Quick bit of courtesy car info needed

od017

I'm returning a courtesy car today as I received a phonecall from the garage that the work on my car is complete.

The work on my car is being done as part of a claim against a third party (third party admitted liability).

The courtesy car was given to me with 30 miles left in the tank, however I'm returning it with over 240 left, as after I put fuel in on Sunday I became ill on Monday and Tuesday and therefore didn't use the car as I had planned.

Will I just have to suffer the lost fuel?

Thanks

Mindless_Clone

od017 wrote: »

Will I just have to suffer the lost fuel?

Thanks

Most likely yes.

You might be able to syphon a small amount out into a petrol cannister if you have one, but you're are very limited in how much you can store in these and how many you're allowed to have.
Bit of a pain with fuel costing so much. I guess it would not hurt to ask the company who loaned you the car though; you never know.

NeverEnough

od017 wrote: »

I'm returning a courtesy car today as I received a phonecall from the garage that the work on my car is complete.

The work on my car is being done as part of a claim against a third party (third party admitted liability).

The courtesy car was given to me with 30 miles left in the tank, however I'm returning it with over 240 left, as after I put fuel in on Sunday I became ill on Monday and Tuesday and therefore didn't use the car as I had planned.

Will I just have to suffer the lost fuel?

Thanks

Yes, just one of those things really. You can store 5 litre can (approved plastic container) or 10 litres in an approved metal container AFAIK. Perhaps have a go at siphoning some out before you return it, or just put it down to experience, the hire company certainly don't need to pay you for fuel and generally require customers to leave as much petrol in the tank as the car had when booked out to them, so they do not get involvedin the refuelling most of the time.

w211

As you are unlikely to get any sort of rebate, as mentioned, if you have the time, may as well make use of the fuel left in the car, go for a drive, visit friends and family, volunteer to give people lifts, go to the dump if you have anything to throw away, post office, shopping etc...

Otherwise, the garage may just siphon it off themselves for their own use.

note_2

it will most likely go straight into the garage's pockets. and i wouldnt advise going to the dump as you could make a few scuff marks etc which they'll sting you for

Quentin

You cannot easily syphon it out now - anti syphoning devices thwart it!

rxbren

you can pop a fuel line off the bottom of the tank or pull one off the fuel filter
would be worth checking if there are any terms on the courtesy car there might be a return car with full tank of fuel stipulation some hire companies do this which is sometimes naughty as when people get the car it may not have had a full tank
its worth checking before you do try to drain any fuel as if there is a full tank term on it the filling price is 20-30p more a litre than pump price

rxbren

you can also get 20l into the large steel jerry cans

od017

Thanks for all the advice.

Whenever I've hired cars in the past they've been handed to me with a full tank, and I've had to return them with a full tank. Much easier

Managing it so a car is returned with a near-empty tank can be tricky, even when one knows when the vehicle is being returned.

When the vehicle is a courtesy car, as in my scenario, there is far less notice as regards the return date. I had a phone call this morning and returned the car at lunch time.

This has a slight stench of scam to it. Either the car is returned with less fuel and the garage will charge for the difference, or - as with myself - they gain over half a tank of fuel for free at the expense of me: a student only requiring my car be repaired as I was involved in a hit and run.

When one earns £100 a week, and commutes to university, losing over half a tank of fuel is very significant.

marlot

its not a scam - it just saves the garage refilling it. Its quite common qith courtesy cars - you bring it back with about the same amount as it left with.

Some you win. Some you lose. Unfortunately this time you've lost. Its rough, but other than taking a quick trip to see some friends/do some shopping 50 miles away you've not got an easy way to recoup the money. Sorry!

od017

marlot wrote: »

its not a scam - it just saves the garage refilling it. Its quite common qith courtesy cars - you bring it back with about the same amount as it left with.

Some you win. Some you lose. Unfortunately this time you've lost. Its rough, but other than taking a quick trip to see some friends/do some shopping 50 miles away you've not got an easy way to recoup the money. Sorry!

Thanks for your response.

I'm not contesting the idea of returning it with the same amount of fuel - that's only fair. However, it seems far easier to say: it's supplied with a full tank, please return it with a full tank. That would make it easier for the customer, and negate the need for the garage to refill it. That's always been the case with all other hire vehicles I've used.

I have to disagree with the "some you win, some you lose" statement. I'm suggesting that with this system you never win, and you sometimes lose. If you return it with less, you get charged for the difference - fair enough, I see no issue there. But to lose over half a tank of fuel because they'd rather you time your refills so it's returned empty is unfair.