Courtesy Car - Who charges what?

[Craig]

well after booking my car into Grassicks at Perth for a service, turns out they want £42 per day for a courtesy car, which I think is ridiculous :( Safe to say, I won't be paying that but getting my dad to do a 60 mile round trip 2 days on the trot. :o

So, my question is, what dealer do you use and how much (if anything) do they charge for a courtesy car? I will update the first post and we can use it as a reference if any of us ever have to get our car serviced or any work done.

Courtesy Car Charges

Grassicks, Perth - £42 per day or free depending on who you are
Arnold Clark - £20 per day
Peter Vardy, Edinburgh - £10 per day
Lloyds, Carlisle - Free
Eastern - £10
Menzies - Free we think.... must provide own insurance
Douglas Park - Own insurance or pay £12
John Clarks, Aberdeen - Free

[drb5374]

Pretty sure Arnold Shark charges in the £20 area....

[Craig]

Pretty sure Arnold Shark charges in the £20 area....

Cheers.... :)

[AndyP & Lenore]

I think the last we got one at Peter Vardy's it was £10 per day.

[The Dogfather]

Vauxhall, Mazda and Honda don't charge why the hell should MINI. It's not a courtesy car if they do its a fecking rip off.

So much for cheap servicing with TLC.

[sedgie]

I get mine free:D

[Sweeney]

I paid nothing for my courtesy car from eastern had 3 or 4 days iirc, got it with 38miles on the clock and put about 200 on it :D lol, i think the £10 is only for going on their insurance?

[Craig]

I get mine free:D

Very Interesting Sedgie, as I believe you use Grassicks also...:confused: They did ask me if I had been to them before, so maybe they gave me that price because I haven't bought anything from them.? I would be interested to find out why some MINI owners get charged and others don't, cos Zimbo told me he has never paid for a courtesy car at Grassicks also..

suppose I will find out at the end of the month when the car goes in for it's service..

[The Dogfather]

I paid nothing for my courtesy car from eastern had 3 or 4 days iirc, got it with 38miles on the clock and put about 200 on it :D lol, i think the £10 is only for going on their insurance?

Doesn't your own insurance cover you for this, mine does, BTW do they charge you £10 for test driving a car? No, because the dealer policy covers this.

They are ripping you off, its just a way of bumping up their profits.

[Craig]

Vauxhall, Mazda and Honda don't charge why the hell should MINI. It's not a courtesy car if they do its a fecking rip off.

So much for cheap servicing with TLC.

I agree Paul, MINI is the only car company that I have used that charges for courtesy cars and due to my job, I need one, but it just means that I won't have one for the day that mine is in the garage, just need to razz one of the pool cars. :D :D

[euan]

My dealer where I get the servicing done on my BMW charges £10 per day for BMW and MINI, which is just their insurance cost. When I got a 1 series from the dealer in London as a loan car I don't think I paid anything for it, if I did it was no more than a tenner.

In saying that, I got it free last time as they mucked up the work (repaired the wrong alloy) and it had to be booked back in.

[Sweeney]

Mainly due to the fact i am under 21... My policy would cover me just now but i decided to save on the quote and not opt for it :P

All mini dealers rip the c**t... Go figure :rolleyes:

[stoney]

i use lloyds and they dont charge for it but i know parks do think it was £30 not shure tho !!!!

[ianking]

Eastern charged me £10 which was for the insurance, was only a 116 though.

Sarah was charged £10 for insurance but she was lucky and got a new 330D Tourer.

[vintageb3]

Good old Menzies didn't charge me a thing.

That's why I always use them;) :rolleyes:

mark

[FergusM]

Menzies wont let you pay anything for being put on their insurance, my insurance comapny wanted £30 a day ! so worked out well expensive...plus by time I paid petrol there /back in my car...and replaced petrol in the curtosey car...think last time it was in cost me £70!!!

And they never found either fault ! Douglad Park mentioned not cost etc for getting a car from them, and with them being very close that is where my car goes next...

[AndyP & Lenore]

Menzies wont let you pay anything for being put on their insurance, my insurance comapny wanted £30 a day ! so worked out well expensive...plus by time I paid petrol there /back in my car...and replaced petrol in the curtosey car...think last time it was in cost me £70!!!

And they never found either fault ! Douglad Park mentioned not cost etc for getting a car from them, and with them being very close that is where my car goes next...

