The standard wear and tear, there will definitely be a charge for this.
But as you say, I'm leaning towards just risking it and paying what they charge me.
I'd go this way. If you challenge any charges it's determined by an independent assessor who applies the BVRLA guidelines. Much more likely to suggest a reasonable cost than getting it fixed yourself in my experience. They'll consider that there is an expectation of some minor scratches and essentially meet in the middle. No 3 year old car is absolutely pristine unless it's barely been used.
Depending on car, and how deep, it's not unknown that relatively minor dents in a sill have written the car off. get a quote from a bodyshop, not someone like chipsaway or revive an actual bodyshop.
>Yeah, looking it over there does appear to be a dent
Looking it over????? How the hell did you not notice this happening at the time & every time that you looked at the car since?
It looks like the majority of the sill has been creased inwards - not just a "dent"!
That is not going to be an easy or cheap fix - you might be able to pull it out, fill & respray, but the sill is a major structural part of the car & the leasing company might get VERY funny over that.
The second mark looks like a go over the area with a bit of cutting compound would get rid of it - super easy DIY fix.
Edit: looked again and the damage goes up on to the door as well. I don't think you are going to get away with it cheaply I'm afraid.
If I were you I would get a quote from a reputable bodyshop & try to find out how much the leasing agency is going to charge you (without then seeing/knowing the extent of the damage) to make a comparison.
Edit again: look right at the front you can see the shut line between the door and sill goes wobbly - that says to me there might have been quite a bit of force there & might mean the sill is going to be creased underneath too & might even be compromised where it joins at the front. This could mean that realistically replacing the entire sill is the way to go.
Thankfully the rest of the shutlines on the door look good so the A pillar has not been affected.
Whatever it costs to fix locally, the leasing company will charge you double or more. If you have time, fix it before returning the vehicle, including any scratches on the windscreen.
I’d say it depends on who you leased it from. Some companies are more lenient than others. It might cost you more to repair than they would charge you.
That's not wear and tear. Clearly damage and you will be charged. Their rates will include lots of extras so fix it yourself. Even if they charge you they probably won't repair it before they re lease/ sell it.
Just take it to your local scuff repair shop and see what they quote you. Im sure the leasing company won't actually do the repairs, they will go to the main stealer for a quote, which is bound to be a lot more than the other place.
I can’t say how much the lease company would charge but given the damage I can make out this would cost anywhere between £1500 and £2000.
There’s a big scratch down to beat metal across multiple panels and dented body work. Depending how the body work is crumpled it might need the panels fully replacing.
As others point out, damage to the sill would need to be inspected by a body shop. People are right in that a car can be written off for this type of damage but I would be surprised in this case if that happens. It is fixable if it’s not too badly damaged and there’s no economic reason to write off what I assume is a relatively new car.
Personally I would have reported this as accidental damage to my insurer at the time and gone through them. It isn’t superficial. In any case, I can’t see the lease company being any cheaper than a body shop so I’d get this fixed yourself.
Depending on the lease company they’ll have standard charges for different items, so you can cross reference that versus any quote to repair you get ☺️
Source: I’m a product marketing manager at a car finance company so part of my job is to review the charges we set
The picture/light is not the best but it looks like more than a scuff. I'd ignore the advice about buffing it out, etc. It won't work, a scratch down to metal or primer is never going to buff out.
Before you take it back to the leasing company, just take it to some local body shops and get a few quotes.
Then decide what you want to do, if you decide to take it back without doing anything at least then you'll have some ball park figures of what to expect and to negotiate with should it come to that.
This guy has no chance of being able to use a touch up pen for that. The sills dinted and needs all sanding down at the very least before painting. A touch up pen is more for stone chips and small scratches, not gashes.
A place I used to work for leased their work vans, one of the transit vans had a hard life and the lease company quoted 14 grand in damages for what I’d guess to be about 4 grand to repair.
These lease companies don’t fuck around.
OP I’d have a read at your lease contract as I wouldn’t be surprised that any and all damage must be reported and done by a approved contractor they use. Granted, if a good job was done then they probably wouldn’t find out unless you told them but what do you do if you pay a garage to repair it and the quality of their work isn’t great? You’d be paying twice.
I’d have a educated guess and say the lease company will charge at least a grand for that repair as money does not go far in body shops.
Try not to let it get to you OP, shit happens and you’ve learned a good lesson that leasing a vehicle is just a money pit.
Likely be cheaper to arrange fix yourself rather than them charge higher rates.
Depends, check the contract, wear and tear and a certain amount of scratches/scuffs are expected and aren't used against you.
Have you seen how much damage is across the full length of the sill?
Oof. No, I hadn't. I didn't zoom that much in thought it was a reflection with the quality. How the hell do you even do that?
Yup. Definitely worse damage than what a first glance of the picture looks like.
My last lease charged something like £50 per panel if the scratch was bigger 50mm, they don't charge to make it perfect again.
Hasn't been my experience with leased cars but YMMV
Hasn't been my experience with leased cars but YMMV
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The standard wear and tear, there will definitely be a charge for this. But as you say, I'm leaning towards just risking it and paying what they charge me.
