Before the inspector gets there
Lease Return Wheel Repair
Wheels are one of the things lease inspectors look at hardest, and kerbed rims are one of the commonest end of lease charges there is. Having them repaired before the car goes back is usually cheaper than being charged for them afterwards. Wheel Repair Ltd does this from its workshop in Forest Gate, east London, or at your address where the damage allows. Send a photo and you will know what you are dealing with.
What people say
Why wheels are the thing that gets charged for
An inspector walks round the car with a sheet. Panels and glass are obvious and most people have already dealt with those. Wheels are the ones that get forgotten, because you stopped seeing the kerb damage about three months after you did it.
They are also the easiest thing on the car to find. Four corners, at eye level if you crouch, and damage that nobody can argue was already there.
It is worth knowing this is the same job as any other kerb repair. There is no special lease process and anybody telling you there is one is charging you for the word.
What actually counts as acceptable
Most UK lease and finance companies work to the BVRLA fair wear and tear guide, or to their own version of it. It treats some wear as normal and the rest as chargeable, and for wheels the line is drawn around how much of the rim is damaged and how badly.
Check your own agreement rather than taking our word for it. The thresholds are not identical between providers and your paperwork is the thing that actually binds. Most of them publish their standard, and many will send it to you if you ask.
What we can tell you is the practical version. Light stone rash across the face tends to be accepted. A rim with the aluminium ground open along an inch or more of its edge tends not to be. If you are looking at a wheel and wondering, it is probably the second one.
How a lease return job runs
Every wheel goes through the same sequence. It is why the finish lasts.
- Photograph all fourStraight on, in daylight. Not just the one you know about. We would rather tell you three are fine than miss one.
- You get a written pricePer wheel, so you can see what you are paying for and decide whether a borderline one is worth doing.
- Check it against your agreementYour own paperwork sets the standard, not us. If a wheel looks like it would pass, we will say so rather than talk you into it.
- Booked in with room to spareEarly enough that the finish is properly hard and there is time if a wheel needs more than expected.
- Repaired and blendedPrepped, filled where needed, colour matched and lacquered.
- Checked in daylightFrom the angles an inspector will crouch at, which is the only test that matters here.
When to get it done
Before the inspection, not after it. Once the damage is on the sheet you are into a charge, and repairing it afterwards does not take the charge away.
Leave yourself a bit of room. You want the car back in your hands, the finish fully hard, and a day or two spare in case a wheel turns out to need more than the photograph showed. Booking it for the morning of the collection is how people end up handing back a car with a wheel that is still soft.
If you have already had the inspection and been quoted a charge, it is still worth sending us a photo. Knowing what the repair would have cost tells you whether the charge is reasonable, and some people choose to pay the charge and some do not.
The ones that need more notice
Painted alloys are the straightforward case and often a mobile visit sorts them where the car stands.
Diamond cut wheels need the lathe, so they come to the workshop and they need more notice. There is also a limit to how many times a diamond cut wheel can be re-cut, and on an older lease car it may already have had one. See diamond cut refurbishment.
Buckled or cracked wheels are a different job again and a different conversation with the lease company, because that is damage rather than wear. See buckled wheel repair.
Send photographs of all four even if you think only one is bad. It is the second and third wheel people have stopped noticing that catch them out.
Where the work happens
At the workshop on Nursery Lane in Forest Gate, E7, or at your home or office where the damage is the sort that can be done there. Business leases and company cars are the same job, and a fleet of them is covered on our trade and fleet page.
We cover nineteen areas out from E7 across east London and into Essex.
Common questions
Will the lease company spot that a wheel has been repaired?
A properly done repair on a painted wheel is very hard to see, and inspectors are looking for damage rather than for repairs. What gets noticed is a cheap repair: wrong colour, a hard edge where it was blended, or lacquer that has gone cloudy because it was rushed.
Is repairing cheaper than the end of lease charge?
Usually, which is why people do it. We cannot tell you what your provider would charge, because that is their schedule and not ours. Get our price, look at their standard, and the comparison is yours to make.
Do I have to do all four?
No. Only the ones that would be charged for. If one is sound we will tell you to leave it alone.
My lease car has diamond cut wheels. Does that change things?
Yes. They need the lathe so they come to the workshop rather than being done on your drive, and they want more notice. There is also a limit to how many times one can be re-cut, so it is worth getting a photo over early rather than the week before.
How close to the collection date can I leave it?
Give yourself room. The finish needs to be fully hard, and occasionally a wheel turns out to need more than the photo showed. Doing it the day before is how it goes wrong.
Do you do business leases and company cars?
Yes, same job. If it is several cars rather than one, our trade and fleet page is the better starting point.
Get a price
Send a photo of each damaged wheel and tell us roughly when the car goes back. We will tell you what it needs and what it costs, and you can decide from there. Call or WhatsApp 07922 222272, or email info@wheelrepairltd.co.uk. Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 6pm.