More people than ever are shunning traditional car buying in favour of a lease agreement – either through a PCH plan (personal contract hire) or a PCP plan (personal contract purchase). But new research suggests that over half of all of these drivers do not fully understand their company’s fair wear and tear policy and are not fully clued up on the terms. Do you fall into this category? 89% of charges made to people leasing cars are for repairs, as opposed to other issues such as missing keys or exceeding mileage. Most of these come as unexpected to the driver. So how can you avoid these extra charges?
Firstly, make sure that you thoroughly read your paperwork. A full understanding of what the terms entail is important when leasing any vehicle. Make yourself familiar with your cars fair wear and tear policy. Not just at the beginning of the lease, but a few weeks before the end of your lease too. As you reach the last few weeks of your lease, and you’ve given the car a good clean inside and out, assess your car for any damage that would be chargeable once you return your car. You can then shop around for quotes from a third-party company. However, before getting any repairs done, check that your policy allows repairs from a third-party company. This is often cheaper than what the leasing company would charge so it is worth checking out.
If your policy does not allow you to use a third-party company for the repairs, you could always try negotiating with the lease company – this is where your quotes from the third-party company may help you to establish a reasonable cost for repairs when you attempt to negotiate.
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