Should I pay for courtesy car insurance?

[touche39414]

Hi,
I need to put my Cooper D in for some warranty work, however the dealer is asking for a payment to put me on their insurance for the courtesy car. Surely as this is warranty work being carried out, then Mini warranty should foot the bill?

Anyone got any info on this?

Thanks.

[njh123uk]

Get a cover note from your insurer instead.

I'm with Direct Line - no charge for cover notes for courtesy cars. Just let them know the details of your courtesy car and that should be it. They should be able to fax the cover note direct to the dealer, save you any hassle.

[minicore]

I've always been given a free courtesy car (by BMW and MINI), whether for the day, or overnight. Smart/Mercedes always offered me free ones, too... I had an A-Class for 8 weeks once and they didn't ask for a penny!

Ford used to charge £10/day (if you were lucky enough to get a courtesy car without an 8 week wait), and would usually waive some - or all! - of the charge if your car was in for warranty work.

To get comprehensive cover for another vehicle on my own policy, there's an admin fee, plus a recurring weekly charge, so I've never found that to be cost effective anyway...

I'd be angling for a free car from MINI... although I guess individual dealers will have their own insurance policies, with different terms, so it's their call at the end of the day.

[M.O.S]

One of the dealers I use will let me go on their insurance for £10 a day as I'm under 25. Over 25s are covered as far as I know free.

[touche39414]

Unfortunately I cant get a cover note from my insurer, as the vehicle is currently registered and insured overseas; but I am getting the work done whilst on a trip back to the UK. The insurance company has confirmed that they cannot issue a cover note.

Cheers.

[PK5]

well if you want a courtesy car then£10.00 for the duration of the work isnt that bad, I have had to do it in the past

[somejohn]

I'm quite the opposite of most people on here - I've always found that I've had to pay for insurance on a courtesy car. I drove Alfa Romeos for many years and they always required that I either paid to go onto their insurance or get my own insurance to cover the courtesy car (which was £25/week compared to the dealership's £10/day!).

Even when my cars were going in for warranty work, it was always the same. I thought that was quite the norm now?

[M.O.S]

I disagree with paying for courtesy cars. Most dealers don't charge to be fair - its a perk of paying dealer prices for work. You pay more therefore you should get more. I've only heard of people under 21/25 being charged for courtesy cars.

[minicore]

I'm sure most dealers will try to charge you if they think they can get away with it... if you don't ask for a freebie, you might not get one.

If you're known to a dealer, whether you bought a new car from them, or purchased an approved used one, I think it's only fair that they offer you a free (or very cheap) courtesy car when your vehicle needs to go in for work.