and get a price.

Or shrug and accept that two hundred quid isn't actually that bad for that sort of damage on what's ultimately somebody else's car.

darkh0rse

Indeed - for the hassle I'll let them sort it it rather than trying to batter the price down myself with a repair. I was worried it would be more, to be honest.

Thanks for your help.

Grumpy_chap

The other advantage of accepting the £200 charge is that you can't dent it again.
Say you get it fixed in October and it costs £150, so you save £50.  There is no guarantee it won't get knocked again before the car goes back.

darkh0rse

Grumpy_chap said:

The other advantage of accepting the £200 charge is that you can't dent it again.

Absolutely! Still months for it to get nudged in the car park again by a stranger... 🤦🏻‍♀️... Will leave it to them to sort out at the end of the contract. Cheers.