Fergus I'm having a numptyhead moment. I can't figure out your first sentence... "Menzies won't let you pay anything for being put on their insurance"..... so surely that means a courtesy car from Menzies is free.:confused: :confused:

A.:D

[Craig]

Fergus I'm having a numptyhead moment. I can't figure out your first sentence... "Menzies won't let you pay anything for being put on their insurance"..... so surely that means a courtesy car from Menzies is free.:confused: :confused:

A.:D

that's what I got from that, despite their info that they charge you for courtesy cars... don't know the price sorry :o

[BJN]

Fairbairn's tried to charge me £15 per day, but do to my errm driving record their insurance wouldn't cover me, so I just put it on my insurance for free.

Had a 1 series from Eastern for a couple of weeks as well and no charge.

[ajamesj]

I have had a courtesy car from Grassicks for the passed week at no charge ( Dont ask R56 problems but nothing they cant fix eh eh) and also have had many courtesy cars from them over the years when my previous cars were in for services at no charge. I do know alot of the guys there though and bought my car from them lol.

[FergusM]

Fergus I'm having a numptyhead moment. I can't figure out your first sentence... "Menzies won't let you pay anything for being put on their insurance"..... so surely that means a courtesy car from Menzies is free.:confused: :confused:

A.:D

Nope you have to show you've insured it...cost me £30 for a day, would have been cheaper if they could have put me on their insurance for a day.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Nope you have to show you've insured it...cost me £30 for a day, would have been cheaper if they could have put me on their insurance for a day.

Ah, I'm with you now.

Some dealers will let you call your insurance company from the reception desk to arrange insurance and take that as being that you have insured it. So do menzies insist you take a copy of a covernote in?

A.:D

[FergusM]

They called my insurance company as the cover note was not in..so very good that way.

Suppose what I'm trying to say is that it can work out more expensive for a "free" curtosey car if your insurance is silly expensive to transfer/cover another car for one day..and the dealer cant put you on theirs. The girl at my broker even suggested that I went on Menzies insurance as it was expensive for them to cover a car for a day. In end issure really with the silly cot my insurance company charged not with Menzies, well apart from fact they gave me a 116i...YUK !

[The Dogfather]

They called my insurance company as the cover note was not in..so very good that way.

Suppose what I'm trying to say is that it can work out more expensive for a "free" curtosey car if your insurance is silly expensive to transfer/cover another car for one day..and the dealer cant put you on theirs. The girl at my broker even suggested that I went on Menzies insurance as it was expensive for them to cover a car for a day. In end issure really with the silly cot my insurance company charged not with Menzies, well apart from fact they gave me a 116i...YUK !

I'm covered to drive any given to me as a courtesy car whilst my car is in for repairs/servicing, Free, however I haven't tried asking for a cover note though they might make an admin charge.

Best way to avoid this is to get a free courtesy car. Oh, Smart also do free CCs. The 1st one we had was an A Class but the last time it was one of the new Smart 4-2s, god it was awful. At least I didn't have to drive it though ;)

[Craig]

thanks for the replys. :D

well it looks like the person on the other end of the phone at Grassicks maybe got it wrong, or I was about to be fleeced.. :eek: :rolleyes: :)

Lets just say that If I go all the way up there at the end of the month and find out I could have had a free courtesy car, my pop will not be a happy man...:o

[illegalhunter]

Douglas Park wanted to charge me £12 when they had mine for 3 weeks

[Mini Ecosse]

Our Mini was in Douglas Parks body shop in Hillington for 3 days ( some barsteward keyed the drivers door).
The receptionist called our insurance comany with the registration number of the courtesy car.
We actually had the car for an extra day, shift work could'nt get down day car was ready.
On returning courtesy car the reception again called our insurance company to remove their car from our policy.
ALL THIS COST NOTHING.
Well done Douglas Park, great service and a super job of paintwork.:) :)

[jamiec]

Harry Fairbairn Irvine charged me £10 this week but as the car has to go back for something to get fixed again 2nd time it's free. 250 exess too iirc

[AndyP & Lenore]

We bought our red MINI from Grassicks so I thought I'd give them a wee call and see what the patter is on this.

It seems that if you buy a car from Grassicks, you are entitled to a free courtesy car whenever your car goes into the service department for any work. However you are still expected to insure the car on your own insurance.

