Due to our reasonable rental fees and the high quality of our rental instruments, William Harris Lee Premium String Rentals are NOT rent to own. However, we do offer renters a purchase discount of up to 40% off, based on the rental fees collected during the first 60 months of your rental contract. You may at any time return your rental instrument and apply this towards the purchase of a new William Harris Lee instrument.

Yes! Once a rental contract has ended, you will have 90 days during which time you may purchase a NEW William Harris Lee & Co. instrument at a special discount of up to 40% off. This purchase discount will equal a maximum of the rental fees (not including the Maintenance and Repair Plan fees & sales taxes) collected during the first 60 months, but not to exceed 40% off the selling price of the NEW WHL instrument being purchased. This discount may not be combined with any other discount, trade-in, or special offer. An instrument purchased with this discount must be paid in full at the time of purchase. This discount is only available for the purchase of a new William Harris Lee instrument; non-W.H. Lee instruments (consignments, trade-ins, and antique instruments) are excluded. This discount may not be used towards the purchase of a case or bow unless the instrument being purchased is advertised and sold as an outfit by William Harris Lee & Co. Simply contact our sales department to arrange an instrument trial.

As stated above, the size of the discount is equal to a maximum of your total rental fees collected over the first 60 months of the contract. However, the discount may not exceed 40% off the selling price of the new instrument being purchased. This offer will expire 90 days after the rental contract is terminated.

You may return the instrument at any time. However, the contract requires an initial minimum term of 3 months. If you return your instrument less than three months from the rental start date, you will be charged the remaining balance due for the first three months. 

Rent is paid in advance, and while there is no penalty for discontinuing your rental, no pro-rated
refunds will be issued on early returns.

Your monthly payment includes a Maintenance and Repair fee. Bring your rental instrument to W.H. Lee & Co. for all your service needs, or turn it in to a pre-approved site authorized by W.H Lee, such as your school orchestra teacher. Repair of rental instruments and bows may only be done by a WHL-authorized repair technician – please call before taking your instrument to any other stores for repair.

COVERED: Normal wear and tear including minor scratches/nicks, open seams, sticking or slipping of pegs, bow re-hairs (maximum two per year), accidental broken bridge, and broken strings. Damage due to neglect or abuse as determined by WHLee is not covered.

COVERED WITH FEE: In the event of the theft of an instrument, a police report documenting the incident must be provided to WHL within 7 days of the occurrence. For a stolen instrument, or an instrument that is accidentally damaged beyond repair (the cost of the repair is greater than the value of the instrument), you will be charged a fee as follows: Violins or Violas – $200.00, Cellos – $350.00, and Basses – $500.00. Examples of catastrophic damage include: broken neck, broken or cracked scroll, back crack, and soundpost or bassbar crack. Determination of accident versus abuse and willful intent will be determined by WH Lee repair luthiers

NOT COVERED: Damage due to neglect or willful intent, or instruments that are lost. For an instrument returned with damage due to gross neglect or abuse, you will be charged the full cost of repair of the damage, up to the full replacement cost of the instrument, bow, and case.  Examples include: initials and other carvings in the instrument varnish, instruments left outside or in cars, unattended, loaned to third parties, or subject to extreme temperature conditions.  For a lost instrument, you will be charged the full replacement cost of the instrument, bow, and case.

Lessee is responsible for all shipping costs for instrument exchanges and returns, and for instruments that returned for maintenance or repair. For more information, please refer to our Rental Shipping Policy.

Instruments may be returned to any of our stores, or shipped to our Chicago location. In addition to direct return to one of our stores, we may also pre-approve an authorized return site, such as to a school or studio teacher. If the instrument is returned to an authorized return site, you must immediately notify us of the location and date returned.

• Chinrest change and brazilwood bow requests can be made without usually any extra cost.
• Mechanical fine tuner pegs and more expensive strings can be provided at additional cost.
• More advanced rentals can come from available stock of Artisan level instruments (Giovanni, C. Jean Pique, for example) at a higher rental rate based upon the value of the instrument being rented.