Engraved illustration of a lease inspection clipboard with car keys and a ruler resting on it
Dentlid Research

Lease Return Dent Charges: What Lenders Actually Bill

One US lender publishes a price. The rest do not. Verified August 2026.

Short answer: lease return dent charges are almost never published in advance. Out of 36 US brands we checked in August 2026, exactly one lender prints a price list. Stellantis Financial Services bills $250 per dent of 2 inches or more, capped at three items and $750. Every other lender decides the amount after an inspection.

This is the question people search for and the one the industry avoids answering. Size limits get published. Dollar figures do not. We read the wear-and-use documents from every major US finance arm and found a single fixed tariff in the entire market.

The only published lease return dent charges in the US

Stellantis Financial Services covers Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Alfa Romeo. Its excess wear guidelines carry a full rate table, priced per item with a ceiling on each category.

DamageTriggerChargeCeiling
Ding, dent or scratchOne item of 2 inches or more, or more than four on a panel$250 per item3 items, $750
Rust or corrosionAny visible corrosion$250 per item4 items, $1,000
PunctureAny puncture$250 per item4 items, $1,000
Interior cut or tearLarger than half an inch$100 per item3 items, $300
Windshield chipUnder half an inch$75 per item2 items, then replacement
Windshield replacementDamage over half an inch$750Per windshield
HeadlightCrack or hole over 2 inches$970Per unit
Tail lightCrack or hole over 2 inches$530Per unit
Missing smart keyBoth keys not returned$500Per key

Source: Stellantis Financial Services excess wear and use guidelines, dated 2025. These are the lender’s figures, not repair prices.

Read the top row carefully. A single 2-inch dent costs $250. Three of them cost $750, and the fourth is free because the category is capped. That structure rewards nothing and punishes the first dent hardest.

A Jeep lease has two possible rulebooks

Here is the part that catches people. Stellantis vehicles in the US are financed through two separate companies, and they handle damage differently. The badge on the grille tells you nothing. The lender name on your contract decides everything.

Jeep, Ram, Dodge Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Stellantis Financial Services Fixed price list $250 per dent 2 inches or more, capped at $750 Chrysler Capital (Santander) No price list Repair estimate Under 2 inches passes free
Same vehicle, two lenders, two methods. Check the lender name on the lease before you use either figure.

Chrysler Capital sets its free-and-clear line at damage of two inches or less. Above that, the amount comes from a repair estimate rather than a table. A driver with two small dings can face $500 under one lender and nothing under the other.

What everyone else publishes instead of a price

The rest of the market publishes ceilings on waiver programs, which is a different thing entirely. A waiver is protection you buy or earn through loyalty, and its number caps what the lender will forgive. It says nothing about what a dent costs.

LenderWhat the number coversAmountSource
Audi Financial ServicesPurchased lease-end protectionUp to $10,000Lease-end protection
Volkswagen CreditPurchased lease-end protectionUp to $10,000Turn-in process
Mercedes-Benz Financial ServicesFirst Class Lease ProtectionUp to $7,500Lease protection
Porsche Financial ServicesPurchased protection productUp to $7,500Lease-end
Volvo Car Financial ServicesPurchased protection productUp to $7,500Excess wear and use
BMW Financial ServicesOptional lease-end protectionUp to $5,000Lease program
Ford CreditWearCare productUp to $5,000Wear and use
Subaru Motors FinanceAllowance built into the lease$1,000Lease-end
Land Rover Financial GroupAllowance built into the lease$1,000Lease-end
Acura Financial ServicesOne-Pay lease waiver$750Leasing
Genesis FinanceLoyalty waiver on re-lease$500Lease-end options
Nissan Motor AcceptanceLoyalty waiver on re-lease$500Lease-end
Toyota Financial ServicesAllowance built into qualifying leases$500Wear and use
Cadillac FinancialLoyalty partial waiver$500Lease-end FAQ

A $10,000 ceiling reads like protection against a catastrophe. In practice the charges it absorbs are small and numerous. Reading those figures as a price guide is the most common mistake in this whole subject.

