Are courtesy cars free?

egtownsend · 08-16-2011, 07:17 AM

Unfortunately someone hit my Z, and while there's no body damage, they did manage to push me up and over the curb, and all 4 rims need to be replaced. Not to mention the suspension is probably screwed up.

But my question is about BMW service. When I called to make the appointment, they said they didn't have courtesy cars. Then when I dropped it off, they clearly did (the desk with the big sign overhead that read "COURTESY CARS" was my first tip). The Service Advisor said they have to be arranged for in advance, and since I'm going through insurance, I should just let them take care of it.

Am I owed a courtesy car? I'd like to think that after buying a $65k car, the company would do me that simple courtesy, but I'm not sure. And if I have to pay for it, isn't that a rental car? Doesn't courtesy mean free?

Kief · 08-16-2011, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egtownsend

Am I owed a courtesy car? I'd like to think that after buying a $65k car, the company would do me that simple courtesy, but I'm not sure. And if I have to pay for it, isn't that a rental car? Doesn't courtesy mean free?

No, I would not think service would offer you a courtesy car/loaner for an accident. If you brought your car in for service (and you bought it there), then yes you should be offered a loaner. The service dept isn't going to give up one of their loaners for weeks until your car is repaired. Depending on your auto policy, you may have rental coverage.

parkstaff · 08-16-2011, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kief

No, I would not think service would offer you a courtesy car/loaner for an accident. If you brought your car in for service (and you bought it there), then yes you should be offered a loaner. The service dept isn't going to give up one of their loaners for weeks until your car is repaired. Depending on your auto policy, you may have rental coverage.

Kief is correct...They will not loan out a service loaner for an accident. Who know how long it would take to repair your car. Unfortunatly "Service Loaners" are for that purpose only....Service
I would try to get their insurance to pay for it.
Also: How can your car have no body damage, but they hit you hard enough to throw you up on a curb ruin 4 wheels and jack up your suspension? Thats a new one?
Sorry to hear about your beautiful car

I'm sure it will all be worked out soon

2045 · 08-16-2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egtownsend

Am I owed a courtesy car? I'd like to think that after buying a $65k car, the company would do me that simple courtesy, but I'm not sure. And if I have to pay for it, isn't that a rental car? Doesn't courtesy mean free?

if they charge u full retail price for the parts u needed especially wheels, it might be cool to offer u a loaner.

joke aside, like others have said, it's an accident. insurance company pays for rental. no dealer would provide a courtesy car for that matter.

mstevens · 08-16-2011, 10:34 AM

"Courtesy cars" are... a courtesy. There's nothing that says that dealers have to offer them in the first place. If they do, there's nothing that says to whom or under what circumstances they have to offer them.

My dealer has a few loaner BMWs but they're first come, first served and are about 30 miles away. If we left our house in the morning at any sort of reasonable time to drop a car off, we got something from Enterprise to drive until our car was ready. Now that we've bought 4 cars in 7 years from that dealer, we got them to promise on our purchase agreement that they'd hold a BMW loaner for us

In a case where insurance is involved, look at it this way: the dealer gets nothing for loaning a car to a customer, but the insured probably has rental car coverage as part of their policy. The dealer loses (because they can't loan the car to customers having lucrative service work done) and the customer gains little if offered a loaner (the advantage to the customer is driving a low-end 3-series instead of a rental econocar.)

fisherman · 08-16-2011, 11:40 AM

If the accident is the other guy's fault, as it sounds in this case, his insurance company will pay for your rental car . Contact his adjuster, or the company itself, and they will take care of it.

Torn · 08-16-2011, 02:56 PM

Unfortunately collision repair will not get yyou a loaner. They provide those for regular service. I'm guessing simply due to collision repair could sometimes take weeks for completion and loaner cars are not plentiful in that respect.

However; contact the insurance company; you will be given a rental on the fault parties tab (his insurance)

coldnate · 08-16-2011, 03:29 PM

let's be real... no one hit you. you tried to go fast and furious on your z and ended up on the sidewalk.. it's okay. everyone has to learn sometime..... personally, i chose to learn in a parking lot instead of on the street. NOW i can take corners like a 15 year old japanese kid

BlueZ4AZ · 08-16-2011, 03:49 PM

My dealer has given me a loaner when I bring the car in for regular maintenance and also when I had the HPFP fixed under warranty.

