MD dealer courtesy car, how much for insurance cover?

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AbbieCadabra

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i did find this thread from 2009 but i just wanted a bit more up to date info if you don't mind :)

the CLK is going into Derby MB for it's 4 year/B service this week & it will cost £15 for insurance cover on the courtesy car they provide.

i've checked with my insurer Admiral & i wouldn't be covered on my current policy, 3rd party cover on privately owed cars is included but nothing on a company/business car.

to add cover, Admiral would charge an admin fee of £17 plus whatever the charge is for the specific car for the day, so not worth going through them.

it's not a huge amount (especially when the service itself is costing £440 :eek:), but i just remember the days when you weren't charged anything at all for use of a courtesy car...

thanks guys :cool:
 
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iirc last time I was at a MB dealer (last year) is was about £10, so similar ballpark figure. Irritating when you think of the total bill you are paying, but better to view it as an offset cost - how much would it cost to taxi/train from home to the dealer and back, or to do any other journeys you might have planned for the day. For a shorter service there's always the option of not taking the courtesy car and just sitting in the glass-and-chrome palace whilst drinking their coffee and catching up on some work via their wifi...
 
It depends on your insurer.

My insurer does cover me to drive courtesy cars as if they were mine. I.e. fully comp, etc.

However when the car has been in for work, the dealer always appeared baffled when I said that I wouldn't take out the £15 cover because I was already covered. Even providing the CoI and schedule still took some convincing! One one occasion they even phoned my insurer just to make sure. I didn't think it was that unusual...
 
It depends on your insurer.

My insurer does cover me to drive courtesy cars as if they were mine. I.e. fully comp, etc.

However when the car has been in for work, the dealer always appeared baffled when I said that I wouldn't take out the £15 cover because I was already covered. Even providing the CoI and schedule still took some convincing! One one occasion they even phoned my insurer just to make sure. I didn't think it was that unusual...

Not with Aviva by any chance are you? They cover a loan car for upto 7 days at full cover.

David
 
LV= covers courtesy cars. It's worth it as it really hacks off the dealers!

The £10-£15 isn't for insurance - the cars are insured anyway. It's an excess waiver, of between £500 and £1000. The dealer just keeps the money. As they get the cars cheap and make money on them when they sell them, the daily fee is just extra profit.

Last time I returned a Mercedes courtesy car the service advisor asked me if I'd like to pay the excess and I said "no thank you". She just said "OK"! (they has already taken mu insurance details, but she didn't seem aware of this).
 
yes, for an A service, i don't mind hanging around wasting a bit of time with my kindle or the free wi-fi. the length of time taken on a B, i think they'd find me snoozing in a corner somewhere! :D

when i said i thought i might be covered on my own insurance, the person i booked with just said to bring along the insurance docs on the day, the only proviso was that they must clearly state i'd be covered. i'd guess that more people aren't covered these days than are with recent changes to levels of cover, pay more each year for insurance & get less cover - yup, sounds like a bargain to me!
 
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The £10-£15 isn't for insurance - the cars are insured anyway. It's an excess waiver, of between £500 and £1000. The dealer just keeps the money. As they get the cars cheap and make money on them when they sell them, the daily fee is just extra profit.

yes, i vaguely remember this being explained to me last year now. sorry for the wrong terminology/question :eek:. if i did have to make a claim & i hadn't paid the excess wavier, i'd be liable for the whole of the excess, yes? :doh:
 
They charge for insurance on courtesy cars? Try MB Chesterfield, every courtesy car I've had I've never paid for insurance on them, some I've had for a week depending on what work has been done.. at that they're not an A or B-Class (not that there's anything wrong with them) it's more or less like for like, depending on what they've got available as demo cars etc.
 
It's just a policy of that dealer group. Other MB dealers do not charge.
 
I've never been charged for a courtesy car, in anyway shape or form.
 
I've been threatened, but no one has ever carried through with it...

I paid for the first time ever while getting daughter's Mitsubishi Colt serviced this year. They did a good price overall but wouldn't budge on the courtesy car excess.

Other daughter's SEAT dealer never charged, and one year give me a chitty for £10 for fuel as the courtesy car was very low. Now that's never happened before! Pity they disgraced themselves in so many other ways.

Had wifey's Jazz serviced last week and they really wanted me to pay - were not happy about me using own insurance (car is in my name with LV=) and argued about the coverage. Even on return they presented a bill.
 
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Not with Aviva by any chance are you? They cover a loan car for upto 7 days at full cover.

David

I too am with Aviva and have the same cover ; it is unclear , though , whether a car borrowed from a friend is covered at all .
 
I too am with Aviva and have the same cover ; it is unclear , though , whether a car borrowed from a friend is covered at all .

Study the Insurance Certificate, but you've probably got Driving Other Cars cover which is 3rd party only, so the car itself wouldn't be covered.
 
I used to have this situation with BMW main dealers.

Instead of paying the £10 (10 years ago!), I opted to 'use my own insurance' on their form.

At other more recent inde's, I've added cars to my DL policy for nowt within a couple of minutes.

I tried to do this once with Aviva outside the inde, however it took 45 minutes and I was incredibly annoyed about it and have not used them since.
 
Courtesy car is provided "free" with my dealer with a £2500 excess, or pay an optional £10 to reduce the excess to £250.

Is it worth taking a chance for the sake of £10 ?
 
Courtesy car is provided "free" with my dealer with a £2500 excess, or pay an optional £10 to reduce the excess to £250.

Is it worth taking a chance for the sake of £10 ?

in a nutshell! :)

& yes, i agree with you & others, it isn't worth the risk.

i suppose it's down to my usual bugbear of 'but it's the principle' - a premium product/service at a cost & you still have to go & pay just that little bit extra just in case...
 
Never been charged for a courtesy car in 30 years of driving, I simply would not use the dealer if they wanted to charge, simple as that.

best Manufacturer for Courtesy cars Subaru, you would not believe some of the machinery they loaned me when mine was in for service or repair.:D
 
MB Watford have never charged me for a courtesy car. Actually, none of the dealers I've used for any of my cars have ever asked for a payment for the courtesy car. Maybe I've been lucky! :)
 

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