Audi Northampton Courtesy Car Charge??

[Uno98988]

I just came to booking the mot for my car. The service is not due for another 5 months so I probably won't bother just yet, everything is running as it should. I applied online, booked my car in for 28/02 and ticked the box for the courtesy car. At this point no costs were mentioned.

Later on in the day I got a call to confirm the appointment and once I have asked about the courtesy car, the lady on the phone advised that there will be a £25 charge for it. When I questioned this she said this has been applied to all Audi services. I very much doubt this. I know for a fact Mazda, Mercedes and Ford offer courtesy cars for free... so why don't Audi do this?

I sent a request to the Audi in Milton Keynes and currently waiting to see if they also want to charge for the courtesy car.

End of the day it's not a massive amount and I kind of understand why they would apply this charge but I don't think it's the right business move.

 

[Mark_86]

Haha, they do like to try it on. Just tell them you'll get it serviced elsewhere, they soon waive the charge...

 

[AlS3BE]

It’s a hire car if you are paying not courtesy.
I’ve never been charged for courtesy car but they are going that way. Think the lookers group started doing this last year as well.
Merc in Edinburgh wanted it so I had a moan and they waived it as I had a full service package from them for 3 years which wasn’t cheap. They were only wanting £15 but I’m cheap/tight

 

[loftylad]

My Audi dealer started with the £25 charge last year....so now they chauffeur me home and pick me up for free!
I wont pay out of principal. They spank me enough with their prices.
I bet it costs them more than £25 in someones time,fuel etc to chauffeur me. haha.

 

[Tictap]

My local Audi dealership doesn't charge but my wife has a fiesta and our local Ford dealer has started charging.

 

[AJB Audi]

To be honest I think it's pushing it a bit to expect a 'free' courtesy car for a relatively cheap expense like an MOT.

There's a cost associated with running a fleet of £20,000 to £25,000 (and possibly even more) courtesy cars and I'm sure that most people would accept that the high main dealer labour rates will include these costs. But there's very little margin in providing an MOT and certainly not enough to cover the cost of wear & tear on an expensive courtesy car. If you book you car in for a service or more expensive repair then it's perfectly reasonable to expect a courtesy car but surely dealers have to draw the line somewhere or else you'll get people expecting a loan car while they have their wiper blades changed?! If you went to a local MOT testing station, who would charge a similar amount to Audi, you'd probably get laughed at if you asked for a courtesy car and if you need a substitute car that badly £25 is still pretty cheap to hire a car of that standard for a day?

My local dealer told me tales of customers who really push it with courtesy cars. They try wherever possible to provide like for like cars but they have people with, say, an A1 requesting big estate cars because they want to move furniture around or take big items down to the local tip. Similarly, customers get phoned later in the day to advise that their cars are ready for collection (after something routine like a service) who then advise the dealer that they, and the courtesy car, are 200 miles away and they won't be able to collect their car until late the following day - so despite knowing that their car would be ready at the end of the day they have knowingly put hundreds of miles on a courtesy car and held it for far longer than necessary, which causes all manner of issues providing a further car to other customers who they assumed could ordinarily have used the car that is now 200 miles away.

With stories like this it's not surprising that some dealers are starting to introduce costs.

 

[RichardT]

I have never got charged at Audi MK. But my previous car (Toyota) did used to charge.

 

[wab172uk]

To be honest I think it's pushing it a bit to expect a 'free' courtesy car for a relatively cheap expense like an MOT.

There's a cost associated with running a fleet of £20,000 to £25,000 (and possibly even more) courtesy cars and I'm sure that most people would accept that the high main dealer labour rates will include these costs. But there's very little margin in providing an MOT and certainly not enough to cover the cost of wear & tear on an expensive courtesy car. If you book you car in for a service or more expensive repair then it's perfectly reasonable to expect a courtesy car but surely dealers have to draw the line somewhere or else you'll get people expecting a loan car while they have their wiper blades changed?! If you went to a local MOT testing station, who would charge a similar amount to Audi, you'd probably get laughed at if you asked for a courtesy car and if you need a substitute car that badly £25 is still pretty cheap to hire a car of that standard for a day?

