Admin fee. Why?
Discussion
Went to look at a used car at Perrys Mansfield (Ford main dealer) and was told if I bought the car, I would have to pay £150 admin charge on top of the unnegotialble price.
I asked why and was told it was for the HPI check and preperation.
I pointed out that they would have already checked it's history on trade in, and he had also said the car was going for preperation that day anyway.
I know car supermarkets try it on with admin charge but this is the first time I've come across it at a main dealer.
Needless to say the service history was iffy so I walked.
Any thoughts?
I asked why and was told it was for the HPI check and preperation.
I pointed out that they would have already checked it's history on trade in, and he had also said the car was going for preperation that day anyway.
I know car supermarkets try it on with admin charge but this is the first time I've come across it at a main dealer.
Needless to say the service history was iffy so I walked.
Any thoughts?
scottydoesntknow said:
Admin is a cost of doing business. It should be included in the sale price. Tell them to do one.
Agreed. The annoying thing is that, if you’ve gone to the trouble of visiting the Dealer, it’s probably because that’s your preferred car (e.g. right price, right model, right colour, whatever). And if it meets your expectations would you really want the hassle of going somewhere else for the sake of £150?They should either include it in the sale price or, at the very least, disclose it in the advert. It’s a bit like me advertising an F430 for £1000 and then telling people there’s a £100k admin fee when they turn up)
It's simply so that they can advertise the car for less money to get you through the door.
It should be illegal to advertise something for a price, yet it not be possible to buy it for that price.
Ask them not to prep it or HPI it. See what they say. If you feel strongly enough about it complain to trading standards.
It should be illegal to advertise something for a price, yet it not be possible to buy it for that price.
Ask them not to prep it or HPI it. See what they say. If you feel strongly enough about it complain to trading standards.
Edited by 98elise on Thursday 7th November 07:33
It screams "low rent chancer" to me, I'd tell them to get stuffed. If they're reliant on crummy little tactics like that to mulct the last penny from their customers then I'd suggest they aren't very good and should take up something else to make ends meet - flip burgers or sell sandwiches or something.
Another thing - what do you reckon your warranty support is going to be like from such a cheapskate outfit?
Another thing - what do you reckon your warranty support is going to be like from such a cheapskate outfit?
The £149 admin fee is clearly shown on their own website adverts, but doesnt appear on the Autotrader adverts which is naughty.
As long as it's clearly shown I don't know why people are being sniffy about it. You simply look at the total price and decide if it's good value or not.
"I was going to book with Ryanair but there was a £10 baggage fee so I went Singapore Airlines instead"
As long as it's clearly shown I don't know why people are being sniffy about it. You simply look at the total price and decide if it's good value or not.
"I was going to book with Ryanair but there was a £10 baggage fee so I went Singapore Airlines instead"
Simple really
When the sales agreement is being drawn up , just add your own line on the trade in value side “admin charge “.£150
When challenged , Cost of transporting car to dealer , loss on refund of VED , loss on cancelling insurance /or fee to transfer to new car , cost of remaining fuel in tank ( unless you have turned up with a dry tank that is ) and so on
When the sales agreement is being drawn up , just add your own line on the trade in value side “admin charge “.£150
When challenged , Cost of transporting car to dealer , loss on refund of VED , loss on cancelling insurance /or fee to transfer to new car , cost of remaining fuel in tank ( unless you have turned up with a dry tank that is ) and so on
MXRod said:
Simple really
When the sales agreement is being drawn up , just add your own line on the trade in value side “admin charge “.£150
When challenged , Cost of transporting car to dealer , loss on refund of VED , loss on cancelling insurance /or fee to transfer to new car , cost of remaining fuel in tank ( unless you have turned up with a dry tank that is ) and so on
Ha, like this!When the sales agreement is being drawn up , just add your own line on the trade in value side “admin charge “.£150
When challenged , Cost of transporting car to dealer , loss on refund of VED , loss on cancelling insurance /or fee to transfer to new car , cost of remaining fuel in tank ( unless you have turned up with a dry tank that is ) and so on
When I have bought a car from a dealer with an admin fee I just said I would take it there and then but without the admin fee or I walk away, they dropped the admin fee.
