Motordepot Admin Fees

[Clearcut]

This is a description of their extra £199 Retail Customer admin fee. Now am I being unreasonable to expect the above to be covered by the dealer if they are trying to sell a car - and not the customer? You are paying for something (service) that may not even be required, as it's a standard fee on all cars.

 

[Jez]

What does it matter, just build it into the price of the car when you compare?

 

[Armageus]

This is a description of their extra £199 Retail Customer admin fee. Now am I being unreasonable to expect the above to be covered by the dealer if they are trying to sell a car - and not the customer?

As long as their prices are £199 cheaper than alternative dealers, it doesn't really matter?

You are paying for something (service) that may not even be required, as it's a standard fee on all cars.

That's not really on though imo - £199 for a HPI check and valet is a bit excessive! (assuming the vehicle doesn't need an mot or service)

EDIT:
And a Dealer's HPI check doesn't benefit you anyway! (in that you don't get HPI's protection if it does turn out to be stolen etc)

 

[MikeTheNative]

Don't like it go somewhere else?

 

[Clearcut]

What does it matter, just build it into the price of the car when you compare?

When you take out finance, many people consider the affordable monthly payments, rather than the total cost of the car in comparison to other retailers. In that circumstance, having to now hand over £199 cash up front for something that may not be required, isn't very palatable.

Don't like it go somewhere else?

Is that really the best you can come up with on a discussion board?

 

[Jez]

Its £199 quid. This is a totally insignificant cost which you should just build into the deal.

As above, if you dont like the terms of a certain dealer, you dont have to deal with them. Its a rip-off admin charge for next to nothing, but some places do this, you just need to accept it or not deal with them.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Is that really the best you can come up with on a discussion board?

That's the answer though. If you believe it to be too much then don't use the service. Could ask them to reduce it though, never hurts to ask.

 

[sigma]

Is that really the best you can come up with on a discussion board?

Well, it's precisely what I do when I see such 'fees' being charged.

 

[robj20]

Sounds like the same admin charge Motorpoint have that you can decline, they call it PDF.

 

[Maundie]

Lots of companies now charge an admin fee, like others have mentioned if you don't like it use a dealer that doesn't charge an admin fee.

 

[Kenai]

Makes me wonder if it permits some kind of tax dodge because the income can be ascribed to something other than the profit made on the vehicles.

 

[tom_nieto]

Kia tried a similar thing on when we bought our Sportage. I refused to pay a penny more than the sticker price for the car. They didn’t want to lose a sale over £200. The most frustrating thing is that they shared the attitude that a number of dealers seem to have at the moment that the price is the price and there is no negotiation. So imagine my surprise when the non negotiable sticker price suddenly increased due to admin fees.

 

[chrismscotland]

Noticed Evans Halshaw do this although I think its £99 there rather than £199, again I did think it might be some kind of dodge, because if it wasn’t surely they’d just add the £100 to the sticker price.... Arnold Clark don’t do it which surprises me though, if there’s a tax dodge I thought they’d be right in there!

 

[tom_nieto]

Noticed Evans Halshaw do this although I think its £99 there rather than £199, again I did think it might be some kind of dodge, because if it wasn’t surely they’d just add the £100 to the sticker price.... Arnold Clark don’t do it which surprises me though, if there’s a tax dodge I thought they’d be right in there!

It was Evans Halshaw. The issue I had was that the fee wasn’t clearly advertised on Autotrader or mentioned when test driving the car.

 

[chrismscotland]

It was Evans Halshaw. The issue I had was that the fee wasn’t clearly advertised on Autotrader or mentioned when test driving the car.

Ah right, I noticed they seem to all have a sticker on the windscreen with it on now.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I think most of the car big dealers do it now and its not a dodge, its just because they can and it boosts overall profit in the car. People consider the fee separately and don't look at the total cost, just in the same way no one looks at total cost of ownership for any fiance deals, just the monthly £ (which is just crazy).

The whole no negotiation and the sticker price is the price is becoming much more common and is almost a dead cert at a car supermarket.

The last place I bought a car had a £150 admin fee, I didn't care as the char was cheaper than I could get it elsewhere after the fee and they were also upfront about it. What was annoying though is the sales person still had to get permission to sell the car from a manager even though there was no negotiation (car supermarket).