Grassicks have told me these courtesy cars are in short supply so are really kept for existing customers (who have already purchased a car from them). If you are not an existing car, you are given the opportunity to hire a car at a cost of £42 per day. This is what Craig has been offered, but it looks like the service receptionist hasn't made that clear to Craig.:rolleyes:

A.;)

[Craig]

Thanks for that Andy, however I am not sure how this "policy" will encourage new customers to come to them for servicing and maybe buy a new car from, them. :(

Looks like I will have to look at ANOTHER dealer to take my car to that will allow me to take one of their courtesy cars on my own insurance, that is not in the centre of Edinburgh or Glasgow.. :)

[AndyP & Lenore]

Thanks for that Andy, however I am not sure how this "policy" will encourage new customers to come to them for servicing and maybe buy a new car from, them. :(

Looks like I will have to look at ANOTHER dealer to take my car to that will allow me to take one of their courtesy cars on my own insurance, that is not in the centre of Edinburgh or Glasgow.. :)

Lloyds in Carlisle? Bit of a trek for you.:confused: :o :(

Whilst I can understand them looking after existing customers, it's hardly a policy which will attract new business.:confused: :(

A.

[Scottie]

Calterdon was free. Either that they gave us a run home.

I have however used other garages for mainly Jeep VW Merc and each time they have collected my car and left another car for our use free of charge.

If for warranty work always made sure it was a like for like car of an upgrade.:cool:

[AndyP & Lenore]

I would add to Fi's comments regarding other garages....

When we had our CRV with it's multitude of problems it was in and out of Chathams Honda in Edinburgh sometimes for 2 weeks at a time. They always had a loan car for us to take away. Usually a nice Civic. Never been charged by them yet. And they also brought a loan car down and took ours away, again no charge but I did have to put that one on our insurance.

They do all our diamondbriting, and we've got to know the service manager so well now he just throws us the keys to his car and says "don't bend it now will you". We're covered by their insurance and doesn't cost us a penny.

A.:D

[PASL]

FOC at jc aberdeen :)

[KenL]

When we had our CRV with it's multitude of problems it was in and out of Chathams Honda in Edinburgh sometimes for 2 weeks at a time.

A Honda with problems?

Some people would have you believe that never happens!

[AndyP & Lenore]

A Honda with problems?

Some people would have you believe that never happens!

Yeah. The most reliable marque in the industry was far from it for us.:rolleyes:

We had our CRV replaced under warranty after 8 months of fighting. Basically we had the CRV equivalent of Craig & Jude's R56 Cooper S.

A.:(

[The Dogfather]

Yeah. The most reliable marque in the industry was far from it for us.:rolleyes:

We had our CRV replaced under warranty after 8 months of fighting. Basically we had the CRV equivalent of Craig & Jude's R56 Cooper S.

A.:(

Early Civics have been beset with problems as well. Most now are sorted, moral of the story is never buy the new model until its been out 18 months. My MX5 has a few niggles as well, the old ones are bomb proof.

[Gismo]

Staying firmly on topic :rolleyes: i've held back from commenting on JC's in Dundee, but, i'm sure i've never had to pay for a courtesy car

[KenL]

Staying firmly on topic :rolleyes:

OK ;)

I've not had a courtesy car, but when I took my R56 into Eastern, I noticed a sign up saying that courtesy cars were £10 per day - you couldn't use your own insurance any longer.

What happens if your car is in their garage for a few days waiting on parts, or "they" want to keep it in for a week - do you still need to pay?

I think this is wrong especially if it is in for warranty work :(

[Scottie]

OK ;)

I've not had a courtesy car, but when I took my R56 into Eastern, I noticed a sign up saying that courtesy cars were £10 per day - you couldn't use your own insurance any longer.

What happens if your car is in their garage for a few days waiting on parts, or "they" want to keep it in for a week - do you still need to pay?

I think this is wrong especially if it is in for warranty work :(


re warranty work as part of the "warranty" your loan car should be free well that is what I would have thought. I wouldn't think Mini would differ that much from BMW VW Jeep etc etc would they.???? I know a VW dealer struggles to give you a Treg under their like for like policy


Anyone read their warranty and see if it covers this.??

[AndyP & Lenore]

I haven't read the warranty document Fi, but I know for sure that Craig had to pay £10 per day while his car was in Eastern for "Warranty" work. We also had to pay £10 when our R56 was in Eastern for warranty work.:(

There's a misconception here by dealers I think.... Courtesy should be exactly that a "Courtesy"..... A vehicle provided to you for you to use as a courtesy while your own vehicle is in their hands. I understand the cars have to be paid for and they have to be insured, and maintained, but I'm surprised that isn't included in the (almost) £100 per hour labour cost.:eek:

It's almost like me saying to my customers here's a small popcorn provided to you as a courtesy while you are in watching a movie.... oh, but there's a £1.50 fee for that.:rolleyes:

A.:D

[Craig]

Your right Andy, I did have to pay Eastern for the use of a car while in for work. Only once MINI had confirmed it was going to take a while to fix, did they give me a car free of charge (which I think meant MINI said they were going to pick up the bill)..:confused:

still think it is not great that a supposed premium brand charges, when so called "ordinary" brands don't charge a penny... :(

[sedgie]

Well i dinnae even pay 10 squid!;) :D

[Craig]

aye aye, stop rubbing it in.... wonder if I buy some screenwash from them when I am up they will give me my "courtesy" car free the next time... ;) :D

[AndyP & Lenore]

Well i dinnae even pay 10 squid!;) :D

What dealer is that?

