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Hope your son took note of the mileage on his odometer.
Dealers have been known to use vehicles like his as "loaners" to their preferred customers.
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Originally Posted by emm74
Do you have any proof of this? The liability and insurance ramifications would be enough to stop anyone with half an ounce of sense.
I agree. I'm sure it's probably happened somewhere along the line, but if anything happened to a customer's car while it was being used as a loaner by an unrelated customer without the owner's knowledge or consent it would completely destroy the dealer's reputation.
Hope your son took note of the mileage on his odometer.
Dealers have been known to use vehicles like his as "loaners" to their preferred customers.
No reputable dealer in their right mind would ever use a customer's vehicle as service loaner.
Service loaner exists at dealership for a reason. They are usually offered to "preferred" customers first and when they don't have any, local rental company car is offered.
Now there may be a case when someone affiliated to the dealership taking a customer car home or out for testing.
No reputable dealer in their right mind would ever use a customer's vehicle as service loaner.
Service loaner exists at dealership for a reason. They are usually offered to "preferred" customers first and when they don't have any, local rental company car is offered.
Now there may be a case when someone affiliated to the dealership taking a customer car home or out for testing.
Au contraire!
It's been a few years back, but a number of dealers of various brands (Nissan, Ford, others) here in Texas were holding vehicles quite some time that had been brought in for routine service. Days instead of hours. Owners noticed hundreds of miles on their odometers and nearly empty gas tanks. It was an item in the news. Turns out that if the vehicle had been in an accident, the owners' (not the dealer's) insurance would have been on the hook, since the owners had given the dealer permission to drive the vehicle, ostensibly for "testing."
What was really happening was that the cars were being used by employees or being passed off as loaners to other customers. As I mentioned, it was in the newspapers and on the local tv news.
Always take note of the odometer reading when leaving your vehicle for service. Let the repair shop notice you doing so. Just a word to the wise.
It's been a few years back, but a number of dealers of various brands (Nissan, Ford, others) here in Texas were holding vehicles quite some time that had been brought in for routine service. Days instead of hours. Owners noticed hundreds of miles on their odometers and nearly empty gas tanks. It was an item in the news. Turns out that if the vehicle had been in an accident, the owners' (not the dealer's) insurance would have been on the hook, since the owners had given the dealer permission to drive the vehicle, ostensibly for "testing."
What was really happening was that the cars were being used by employees or being passed off as loaners to other customers. As I mentioned, it was in the newspapers and on the local tv news.
Always take note of the odometer reading when leaving your vehicle for service. Let the repair shop notice you doing so. Just a word to the wise.
Sad, but true.
You're going to have to give up something more than "a few years ago" and "a number of dealers in Texas" before I'm going to buy that this is something that's happened any more than once in a blue moon.
I know lots of dealerships engage in one kind of unscrupulous behavior or another, but always with the end goal of increasing profits. I just don't think using customer cars as service loaners would provide enough benefit to make it worth the substantial risk. In my area this would be the end of the dealership, period, and the dealers know that.
If the vehicle in question is something unique, such as a classic or a high-end performance car, I think there would be some benefit to checking the odometer because an employee might be tempted to take the car out for a joyride. But offering Customer A's Rav4 to Customer B as a loaner? Doubtful. Besides, part of OP's issue is that his son wasn't offered a loaner. If this was really something the dealer was likely to do he probably would have offered the kid Customer C's car to drive.
Turns out that if the vehicle had been in an accident, the owners' (not the dealer's) insurance would have been on the hook, since the owners had given the dealer permission to drive the vehicle, ostensibly for "testing."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Gringo Turns out that if the vehicle had been in an accident, the owners' (not the dealer's) insurance would have been on the hook, since the owners had given the dealer permission to drive the vehicle, ostensibly for "testing."
Quote:
That's simply not true.
That's not how service loaner work at all.
Every service loaner I've gotten.
1. Paper work shows that car is registered to dealer.
2. Insurance is under mine if I get into an accident.
You're going to have to give up something more than "a few years ago" and "a number of dealers in Texas" before I'm going to buy that this is something that's happened any more than once in a blue moon.
I know lots of dealerships engage in one kind of unscrupulous behavior or another, but always with the end goal of increasing profits. I just don't think using customer cars as service loaners would provide enough benefit to make it worth the substantial risk. In my area this would be the end of the dealership, period, and the dealers know that.
If the vehicle in question is something unique, such as a classic or a high-end performance car, I think there would be some benefit to checking the odometer because an employee might be tempted to take the car out for a joyride. But offering Customer A's Rav4 to Customer B as a loaner? Doubtful. Besides, part of OP's issue is that his son wasn't offered a loaner. If this was really something the dealer was likely to do he probably would have offered the kid Customer C's car to drive.
If you're willing to drop your vehicle off at a dealership and then accept them at their word that they're not going to abuse it, then carry right on.
After that episode, I've made a point of checking the mileage on my odometer in clear sight of the service dept.
All I'm saying is that it might pay to be more aware. As the OP has pointed out, his son's car has been at the dealership multiple days for no good reason. I've posted one strong possibility. Take it or leave it.
In my view, some skepticism and awareness go a long way towards preventing disappointment.
Those who choose not to be aware will probably be OK in the majority of situations. But then again...
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