My local dealer told me tales of customers who really push it with courtesy cars. They try wherever possible to provide like for like cars but they have people with, say, an A1 requesting big estate cars because they want to move furniture around or take big items down to the local tip. Similarly, customers get phoned later in the day to advise that their cars are ready for collection (after something routine like a service) who then advise the dealer that they, and the courtesy car, are 200 miles away and they won't be able to collect their car until late the following day - so despite knowing that their car would be ready at the end of the day they have knowingly put hundreds of miles on a courtesy car and held it for far longer than necessary, which causes all manner of issues providing a further car to other customers who they assumed could ordinarily have used the car that is now 200 miles away.

With stories like this it's not surprising that some dealers are starting to introduce costs.

Good post and makes a lot of sense.

My local dealer charges. Think it's £10 or maybe £25. I'll find out next month when my cars in for a service.

As many others have said, it's a bitter pill to swallow when you already know they are charging a lot of money for (in some cases) a oil and filter change.

They say it's for insurance purposes. But when you are looking to buy a car and they lend you a car for a day in the hope of a sale, you never get charged for this insurance.

I always felt aggrieved at paying for the loan car. But the alternative are.

• Adding the insurance onto you own policy. Will cost you way more than £25
• Hiring a car for the day. Will cost you more than £25.

But like most things, £25 isn't the end of the world, and reading you post, I can see how some people can abuse the courtesy car.

 

[Mark_86]

Although I can understand the points above, I do not agree with paying for the use of a courtesy car. At the end of the day, many independent garages also offer this service, who are considerably cheaper than Audi and they don't usually charge (maybe a tenner). So, for the extra outlay Audi charges us for work, plus the fact we 'bought' a vehicle off them in the first place, I see this as 'part of the service' you get with a main dealer.

 

[loftylad]

To be honest I think it's pushing it a bit to expect a 'free' courtesy car for a relatively cheap expense like an MOT.

There's a cost associated with running a fleet of £20,000 to £25,000 (and possibly even more) courtesy cars and I'm sure that most people would accept that the high main dealer labour rates will include these costs. But there's very little margin in providing an MOT and certainly not enough to cover the cost of wear & tear on an expensive courtesy car. If you book you car in for a service or more expensive repair then it's perfectly reasonable to expect a courtesy car but surely dealers have to draw the line somewhere or else you'll get people expecting a loan car while they have their wiper blades changed?! If you went to a local MOT testing station, who would charge a similar amount to Audi, you'd probably get laughed at if you asked for a courtesy car and if you need a substitute car that badly £25 is still pretty cheap to hire a car of that standard for a day?

My local dealer told me tales of customers who really push it with courtesy cars. They try wherever possible to provide like for like cars but they have people with, say, an A1 requesting big estate cars because they want to move furniture around or take big items down to the local tip. Similarly, customers get phoned later in the day to advise that their cars are ready for collection (after something routine like a service) who then advise the dealer that they, and the courtesy car, are 200 miles away and they won't be able to collect their car until late the following day - so despite knowing that their car would be ready at the end of the day they have knowingly put hundreds of miles on a courtesy car and held it for far longer than necessary, which causes all manner of issues providing a further car to other customers who they assumed could ordinarily have used the car that is now 200 miles away.

With stories like this it's not surprising that some dealers are starting to introduce costs.

My heart bleeds for the Dealers....Oh wait, no it doesn't.

Instead of providing customers with useless crap like shiny glass palaces, meeters & greeters, "wild mushroom soup with a roll" (I **** you not!) give me something which is actually useful, like a COURTESY car...the clue's in the question!

 

[Khufu]

i agree with regards to an MOT. Its £56 for a test and average time is 45-60 min. If your labour rate is over £100 an hour its not financially worth is to do a test and give out a car for free unless they make it back on repairs lol

 

[AJB Audi]

My heart bleeds for the Dealers....Oh wait, no it doesn't.

Instead of providing customers with useless **** like shiny glass palaces, meeters & greeters, "wild mushroom soup with a roll" (I **** you not!) give me something which is actually useful, like a COURTESY car...the clue's in the question!

You could always take your custom elsewhere - I doubt they would miss you.

 

[AJB Audi]

i agree with regards to an MOT. Its £56 for a test and average time is 45-60 min. If your labour rate is over £100 an hour its not financially worth is to do a test and give out a car for free unless they make it back on repairs lol

Thank you and that's exactly my point. If you are paying for a service that is incurring the high main dealer rates it is perfectly reasonable to expect a courtesy car, and I would be put out as a long standing customer if they imposed a charge. But there has to be a cut-off point and with something like an MOT when there is a ceiling on the price that can be charged it's just not commercially viable to provide free courtesy cars and you can only push the cross-subsidies from other areas of the business so far.

