£99 "admin fee" for buying used car

Sago48

We're in the process of buying a car for £9K from Wilsons in Epsom and just now had a call from I think their finance person- we are paying cash but they insisted on calling. At the showroom they'd told me they would tax the vehicle and pass the cost on to me (a bit strange, but fair enough). So £9125 total. On the phone this person said (I think) "so the total is £9224". I said what's the extra for and he said "£99 admin fee" - "for an HPI check, going to the post office, and so that anything comes back to us not you. We sell a 1000 cars a month and we have to have people to deal with all of that" - or some such phrase.

I now realise that the admin fee does appear on the website in small print, and my partner recalls seeing something at the showroom. If it was mentioned by the salesman I didn't hear. (In my defence, you rarely hear so many words used to say so little)

I think the key to this is the lack of road tax. So they buy the car and cash in the road tax, then tax it and charge the admin fee for doing this and the HPI (max £25). Does that sound about right?

I can see that this is lawful but as with the "20% restocking fee" it's sharp practice.

Anyone know if the gov has got it's eye on this?

Thanks

Ultrasonic

Sago48 wrote: »

I think the key to this is the lack of road tax. So they buy the car and cash in the road tax...

To be fair to the garage there is every chance that whoever sold them the car reclaimed the 'road tax' on it. I would.

vikingaero

Loads of car supermarkets have the £99 admin fee. They list it in small print on the car and in adverts so it's hardly sharp practice. There is a choice. Buy from them with the £99 fee. Argue against the fee. Or buy elsewhere.

AndyPK

It's easier for them to tax is than you. So pay it.

They shouldn't be charging u hpi check though.

mrcow

If you're not happy with paying the admin fee, tell them to knock £99 off the sale price.

colino

They can't cash in any tax without putting their name on the V5C, a nice little bonus that disappeared years ago. However any garage doing this fee rubbish you should really walk away from. It is simply a way of adding an extra £99 to the sale price through a bogus fee. They don't add on their other overheads and costs to the invoice do they? Where's the valeters wages or the auction transporter drivers bung?

vickssinex

I don't like this admin fee thing either. Over the summer a garage offered me finance towards a new car, and when I told them I could get it cheaper online they came back with a revised quote which matched it-but their new quote included an admin fee of £50. So what they were giving me in one hand they took back with the other!

oliverr

Nearly all car supermarkets do this now, Cargiant charge £99 as well amongst many others. And you have to go and tax the car yourself. Just worth noting for future to mentally add it to the price of the car, but to be honest I don't find it too much of a big deal so long as it's displayed somewhere.

Dave_®f©

When the salesman tried the £99 admin fee trick for selling me a car, I told him, funnily enough, my admin fee for buying it was £99 so we would be clear.

Told him it was a deal breaker. It was promptly dropped from the next quote.

Guest101

Just refuse the £99, it's not your problem, if they want the sale, they'll include it in the price agreed.

If not, then they're very silly sales people.

I would never pay this, my offer is what im offering to pay, accept it or don't, but that's that.

An interesting point of note, you have a contract with them, did you sign anything, or was it all verbal? What does it say, if written. This is so simple to get out of it's literally one letter at most.

scheming_gypsy

Sago48 wrote: »

. I said what's the extra for and he said "£99 admin fee" - "for an HPI check, going to the post office, and so that anything comes back to us not you. We sell a 1000 cars a month and we have to have people to deal with all of that" - or some such phrase.

£99,000 a month in admin fees. That's not bad going