£700 delivery charge for new car! Is this normal?
Discussion
Type R Tom said:
Do all car manufactures add on a delivery charge? If an average of say £500 is charged per new car, there were over 2 million new cars registered last year that equates to over £1 billion in deliver charges.
A nice little earner I would say!
The manufacturers don't own the delivery trains, ferries or lorries, so they are charged by these companies to deliver the cars to wherever they are going, it's only an issue to some as they can see the charge, if they couldn't see it and it was built onto the cost of the vehicle there wouldn't be a problem, it's the same with Sainsburys or Tesco, somewhere along the line there will be a charge to deliver your baked beans to the store, the only difference is its built into the price of your beans, goods aren't magicked (sp?) to where they are being sold from. A nice little earner I would say!
Edited by Type R Tom on Tuesday 5th February 07:34
Type R Tom said:
Do all car manufactures add on a delivery charge? If an average of say £500 is charged per new car, there were over 2 million new cars registered last year that equates to over £1 billion in deliver charges.
A nice little earner I would say!
Others might say they don't see anywhere near £1bn in profit from that 'nice little earner'.A nice little earner I would say!
Edited by Type R Tom on Tuesday 5th February 07:34
Type R Tom said:
Do all car manufactures add on a delivery charge? If an average of say £500 is charged per new car, there were over 2 million new cars registered last year that equates to over £1 billion in deliver charges.
A nice little earner I would say!
Certainly most do. Just think of it as part of the price, though. How they've chosen to break it down doesn't really make any difference. Adverts pretty much all (if not all) quote "on the road" price which includes any delivery charge. Manufacturer websites do too. If they only charged £200 for delivery, the basic price would just go up by £300 or whatever and the published OTR price would stay the same.A nice little earner I would say!
I bet it doesn't cost them any thing like 800 pounds a car to get them delivered! HTP99 said:
Type R Tom said:
Do all car manufactures add on a delivery charge? If an average of say £500 is charged per new car, there were over 2 million new cars registered last year that equates to over £1 billion in deliver charges.
A nice little earner I would say!
The manufacturers don't own the delivery trains, ferries or lorries, so they are charged by these companies to deliver the cars to wherever they are going, it's only an issue to some as they can see the charge, if they couldn't see it and it was built onto the cost of the vehicle there wouldn't be a problem, it's the same with Sainsburys or Tesco, somewhere along the line there will be a charge to deliver your baked beans to the store, the only difference is its built into the price of your beans, goods aren't magicked (sp?) to where they are being sold from. A nice little earner I would say!
Edited by Type R Tom on Tuesday 5th February 07:34
I know it's not pure profit but the amount of transporters full of new Porsches, for example, I see travelling up the M20 / M2 in the morning I’m sure it’s not costing them £700 per car to move.
The cost added in is like buying from Play vs. Amazon, when you see the cheaper price it draws the eye but then you have to add other parts. I think the Ryan Air analogy is a good one; it’s just a few little extras they add which you can’t avoid to make a couple of extra quid.
The cost added in is like buying from Play vs. Amazon, when you see the cheaper price it draws the eye but then you have to add other parts. I think the Ryan Air analogy is a good one; it’s just a few little extras they add which you can’t avoid to make a couple of extra quid.
Type R Tom said:
The cost added in is like buying from Play vs. Amazon, when you see the cheaper price it draws the eye but then you have to add other parts. I think the Ryan Air analogy is a good one; it’s just a few little extras they add which you can’t avoid to make a couple of extra quid.
Except it isn't, because delivery is included in the advertised price. It's more like British Airways generating a detailed invoice which shows that some of the inclusive price you're paying covers hold baggage. You can't get it taken off, and if they happen to set that price high it might seem annoying, but it's not a hidden extra.The fact that the fee is called a delivery charge is misleading. Excluding UK manufactured vehicles sold in the UK, the charge covers:
- taking the vehicle out of the factory and to the port
- taking it off the transporter and possibly storing it ready for shipping
- loading on a boat and then shipping to wherever
- unloading and storing on site (just look at Isle of Sheppey or Avonmouth to see the number of vehicles in storage)
- loading and transporting to the dealer
- unloading, storage, PDI.
Everyone in the chain needs to cover their costs and, dare I say it, make a margin: £800 doesn't go far.
- taking the vehicle out of the factory and to the port
- taking it off the transporter and possibly storing it ready for shipping
- loading on a boat and then shipping to wherever
- unloading and storing on site (just look at Isle of Sheppey or Avonmouth to see the number of vehicles in storage)
- loading and transporting to the dealer
- unloading, storage, PDI.
Everyone in the chain needs to cover their costs and, dare I say it, make a margin: £800 doesn't go far.
530dTPhil said:
The fact that the fee is called a delivery charge is misleading. Excluding UK manufactured vehicles sold in the UK, the charge covers:
- taking the vehicle out of the factory and to the port
- taking it off the transporter and possibly storing it ready for shipping
- loading on a boat and then shipping to wherever
- unloading and storing on site (just look at Isle of Sheppey or Avonmouth to see the number of vehicles in storage)
- loading and transporting to the dealer
- unloading, storage, PDI.
