VWFS - attitude at end of lease?

[Blown2CV]

VWG said:

MinuteMan said:

VWG said:

Hi long time lurker here.

My VWFS GTD goes back in September unfortunately my front tyres are down to 3mm but I expect to do another 5000 miles so don’t think they will last. What’s the cheapest brand I can get away with?

Also I have a chip on my screen which has about a 1cm crack either side. It’s been there for a year now and not got worse, does anybody have experience of windscreen damage and whether to get it replaced on insurance or wait and see what is charged at the end of the lease?

Thanks all

Swap the fronts with the rears? The rears will have more than 3mm on them

I was charged £35 for a chipped windscreen, probably because it was repairable.

Unfortunately I can’t do that as i have non matching rears, I got an unrepairable puncture 6 months into the lease and had to get an emergency roadside replacement with a different brand.

I’ll see how far I can eek out the 3mm!

not great advice again... it isn't about the legal limit (although if it's down to 3mm now you only have 1.4mm to play with not 3mm even on a non-leased car), the contract will state it needs probably changing at 4mm, so you're likely already overdue. Swapping fronts to rears... not sure what that would achieve as it's a contracted responsibility. Also it's eke and not eek, but i wonder if the latter may actually be more appropriate in some ways.

[gregd]

Update on my R which went back recently. BCA were very fair and VWFS only charged me 144 quid all in for a kerbed alloy and a big scuff/deep scratches above the rear wheelarch. Stone chip on windscreen and various other scuffs and scratches were ignored.

[VWG]

Blown2CV said:

VWG said:

MinuteMan said:

VWG said:

Hi long time lurker here.

My VWFS GTD goes back in September unfortunately my front tyres are down to 3mm but I expect to do another 5000 miles so don’t think they will last. What’s the cheapest brand I can get away with?

Also I have a chip on my screen which has about a 1cm crack either side. It’s been there for a year now and not got worse, does anybody have experience of windscreen damage and whether to get it replaced on insurance or wait and see what is charged at the end of the lease?

Thanks all

Swap the fronts with the rears? The rears will have more than 3mm on them

I was charged £35 for a chipped windscreen, probably because it was repairable.

Unfortunately I can’t do that as i have non matching rears, I got an unrepairable puncture 6 months into the lease and had to get an emergency roadside replacement with a different brand.

I’ll see how far I can eek out the 3mm!

not great advice again... it isn't about the legal limit (although if it's down to 3mm now you only have 1.4mm to play with not 3mm even on a non-leased car), the contract will state it needs probably changing at 4mm, so you're likely already overdue. Swapping fronts to rears... not sure what that would achieve as it's a contracted responsibility. Also it's eke and not eek, but i wonder if the latter may actually be more appropriate in some ways.

I think you are right I might as well change them now as 3mm isn’t a lot and at least I get some use out of the new rubber before the end of the contract.

I phoned VWFS and they gave me a list of acceptable brands so will see what deals I can get.

[Spidersleg]

When I had my fully maintained gtd, ATS were only allowed to change the tyres once they were 2mm or below.
So asking for the car back with 4mm+ is a bit rich.

Edited by Spidersleg on Friday 20th April 19:14

[kmpowell]

foreverfalling said:

Anyone hazard a guess how much this lot will cost.

I need a new bumper and maybe even a new door ...

New back bumper will be circa £1000. Just had the bumper replaced on our MK7 Match edition before BCA pick it up next week. Total bill for the new rear bumper, spraying(limestone grey), parking sensors, number plate, sundries, fitment etc was £980.

Edited by kmpowell on Friday 20th April 14:35

[Blown2CV]

not sure it's ever a good idea these days to have the work done, especially at those costs?

[kmpowell]

Blown2CV said:

not sure it's ever a good idea these days to have the work done, especially at those costs?

The risk with that is BCA cost might be more than getting it done yourself at VW, and from what I read on other forums they usually are as BCA try to recoup as much cost out of the car as possible.

[Blown2CV]

Spidersleg said:

When I had my fully maintained gtd, As were only allowed to change the tyres once they were 2mm or below.
So asking for the car back with 4mm+ is a bit rich.

Golf R maintained on VWFS they said i had to change the tyres when they got down to 4mm.

[Blown2CV]

kmpowell said:

Blown2CV said:

not sure it's ever a good idea these days to have the work done, especially at those costs?

The risk with that is BCA cost might be more than getting it done yourself at VW, and from what I read on other forums they usually are as BCA try to recoup as much cost out of the car as possible.

i don't think that's the case anymore though.

