"loaner" vehicles while car is in shop: how common?

artoo

Hi folks,

I purchased a used Mustang two years ago and it now needs some brake work done. The car is still under extended warranty so I will need to take it to my local Ford dealership in case anything that's replaced is covered under warranty.

The problem is that the dealership is very large and very busy and told me that it might be a day or two until they could finish with the car. I asked if they'd mind providing a loaner for me to drive until they were done with mine and they said sorry, no dice.

So I'm faced with a dilemma: go rent a car for the two or three days while mine's in the shop (ugh) or take the car to my usual mechanic, who's happy to provide a loaner vehicle if the work takes longer than two hours, but won't compensate me for anything that's under the Ford warranty. I don't like either choice.

How common's the practice of providing loaners to service dept. customers? The mechanic I used in Athens before I moved to Atlanta would do so in a pinch, and my current mechanic does too, but the people in this dealership just laughed at the idea.

Ideas?

cheers,
Phil

slickracer

I can get a loaner everytime with a few days notice, BUT I bought the vehicle new from the dealer.

Mr_Shiftright

It's not that common a service, since obviously a dealer would need a huge fleet of loaners. Probably this is reserved for his best customers.

dhanley

Can't you wait until they have a slot for you and can do it the same day?

My BMW dealer does it if you bought the car there, new or used. I even got a z3 3.0L sport package last time.

dave

haspelbein

It is not that uncommon with luxury car dealers. BMW is just one example. I've found that it is not necessarily reserved for customer who bought the vehicle. It seems to depend far more on location and local competition.

I've also found that 'Auto Malls' sometimes have a car rental agency on their premises which is being utilized by a number of dealers, lowering the overall cost of the dealer to provide you with a rental.

newcar31

I bought a 2001 Protege brand new at a dealership in Wisconsin while in school. Since then, I've brought the car to a dealership here in the Twin Cities twice and recieved a free loaner car both times. The first time was to check out the front suspension after I hit a monster pot hole, the second time was to fix a glovebox rattle. The dealership has an Enterprise shop on site.

tmart

My Volvo dealer provides them, as does the Lexus dealer for my wife's car. Lexus will also pick up the car at home, leave a loaner, and return the car after servicing picking up their loaner. Volvo doesn't do that though. Tmart

Mr_Shiftright

newcar---do you mean then that the dealer rents from Enterprise and picks up the tab? In other words, is this how he provides his "fleet" of loaners?

I was just wondering how some dealers handle this issue. It's not so common where I live, or maybe I'm just not noticing how things work these days at big modern dealerships.

mbbenz

My local Mercedes dealer used to have a fleet of vehicles to loan out but now they use Enterprise down the street. The service manager says it is cheaper to pickup the tab from Enterprise than to maintain the loaners they have.

Last time I got an Olds Bravado. Not bad.

haspelbein

...I had to make do with a Dodge Neon Enterprise gave me. The thing idled so rough that I had serious concerns.

bretfraz

With regards to Lexus and Infiniti, it is part of their dealer franchise agreements to provide loaners to car owners regardless of where they bought the vehicle or whether it's in or out of warranty. Also these two brands have to provide the same brand of vehicle; no Kias to loan at the Lexus dealer. While you may not get a LS430 to whup on while your 1991 ES250 with 150K on it is being serviced, you will get a newer Lexus to drive. This was one of the things that drove me to Infiniti several years ago. The dealer I bought from was the largest in the midwest and had 50+ I30's for loaner service. Later, my servicing dealer in Atlanta had 48 G20's and 15 I30's for loaners. All part of their franchise agreement.

Now I'm with SAAB and while the loaner program isn't as refined as Infiniti was, I still get a new SAAB to drive. Last time I got a brand new 9-3 cabrio which was a blast for a few days. But my SAAB dealer doesn't have a ton of loaner cars so when they run out, here comes Enterprise to the rescue. Got a PT Cruiser recently, free of course.