Wooda80 said:
The £149 admin fee is clearly shown on their own website adverts, but doesnt appear on the Autotrader adverts which is naughty.
As long as it's clearly shown I don't know why people are being sniffy about it. You simply look at the total price and decide if it's good value or not.
"I was going to book with Ryanair but there was a £10 baggage fee so I went Singapore Airlines instead"
I think that's why people have an issue with it - i.e. it's NOT clearly shown and, given that it shouldn't be that difficult to include it in the Autotrader text box, that suggests the dealer is being a bit sneaky.As long as it's clearly shown I don't know why people are being sniffy about it. You simply look at the total price and decide if it's good value or not.
"I was going to book with Ryanair but there was a £10 baggage fee so I went Singapore Airlines instead"
I have complained to 2 government agencies about this spurious practice. Neither have done anything about it.
When you visit Tesco for a box of cornflakes, does the cashier ask you for an additional "handling fee" at the checkout?.
The answer is 'no'. Dodgy car dealers are allowed to do this because it helps to make the headline price of the car look cheaper than the competitors. When you visit the dealer and agree to buy the car - they then try and push up the price with various "add ons".
If you are stupid enough to fall for this con trick - then you deserve to be ripped off. Almost all of the car supermarkets use this procedure to increase their profits. They rely completely on the stupidity of Joe Public. The same sort of people ACTUALLY believe TV adverts that are also aimed at the brainless in our society.
When you visit Tesco for a box of cornflakes, does the cashier ask you for an additional "handling fee" at the checkout?.
The answer is 'no'. Dodgy car dealers are allowed to do this because it helps to make the headline price of the car look cheaper than the competitors. When you visit the dealer and agree to buy the car - they then try and push up the price with various "add ons".
If you are stupid enough to fall for this con trick - then you deserve to be ripped off. Almost all of the car supermarkets use this procedure to increase their profits. They rely completely on the stupidity of Joe Public. The same sort of people ACTUALLY believe TV adverts that are also aimed at the brainless in our society.
datum77 said:
When you visit Tesco for a box of cornflakes, does the cashier ask you for an additional "handling fee" at the checkout?.
The answer is 'no'.
Actually, the answer is absolutely yes. Each supermarket is different, but there's generally a payment handling middleman buried between you and Tesco's, called Tesco payment service or some such. It doesn't affect the price, because its built into the displayed price, but presumably is there to balance the costs to Tesco supermarkets where they vary between cash, debit and credit transactions. Probably useful for tax purposes as well.The answer is 'no'.
That's highly acceptable, because it's in the sticker price. If the car dealers had it in the windscreen price, we wouldn't be arguing. Actually, it being a separate line item benefits those of us who refuse to accept it, because it makes our cars £199 cheaper than the next blokes
Just means we will miss out on the next but one tranche of PPI payouts.randlemarcus. You completely miss the point.
The ADVERTISED price in Tesco is the price you pay at the checkout.
Dealers advertise a price THAT YOU CANNOT BUY IT FOR.....They actually want you to pay a price that is greater. Is that even remotely fair?. And, they want you to pay for other things on top as well. (I appreciate that the "add-ons" are usually a choice for the buyer), but the "admin fee" usually has to be argued that they remove.
The ADVERTISED price in Tesco is the price you pay at the checkout.
Dealers advertise a price THAT YOU CANNOT BUY IT FOR.....They actually want you to pay a price that is greater. Is that even remotely fair?. And, they want you to pay for other things on top as well. (I appreciate that the "add-ons" are usually a choice for the buyer), but the "admin fee" usually has to be argued that they remove.
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