All I have to do is bring the loaner back with about the same amount of gas I started with.

egtownsend · 08-16-2011, 06:06 PM

First, just because it's an accident doesn't mean the dealer doesn't get paid full price... They charge the full amount. And no, I didn't buy the car there, but I might buy the next.

Yes, my insurance does include rental, up to $30/day up to $900. But that gets me literally nothing. I'd certainly apply it to the dealer, but again, since he's not taking a loss, I don't see why I don't get the perks.

Also, the car will be ready tomorrow if the front strut arrives on time. So they would've been out one base model 3 series for a total of three days -- a small price to pay for a future sale, in my opinion.

As to why I have no serious body damage, I'm just considering myself lucky. Don't get me wrong, he did make contact, but it was low speed, and the curb was only 1' high. There was some paint swapping and minor scratches, but literally no dents. I'm going to get the scratches buffed out, but the wheels and suspension were the major casualties.

Can't wait to get it back; I just hope it's as much fun to drive as it was before!

egtownsend · 08-16-2011, 06:10 PM

Not the case at all. Like I don't get enough tickets for just driving a BMW at normal speeds on the roads on Long Island.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldnate

let's be real... no one hit you. you tried to go fast and furious on your z and ended up on the sidewalk.. it's okay. everyone has to learn sometime..... personally, i chose to learn in a parking lot instead of on the street. NOW i can take corners like a 15 year old japanese kid

///NWIE89 · 08-16-2011, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueZ4AZ

My dealer has given me a loaner when I bring the car in for regular maintenance and also when I had the HPFP fixed under warranty.

All I have to do is bring the loaner back with about the same amount of gas I started with.

thats exactly how it works, i work at a bmw dealer myself... we give them out for regular maint. if its going to take more than an hour or so, otherwise cust usually just wait for them...

if its an ins job 99% of the time cust in that case already have a rental supplied by their ins company...

and as far as cost of a loaner, it costs a dealer about $89 a day they are used...thats a fact...

egtownsend · 08-16-2011, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///NWIE89

as far as cost of a loaner, it costs a dealer about $89 a day they are used...thats a fact...

If that's dealer cost they're writing the cars off often. It's not a lot of money for a car dealer, especially considering they've got a labor clock running on my car in the garage, and a nearly guaranteed payment for the work booked in receivables (since car insurance firms are reliably more credit worthy than individuals...). Also, if courtesy cars come from used car stock, or go into it, they're almost certainly making a profit when all is said and done.

Plus there is such a thing as intangible assets, aka, goodwill. How many of us buy BMWs just because of the brand which we know signifies quality? Or, select a BMW dealer based on past experience? I'm actually doing this dealer a FAVOR, because I didn't have to bring it to him, and he wouldn't have the opportunity to perform honest work and get paid, someone else would have.

It's a business, he's not doing me any favors. And I will vote with my feet when it comes time to buy my next BMW. So how much did it really cost the dealer to NOT give me a courtesy car? That'd be a whole sale.

HpDellNestle · 08-16-2011, 10:28 PM

How much would it cost them to give you a loaner instead of giving it to the customer that already bought cars from them? I bet that loyal customer will be happy to know that you who did not buy a car from the dealer get the loaner and they did not.

