How To Prepare a Car for Lease Inspection

If the car you’re currently using is from a rent a car facility or a car leasing agency, there will come a time when the inspectors from that company would check the car for any damage that have been incurred since the time you borrowed the vehicle. Though nothing really takes the place of taking care of the car while it is under your name, it doesn’t hurt to do extra work to make sure that the vehicle looks the most presentable and neat for the inspectors. Any damage or revisions made to the car would be billed to your account, so if you want to make sure that you won’t lose more money after renting the car, follow the tips below:

1. The inspector would check the car’s engine so before the he comes, try to see how the engine looks and works. If you can’t do this yourself, you may hire a mechanic to diagnose any problems that could have been missed earlier.
2. If you notice dents and scratches on the body of your car, contact your insurance provider promptly.  These types of damage need to be touched up immediately. The penalties for such might be a lot more than the cost of having it fixed yourself so you’re better off paying for it now.
3. Check the tires if the treads are still within a respectable range. If the treads are too worn out, you may have to replace the tires.
4. Check the car’s interior for stains and other damage. You can clean the stains yourself or have a professional detailer take care of it for you. Even if you don’t find any stains, vacuum the interior of the car and the rest of the upholstery for good measure.
5. Changing the oil and the filter would be also a good idea. You will not be penalized for not doing this but keep in mind that should you need to borrow another vehicle again, it would be better for you to have a good reputation and rapport with your rental company.
6. Take the car to the car wash before the inspection.
7. Make sure that you take out all personal items such as house keys, mints and loose change. Most companies don’t really hold responsibility over your personal belongings so it may not be easy to retrieve them later on should you forget about them. Among the oft-left items include cellular phones and digital gadgets so you will be definitely better off checking and re-checking under the seats, in the glove compartment and the trunk to make sure that you’re not leaving anything behind.
8. A little documentation wouldn’t hurt, so for your own security, take photos of the vehicle right before the inspector arrives. This will give you a point of comparison should there be any discrepancies with your initial findings and the inspector’s final tally.
9. Finally, it doesn’t hurt to build rapport with your inspector. He may be a stingy person, who is doing one of the least-loved tasks in the world, but he’s still human and if you can establish a connection, he may be willing to facilitate future transactions.