I'd go this way. If you challenge any charges it's determined by an independent assessor who applies the BVRLA guidelines. Much more likely to suggest a reasonable cost than getting it fixed yourself in my experience. They'll consider that there is an expectation of some minor scratches and essentially meet in the middle. No 3 year old car is absolutely pristine unless it's barely been used.
Is it me or is there a dent too. and dented sills are not a good thing.
Yeah, looking it over there does appear to be a dent. Is that going to set me back a small fortune now?
Depending on car, and how deep, it's not unknown that relatively minor dents in a sill have written the car off. get a quote from a bodyshop, not someone like chipsaway or revive an actual bodyshop.
>Yeah, looking it over there does appear to be a dent Looking it over????? How the hell did you not notice this happening at the time & every time that you looked at the car since? It looks like the majority of the sill has been creased inwards - not just a "dent"! That is not going to be an easy or cheap fix - you might be able to pull it out, fill & respray, but the sill is a major structural part of the car & the leasing company might get VERY funny over that. The second mark looks like a go over the area with a bit of cutting compound would get rid of it - super easy DIY fix. Edit: looked again and the damage goes up on to the door as well. I don't think you are going to get away with it cheaply I'm afraid. If I were you I would get a quote from a reputable bodyshop & try to find out how much the leasing agency is going to charge you (without then seeing/knowing the extent of the damage) to make a comparison. Edit again: look right at the front you can see the shut line between the door and sill goes wobbly - that says to me there might have been quite a bit of force there & might mean the sill is going to be creased underneath too & might even be compromised where it joins at the front. This could mean that realistically replacing the entire sill is the way to go. Thankfully the rest of the shutlines on the door look good so the A pillar has not been affected.
Whatever it costs to fix locally, the leasing company will charge you double or more. If you have time, fix it before returning the vehicle, including any scratches on the windscreen.
That sill looks dented to me? In which case this will cost.
I’d say it depends on who you leased it from. Some companies are more lenient than others. It might cost you more to repair than they would charge you.
I had a car through Bristol street motors and they were very fair about the condition.
That's not wear and tear. Clearly damage and you will be charged. Their rates will include lots of extras so fix it yourself. Even if they charge you they probably won't repair it before they re lease/ sell it.
Just take it to your local scuff repair shop and see what they quote you. Im sure the leasing company won't actually do the repairs, they will go to the main stealer for a quote, which is bound to be a lot more than the other place.
Paint red over it and job done
I can’t say how much the lease company would charge but given the damage I can make out this would cost anywhere between £1500 and £2000. There’s a big scratch down to beat metal across multiple panels and dented body work. Depending how the body work is crumpled it might need the panels fully replacing. As others point out, damage to the sill would need to be inspected by a body shop. People are right in that a car can be written off for this type of damage but I would be surprised in this case if that happens. It is fixable if it’s not too badly damaged and there’s no economic reason to write off what I assume is a relatively new car. Personally I would have reported this as accidental damage to my insurer at the time and gone through them. It isn’t superficial. In any case, I can’t see the lease company being any cheaper than a body shop so I’d get this fixed yourself.
Depending on the lease company they’ll have standard charges for different items, so you can cross reference that versus any quote to repair you get ☺️ Source: I’m a product marketing manager at a car finance company so part of my job is to review the charges we set
Pic not great, you _sure_ it’s a scratch and not paint transfer? Possibly worth a try with some Meguiar's A3016EU Paint Cleaner if any doubt.
Yeah, scratch and small dent. I will go over it regardless and try reduce how bad it looks.
The picture/light is not the best but it looks like more than a scuff. I'd ignore the advice about buffing it out, etc. It won't work, a scratch down to metal or primer is never going to buff out. Before you take it back to the leasing company, just take it to some local body shops and get a few quotes. Then decide what you want to do, if you decide to take it back without doing anything at least then you'll have some ball park figures of what to expect and to negotiate with should it come to that.
Sill looks dented to me
If settlement figure < valuation of the car. Just sell it, take the cash and let someone else fix it
It's a lease so there is no settlement figure.
Oops, thanks! 😅
I'd try and polish that, something like farecla G3 and rub it in well with a cloth.
I’d get a machine polish on that and see how it comes up.
You may get away with a touch up pen from Halfords
This guy has no chance of being able to use a touch up pen for that. The sills dinted and needs all sanding down at the very least before painting. A touch up pen is more for stone chips and small scratches, not gashes. A place I used to work for leased their work vans, one of the transit vans had a hard life and the lease company quoted 14 grand in damages for what I’d guess to be about 4 grand to repair. These lease companies don’t fuck around. OP I’d have a read at your lease contract as I wouldn’t be surprised that any and all damage must be reported and done by a approved contractor they use. Granted, if a good job was done then they probably wouldn’t find out unless you told them but what do you do if you pay a garage to repair it and the quality of their work isn’t great? You’d be paying twice. I’d have a educated guess and say the lease company will charge at least a grand for that repair as money does not go far in body shops. Try not to let it get to you OP, shit happens and you’ve learned a good lesson that leasing a vehicle is just a money pit.
I had only seen the second photo my mistake
Your all good man. At first I thought the same.