Lease return with repaired damage?

[Dali123]

Hello,

I have a question about lease returns with repaired damage. I have to repair minor body damage on my M3 from an accident (with other driver at fault) and am thinking whether to go to a Tesla owned or Tesla certified collision center. I would like to use a Tesla owned center. My question is if the damage is repaired with a Tesla owned center they will obviously know that there was damage. Will they give me problems during the lease return? Also do they check Carfax reports and would a police report affect anything? My only experience is when I returned my Honda SUV lease early (keyword) and there was a police report on Carfax they charged me something, even though the damage was someone else's fault and it was repaired in a Honda certified body shop. Thanks.

 

[Tam]

Hello,

I have a question about lease returns with repaired damage. I have to repair minor body damage on my M3 from an accident (with other driver at fault) and am thinking whether to go to a Tesla owned or Tesla certified collision center. I would like to use a Tesla owned center. My question is if the damage is repaired with a Tesla owned center they will obviously know that there was damage. Will they give me problems during the lease return? Also do they check Carfax reports and would a police report affect anything? My only experience is when I returned my Honda SUV lease early (keyword) and there was a police report on Carfax they charged me something, even though the damage was someone else's fault and it was repaired in a Honda certified body shop. Thanks.

The law requires reports for damages exceeding a certain amount so it doesn't matter about which shops.

In order to be in the network like carfax, body shops report to the network too. It doesn't matter which shops.

 

[Kairide]

When you lease, all you need to do is return the vehicle in the same condition as it was when you leased it. If you get in an accident and it’s repaired correctly, you should not be charged any damage fees. The returning dealership or manufacturer should not be looking at Carfax for accidents to determine excess wear and tear charges. I’ve returned leased vehicles after accidents without issue. That’s the beauty of a lease. Diminished value doesn’t affect you since you don’t own the vehicle.

 

[jjrandorin]

My only experience is when I returned my Honda SUV lease early (keyword) and there was a police report on Carfax they charged me something, even though the damage was someone else's fault and it was repaired in a Honda certified body shop.

If you go back and look at the paperwork for this, i would be shocked if there is any charge for "accident" anywhere at all on this lease return you are talking about. You almost certainly got charged because you turned the car in early, and / or there were other chargeable things like worn tires etc.

If you take the car to a manufacturer authorized body shop, when you return the car, they cant charge you extra just because there was an accident. It doesnt work that way.

They can, however, charge you for anything chargeable that has nothing to do with the accident. If you get hit in the right quarterpanel, get that fixed at a body shop, then turn the car in with damage to the seats, worn tires, and scratches on the drivers door, you would be charged for all that, and none of it would have anything to do with the accident repair.

You can also be charged if you go to a body shop that is not authorized, and the repair is deemed to be sub standard ("my uncle lenny knows a guy who knows a guy who repairs cars in his garage, let me take it there"). If you take it to an authorized location, and the repairs are performed, the fact that it had an accident wont matter, but like I said it does not give someone carte blanche to turn it in with other chargeable stuff and think that goes away.