How return inspections work
When you hand back a leased car — a company or fleet car, or a car on an operating lease — it gets inspected by the lease provider or an independent assessor, and a condition report is written up, usually with photos. The car is compared against the provider’s fair wear and tear standard: what’s acceptable for a car of that age and kilometres, and what isn’t.
Anything outside the standard can be charged back to you. Most providers publish their return standard — get a copy before you do anything else, because the details differ between providers.
What a proper clean can fix
- General dirt, dust and road grime, inside and out
- Food, drink and mud marks that come out with cleaning
- Pet hair worked into the carpet and seats
- Brake dust on the wheels
- A grubby boot and door jambs — assessors open everything
- Smells caused by dirt and spills
What cleaning can’t fix
A detail makes a car look its best. It doesn’t repair it. These are damage, not dirt, and a clean won’t change how they’re assessed:
- Dents, scrapes and stone chips
- Scratches through the clear coat — if your fingernail catches in it, washing won’t touch it
- Kerbed or gouged wheels
- Tears, burns or permanent stains in the upholstery
- Windscreen chips and cracks
- Heavy smoke odour soaked into the headlining and foam
Better to find these before the assessor does. Get a quote from your own repairer, compare it with what your provider would charge, then decide.
Lease return checklist
A week or two before
- Get your provider’s return standard and read it
- Walk around the car in daylight and note any damage
- Check the service history is up to date and stamped or logged
- Find both keys, the owner’s manual and anything supplied with the car — locking wheel nut key, cargo blind, parcel shelf, floor mats
A day or two before
- Empty every compartment: glovebox, console, door pockets, under the seats, boot and spare wheel well
- Remove your personal toll tag (leave it if it belongs to the lease), garage remote, phone mount and chargers
- Unpair your phone and clear saved addresses from the infotainment and navigation
- Have the car detailed inside and out
On the day
- Take your own dated photos of every panel, the wheels and the interior, in good light
- Keep a copy of the condition report
Pet hair, smoke and smells
These are common reasons a car that looks fine at a glance still gets marked down. Dog hair weaves into carpet in a way a home vacuum won’t lift — see pet hair removal — and smells come back unless the source is cleaned out rather than covered up. If the car smells damp, start with the musty smell guide.
Timing
Book the detail one or two days before the inspection, not a fortnight earlier. Close enough that the car still looks the part, with enough buffer to reschedule if the weather turns.
Novated lease? Read this first
Most novated leases in Australia are finance leases: at the end you pay out or refinance the residual, or sell the car to cover it — you don’t usually hand it back. If you’re selling, presentation matters for a different reason: see is it worth detailing a car before selling?
Either way, our pre-sale detail is the same $150 full detail, booked around your return or listing date, at your home or work across Melbourne’s north.