Noticed a small dent a couple weeks ago right by the driver side door. Pretty sure it was due to someone hitting my car while backing up in a lot somewhere, sadly I can’t claim this for insurance as this was around the time of Covid lockdowns in my state, so I wasn’t driving much and didn’t notice It ever happening. so I really have no idea when it happened but I’m 99% positive it was due to no fault of my own as it’s in a spot that would be very tough for me to cause damage on my own. Anyways the dilemma is my oil change is due and I have all maintenance covered under Toyota care, however I fear that if I take my car to get serviced they will record that there has been a small dent and charge me a hefty chunk of change. So I’m trying to weigh my options currently. I’m only 5 months or so into my lease (27 months) just wondering what will be the most cost effective way to approach the situation. Bite the bullet pay for my own oil changes and maintenance and go third party, or bite the bullet and take it to the dealership.
Find a reputable body shop and discuss paying cash
The service dept at Toyota isn’t going to care. If you were to return the car like this, the bank would charge you… the dealer isn’t going to see a dime of that so why would they care
Don’t waste money avoiding free maintenance for this reason
Thank you, that seems like the best option currently. I’ll also make sure to hold on to receipts in case the bank tries to make a case about it come lease end.
Continuing from what @max_g suggested, I had a similar dent with Toyota and went in 3 times for servicing without any trouble at all.
Also, if that dent doesn’t impact the drive or your overall feel while driving it, I could also suggest leaving it as is. You’re early within your lease and you could be in the same pickle 6 months later and have to spend a few hundred again. You’d be surprised what a little bit of touch up paint can do until then.
That’s not a bad idea but ultimately receipts may not mean much if the work is shoddy. When and where you choose to get it done is up to you but get it done right. Thankfully it doesn’t look too complicated
The bank will never bother you for receipts if the work is done right
So as long as I get it fixed they won’t complain? My fear was I’d go in they’d note there was damage, I’d get it fixed later but either the dealer or the bank would make it an issue later towards lease end. I shouldn’t be so worried but when it comes to things like this I am for some reason lol.
Perfect, thankfully the dent is small with a little scratching so shouldn’t be such a big time cost. But I’m gonna make sure I get some good work done on it.
No one will make an issue as long as you get it fixed before you turn it in. Then too, it’s not an issue as such and they’d just charge you more than what you’d pay outside.
LOL, the service department will not care or notice one bit whether there is any damage to your truck or not. They won’t know (and don’t care) whether its purchased or leased or anything else. All they know is that it’s in for an oil change. They are not going to note any damage and report it to the leasing company, or anything like that. The black helicopters will not come and get you.
As mentioned above, the only thing you need to do is get it fixed sometime over the next 27 months before you turn it in. Or you could always wait for the lease end inspection and see what Toyota would charge you then (if you can live with the damage), sometimes its more favorable than what you could fix it on your own for.
Yeah lol I’m not trying to be paranoid or anything This is just my first lease and first time dealing with something like this So I just wanna make sure I don’t get screwed later on.
Ah was in the same dilemma as you’re in now. I visited a couple of shops and got similar numbers. It was my first car/lease and I was petrified of having to deal with it too. After some thinking, decided to delay the repairs since cars do get damaged whether we like it or not 
Take it easy, but continue being careful as you are now. Don’t want to rack up a bunch of damage either.