 

[loftylad]

You could always take your custom elsewhere - I doubt they would miss you.

Hehe. Whatever.

 

[cuke2u]

It's not a charge for a courtesy car, it is a charge to reduce the insurance excess. Perfectly normal and correct...

 

[Phutters]

It's not a charge for a courtesy car, it is a charge to reduce the insurance excess. Perfectly normal and correct...

Semantics.

It doesn't matter one jot how you dress it up - if the punter has to pay, it's a charge for a courtesy car.

If it was perfectly normal all dealerships would do it, but that isn't the case. It varies from franchise to franchise. Some charge, some will let you have the car buckshee.

.

 

[simonali]

My heart bleeds for the Dealers....Oh wait, no it doesn't.

Instead of providing customers with useless **** like shiny glass palaces, meeters & greeters, "wild mushroom soup with a roll" (I **** you not!) give me something which is actually useful, like a COURTESY car...the clue's in the question!

But where's the question? ← that's a question, btw. You can tell by the squiggly thing with a dot under it at the end.

 

[Sparks43]

To be honest Chelmsford Audi were charging many years ago - It was to do with their insurance because the brokers I work for used to do their Motor Trade and it didn't cover the courtesy cars they were insured separately.

However they did try to charge for warranty work once and I drew the line at that on the basis that if my car wasn't broken it wouldn't be there and therefore they should provide a car

Like people say it is cheap in view of what a hire car would cost but I usually arrange a lift to and from

 

[Matt Titanium]

The paperwork on my dealer's service loan cars say 100 miles max and a £10 charge for insurance - but they have never charged me (directly) for this.

 

[AlS3BE]

Forgot to add if it’s in for warranty work and they can’t get you a courtesy car then Audi UK provides one. This was a good few years ago my car broke down and in a few hours enterprise delivered a car for me to use as it wasn’t a small issue. Definitely don’t get charged if it’s from Audi UK.

 

[winrya]

At Audi prices it’s a bit ridiculous to charge for the car. If you break the price down then why don’t they discount my service when I ask they don’t wash and vacuum my car? I assume the service price has this built into their pricing ?

 

[cuke2u]

Semantics.

It doesn't matter one jot how you dress it up - if the punter has to pay, it's a charge for a courtesy car.

If it was perfectly normal all dealerships would do it, but that isn't the case. It varies from franchise to franchise. Some charge, some will let you have the car buckshee.

.

Whatever, it is Audi courtesy car insurance cover telling Audi there can be a CDW to reduce your costs if you have an accident in one of their cars. Dress it up how you like but would you rather pay £1500 excess? It is not a charge for using the car but for having an accident in one. My dealership tells me I can pay or not pay. It's up to you...

 

[V6_Man]

Whatever, it is Audi courtesy car insurance cover telling Audi there can be a CDW to reduce your costs if you have an accident in one of their cars. Dress it up how you like but would you rather pay £1500 excess? It is not a charge for using the car but for having an accident in one. My dealership tells me I can pay or not pay. It's up to you...

Well said mate

 

[Phutters]

It is not a charge for using the car but for having an accident in one. My dealership tells me I can pay or not pay. It's up to you...

So what happens if the dealer doesn't let you take the risk on the chin and won't let you have a car without coughing up first?

Do you get your twenty five quid back if you manage not to wrap it round a tree?

Not in my experience.

I've had exactly this issue with the two nearest dealers to me. The default position of one is to charge. No payment, no courtesy car*. The other one will let you have the car for free if you opt to carry the can yourself should something happen.

I don't have a problem with that at all - it's a choice I'd be happy to make were I to need a loan vehicle. At least that way it's my choice, and not something imposed on me.

And in case you think I'm being difficult for the sake of it, I do understand what you are saying. Completely.

The essential point remains, however - if you have to pay for something , you are being charged.

As long as I'm obliged to pay, it doesn't matter to me whether the money is to cover a policy excess or to pay for the salesman to have a dirty weekend at the local Travelodge with one of the showroom receptionists; I'm still out of pocket.


* There is a caveat to this - they will waive the charge if your own insurance covers the use of a courtesy car, but as far as I'm aware, not that many policies do.


.

 

[AlS3BE]

to pay for the salesman to have a dirty weekend at the local Travelodge with one of the showroom receptionists

.

