What is Fair Wear & Tear & who needs to read this guide

Europcar has consulted with partners in the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) to assist in the creation of this guide. The Europcar Fair Wear and Tear Standard defines every aspect of the condition a vehicle should be in when it is returned at the end of a rental period.

Who uses the guide?

The guide is intended to be used by all customers of Europcar renting light commercial vehicles. It is aligned with our Standard Europcar Wear and Tear Policy.

What is the purpose?

Based on industry-wide standards, the guide defines what will be considered as fair wear and tear for light commercial vehicles when inspected upon return to a Europcar location at the end of a rental period.

What is fair wear and tear?

Fair wear and tear is the deterioration in the condition of a vehicle through normal use.

Europcar customers should take into account things such as the age of the specific vehicle and the mileage when assessing the vehicle’s condition at the end of a rental period.

Damage to a vehicle that is the result of a particular event or series of events such as negligent acts or omissions, inappropriate stowing of cargo, harsh treatment or impact is not considered fair wear and tear.

Information and advice for customers

The rental location will give you information at the start of the rental that will help you meet the standards required by Europcar, when you return the vehicle.

At the start of the rental, you will be issued with an inventory of all standard and optional equipment that comes with the vehicle.

You can avoid or minimise end of contract charges at the end of the rental period by following all of the advice provided by the rental location, to help keep the vehicle in roadworthy condition.

If any of your details change during the hire, such as place of use, operating conditions or purpose for which you hired the vehicle, you should notify the renting location immediately.

You should also contact the rental location straight away if you discover what you think is a manufacturer’s fault on the vehicle or its trim or bodywork, with a view to getting the issue repaired as soon as possible.

The vehicle manufacturer’s guidelines should be followed closely to maintain the vehicle’s equipment and accessories.

Regular and robust maintenance such as visual vehicle inspections, daily checks of items such as fluid levels and tyres, scheduling repairs with Europcar, and adhering to best practices in fleet management will help prevent damage to vehicles through tough and heavy usage. These are legal requirements to ensure the vehicle is roadworthy.

Telematics

The majority of our rental vehicles are fitted with telematics devices and, where this is the case, we are able to obtain mileage reports remotely. For further information on the telematics device, please refer to our privacy policy and our specific Connected Cars privacy policy

An explanation of The Europcar Fair Wear and Tear Standard

At the start of a hire contract

The information contained within these web pages constitutes our Fair Wear and Tear policy and details all of the elements expected in terms of how you should regularly inspect the vehicle, its condition, its accessories and the expected standard of the vehicle at the end of the rental period.

At the end of a hire contract

When a vehicle is returned to Europcar, we will conduct a full inspection of the vehicle, its equipment and accessories. You will not be charged at the end of a rental period for normal wear and tear.

If the vehicle hasn’t been used as agreed or items such as wheel jacks and keys are missing then Europcar will make charges to compensate for repairs or replacing the missing items.

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