Everyone in the chain needs to cover their costs and, dare I say it, make a margin: £800 doesn't go far.
Problem is, you're applying logic :-)- taking the vehicle out of the factory and to the port
- taking it off the transporter and possibly storing it ready for shipping
- loading on a boat and then shipping to wherever
- unloading and storing on site (just look at Isle of Sheppey or Avonmouth to see the number of vehicles in storage)
- loading and transporting to the dealer
- unloading, storage, PDI.
Everyone in the chain needs to cover their costs and, dare I say it, make a margin: £800 doesn't go far.
This is my whole problem with the way manufacturers charge - it's the lack of transparency. As you say, for a non-UK manufactured car, the 'charge' doesnt cover the costs and for a UK manufactured car such as mine, it's 3 or 4 times the cost to them
Also, as some have said, if the charge is only mentioned afterwards then that's fine, but some play it differently. Go on to the Audi configurator and you'll see for any model, a list of prices next to each engine, but then the total above lists an OTR charge that includes tax and delivery
The UK 'importer' e.g. Audi UK, Citroen UK, Ferrari UK, will set the price and delivery charge is just a way of increasing it. The supermarket comparison mentioned earlier is an interesting one - they don't tell you within the price the cost of delivery any more than a car manufacturer doesn't tell you the cost of buying brakes from Brembo or transmissions from ZF.
There is only justification in even referring to this delivery charge anywhere if either it's an option (that you can choose not to have or change for a different option), has a different taxation basis, is subject to change, is charged by a different party (e.g. the govt) or that you pay to a different person (e.g. directly to the delivery company)
As none of these factors apply to cars bought in the UK, there is no justification in mentioning it anywhere unless you are giving a total price breakdown of the cost of building & selling the car i.e. why highligh delivery specifically but nothing else. As someone mentions, historically it stems from the old car tax which no longer applies. Put simply, it's just spin !
jonby said:
Also, as some have said, if the charge is only mentioned afterwards then that's fine, but some play it differently. Go on to the Audi configurator and you'll see for any model, a list of prices next to each engine, but then the total above lists an OTR charge that includes tax and delivery
I've just checked that out, and you're right. But the whole main Audi site, the prices for each engine in the tables on the main site and the banner saying "New A3 from £..." only list the On The Road price which includes any delivery charge without mentioning it. The printed and PDF brochures list both prices side-by-side, making it obvious.The engine choice bit of the configurator seems to be about the only place they present a price excluding delivery etc., listing the OTR price at the top once you've clicked on one. I don't know why they've done that - maybe the configurator is an international thing and delivery charges apply differently elsewhere? But I'm just guessing.
surveyor said:
The merc version flies you plus partner over business class and puts you up in a good hotel overnight...
They changed it to one person a few years ago and stopped doing it altogether at the end of last year.People used to moan that if they picked the car up first and then stayed overnight, the hotel used to stiff them for a big parking charge!
Surely all cars need delivering therefore why bill it seperately? For example if a car is £20,000 OTR and the bill says £20,000 then nobody would complain. If it says £20,000 OTR then they break it down as £19,300 for the car and £700 for delivery then it just gives a reason for people to gumble!
Kong said:
Surely all cars need delivering therefore why bill it seperately? For example if a car is £20,000 OTR and the bill says £20,000 then nobody would complain. If it says £20,000 OTR then they break it down as £19,300 for the car and £700 for delivery then it just gives a reason for people to gumble!
Exactly - It's really no different to the way service bills are sometimes itemised out and then people complain about the cost of screenwash. If the bill just said "service" they'd be fine with that.Type R Tom said:
I know it's not pure profit but the amount of transporters full of new Porsches, for example, I see travelling up the M20 / M2 in the morning I’m sure it’s not costing them £700 per car to move.
Playing devil's advocate slightly - how much do you think it would cost then to drive, say, 6 cars on a transporter from Stuttgart to the UK? Including the fuel for the transporter there and back, and a guy to do it (probably 2 or 3 days including all the breaks and slow pace), then the crossing itself on ferry/tunnel, which I assume is not the £69 I pay for my car?!Deva Link said:
They changed it to one person a few years ago and stopped doing it altogether at the end of last year.
People used to moan that if they picked the car up first and then stayed overnight, the hotel used to stiff them for a big parking charge!
Really?People used to moan that if they picked the car up first and then stayed overnight, the hotel used to stiff them for a big parking charge!
Shame. More Merc dumbing down... If they are happy to compete on Ford and Vauxhall terms...
shotgunfacelift said:
Wild Swordfish said:
At Honda, our delivery chargers are £600
What makes it worst it my dealership is only a 20 mile drive from the Swindon factory.
Christ! Wouldn't want to be trying to sell cars at your dealership, I bet a few customers have wobbled when they saw that stacked in the deal, or do you give free metallic paint to offset it? What makes it worst it my dealership is only a 20 mile drive from the Swindon factory.
At least the Honda delivery charge included a full tank of fuel - the VW dealer b
hed about having to put 10L in!Wonder when they started charging these amounts - I looked back at the thread where they guy has posted up the invoice for his new Capri in 1978 and there's only a charge for number plates.
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