Damage at end of SEAT Leon Lease - Best course of action?
Discussion
Hello all,
I'm coming up to the end of my lease, and have managed to sustain a fair bit of damage, (minor dent, 2 deep scratches, 3 minor scratches).
I'm hoping for advice on what is the most cost effective way of fixing the damage?
From browsing the forums, I've found mixed advice (not specific to SEAT) along the lines of:
1. Just hand the car back in with damage, as VWFS are pretty good at charging fair rates for damage repair.
2. Get it done at a local body shop (I've been quoted £500), and cross your fingers that they don't notice work done by an un-authorised repair (sounds pretty risky to me).
3. Go to an authorised repair centre, as you'll get a better rate than handing the car back with damage. (I'm currently waiting for an appointment/quote - but I have no idea how much this will compare to VWFS quoted cost if I hand the car back damaged. I've rung them asking for a price list but the people I've dealt with have been pretty unhelpful so far).
Any advice would be appreciated!
I'm coming up to the end of my lease, and have managed to sustain a fair bit of damage, (minor dent, 2 deep scratches, 3 minor scratches).
I'm hoping for advice on what is the most cost effective way of fixing the damage?
From browsing the forums, I've found mixed advice (not specific to SEAT) along the lines of:
1. Just hand the car back in with damage, as VWFS are pretty good at charging fair rates for damage repair.
2. Get it done at a local body shop (I've been quoted £500), and cross your fingers that they don't notice work done by an un-authorised repair (sounds pretty risky to me).
3. Go to an authorised repair centre, as you'll get a better rate than handing the car back with damage. (I'm currently waiting for an appointment/quote - but I have no idea how much this will compare to VWFS quoted cost if I hand the car back damaged. I've rung them asking for a price list but the people I've dealt with have been pretty unhelpful so far).
Any advice would be appreciated!
joe9764 said:
Hello all,
I'm coming up to the end of my lease, and have managed to sustain a fair bit of damage, (minor dent, 2 deep scratches, 3 minor scratches).
I'm hoping for advice on what is the most cost effective way of fixing the damage?
From browsing the forums, I've found mixed advice (not specific to SEAT) along the lines of:
1. Just hand the car back in with damage, as VWFS are pretty good at charging fair rates for damage repair.
2. Get it done at a local body shop (I've been quoted £500), and cross your fingers that they don't notice work done by an un-authorised repair (sounds pretty risky to me).
3. Go to an authorised repair centre, as you'll get a better rate than handing the car back with damage. (I'm currently waiting for an appointment/quote - but I have no idea how much this will compare to VWFS quoted cost if I hand the car back damaged. I've rung them asking for a price list but the people I've dealt with have been pretty unhelpful so far).
Any advice would be appreciated!
I had a Skoda Octavia VRS lease car. I hit a pheasant hard at some speed, and cracked and bent the front bumper and valance, smashed the grill too. Local body shop did a distinctly average repair on it, to an agreed price. It looked ok though and unless you really looked you wouldn't know. When the car was collected, bloke went round the car with a clip board, and remarked upon how nicely I'd kept the car, signed it off and I never heard anything else. He was ore interested in looking for kerbed wheels than anything else. I'm coming up to the end of my lease, and have managed to sustain a fair bit of damage, (minor dent, 2 deep scratches, 3 minor scratches).
I'm hoping for advice on what is the most cost effective way of fixing the damage?
From browsing the forums, I've found mixed advice (not specific to SEAT) along the lines of:
1. Just hand the car back in with damage, as VWFS are pretty good at charging fair rates for damage repair.
2. Get it done at a local body shop (I've been quoted £500), and cross your fingers that they don't notice work done by an un-authorised repair (sounds pretty risky to me).
3. Go to an authorised repair centre, as you'll get a better rate than handing the car back with damage. (I'm currently waiting for an appointment/quote - but I have no idea how much this will compare to VWFS quoted cost if I hand the car back damaged. I've rung them asking for a price list but the people I've dealt with have been pretty unhelpful so far).
Any advice would be appreciated!
My point is that it would have to be quite a bad repair for your average collector to spot it.
VWFS - attitude at end of lease: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Cheers guys, I'm thinking I'll get a quote from an authorised dealership, then just hand it in damaged.
Reason being if for whatever reason SEAT are taking the mick with costs, I'll have an authorised quote in the back pocket to dispute high costs.