Bit off topic but I wouldn’t mind getting my dirty ways with the receptionists at my local dealer more than happy to pay for the privilege too

 

[KenL]

To be honest I think it's pushing it a bit to expect a 'free' courtesy car for a relatively cheap expense like an MOT.

There's a cost associated with running a fleet of £20,000 to £25,000 (and possibly even more) courtesy cars and I'm sure that most people would accept that the high main dealer labour rates will include these costs. But there's very little margin in providing an MOT and certainly not enough to cover the cost of wear & tear on an expensive courtesy car. If you book you car in for a service or more expensive repair then it's perfectly reasonable to expect a courtesy car but surely dealers have to draw the line somewhere or else you'll get people expecting a loan car while they have their wiper blades changed?! If you went to a local MOT testing station, who would charge a similar amount to Audi, you'd probably get laughed at if you asked for a courtesy car and if you need a substitute car that badly £25 is still pretty cheap to hire a car of that standard for a day?

My local dealer told me tales of customers who really push it with courtesy cars. They try wherever possible to provide like for like cars but they have people with, say, an A1 requesting big estate cars because they want to move furniture around or take big items down to the local tip. Similarly, customers get phoned later in the day to advise that their cars are ready for collection (after something routine like a service) who then advise the dealer that they, and the courtesy car, are 200 miles away and they won't be able to collect their car until late the following day - so despite knowing that their car would be ready at the end of the day they have knowingly put hundreds of miles on a courtesy car and held it for far longer than necessary, which causes all manner of issues providing a further car to other customers who they assumed could ordinarily have used the car that is now 200 miles away.

With stories like this it's not surprising that some dealers are starting to introduce costs.

That was a really long post defending dealers. Their charges are a total too off so expecting a car for free is not exactly asking the earth.

Having said that, I would not take my car to a dealer for an MOT unless I was getting warranty work at the same time - when I'd expect a free car!

 

[oli356]

Forgot to add if it’s in for warranty work and they can’t get you a courtesy car then Audi UK provides one. This was a good few years ago my car broke down and in a few hours enterprise delivered a car for me to use as it wasn’t a small issue. Definitely don’t get charged if it’s from Audi UK.

Audi UK told me that they had no influence if I got a courtesy car or not when my car was in as per their request for software troubleshooting.

 

[AlS3BE]

Audi UK told me that they had no influence if I got a courtesy car or not when my car was in as per their request for software troubleshooting.

My car was leaking fuel so wasn’t driveable . It was all done through Audi assist not dealer as they didn’t have a car for 3-4 weeks

 

[Matt Titanium]

The dealers register brand new cars, sometimes hard to shift specs that have been sitting around for a while and use them as courtesy cars/demonstrators.

These are used and abused by uncaring test pilots for three or four months and washed by the same spotty youths every day with the same gritty sponge.

The dealers then knock out the dings, polish the scratches out and sell these cars as almost new for the 'cost' price they originally paid for them to unsuspecting buyers that think they are making a massive saving on new.

So dealers keep their numbers up, don't lose money on the courtesy car thing and it doesn't really cost them anything at all.

 

[testcard]

So you were booking your car for an MOT only, not a service?

 

[Uno98988]

well this blew up... I completely understand why they are doing it but I personally think they shouldn't be doing it. I worked at Land Rover and best believe we didn't charge for courtesy cars. I know there is a difference between the two brands but end of the day Audi are seen as a luxury brand and should act like it.

I know it's only an MOT but I do need a service in a few months. If I don't get the experience I want from this MOT, I simply won't take my car back for the service instead. A family friend has a garage and he provides courtesy cars. His standard prices are way cheaper than Audi's and for me he would do it even cheaper. The only reason I am taking it to Audi is to preserve the service history it already has on it and to do this I will pay the £25 if I absolutely have to.

 

[testcard]

I would expect to be offered a courtesy car for a service, but not for an MOT. An MOT takes around an hour - I’d just wait and drink Audi’s coffee.

 

[eribaMotters]

Both Skoda and VW have attempted to charge me £10/20 in the past when using a courtesy car. I was told it was for the insurance. When I showed them my insurance documents they agreed my insurance would cover me and dropped the charges. Toyota and many years ago Renault did not attempt to charge me. Could it be VAG policy to extract the cash?

Colin

 

[KenL]

BMW/MINI dealer I used would charge £10. If it was warranty work I always refused to pay. Didn't mind for a service as I had got servicing thrown in for free.

I paid £15 to Audi dealer in September when my car was serviced. I didn't mind as they had taken ~50% off their price to price match.