Is this excessive damage? (lease)
Discussion
So after almost 2 years of driving around in a cheapo leased Vauxhall Astra I've decided to send it back slightly early and replace it with two sheds (a £1200 Alfa GTV and a £1300 Volvo XC90)
Unfortunately with 10 days to go before hand back on the astra I've managed to leave the stupid electric handbrake off and its rolled into next doors Dacia. (I'm just glad it wasn't a lot more serious to be honest)
I know lease hand back charges have been done to death but I would like to know the PH collective opinion so I can decide the best course of action.
The car is leased with Arval and their damage price matrix states: "Dents to the bumper greater than 10mm or where the paint is broken - repair and refinish £160" which is not too bad. It also says "Excessive damage to bumper - Cost of new OEM bumper" which could be quite a lot more.
Would you say this damage is excessive or unrepairable? and does anyone have any experience with Arval and BCA with similar damage?
Thanks
P.S. Next door's poor little Dacia was unharmed if anyone was worried about it.
Unfortunately with 10 days to go before hand back on the astra I've managed to leave the stupid electric handbrake off and its rolled into next doors Dacia. (I'm just glad it wasn't a lot more serious to be honest)
I know lease hand back charges have been done to death but I would like to know the PH collective opinion so I can decide the best course of action.
The car is leased with Arval and their damage price matrix states: "Dents to the bumper greater than 10mm or where the paint is broken - repair and refinish £160" which is not too bad. It also says "Excessive damage to bumper - Cost of new OEM bumper" which could be quite a lot more.
Would you say this damage is excessive or unrepairable? and does anyone have any experience with Arval and BCA with similar damage?
Thanks
P.S. Next door's poor little Dacia was unharmed if anyone was worried about it.
TheBALDpuma said:
No idea but a paintless dent guy (or girl) could probably get that out. My guy charged me £50 and got a bunch of dents out perfectly.
Even in plastic? I was under the impression you couldn't do an awful lot with damaged plastic work. I'll take it to a local body shop tomorrow to get their opinion. It really isn't too bad but I'm worried the lease company will sting me for a new bumper.TastyBurger said:
Even in plastic? I was under the impression you couldn't do an awful lot with damaged plastic work. I'll take it to a local body shop tomorrow to get their opinion. It really isn't too bad but I'm worried the lease company will sting me for a new bumper.
IME lease companies are often fair with these types of issues. 2 years is a long time to expect a car not to have the odd bump and scrape. Best to leave as is and hope for the best. I wouldn't advise of any attempt to touch it up or repair as it could cost a lot more if they spot it.TastyBurger said:
TheBALDpuma said:
No idea but a paintless dent guy (or girl) could probably get that out. My guy charged me £50 and got a bunch of dents out perfectly.
Even in plastic? I was under the impression you couldn't do an awful lot with damaged plastic work. I'll take it to a local body shop tomorrow to get their opinion. It really isn't too bad but I'm worried the lease company will sting me for a new bumper.Please ignore me
ReaperCushions said:
I'd try and make it better if you can (heat and push from behind the bumper) then hand it back. I would risk it.
I wouldn't.I've only got experience of VWFS (BCA) but the inspection is carried out by 2 separate individuals. The first is by BCA auctions, the second is by the collection driver. The collection driver is personally liable for any chargeable items that he misses, so they tend to be more thorough. If they spot the repair, you'll be liable for remedial work and repair.
Be surprised what you can learn to do with the infinite wisdom of youtube to hand. I had a dent repair guy tell me that damage to a (metal) wheel arch was beyond what they could fix. 4 hours of self taught fixing later you genuinely couldn’t tell it had ever been damaged.
This may be a good place to start :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7emp5w9Udc
This may be a good place to start :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7emp5w9Udc
So mixed opinions then, If the lease company decide it needs a new bumper will they try and charge me the full rrp insurance price or just bill me for what it actually costs?
From a distance it's hardly noticeable but up close you can see it's been dented in the crease which I'm pretty sure is never going to be quite right after a repair. In the end it could have been so much worse if it picked up a bit of speed or even worse hit a child or something so I'm very glad that my moment of idiocy will at worst cost me a new bumper.
From a distance it's hardly noticeable but up close you can see it's been dented in the crease which I'm pretty sure is never going to be quite right after a repair. In the end it could have been so much worse if it picked up a bit of speed or even worse hit a child or something so I'm very glad that my moment of idiocy will at worst cost me a new bumper.
Took it into a recommended small local bodyshop today. Quoted £150 to sort out the bumper and some unrelated wing mirror scratches which is a decent result. He is confident he can get it to a standard that the lease company won't notice the repair so fingers crossed. Hopefully it will be raining when they come to collect 
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