Our Certified Service team, sales team, and the rest of our staff hear it a lot:  what is wear and tear?  To put it simply, wear and tear relates to a natural phenomenon that is not specific to new Chevrolet cars, trucks, SUVs, Chevy/Buick/GMC Certified Used Vehicles, or any other used car on our lot; it happens to automobiles, bicycles, shoes, and even the Earth by means of erosion and such.  Basically, wear and tear is any naturally occurring damage or, to put it in a less threatening way, anything that degrades the perfect quality your new Chevy vehicle is in when you pick it up.  Wear and tear also factors into tires as they too naturally wear from use.

The point of all this is that there are two brands of wear and tear:  normal wear, e.g. that which we just explained, and excess wear, or in other words the scary, bad kind.  Excess wear and tear can happen through any number of accidental, seemingly benign, and overall common uses such as simple, proper use of your tires or getting in and out of your new or used car in the winter months in Vermont.  In the latter, the salt, sand, and wetness get packed into your carpet fibers, seats, and other absorbent cracks and corners of your vehicle resulting in - that's right! - wear and tear.

So let's start by taking a look at the difference between normal wear and excess wear as per Ally Financial's definition, which we'll follow with some examples of things that could occur to lead to the two wear and tear types.  Special note:  please notice the handy Ally Financial Wear and Tear Tool.  You can print yourself one of these, however be sure to keep in mind that your printer settings may change the scale of the tool and render it worthless.  You can also stop into Handy Chevrolet's 699 Highgate Road, St. Albans, VT  05478 to pick up a copy at our financial headquarters.

Normal wear and tear
Normal wear and tear consists of any number of minor and most importantly reasonable (or in other words expected) wear that a vehicle endures during everyday, ordinary operation.  This can include small dings or dents in the vehicle's door or metal, light, surface scratches to the paint or clearcoat, or stone chips, or a tire tread worn to 1/8 of an inch.

Excess wear and tear
As you very likely understand by the meaning of "excess," excess wear and tear goes beyond ordinary use begins to infringe upon vehicular neglect our abuse, purposeful damage, and poor maintenance but can also include things like changing the vehicle's appearance or using inferior parts and/or materials for repairs.  Check out our GM car parts and accessories page to make sure you don't make this easy to correct mistake!

Still not sure exactly where the line between the normal wear and tear any Chevy-owner can expect and the excess wear and tear that a Chevrolet lessee may need additional coverage for?  Check out and/or print this handy chart for some run of the mill examples.  For more information, schedule a service appointment today or send us an email today.

