Acceptable wear and tear condition standards to avoid end-of-lease charges
It is your responsibility as the lessee to maintain your novated lease vehicle to a reasonable standard for the duration of your lease agreement. This guide outlines the acceptable Fair Wear and Tear standards for a passenger vehicle driven for less than 100,000 kilometres. However, this list is not exhaustive, and TFM will reasonably assess any matters that aren’t covered.
Fair wear and tear standards
Upon completion of your novated lease agreement with TFM, an independent third party will assess the condition of your vehicle, with consideration of the number of kilometres it has travelled. Any damage that the assessor deems unacceptable will require payment by the lessee in order to fix the damage.
Bumpers and mouldings
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
Marks covering an area less than 10cm² and 1mm deep. | Broken bumpers and mouldings. |
Dents covering an area less than 20cm² and 2mm deep, and fewer than 2 per bar. | Cracked/split/bent/twisted bumpers. |
| Misalignment. | |
| Gouging. | |
Excessive paint chips. |
Body work
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| Scratches if not through colour coating. Must be fewer than 3 per panel or 9 total | Exposed undercoat or metal. |
Chips less than 3mm diameter and up to 6 chips per panel. | Hail damage. |
| Dents less than 30mm diameter and 2mm deep, and up to 2 per panel or 8 total. | Foreign matter etched into paintwork. |
| Minor stone pitting. | Scrapes/deep scratches. |
Misaligned panels. | |
Buckling. | |
Distortions. | |
Poor panel/paint repairs. | |
Any rust. |
Accessories and equipment
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| Removal of any accessory fitted at the customer’s expense, provided this doesn’t cause damage to the vehicle. | Broken aerial. |
| Removal of any accessory fitted at the customer’s expense, provided this doesn’t cause damage to the vehicle. | |
| Missing badges, knobs, trims, tools,jack, spare wheel, spare tyre, service books,parcel shelf and cargo tray. |
Glass, lights & mirrors
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| Light scratching and minor chipping of windscreen or lights. | Badly scratched windscreens, breaks,cracks or repair discolouration which interfere with driver’s vision within swept area. |
| Minor pitting. | Broken mirror glass, lights or surrounds. |
| Repaired bullseyes to a maximum size of 10mm. Must not be in driver’s direct line of sight and should meet Australian State & Territory Roadworthy Standards. | Damage to electronics in front or rear screens. |
Any damage to lights and glass that would fail Australian State Roadworthy Standards. |
Underbody
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| Minor dents and deformations, as long as it has not caused major corrosion. | Oil leaks. |
Extensive rust/corrosion. | |
Damaged exhaust system. | |
Poor repairs. | |
Twisted or bent chassis. | |
Any damage to underbody that would fail Australian State Roadworthy Standards. |
Carpet, upholstery, seats, roof liner, floor, centre console and luggage area
Dashboard, fascia and door trims
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
Moderate scratches/markings. | Tears and splits. |
Repaired console holes. | Burns. |
| Fading caused by normal exposure to sunlight | Holes or damage caused by fitting or removing accessories. |
Removable stains and scuffing. | Missing items/accessories (e.g. radio, ashtray, cup holder). |
Mismatched colours. |
Tyres, wheels and trim (including spare)
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| Scrapes and scratches covering less than 10% of the surface area. | Broken/cracked tyres and wheel trims. |
Mismatched tyres and wheel trims. | |
| Tyres that don’t meet Australian State Roadworthy Standards. | |
Uneven tyre wear. | |
| Replacement tyres/wheels that don’t meet manufacturer recommendations. | |
Retreads. |
For more information on the end of lease process when returning your vehicle, please see our guide on The End of Lease Process.
