What is Fair Wear and Tear on a Car or Van?
When a contract hire leasing company sets it car leasing (or van) rental, it estimates what it thinks it can sell the vehicle for at the end of the contract. They forecast their residual values by a number of factors or trends, one of which is called CAP Monitor. CAP is the UK's leading information vehicle provider and reports on many trends, including resale values both now and in the future. Glass's guide also provides a similar service.
For a car, as a guide, the vehicle leasing company usually expect the vehicle to return in a CAP clean condition and for a van in a CAP average condition, as they know commercial vehicles tend to have a "harder life" than a car. The question is how do you define a clean or average condition?
When you return a vehicle to the leasing company it will be assessed for any possible damage or missing items (like the spare keys to the vehicle being missing for example) as this may affect the resale value. The damage assessment process is purely to compensate the leasing company for any loss against what they had hoped to sell their vehicle for. They may not necessarily carry out any damage repair they find, but when they sell their vehicles, they know they will receive less cash if sold in a poorer condition than they had anticipated.
Most reputable leasing companies are full members of the BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Vehicle Leasing Association) and adhere to their code of practise when assessing end of contract damage. All the car and van finance partners on Comparecontracthire.com are full members.
The vehicle leasing industry uses both images and text for every aspect of a vehicle's condition and the BVRLA sets an industry standard based on the following items.
- General appearance, documentation and keys.
- Paintwork, vehicle body, bumpers and trim.
- Windows and glass.
- Tyres and wheels.
- Mechanical condition.
- Vehicle interior.
- Equipment and controls.
As a general rule, scratches on the vehicle upto a depth of 25mm are acceptable but scratches deeper than 25mm are not.
Collection and assessment
When your car or van is ready for collection, the leasing company will send a representative to collect, and assess your vehicle and record the mileage. It is important that a member of your company, preferably the driver or fleet manager, must check and agree with the collection driver regarding the vehicle condition. All readily apparent damage will be noted on the vehicle collection sheet and you will be asked to sign the vehicle collection sheet.
However sometimes the vehicle is also re-assessed at the leasing company nominated site, so it is really important to keep a copy of the original vehicle collection sheet, in case there is any additional damage highlighted that was not apparent before.
How do you ensure you don't get a fair, wear and tear bill?
First and foremost if you look after your vehicle for the contract, keep it clean and service it regularly you should be alright. The leasing company knows that the car may have the odd slight scuff or possibly stains on the seats, but they will not accept dents, bumps, large scratches, torn seats, kerbed tyres etc.
The best way to look at it is if you were buying your used ex-fleet vehicle, would you pay less for it if it had missed a service or it had a dent on the boot?
The things you can do before your vehicle is collected.
The BVRLA recommends a number of actions you can undertake prior to returning your leased car or van, to ensure you don't end up with a fair wear and tear bill, as follows.
- Inspect your vehicle 10-12 weeks before the contract end date and if there is damage, you can get it repaired at your chosen garage.
- Choose a time to look at your vehicle when the weather is good and under good lighting, as this is how the vehicle leasing company will ultimately assess your vehicle.
- Wash your vehicle before doing your appraisal but make sure it is dry as water on the paintwork can mask bodywork damage.
- Walk round your vehicle and inspect each panel including the roof and look from different angles too.
- Crouch or kneel by your vehicle and look down each side to see if there are any scratches.
- Inspect all your headlamp and indicator lenses for cracks, windows and mirrors for chips, cracks or even holes and either get them repaired or be aware that these are potential damage re-charge items.
- Check all the tyres including the spare for any sidewall damage or cuts and also the tread depth across the whole width of the tyre. The legal limit is 1.6 mm so if they are bald you may get a bill.
- Clean the inside of your vehicle and check all upholstery for cigarette burns, stains or wear. You may choose not to repair a cigarette burn but at least you will understand if you get a bill.
- Finally, check all the controls, including the stereo and ensure all items that should be in the car (when collection occurs) i.e. the documents and keys, are also readily available.
If you are unhappy with a fair, wear and tear bill you can speak directly to your leasing company, however if you cannot resolve your complaint you can contact the BVRLA directly, to make a complaint.
The BVRLA also produces three different Fair Wear and Tear Guides, for passenger vehicles including MPVs, light commercial vehicles and heavy goods vehicles and each guide also offers advice on how to maintain and look after your leased vehicle as well.
Contract hire leasing is an extremely efficient way of driving a new car or van every two, three or four years. In most cases, if you have looked after your vehicle, you should not get a fair wear and tear bill. We have shown a sample of Volkswagen car leasing prices below to give you an idea of what it might cost and if you require quotes on other models then visit the main site.
