A word of Caution regarding Loan Cars

[olliesgrandad]

On Tuesday my RX450h was picked up by the supplying dealership for it to undergo some cosmetic paintwork which wasn't done during PDI.

They left me a brand new CT200h with 135 miles on the odometer registered on Monday.. I signed the paperwork in a bit of a rush as I was out working when the car was delivered. I didn't need the car on Tuesday but Tuesday evening when checking the paperwork I realised that it was possible to buy CDW to reduce the £1000 insurance excess.  As I was getting up early Wednesday morning I emailed the Salesman and the Business manager requesting the extra cover at 6.30am.

Murphys law then took hold. Lunchtime i was on a newly resurfaced road 70 miles from home when traffic coming the other way flicked a small chipping onto the windscreen.

Bang -the screen chipped but worse it then cracked for a good 12 inches across the middle of the screen.

I called the garage to be informed that they hadn't done anything about the CDW as it could only be added when I took possession of the car not after.

The upshot is that the excess for glass unlike a normal policy is the full amount of £1000.

It was suggested it would be better to get a screen fitted locally  (the dealer is over a 100 miles from me) as it would mean I had a car for the next week and would cost less.

Well My  local dealer got me a screen and its booked for fitting tomorrow. 

The screen is £300.08p including vat , but the extra clips and fittings needed to install make the total £447.86p

The fitting charge is a further £108 making a grand total of £555.86p.........................

Now worried in case anything else happened to the loan car i spoke to my own insurers. They have put the car on my policy for £16.80p for a week and there is no windscreen excess and my own £250 excess will apply in the event of a claim.

 

 

 

 

[NemesisUK]

What would the likes of Autoglass charge?

 

[ColinBarber]

Ouch. My dealer covers this themselves so there is just a £50 excess. My wife's car was in for a service today at Toyota and they charge £5 to drop the excess from £1000 to £50.

[olliesgrandad]

7 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

What would the likes of Autoglass charge?

 

The issue there in fairness is that this is a car that was first registered on Monday this week and one would expect it to have Lexus glass- especially as people on this forum reckon all the fancy light sensors and collision avoidance systems never seem to work right with replacement  non -lexus screens.

I have spoken to the guy who is going to fit the screen and he says if he doesn't use any of the surrounds etc i might be able to get a refund on them.

[NemesisUK]

12 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

The issue there in fairness is that this is a car that was first registered on Monday this week and one would expect it to have Lexus glass- especially as people on this forum reckon all the fancy light sensors and collision avoidance systems never seem to work right with replacement  non -lexus screens.

I have spoken to the guy who is going to fit the screen and he says if he doesn't use any of the surrounds etc i might be able to get a refund on them.

Just curious really as Autoglass can use genuine Lexus glass, wondered what the difference might be in sourcing and fitting costs.

[olliesgrandad]

I understand the curiousity. I think at the moment I just want a properly functioning vehicle as quickly and efficiently as possible - I know that Mike at Lexus in Cheltenham struggled to find someone who could do the job quickly -I suspect this intense heat is giving the auto glass trade plenty of work. 

Certainly the crack in the screen is now about 18 inches long and quite distracting in the sunlight.

I am looking forward to my vehicle returning on Tuesday.

[NemesisUK]

Do Lexus actually fit the screen themselves?  Or do they farm it out to the likes of Autoglass?

[ColinBarber]

3 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Do Lexus actually fit the screen themselves?  Or do they farm it out to the likes of Autoglass?

Very much dependant on the dealership in question but I believe most will farm it out.

[J Henderson]

Can you not argue that this whole scenario would never have happened if the pre-PDI paintwork mentioned in the OP,  had actually been carried out?

Either way, ouch indeed. Unlucky. 

[royoftherovers]

11 hours ago, J Henderson said:

Can you not argue that this whole scenario would never have happened if the pre-PDI paintwork mentioned in the OP,  had actually been carried out?

Either way, ouch indeed. Unlucky. 

I have only just seen this thread, but my view is that the 7th line of Les` thread is balderdash and I would demand a meeting with the Dealer/Garage Principal and inform Lexus UK of what is happening. It smacks to me of bureaucratic incompetence and someone wishing to obtain commission.

[olliesgrandad]

Windscreen now fitted this morning. the guy that my local dealer booked it with does not normally do work for them. left the car for 2 hours and a very professional job.

He only used the screen and none of the extra fixings so I am hoping i can get  a refund on them as they total including VAT over £147.

 

[rich1068]

Fingers crossed. 

And hopefully there will be a bit of goodwill from your dealer in the future.

 

[olliesgrandad]

5 hours ago, rich1068 said:

Fingers crossed. 

And hopefully there will be a bit of goodwill from your dealer in the future.

 

It wasn't my local dealer that supplied my RX.

The local dealer supplied the parts for fitting the screen (delivered to the screen fitter this morning).

Good news is that my dealer said if I can return the unused screen trim parts next week they will refund me the £147 I paid for them.

[Thackeray]

Annoying to be hit by this excess cost. When hiring cars I always take out excess insurance cover, but last year I discovered a policy that covers courtesy cars too. As I was due to have a courtesy car for a couple of weeks I decided to take out an annual policy, which has covered me for the loan car, a second loan car for routine servicing and for hiring a car in France. So it has worked out as good value.

Not all excess insurance covers courtesy cars as well as routine car hire but this one does. https://www.insurance4carhire.com

Fortunately I haven't had to claim so I can't say anything about how they perform at that key moment when you have to make a claim.