My point is that it would have to be quite a bad repair for your average collector to spot it.I have considered this as well cb, but I've heard horror stories of having an OTT collector who reports 'unsatisfactory' repairs that are invisible to the naked eye, and people ending up having to pay for 2 repairs. I guess I could risk it and hope the collector isn't too fussed, but I would really resent paying £500 for a repair, then >£500 for getting the repair repaired!
Reason being if for whatever reason SEAT are taking the mick with costs, I'll have an authorised quote in the back pocket to dispute high costs.
cbmotorsport said:
My point is that it would have to be quite a bad repair for your average collector to spot it.
PenelopaPitstop said:
VWFS - attitude at end of lease: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I did come across this thread, thought it looks very promising, but it is possible SEAT take a different view to VWFS overall, surely? I've always dealt with SEAT, but the payments go to VWFS every month. Not sure what to think on this one...When my golf went back, the BCA guy picked up EVERYTHING! Little stone chips,but said they were ok, a barely visible dent that you had to get right down to see, that was ok too, all withing guidelines. He had a paint depth reader and picked out a repair , which was noted down.
Your two options are dealer repair or risk it for a biscuit with vwfs. Personally I'd risk it from my own experience. Chances are vwfs will be cheaper.
Your two options are dealer repair or risk it for a biscuit with vwfs. Personally I'd risk it from my own experience. Chances are vwfs will be cheaper.
joe9764 said:
I did come across this thread, thought it looks very promising, but it is possible SEAT take a different view to VWFS overall, surely? I've always dealt with SEAT, but the payments go to VWFS every month. Not sure what to think on this one...
You suggesting that VWFS will take different view than VWFS ;-) Car belongs to them, it's just Seat not Skoda or Audi. The same company deals with pickup and sale of cars. Thought I'd close the loop for people researching this in the future:
End of lease charges came to £190!
The damage to this car caused me a lot of stress trying to figure out which way is cheapest, but by an absolute mile, handing it back with damage was cheapest.
The cheapest quote for repair I got was £500, and in that case the repair could be considered below standard, so I would 100% recommend just handing it back as it is.
End of lease charges came to £190!
The damage to this car caused me a lot of stress trying to figure out which way is cheapest, but by an absolute mile, handing it back with damage was cheapest.
The cheapest quote for repair I got was £500, and in that case the repair could be considered below standard, so I would 100% recommend just handing it back as it is.
joe9764 said:
Thought I'd close the loop for people researching this in the future:
End of lease charges came to £190!
The damage to this car caused me a lot of stress trying to figure out which way is cheapest, but by an absolute mile, handing it back with damage was cheapest.
The cheapest quote for repair I got was £500, and in that case the repair could be considered below standard, so I would 100% recommend just handing it back as it is.
And it wouldnt be suprising if the vehicle went to auction in exactly the same state without a repair being done! End of lease charges came to £190!
The damage to this car caused me a lot of stress trying to figure out which way is cheapest, but by an absolute mile, handing it back with damage was cheapest.
The cheapest quote for repair I got was £500, and in that case the repair could be considered below standard, so I would 100% recommend just handing it back as it is.
My previous 2 lease cars had small damage on and they tried to charge me for it, but i dragged the process out a bit until it went to auction and i could see the damage report on the listing. I went back and said they hadnt repaired the car and were still charging me for it. Came back with £0 demand
pavarotti1980 said:
And it wouldnt be suprising if the vehicle went to auction in exactly the same state without a repair being done!
My previous 2 lease cars had small damage on and they tried to charge me for it, but i dragged the process out a bit until it went to auction and i could see the damage report on the listing. I went back and said they hadnt repaired the car and were still charging me for it. Came back with £0 demand
Are they meant to be fixed? When I had company lease cars, the charge at the end was called 'dilapidation' - it's the amount they expect to lose on the car when it goes through auction. My previous 2 lease cars had small damage on and they tried to charge me for it, but i dragged the process out a bit until it went to auction and i could see the damage report on the listing. I went back and said they hadnt repaired the car and were still charging me for it. Came back with £0 demand
I always assumed that's why the charges (especially for minor bodywork) are usually far less than you could get it repaired for.
Sheepshanks said:
Are they meant to be fixed? When I had company lease cars, the charge at the end was called 'dilapidation' - it's the amount they expect to lose on the car when it goes through auction.
I always assumed that's why the charges (especially for minor bodywork) are usually far less than you could get it repaired for.
I was told the charges were for repair work prior to auction. It didnt happen hence refusing to payI always assumed that's why the charges (especially for minor bodywork) are usually far less than you could get it repaired for.
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