Before you hand a leased car back, it gets inspected. Most lenders offer a pre-inspection in the last 60 to 90 days, usually free, often at your home or workplace.
Take it. It is the single most useful thing you can do at lease end, because it converts an unknown bill into a list you can act on.
What gets checked
Exterior panels. Dents, dings, scratches, and paint damage, measured against a size threshold. Most lenders allow damage under one to two inches, and many use a physical template card.
Glass. Chips and cracks. A windscreen crack is almost always chargeable, and often one of the larger single items.
Wheels and tyres. Tread depth against a minimum, usually around 4/32". Kerb damage on alloys is one of the most commonly charged items. Tyres must normally be a matching, approved specification.
Lights and body fittings. Cracked lenses, missing trim, damaged mirrors.
Interior. Upholstery tears, burns, stains, odours. Persistent smoke or pet smells can be treated as excess wear and charged as professional remediation, which is not cheap.
Mechanical and warning lights. Anything illuminated on the dash gets noted.
Equipment. Both keys, the charging cable on an EV, the parcel shelf, the owner's manual, the load cover, any removable component. Missing keys are expensive, commonly $300 to $500 each.
Mileage. Recorded and compared against your allowance. See mileage limits.
Fix these before the inspection
The rule is simple: anything you can repair for less than the lender would charge, repair.
Tyres. Frequently the biggest avoidable item. New tyres from a normal fitter cost far less than the lender's charge for being under tread.
Windscreen chips. Often repairable for a small sum, or free under many insurance policies. A chip left to spread into a crack becomes a full replacement charge.
Alloy wheel kerbing. A mobile refurbishment specialist typically charges much less per wheel than the lender's assessment.
Small dents. Paintless dent removal is inexpensive for the kind of dings a car park produces.
Cleaning. A proper valet, including interior. Smells matter more than people expect.
Missing items. Find the second key, the cables, the load cover. Replacing them yourself is far cheaper than being charged.
What is generally not worth doing: full panel respraying, or major bodywork. Those often cost more than the wear charge, and the charge is capped in a way your repair bill is not.
Normal wear versus damage
Lenders distinguish between the two, and the line is contractual rather than a matter of opinion. Normal wear covers minor scratches, paint chips, light interior fading, and expected tread wear. Damage is anything requiring repair to restore condition, safety, or resale value.
Many contracts also include a wear allowance, commonly the first $500, that is written off automatically. Check whether yours does before paying for small repairs, because you may be fixing something you would never have been charged for.
Detail in excess wear and tear.
On the day
Photograph everything. Every panel, all four wheels, the interior, the odometer, the dashboard with the engine running. Date-stamped.
Get a signed condition report before you leave, and take a copy.
That evidence is what protects you if a charge appears weeks later for damage that was not there when you handed it over. Without it, the dispute is your word against a report you never saw.
If you disagree with a charge
Ask for the inspection report and photographs. Compare against your own. Lenders do reverse charges when the evidence does not hold up.
And remember there is another route entirely: if the bill is large, buying the car makes every wear and mileage charge disappear. Sometimes that is the cheaper answer.
If you are approaching a return and want a second opinion on whether to hand it back or buy it, tell us what you are driving.
