In my last entry I had reached the end of my lease and was dropping off my Pontiac Vibe at a GM dealership.  I would then pick up a Chrysler 300 at a dealer down the road in Kitchener. I had already done some homework as to what was expected from my car at termination. Working at a dealership myself I had witnessed every trick in the book for trying to hide damages. What a lot of people don’t realize is the dealer is not responsible for doing the inspection and has no say in what is chargeable and what is not. This is all done by the leasing company, they are the law.

 

I had one small ding on the front bumper of my Vibe. It was starting to worry me so I stopped in at a GM dealership to see if I could use the tool the leasing company has to measure these damages. The little plastic ruler with the all the measurements stated that my “ding” was not going to be chargeable as it did not exceed the parameters GMAC had set. Most dealerships will have these tools available for you to use and possibly keep. After two weeks of turning my car in, I received a statement from GMAC that my vehicle was alright and that I had completed my obligation.

 

Again, I will stress the importance of getting the car examined at least a month before your term is up. If you do find something that will need to be repaired this will give you more than enough time to do some shopping. Leasing companies do not shop around for the best price, if it needs to be fixed GET IT DONE BEFORE YOU DROP IT OFF!!