Fast Loans - Personal Unsecured

Although on the face of it, it is more expensive, repairs should always be carried out at the main dealership, because what appears to be a cheaper option in the short term, can prove to be expensive; when a vehicle is under warranty, there is always the risk of invalidating the warranty if something is inadvertently damaged. Even bodywork nowadays often has an anti corrosion warranty. Additionally one always has to bear in mind that the vehicle belongs to the leasing company.

It can be tempting to get repairs carried out locally, especially if it is damage you don’t want to claim of your insurance; sometimes this is because taking into account the size of the excess, it hardly makes it worth it. On other occasions it can be because the company is reluctant to make yet another claim under the company policy.

In practice Insurance companies say all accidents and events such as a break in or accident should be reported, whether the insured is claiming or not. There was a case recently where the owner of a car had it broken into outside his house and the stereo system was removed. As the owner was reluctant to claim and affect his no claims bonus he repaired the car at his own expense.

Not long after the car was stolen from approximately the same location, the insurance company became aware of the previous break in, perhaps through the police report, and refused to pay out. They said that they should have been informed of the break in, because that would have indicated to them an increased risk of theft. Of course just because an insurance company refuses to pay out, it doesn’t mean that they are correct in doing so, or that it can’t be challenged.

One of the risks you take when you have work carried out locally is that the car leasing company becomes aware of it and charges you to have the work re done. So if they are going to put the car through the auctions as they do with most ex contract hire cars will they have the work redone, or just sell the vehicle as it is? It will vary from company to company but in any event if the car has not been repaired properly they are perfectly entitled to charge you, it is then up to them to take a view on how they sell it.

Where repairs are carried out other than by the main agent, which involved damage to the engine is generally more risky for the hirer; manufacturers will invalidate the cars warranty if they find out and with the diagnostics of today there is not much they can’t detect.

One of the exceptions to this is tyres. If you damage tyres, first check if you have maintenance included in your contract hire agreement and the terms of the maintenance agreement, because tyre damage may be included.

Failing this as long as you buy the manufacturers specified tyres there is no reason why you can’t go elsewhere. There is usually a significant difference in the cost between some of the tyre specialist and the main agent. It’s worth avoiding those outlets that tell you that another obscure brand of tyre is exactly the same and even made by the same manufacturer but cheaper. They may be right but again it is just not worth it.

In general, although it may be more expensive in the short term, any work you have done on your leased car should really be carried out at the dealership. You can then be secure in the knowledge that when the car is returned there will not be any problems.