Inside the return inspection, panel by panel

I inspect every car that goes back through us, and I do it three months early on purpose. Almost everything that gets charged at turn in is cheaper to fix in Austin than to be billed for by a lessor, and the only reason people get caught is that nobody showed them the standard until the invoice arrived.

Here is the order I work in and what I am measuring.

One: the equipment check, before anything else

Second key fob, mobile charge connector, cargo cover, load floor, tow eye, tyre repair kit, and any adapter that came in the box. This takes four minutes and it is where most money is lost. A replacement fob is $310 and a mobile connector is $290, and I have watched people find both in a kitchen drawer the following week.

Put them in a labelled box on day one. That is the whole advice.

Two: tread depth on all four

Four 32nds of an inch is the line, measured across the full width of the tyre, and all four have to be matched brand and speed rating on each axle. Below the line is $185 to $310 a tyre at the lessor's rate against roughly $170 fitted locally.

Performance trims on twenty inch wheels are the ones that catch people. If you are on a GT, check at month 30.

Three: glass, with a torch

Chips under a quarter inch are acceptable. Any crack of any length is not, and it is $420 for a windscreen with the camera recalibration that modern driver assistance needs. Most Texas comprehensive policies repair a chip with no deductible, so fix it the week it happens. A chip becomes a crack on the first cold morning after a hot afternoon, which in Austin is most of November.

Four: panels, with a two inch gauge

Dings under two inches across with the paint unbroken are acceptable, up to four per panel. Anything with broken paint or primer showing is chargeable, as is any crease over four inches.

Paintless dent removal locally runs about $85 a ding and leaves no repair record. The lessor charges $95 to $240 per panel. The arithmetic is not complicated.

Five: wheels, one lap of the car

Kerb rash under an inch on the rim face is fine. Gouges, bends and cracks are not, at $180 a wheel. Mobile alloy refinishing comes to your driveway for about $110.

If you fitted aftermarket wheels, the originals have to go back on. Keep them.

Six: interior, in daylight with the doors open

Burns, tears, holes, permanent staining and odour are chargeable at $150 to $400 an area. Normal bolster polish on the driver's seat and carpet wear under the pedals are not. Car seat pressure marks in the second row are acceptable wear and I tell every parent that, because it is the thing they worry about most and it is the thing that matters least.

A full interior detail two weeks before turn in costs about $180 and resolves most of what would otherwise be a soiling charge.

What I hand you

A written list with a dollar figure against each item and a note on whether it is cheaper to fix locally. No pressure to use anybody in particular. It takes forty minutes, it is free, and 96 percent of our returns go back with no wear invoice at all because of it.

Every figure in this article is a sample for demonstration. Payments, residuals, fees, incentives and charging rates depend on the vehicle, the lessor, your credit tier and the programmes in effect on the day. Offers are samples, subject to credit approval.