Tips on Buying Cars: Excess wear and use on lease vehicle, 2008 lincoln mkx, e mail notification

Question
QUESTION: I am currently leasing a 2008 Lincoln MKX and have one year left on the lease.  I plan on returning the vehicle at the end of the lease agreement with no plans of leasing or purchasing another vehicle.  I have concerns of what may actually constitute excessive wear on the interior of the back seat.  I reviewed my lease agreement and it states that "excess wear and use" is determined by stains, cuts and tears larger than 1/2".  My question is what exactly constitutes a cut and/or tear?  The excess wear in question in my vehicle would be considered numerous scratches in the leather, in excess of 1/2" in length, my daughter made with her finger nails.  Any words of encouragement or is doom and a big bill waiting for me when the time comes to return this car?

ANSWER: Any chance you can follow-up this question with some photos of the scratches?  It's tough to give you an answer without knowing the true nature of the damage.  Of course, I don't condone perpetrating any fraud on the lease company, but I can tell you that many lessees in the same situation as you were able to effectively hide MINOR scratches with a magic marker and some leather conditioner (if you catch my drift...).

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QUESTION: I don't know if these pictures do justice to the actual damage.  There are two pictures due to the damage being isolated to two different areas of the rear seat.  It's tough to say how much a leather conditioner will mask the scratches but I will certainly try it.  I'm sending the pics in in response to last the e-mail notification I received from AllExperts.

Answer
There are no photos attached to this question, so I don't know if something went wrong at your end or mine.  Since it's a Lincoln, I have to assume it's a Ford Motor Credit lease.  If it is, then take the car to any Ford dealer and ask their opinion of the damage.  If they say it's acceptable, then you should be all set, as any FMCC-associated dealer becomes responsible for any damage they don't assess to the customer.  If they say it doesn't pass, then you'll have to have the damage repaired before you turn in the car.