A.

[Craig]

What dealer is that?

A.

Grassicks - cos Lesley bought a car from them... :rolleyes: ;)

[AndyP & Lenore]

aye aye, stop rubbing it in.... wonder if I buy some screenwash from them when I am up they will give me my "courtesy" car free the next time... ;) :D

lol.

Worth a try.;)

A.:D

[sedgie]

Grassicks - cos Lesley bought a car from them... :rolleyes: ;)

well bought 2 cars in wan day!:rolleyes: :p ;)

[Forbes]

FOC at jc aberdeen :)


Not anymore... Was £25 for me when i got my MOT in Nov.

+ **p a mile over 25miles, and its 18miles to my house and back,

(Maybe because am a young een:frown:)

[KenL]

I phoned Eastern to book my car in.

Despite the nice pre-recorded voice telling me that "at Eastern we don't charge for courtesy cars" they want £10 per day.

That's calendar days. I wanted to drop my car off at 5.30pm one day and collect the next around 4.30pm. 23 hours in my book but 2 days and £20 to them!

Planning to do it when I am on holiday. Would really like an R56 S for the day, I wonder if they have one as a lone car. A got an R53 S off them a couple of times in the past.

[Gismo]

I often get the salesman's car ;)

[japper]

well after booking my car into Grassicks at Perth for a service, turns out they want £42 per day for a courtesy car, which I think is ridiculous :( Safe to say, I won't be paying that but getting my dad to do a 60 mile round trip 2 days on the trot. :o

So, my question is, what dealer do you use and how much (if anything) do they charge for a courtesy car? I will update the first post and we can use it as a reference if any of us ever have to get our car serviced or any work done.

Courtesy Car Charges

Grassicks, Perth - £42 per day or free depending on who you are
Arnold Clark - £20 per day
Peter Vardy, Edinburgh - £10 per day
Lloyds, Carlisle - Free
Eastern - £10
Menzies - Free we think.... must provide own insurance
Douglas Park - Own insurance or pay £12
John Clarks, Aberdeen - Free

JC's Aberdeen are free only if you supply your own insurance, otherwise it's £26.50 per day

[Forbes]

I did ( but it might be a age thing as i am only 19)

[euan]

I did ( but it might be a age thing as i am only 19)

Still shouldn't matter, as you've a license and covering the insurance with your own cover, but car dealers seem to get away with ageist stuff.

I've often booked a car and then had the fee waived as the car needed extra work, or where they've made an error. As an example, when I had it booked in once for a while you wait thing, the part they had was faulty so had shipped one in, but gave me the car free so I could get on with my day. Same with when BMW had damaged the alloy when the tyre was changed by them - the fault there lay with BMW emergency response but the dealer covered the cost as a goodwill gesture.

Sad thing is that dealer has been bought over now, so hope the service doesn't slip!

[totalhun]

I'm booked into JC in Dundee next week for a service, does anyone know if they'll be free for a car as it would be a hell of a lot easier for me if they supplied that for a day or two.

[euan]

I'm booked into JC in Dundee next week for a service, does anyone know if they'll be free for a car as it would be a hell of a lot easier for me if they supplied that for a day or two.

Depends if you booked a car at the time you made the booking. Most need a couple of weeks notice, would be worth giving them a ring to find out.

[gauldrymini]

Doubtful if it will be free...they do a courtesy mini bus service though after you drop your car off...

it may depend on how well you know the guys there:Whistle:

[eddie 44]

always been free from grassicks... when i ( had ) my mini,s :thumbs up:

[AndyP & Lenore]

always been free from grassicks... when i ( had ) my mini,s :thumbs up:

Grassicks are only free if you buy a car from them. Otherwise it's about £40 or £60 a Day!!!:frown:

A.

[Rhymes]

I always got a free car when my MINI used to go into Arnold Clark for repairs or service, And its always been Fiesta ST, Astra Coupe etc.

Every time my girlfriends car has went back, she has been charged £26.50 and given a 1.0 Corsa. Her car is a streetka aswell.

Mental.

[AeroJonny]

I use Harry Fairbairn in irvine (so arnold clark then...) they charge £10 a day, but waive it if you need to bring the car back.