I would never expect a mainline dealer to offer loaners. But it would certainly be one thing I'd shop between dealers and if one dealer had a big fleet of loaners I'd put them at the top of my list even of the selling price of the car wasn't the best. Some things are worth paying extra for and free loaner cars are defintely one of them.

dhanley

I'm actually surprised using enterprise would be cheaper than loaning out, say, 35K c-classes. The dealer is a big customer and can probably get cars for $25 a day or so. The 35K c-class probably costs the dealer 32K. That'll cover 1280 rentals, or probably 5.1 years worth. But you could probably sell off the c-class for 16K at the end of five years. That's only $12.50 per "loan." Even with interest, it can't be much more than $14.

My dealer keeps the cars as loaners for about a year and sells them off as used/program cars.

I assume the decision to use rentals must come down to capital tie-up, tax, or bookkeeping issue.

But i'm still surprised they'd do it. I thought lux dealers use it as a sales tactic. I know i wanted the z3 when i gave it back.

dave

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, but some people will trash the loaner cars. This is the problem my friend has who owns a dealership. So the rental program makes a lot of sense.

Also, it seems to me that you the consumer will end up paying the tab for your own loaner car one way or the other. A dealer isn't going to be passing out 15-20 rental cars a day without bumping up the fees to cover that. That's a lot of money if you figure it.

newcar31

As far as I know, part of Mazda's warranty includes free loaner cars when your car is in the shop. I'm sure it depends on how long it is estimated to be in the shop. The Enterprise at my local dealer is located inside of the dealership. The first time, they gave me a 2002 Corolla and the second time they gave me one of those new 270 hp Trailblazers. What surprised me though, is that they gave me a loaner when they were checking out my front end after the pot hole incident. That was my fault and they still checked it out for free and gave me a free loaner without me asking.

cookie22

I take my Villager into the shop ,I go to the the salesman that sold me the Van and he lets me use his own car. Usually for 3-4 hours.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, I'm sure the warranty is quite specific on the type of repair and length of time that warrants a loaner car. Haven't seen this warranty, so I don't know if such a thing exists all across the board, or if it is only a dealer perk.

swschrad

for years and years, my ford dealer has provided loaners as availiable for its new car purchasers... I was still getting loaners after ten years in my Ranger. you only pay for the gas. it's part of a suite of services they use as a sales and comebacker tool; and yes, they are a "best price to all" dealer, so if you're chasing a place to chisel the last nickel out of a deal, this ain't your place.

body shops in this area (twin cities) often provide loaners free or cheap. these are often in the "colonel clunker" class, but they start, run, turn, and stop. sometimes all in the same motion, ha ha ha hahahahaha... ooh, sorry, I need another pill.

newcar31

It's not just a dealer perk. I know that a 2001 Mazda Protege comes with a Mazda warranty that includes free loaner cars in certain circumstances. If you have a 2001, every Mazda dealer participates in this program. It's even listed on the window sticker.

jgmilberg

At GM the way it works is, if you bring the car/truck in for repair and it is a safety issue, like no brakes, or a serious oil leak they do not provide you with a loaner until the car is looked at, and even then if it only takes a day to get it fixed you still don't get a loaner. I think the way it is stated is if the vehicle cannot be repaired within 24 hours of technician diagnosis you are entitled to a loaner. This is for warranty work only, after that the dealer is not responsible for a loaner at all under any circumstance.

Now to answer the Enterprise Rental Cars deal my dealer only has 6 loaners, and if they are all out I get a rental from Enterprise, the warranty pays for it.

artoo

Guess I should have bought a new vehicle from them instead of buying a used Mustang from a different dealer.

As it happens they were able to work me in this past Saturday. Went in at 8 AM and left at 12:30, but they were able to get me done the same day since I called to make an appointment several days in advance and showed UP on time. (They botched two of my requests, too, but that's another story).

cheers,
Phil

rbrenton88

My local Mercedes used Enterprise loaners the last several times I've used them...first a super stripper Cavalier (not even a radio!!), and then a horrible gas guzzling Astro Van. Rut-Row!

Just recently, I saw they have a good number of white ML320s for use, administered still by Enterprise. Don't know if maybe they gave Enterprise a deal or not.