Is a coating worth it on a lease car?
Handback condition, the cost of a valet at the end, and when the answer is genuinely no.
Written by Tom Hartley, who has corrected more of them than he would like to count.
What handback actually charges for
Lease companies charge for damage, not for dullness. Scratches through the clear coat, dents, kerbed wheels and missing trim cost money. Swirl marks almost never do.
So if your only worry is the charge sheet, a coating is not the thing that protects you. Film on the front and careful parking are.
Where it does pay
Two places. First, it makes the car far easier to keep clean for three years, which most people value every week rather than once at the end. Second, it holds gloss, so the car photographs and sells well if you have the option to buy it.
On a three-year lease that works out at a few pounds a month for a car that is easy to wash.
When we say no
Short leases with high mileage and no garage. Cars that will be washed at a garage every fortnight regardless. Cars where the owner genuinely does not care what the paint looks like, and that is a perfectly reasonable position.
We have talked several people out of it. It is a better use of ten minutes than taking the booking.
The cheaper middle ground
An enhancement detail and a sealant, once, at a fraction of the cost. It lifts the gloss, protects for a few months, and can be repeated before handback.
If you want the car to be easy to look after rather than perfect, that is usually the right answer.
