End of lease advice needed

Hello from Montreal, Canada! I’m driving a leased 2008 Dodge Caliber with almost 14,500 kilometres(about 9009 miles) on it. I got one of those oddball 2 year, highly discounted leases Chrylser was offering at the time, which will be coming to an end in April 2010.



I like the car overall, but with a child it’s just too small for our needs, so I’ll probably be giving it back. However, it has a fairly deep scratch on the passenger side, which extends over both the front and back doors and has a tiny trace of rust. Never having leased before, does it make more sense for me to get it fixed at a bodyshop before giving the car back? Or should I just return it as-is and take the hit from Chrysler?

Get an estimate from a body shop to fix the scratch. It’s hard to give an opionion without more information.

Try some Megiurs Scratch X and see if it clears it up enough. It has worked for me and hopefully the eyes of your dealer.

Well…I’d agree with UncleTurbo that an estimate would be a good idea.

But I’d also be tempted to pick up a bottle of factory-matched touch up paint - basically a little nail polish sized bottle. These can be gotten to match the factory paint code that you’ll find on a label on you door pillar. It will not give you body shop results, but it may be enough to get it back in without issue. I’d play with it on a small spot just to make sure it won’t make more of mess. Of course, its also winter now so you might need access to a heated garage.