The Long Term Car Rental Cycle (3/6)

At the end of the contract

1. Return of the vehicle
Any good rental company, two or three months before returning the vehicle, must send a letter to remind the driver of the terms of his contract. The aim is to specify the date and place of return of the said vehicle and to send him a standard report. In fact, even if these pieces of information are already in the driver's pouch, the service provider notifies them to his customer.
In general, the return gives rise to a contradictory examination between the mechanic and the driver. In the event that the vehicle is in poor condition, the service provider may have to charge repair costs that go beyond the contractual commitments (tolerance threshold or repair franchise). It may also charge additional mileage expenses for exceeding the estimated mileage. In case of disagreement on the repair costs, an expert may be appointed.
Finally, when it comes to return costs, it should be noted that garage owners are always more tolerant of commercial vehicles. To empower its employees, the company may have to rebill the expenses paid to its own employees (cf. contractual commitment).

2. Billing stopped
It is the return of the documents to the lessor (the car registration document, the return report signed by the garage owner and a set of keys) that triggers the stopping of billing. In general, as long as these elements are not in the possession of the service provider, the customer continues to be invoiced.
At this stage, contact your service provider directly rather than your garage or dealer, so you will avoid the risk of unnecessary billing, if the latter delays in transferring the documents.

3. Resale to the collaborator
If one of your employees is interested in buying back his vehicle, he must come forward 2 or 3 months before returning it. As long as he has not returned the latter he remains a priority for its acquisition. Generally, the rental company provides them with a dedicated telephone number.
In general, the selling price offered to the employee is lower than the price in the dealership but is within the market. Moreover, if the driver buys his vehicle, no reconditioning is carried out. He takes it as it is.