[Spidersleg]

Blown2CV said:

Golf R maintained on VWFS they said i had to change the tyres when they got down to 4mm.

I wonder if that's because of the performance? I was shocked when ATS said they had to be 2mm or under for vwfs to allow them to be changed.

[senorblm]

what's the deal with extending, will VW let you extend on the same terms? my last lease with network allowed me to pro rata the lease for as long as i wanted

[VWG]

senorblm said:

what's the deal with extending, will VW let you extend on the same terms? my last lease with network allowed me to pro rata the lease for as long as i wanted

I believe you can informally extend for 3 months at the same rates or you can ask for a quote for a formal extension up to a year.

A word of warning though, I asked for an extension on my GTD for another year and the price was £100 per month more expensive.

[Blown2CV]

senorblm said:

what's the deal with extending, will VW let you extend on the same terms? my last lease with network allowed me to pro rata the lease for as long as i wanted

totally on a case by case basis. Depends on the car, and the deal you had in the first place, and the mileage currently on it... etc.

[kmpowell]

senorblm said:

what's the deal with extending, will VW let you extend on the same terms? my last lease with network allowed me to pro rata the lease for as long as i wanted

You can extend on a month by month basis for up to three months, at the same cost and mileage set pro rata. If you have a new VAG car on order they will also extend it after the three months until the new car arrives, or if you don’t have a new car on order VWFS can propose you a new agreement (usually more expensive).

[Blown2CV]

definitely worth checking your contract for handback criteria as it isn't the same for all VWFS contracts. My tyres only have to be above legal limit across the tread face of every tyre, so I will probably get away with not having to buy another set which has saved me about £1000.

[Gregmitchell]

Blown2CV said:

definitely worth checking your contract for handback criteria as it isn't the same for all VWFS contracts. My tyres only have to be above legal limit across the tread face of every tyre, so I will probably get away with not having to buy another set which has saved me about £1000.

yup, my passat goes back tomorrow rears are 3mm. When my Golf R went back rears were just over 2mm.. as long as legal it's fine for VWFS cars in my experience.

[nabster]

senorblm said:

what's the deal with extending, will VW let you extend on the same terms? my last lease with network allowed me to pro rata the lease for as long as i wanted

I've done some looking around on this as our Golf R lease expires after 2 years in September 2018 and according to this information from VWFS https://www.vwfsfleet.co.uk/about/faq/ you can informally extend for one to six months at the same premium or ask or a formal extension of either six or twelve months at a new premium (could be higher or lower).

[foreverfalling]

kmpowell said:

New back bumper will be circa £1000. Just had the bumper replaced on our MK7 Match edition before BCA pick it up next week. Total bill for the new rear bumper, spraying(limestone grey), parking sensors, number plate, sundries, fitment etc was £980.

Edited by kmpowell on Friday 20th April 14:35

Ouch - did you go through Insurance.

My excess is £500 but thinking BCA might charge less than that///

[TomScrut]

Blown2CV said:

definitely worth checking your contract for handback criteria as it isn't the same for all VWFS contracts. My tyres only have to be above legal limit across the tread face of every tyre, so I will probably get away with not having to buy another set which has saved me about £1000.

Same here (as was my previous car), but they do make stipulations about even wear. I didnt risk it on my Golf and changed my rears (they were shot, 2mm on one side of tyre), IIRC the handbook refers to "due to under or over inflation" which I would say means the middle needs to be higher or lower than both outsides, as otherwise it would be cornering wear, but the handbook does not define what is and isnt acceptable. I am not sure what BCAs stance on such things are (I enquired and got a very non-commital "refer to the handbook"), whether they would argue the toss about tyres that are unevenly worn with more wear to one side of the tyre due to cornering or whether they accept that is wear and tear and that the only uneven wear would be the middle being different to the sides.

[kmpowell]

foreverfalling said:

Ouch - did you go through Insurance.

Nope, went to VW directly, because the VW lease terms state it had to be done at a VW approved bodyshop, which my insurance company (Aviva) couldn't confirm. If you have it done elsewhere and it's found at inspection then you are charged the whole amount for it to be re-done by BCA.

My now-ex (not because of the accident!) had the accident, so she paid. I initially thought it was on the steep side, but when the cost is broken down it seemed about right. New Bumper and fixings (£350), Spraying (£250) Labour (£250) Sundries such as new number plate set (because she ripped the old one off) and a parking sensor) etc. She got 3 quotes and they were all around the same.