Not that I needed one today but I noticed when in Westover Skoda in Dorset today that they now charge £10 admin fee if you need a courtesy car from them!

Aware of the hard times at the moment with the credit crunch etc but this seems a bit harsh to expect customers to pay when they are already paying for the work on there car?

Anyone else come across this?

Free at mine, just a signature and bobs your mothers brother.

Mine give you a choice. You can pay £5 and this will waive the £250 excess or be like me and promise them way more damage than the excess. The service manager at the time even had the cheek to tut when I ticked the box to not pay. Then of course you have to bring it back with at least the same or more fuel.

Taking your car in for warranty work starts to get quite expensive.

Many have done this for years to cover doing the paperwork to add you to their insurance. Some even stipulate you must insure yourself, AND have evidence of fully comp cover at collection.

I've even heard of mileage limits and deposits req too.

We do it at work to cover insurance etc.

My dealer doesnt charge, just sign a form and drive off.

I think our local dealer charges something like £10 for a courtesy car..... They also do the collect and return service for £10 where they pick your car up from you then drop it back off so you don't have to even bother going to the dealers etc....

Cheers

Dave.

Never ever been charged

My dealer charges £10 option excess waiver. With £1000 excess its worth having

What annoys me is the £8 they charge for "protection pack" i.e. paper mats and seat protector.

I have never been charged either

Last time £7.50, but that got a brand new Fabia TDI estate to play with for the day.

Andy

My local service centre has started charging £15 for a car and you still need to put fuel in :thumbdwn: I know of another service centre where you need to put the car on your insurance :confused:

It doesn't matter if it's a separate line item on the bill or not, courtesy cars cost the garage money to run so they will charge you for it no matter what.

It's just lumped in with the labour charges on your invoice

I've managed to avoid paying any extra charges for courtesy cars for quite a while - usually by getting my insurance to cover their vehicle - but I don't believe that it's really free.

Aware of the hard times at the moment with the credit crunch etc but this seems a bit harsh to expect customers to pay when they are already paying for the work on there car?

Who else is going to pay for it? Either you pay for it directly, or as mentioned indirectly. No business is going to provide a service that causes them a loss, and running a small fleet of courtesy cars would soon add up if they didnt remunerate themselves somehow.

I dont even have a local dealer anymore :(

A bloke in a suit turns up and takes the Leon away leaving me something suitable to play with, then he comes back at the end of the day and swaps again. The fellas further up the chain with the Audis get the same service.

What annoys me is the £8 they charge for "protection pack" i.e. paper mats and seat protector.

:thumbdwn:That is taking the p!$$!

My VW dealer charges £10 plus vat per day for the courtesy car. I had an Audi A6 estate 2l TDI last time so can't complain better than the Fox I had the time before.

My Dealer charges a mileage rate - I think it's 15 ppm. When I first had work done there, as I live quite a distance away, I drove the "courtesy car" to the local railway station and caught a train to Norwich and did a bit of shopping. Even allowing for the few miles I did do, plus car park at station, plus train fare, it was less than if I had driven back home.

:thumbdwn:That is taking the p!$$!

It is but sometimes its built into the laour charge and sometimes its added on, much like the insurance.

Sometimes for the HSO standards that we have to play to now all additional items/services have to be shown on an invoice.

My local service centre has started charging £15 for a car and you still need to put fuel in :thumbdwn: I know of another service centre where you need to put the car on your insurance :confused:

is that us mate? its only to cover the insurance costs. our insurance cover is ridiclous. if i want my partner to drive my demo it costs me 100 quid a year!

i would say next time you want one let me know and i'll have a word, but i think you know why that wont happen now

My VW garage charges £12 for insurance or free if I can provide proof I can drive with my insurance fully comp.

It's free at Palmers Watford with a £500 excess. There is always some fuel but may need topping up at customers cost. Must not have DD or dangerous driving convictions but will have to provide own insurance if that is the case.

Keith

Simpson's Yarmouth collected car from home left a very nice Octavia scout, no charge, nothing to sign, job,s a good,un cheers Mellyboy

is that us mate? its only to cover the insurance costs. our insurance cover is ridiclous. if i want my partner to drive my demo it costs me 100 quid a year!

i would say next time you want one let me know and i'll have a word, but i think you know why that wont happen now

Yup it was actually

Found out last week that my local VW service centre is now able to work on Skoda's :eek: and it's 20 mins walk away

Dean, PM sent.