The eight photos to take before returning a leased car

A dated set of photographs is the only objective evidence you will have if the collection report lists damage you do not recognise. The catch is that the photographs have to be usable.

Eight angles cover a car completely. It is the protocol Leaxit's guided inspection follows, and you can work through it on your own with a phone.

The eight angles

1. Front nearside, at 45°. One frame covering the front bumper, grille, headlamp, bonnet and front wing.
2. Front offside, at 45°. The mirror image. Do not skip it — manoeuvring damage is usually on one side only.
3. Nearside profile. Three to four metres back, square to the middle of the car. Doors, sills and both nearside wheels.
4. Offside profile. The same again.
5. Rear nearside, at 45°. Rear bumper, lamp cluster, tailgate, rear quarter.
6. Rear offside, at 45°. The mirror image.
7. Front interior. Door open, shooting from outside: front seats, dashboard, steering wheel, console.
8. Rear interior. Bench, seat backs, mats, door cards.

Then add close-ups of every defect you have found. The wide shot proves the general condition; the close-up proves what a specific defect actually is.

The conditions that decide everything

Light

An overcast day is ideal, or early morning and late afternoon. Direct sun creates reflections that hide fine scratches completely; raking light from the side reveals them. Never photograph dark paintwork in midday sun.

Cleanliness

Wash and dry the car first. On dirty paint you cannot tell a mark that washes off from a scratch that does not — and nobody will be able to settle it later from your photos.

Distance and sharpness

Three to four metres for the wide shots, whole panel in frame. Brace the phone, tap to focus on the paint, and check each photo before moving on. A blurred photo proves nothing.

The most common mistakes

• Shooting head-on at eye level. The angle that hides the most. Crouch, change your angle, move the light across the panel.
• Forgetting the roof. Rarely inspected, sometimes marked. One shot from a kerb or a step is enough.
• Forgetting the wheels. One photo per wheel, square to the rim edge.
• Forgetting the windscreen. Shoot it from inside, against the light — chips show up far better that way.
• No date. Check the timestamp is recorded, or email the set to yourself: the email carries a date you did not write.

When to take them

Twice, not once. Three to six months out, to decide what is worth repairing, and the day before collection, after washing, to record the exact condition at handover. The second set is the one that matters when a line on the report surprises you.

What to do with them

Photographs only help if you know what they show. That is the point of a guided inspection: you are walked through angle by angle, visible points are highlighted, and you confirm, reject or add to what was found. The result is a readable inventory rather than a folder nobody will open again.