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lou's garage

Can you provide some feedback on a situation that I am in? I currently have a leased vehicle, which has some minor damage to the bumper. I am planning on buying the car out at the end of the lease next year. Any issues with doing this at all? Do you know if I will be charged any additional fees, etc. by the dealer? – K.

Typically, when you declare your intent to buy out a vehicle at the end its lease, an inspection is not done by the leasing company. Therefore, by purchasing the vehicle, you are actually assuming all of its problems, including overage on the allowed kilometres, lack of servicing and any physical damage.

You will not have to pay any additional fees to the dealer for the bumper damage.

Reporting to your insurance company is a whole other issue.

Many people don’t report minor collisions, but that doesn’t mean that your insurance company doesn’t want to know, when you are potentially at fault in a collision. They also don’t care about a scratch, so it really depends on the dollar amount of the damage. Was a police report issued?

Tread carefully here. Although rare, failure to report an accident may be grounds for policy cancellation. Check with your provincial legislation on police accident reporting criteria.

Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou’s Garage” in the subject line.

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