08-16-2011, 07:17 AM	#1
egtownsend Private 16 Rep 50 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW 550i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (0)	Are courtesy cars free? Unfortunately someone hit my Z, and while there's no body damage, they did manage to push me up and over the curb, and all 4 rims need to be replaced. Not to mention the suspension is probably screwed up. But my question is about BMW service. When I called to make the appointment, they said they didn't have courtesy cars. Then when I dropped it off, they clearly did (the desk with the big sign overhead that read "COURTESY CARS" was my first tip). The Service Advisor said they have to be arranged for in advance, and since I'm going through insurance, I should just let them take care of it. Am I owed a courtesy car? I'd like to think that after buying a $65k car, the company would do me that simple courtesy, but I'm not sure. And if I have to pay for it, isn't that a rental car? Doesn't courtesy mean free?
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08-16-2011, 10:34 AM	#5
mstevens Lieutenant 119 Rep 512 Posts Drives: 2020 Z4 M4Misano Blue Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Hampshire & Cozumel, Mexico iTrader: (0)	"Courtesy cars" are... a courtesy. There's nothing that says that dealers have to offer them in the first place. If they do, there's nothing that says to whom or under what circumstances they have to offer them. My dealer has a few loaner BMWs but they're first come, first served and are about 30 miles away. If we left our house in the morning at any sort of reasonable time to drop a car off, we got something from Enterprise to drive until our car was ready. Now that we've bought 4 cars in 7 years from that dealer, we got them to promise on our purchase agreement that they'd hold a BMW loaner for us In a case where insurance is involved, look at it this way: the dealer gets nothing for loaning a car to a customer, but the insured probably has rental car coverage as part of their policy. The dealer loses (because they can't loan the car to customers having lucrative service work done) and the customer gains little if offered a loaner (the advantage to the customer is driving a low-end 3-series instead of a rental econocar.) __________________ 2004 E85 Z4 3.0 Sport - Sold to brother \| 2004 E83 X3 xDrive3.0i - Gone \| 2011 E89 Z4 35is - Gone \| 2011 F25 X3 xDrive35i - Gone \| 2014 E89 Z4 E89 35is - Gone \| 2014 F25 X3 xDrive 30i X3 - Gone \| 2017 F83 M4 Cabriolet - Gone \| 2017 F25 X3 xDrive30i - Gone 2020 G29 Z4 M40i Misanoblau \| 2020 G01 M40i Phytonicblau Casa Suzana, vacation rental villa in Cozumel, Mexico
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08-16-2011, 11:40 AM	#6
fisherman Private 2 Rep 92 Posts Drives: 2011 sDrive 30i Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: RI iTrader: (0)	If the accident is the other guy's fault, as it sounds in this case, his insurance company will pay for your rental car . Contact his adjuster, or the company itself, and they will take care of it.
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08-16-2011, 02:56 PM	#7
Torn Lieutenant 19 Rep 433 Posts Drives: 2014 GTR Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Jersey iTrader: (0)	Unfortunately collision repair will not get yyou a loaner. They provide those for regular service. I'm guessing simply due to collision repair could sometimes take weeks for completion and loaner cars are not plentiful in that respect. However; contact the insurance company; you will be given a rental on the fault parties tab (his insurance)
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08-16-2011, 03:29 PM	#8
coldnate Private 11 Rep 95 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 128i Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Valencia, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive 35i [9.00]	let's be real... no one hit you. you tried to go fast and furious on your z and ended up on the sidewalk.. it's okay. everyone has to learn sometime..... personally, i chose to learn in a parking lot instead of on the street. NOW i can take corners like a 15 year old japanese kid
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08-16-2011, 03:49 PM	#9
BlueZ4AZ Go SU 33 Rep 902 Posts Drives: 2009 Z4 sDrive35i Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Chandler, AZ iTrader: (0)	My dealer has given me a loaner when I bring the car in for regular maintenance and also when I had the HPFP fixed under warranty. All I have to do is bring the loaner back with about the same amount of gas I started with.
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08-16-2011, 06:06 PM	#10
egtownsend Private 16 Rep 50 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW 550i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (0)	First, just because it's an accident doesn't mean the dealer doesn't get paid full price... They charge the full amount. And no, I didn't buy the car there, but I might buy the next. Yes, my insurance does include rental, up to $30/day up to $900. But that gets me literally nothing. I'd certainly apply it to the dealer, but again, since he's not taking a loss, I don't see why I don't get the perks. Also, the car will be ready tomorrow if the front strut arrives on time. So they would've been out one base model 3 series for a total of three days -- a small price to pay for a future sale, in my opinion. As to why I have no serious body damage, I'm just considering myself lucky. Don't get me wrong, he did make contact, but it was low speed, and the curb was only 1' high. There was some paint swapping and minor scratches, but literally no dents. I'm going to get the scratches buffed out, but the wheels and suspension were the major casualties. Can't wait to get it back; I just hope it's as much fun to drive as it was before!
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08-16-2011, 10:28 PM	#14
HpDellNestle Private First Class 1 Rep 141 Posts Drives: Z4 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: US iTrader: (0)	How much would it cost them to give you a loaner instead of giving it to the customer that already bought cars from them? I bet that loyal customer will be happy to know that you who did not buy a car from the dealer get the loaner and they did not.
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