Wear area	Cause of wear	Normal wear	Excess wear
Dings, dents, chips, and scratches	1.  After parking too close to your new Chevy another inconsiderate driver opens their door straight into yours causing a dent in your fresh paint. 2.  Someone bringing a load of groceries to their car bends over to pick up keys, accidentally nudge their shopping cart, and it rolls alongside your car, scraping up along the door leaving a scratch.	A.  Each area of damage that is 2-inches or less in diameter with the exception of hail damage or punctures.  If it is over 2-inches it might still be okay if car repairs cost less than $100. B.  Scratches that can be buffed out during reconditioning.	A.  Any damage to the body, bumper, or molding damage larger than 2-inches in diameter that cannot be repaired for $100 or less or any puncture B.  Missing or broken parts, regardless of cost C.  Visible grind marks, rough texture, excessive overspray from paint repair or a bad color match larger than 2 inches in diameter D.  Any damage that reduces remarketability or impairs vehicle appearance.
Frames and inner structure	1.  Although you're not injured, after being sideswiped at an intersection the collision your frame is bent slightly and the vehicle's structural integrity is in jeopardy.	A.  Not applicable (all frame damage is considered excess wear and tear).	A.  Again, any and all frame damage or poor repair of damage that affects the vehicle's structural integrity.
Burn holes	1.  The inconsiderate passenger drops a burning cigarette on your seat and goes unnoticed.  Soon, a hole is formed through the fabric as well as the foam of the seat.	A.  Burn holes that are 1/8 of an inch or less in diameter.	A.  Any burn holes that are greater than 1/8 of an inch in diameter are considered excess wear
Cuts, Tears, or Singed Areas	1.  After a hard day's work as a carpenter, you forget you had a drill bit in your pocket.  You remember (of course) as you sit down, exhausted, only to hear a sharp, tearing or puncturing sound coming from the seat.	A.  Cuts, tears, and singed areas 1/2 of an inch or less in diameter.	A.  Cuts, tears, and singed areas greater than 1/2 of an inch in diameter.
Stains	1.  You hit a pothole in the road, and though your car's wheels are okay your children spill their orange soda on the floor mats.	A.  A stain is only considered normal wear and tear if it can be removed easily, removed with cleaning products, or removed professionally at the car owner's expense.  All residue must disappear as well.	A.  Stains that cannot be removed have to be considered excess wear and tear since when they're bad enough they require replacing of the upholstery or carpeting.
Tires	1.  Though it's an unfortunate fact, it's quite simple:  normal wear, with regards to tires and treadwear, will happen over time.  As you drive your tires will slowly deteriorate due to simple friction.  Check out our tire menu to view stocked tire sets.	A.  All four tires, each judged separately, must have a tread depth of 1/8 of an inch or more at tire's shallowest point. B.  A vehicle's tires must match the manufacturer's recommended guidelines as per the specific vehicle's Owner's Manual.	A.  Excess wear will be judged if the vehicle's tires have a tread depth of less than 1/8 of an inch inch at the shallowest point. B.  Any gouges, cuts, sidewall plugs, or any other condition that affects passenger safety (as per a VT State Inspection safety checklist).
Wheels	1.  Due to the slippery winter roads in Vermont, while trying to park you hit the curb and ding your alloy wheel.	A.  Minor wear is judged due to small scuffs or minor nicks on the wheels and/or wheel covers.	A.  When a trade-in valuation professional sees broken, cracked, bent, or mismatched wheels or wheel covers, that tells us excess wear is to blame.
Windshield	1.  While traveling to Burlington, VT on Interstate 89 a truck you are following spits a rock at your window and cracks it.	A.  Damage 1/2 of an inch or less in diameter is minor wear.	A.  Damage greater than 1/2 of an inch in diameter or any other hole in any piece of glass on the car is excessive wear.
Lights, lamps, and signals	1.  At a supermarket, someone backs into your taillight cover and cracks it.	A.  Cracks that are not actually missing pieces and are 2-inches or less in length (in one direction) can be dismissed as normal.	A.  Cracks greater than 2-inches in length are suspect for excessive wear. B.  Regardless of the size, any hole counts as excessive wear.
Mechanical or electrical	1.  Your radio stops working suddenly, seemingly for no reason. 2.  You hear a creaking or grinding sound somewhere in the area of the steering wheel.	A.  Not applicable - the mentioned occurrences should never happy with proper use (excluding a rare, unforseen defect).	A.  Nonoperational or malfunctioning equipment B.  Substandard or incomplete service or car repairs C.  Any replacement car part that does not meet manufacturer's specifications.
Vehicle Maintenance	1.  Oil changes, air filter changes, transmission fluid flushes, tire rotations, inspections, and so on.  Learn more about maintenance by viewing our Maintenance I and Maintenance II pages.	A.  Not applicable - with normal, factory suggested maitnenance as per your Chevrolet's Owner's Manual you should never have an issue occur due to the maintenance.	A.  Maintenance is as important as putting gasoline in the fuel tank!  Failure to adhere to manufacturer's maintenance requirements can and will cause vehicle system failures across the board!
Missing or broken equipment and parts	1.  After using your Chevy's DVD player's remote control, your child loses the unit. 2.  The keyless entry remote (also called a key fob) loses power due to a flat battery.	A.  Not applicable.  As in the examples above if you don't lose the remote it won't be lost, and nobody will punish you for a dead battery!	A.  Any missing equipment or broken parts including the navigation system DVDs, DVD player headphones, DVD remote control, convertible boot, keyless entry remote (again if it's lost entirely as opposed to a flat battery), etc. B.  Any replacement car part or accessory that does not meet manufacturer's specifications of equal quality and design.
Aftermarket car parts and alterations	1.  You want your Camaro 2SS to look unique, so you buy a set of 20-inch, chrome, alloy wheels for your car from a third party (i.e. non-Chevrolet original equipment or a non-GM approved supplier or part). 2.  You order a bedliner from a third party that requires screws and a screw gun to install.	A.  Not applicable.  When you use approved GM third party parts and accessories or genuine GM car parts you will never encounter excess wear because of them.	A.  Any modification including, but not limited to the following can lead to excess wear:  suspension modifications; changing vehicle color or using non-factory authorized paint schemes; adding lettering or graphics; putting holes in the frame for any reason; post-delivery customizing; engine adaptations; fuel-system adaptation; tinted or engraved glass; a pickup bed with a non-dealer installed sprayed-on bedliner.

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The Ally "Wear Measurement Tool" will give you a quick, simple way to measure paint chips, window cracks, and tire depth, giving you a great idea of how normal or excess your wear and tear is for a given area of the car.  Are you not sure if your tires are wearing unevenly?  Use this tool to check the depth of the most worn tire followed by the least worn.  If in the end you have even wear, perfect!  If you find one tire below an eight of an inch and the other well above that mark, there could be some trouble causing the deformity.  The best part?  We scaled this image almost perfectly so you can print a copy and use it (for a more sturdy version made of vinyl, stop into Handy Chevrolet and grab a "Dings, dents, and details" Ally brochure; you can also contact the webmaster to request an emailed PDF version of this tool!).

But before you print yourself a copy, allow us to explain what the different measurements will tell you.

Tire tread
The tan bar at the bottom of the Wear Tool is 1/8 of an inch.  Insert the marked edge into each tread at the lowest, most worn spot.  If the "1/8 inch" marking is visible the tire has excessive wear.  If that's the case, schedule your service online or call our service team at 888-831-2041.

Windshield cracks/stars, and interior cuts and tears
The small hole in the lower right corner is the 1/2-inch glass and interior hole measuring hole which should be placed over a chip or "star break," also called a "spiderweb crack," along any piece of glass or on the hole of a seat for example (not a burn though - that's different!).  Anything exceeding the tool's measurement is excess wear.

Exterior dings, dents, or scratches
The large center hold, the 2-inch circle, is for dings, dents, and scratches.  Place the circle over a given scratch, chip, or dent on the vehicle's body's surface, and anything bigger than the diameter of the circle (the whole way across) is considered excess wear.  You can also use the ruler on the right margin for straight scratches.

Interior holes
Using the 1/2-inch circle (the smaller one), place this marking over any fabric tear or hole in the door paneling.  If you cannot see the edge of said hole you have yourself some excess wear and tear.  For burns (i.e. craters) you need to use the tiniest black hole, the 1/8-inch scale.