Why no one else prints a number

The amount is set after inspection, and inspection happens at the end. A third-party assessor measures the damage, the lender applies its own repair schedule, and the invoice arrives afterwards. Publishing a tariff in advance would lock the lender into a figure it has not yet calculated.

Porsche states that its detailed guide reaches the lessee by mail 60 to 90 days before lease end and is not posted online. Subaru blocks its wear page from automated access. Volvo replaced its criteria page with a note that the guide is being updated. None of that is unusual, and none of it helps a driver planning ahead.

The one number you can act on. Repair cost is knowable before the inspection, even when the charge is not. If a dent falls outside your lender’s size limit, compare the repair quote against the risk of an unknown assessment. That comparison is available today; the lender’s figure is not.

Repair against charge, in real numbers

Paintless dent repair in Florida runs $100 to $200 for a door ding, $200 to $400 for a medium dent and $400 or more for large damage. Aluminum panels add $50 to $150. A dent that has cracked the paint falls outside paintless work and moves to body shop rates of $400 to $800 per panel, with paint pushing that past $800.

Set that against the one published lender figure. A 2-inch dent on a Jeep financed through Stellantis Financial Services costs $250 at turn-in. The same dent repaired beforehand sits in the $200 to $400 band, and it leaves no charge on the closing invoice. Our Florida dent repair cost breakdown covers how those ranges move with panel and damage type.

One warning that appears in the lender documents themselves. Honda counts poor touch-up as damage in its own right, and several lenders charge for improper repair separately from the original defect. A failed home attempt gets billed twice. We covered the failure modes in our piece on DIY dent removal.

Before you decide anything, check your dent against the published limits in our brand-by-brand size threshold table. If it clears the line, there is nothing to pay and nothing to fix. Drivers turning in near Collier County can start with our Naples lease return page.

Lease return dent charges FAQ

How much does a lender charge for one dent?

Only Stellantis Financial Services publishes a figure. It bills $250 for a dent of 2 inches or more, with the category capped at three items and $750. Every other US lender we checked determines the amount after an inspection and does not print a rate in advance.

Is the $7,500 or $10,000 figure the cost of damage?

No. Those numbers are ceilings on protection products and loyalty waivers, which cap what the lender will forgive. They describe coverage, not the price of a dent. Audi and Volkswagen list $10,000, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche list $7,500, and none of it indicates what a single dent costs.

Why does my Jeep have two different sets of rules?

Stellantis brands are financed through two separate companies. Stellantis Financial Services applies a fixed price table. Chrysler Capital, a Santander operation, treats damage under two inches as acceptable and prices anything larger from a repair estimate. The lender named on your lease decides which applies.

Is it cheaper to repair a dent or pay the charge?

Repair is usually cheaper and always more predictable. A Florida door ding runs $100 to $200 and a medium dent $200 to $400, against a lender charge that stays unknown until inspection. The single published tariff, $250 per dent at Stellantis Financial Services, sits inside that same band.

Can a bad repair cost more than the dent?

Yes. Honda counts poor touch-up as damage in its own right, and several lenders charge separately for improper repair. A home attempt that stretches a panel or lifts paint produces two charges instead of one, and moves the work out of paintless repair into body shop rates.

When do I find out what I owe?

After the vehicle is assessed, which for most lenders means after turn-in. Many offer a complimentary pre-inspection 60 days out, and that report is the earliest reliable figure. Porsche mails its detailed guide 60 to 90 days before lease end rather than publishing it online.

Lender figures recorded from official manufacturer and finance documents in August 2026. These pages change without notice and your lease agreement governs. Repair prices reflect Florida paintless dent repair and are not lender charges. Dentlid connects vehicle owners with independent technicians and does not perform repairs.

Scroll to Top