Returning your lease car: what you can and cannot do
Returning is the word everyone uses, but a lease car is not something you simply hand back. Giving up the keys does not end your contract. Here is what actually happens, at the end and in between.
Returning the car at the end of the contract
If your contract simply runs its course, returning the car is an agreed moment. The leasing company arranges a collection or an appointment at an inspection point, and the car is examined there.
What they look at: the mileage against your allowance, the condition of the bodywork and interior, the tyres, and whether the servicing was done with the correct stamps.
The final settlement follows. Excess kilometres are charged at the rate in your contract; kilometres you did not drive are sometimes partly refunded. Damage beyond normal wear is added on top.
What counts as normal wear is usually set out in an annex to your contract, with photographs and measurements. Ask for that document before the collection, not after. A three-centimetre scratch is sometimes acceptable and sometimes not, and it differs from one company to the next.
Returning it early is not something you can decide alone
This is where most people get it wrong. A lease contract is not a subscription you cancel by handing the object back.
You signed for a number of months. Bring the car back halfway through and your payment obligation simply continues. The company then takes the car off the road, sells it, and charges you the difference — on top of what you have already paid.
That is almost always the most expensive outcome. Anyone who returns a car without an agreement pays for a vehicle they no longer have.
The leasing company decides. Not you, and not the garage the car came from.
The car is standing still, and it costs exactly the same
The most common situation is not someone wanting rid of their car, but a car sitting there with nobody driving it. An employee left, a project ended, the business got smaller.
The monthly payment carries on regardless, and it was calculated for a car that drives. Every idle month is money going nowhere.
That is precisely the situation where a takeover pays off most: there is nothing wrong with the contract, it just needs someone who can actually use the car.
Three ways out, and what they cost
Run it out. You drive until the end date and return the car then. It costs you the remaining monthly payments, but no penalty. For a contract close to its end this is often the sensible choice.
Terminate. You ask the company to stop early and pay an early termination fee. There is no statutory rate: what you pay is in your own contract and the calculation differs per company. Always ask for the amount in writing, with the calculation and a validity date.
Transfer. Another company takes over the contract on the same terms. The leasing company loses nothing, because the remaining months are paid — by someone else. Usually you pay only administration fees. Here too, the company decides whether it accepts the incoming party.
Put those three amounts side by side using your own figures before you sign anything, and run it past your accountant. The tax and VAT treatment of a car depends on your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just bring my lease car back?
No. Returning the car does not end your contract and does not stop your payment obligation. Without the leasing company's agreement you remain liable for the remaining months, and the cost of storing and selling the car is usually added on top. Contact them first and ask what options exist.
Do I have to keep paying if the car is not being used?
Yes. The monthly payment is tied to the contract, not to usage. Whether the car drives every day or sits in the car park for three months makes no difference to the invoice. It does affect your final settlement: fewer kilometres than agreed is sometimes partly refunded.
What if I stop trading?
Ceasing your activity does not automatically end your lease contract. The obligation remains, including in liquidation. Contact your leasing company as early as you can; the earlier you raise it, the more ways out are still open.
Who decides whether I can return it early?
The leasing company. It owns the car and it sets the conditions under which a contract ends early or moves to another company. An arrangement between two business owners has no value without its signature.
Is damage charged when the car is returned?
Damage beyond normal wear is. What counts as normal wear is usually set out in an annex to your contract, often with photographs and measurements. Ask for that document before the collection, and consider having small repairs done yourself if that works out cheaper than their rate.