Do I have to pay the Evans Halshaw Admin Fee of £99?

bigjl

carbuyer84 wrote: »

I am due to go to Evans Halshaw this week and purchase a car I have had moved from another location. I was told by the sales man, when I asked about the £99 Admin Fee (that is for a HPI check) and quoting it says ''optional'' on the sticker that's on the windscreen of the car that it is in fact not optional. He called over the dealer principal and he said that the company had changed their policy and that he was awaiting new stickers that would quote ''compulsory'' and he said that the company do not budge on this fee… I have done a HPI check myself on the car and feel this fee is ridiculous. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do?

Thanks.

Why would you HPi a car at a dealership?

The reason dealers HPi all vehicles they sell is that when a dealership sells a vehicle it is deemed to have good title.

If there is outstanding finance it remains with the garage and they will have to pay it.

That is why dealers sometimes sell cars with the finance not settled, the new owner has good title.

A private sale is not the same.

Marktheshark

bigjl wrote: »

You actually think the auction fees are £99?

They charge it so they can price the car a little bit lower but still recoup the money they spend on doing a HPi check.

The indemnity fee for trade is £85 + vat per vehicle.
They dont make the cars in a little workshop round the back, they buy at Mannheim and they sell the px stock at Mannheim.

bigjl

Marktheshark wrote: »

The indemnity fee for trade is £85 + vat per vehicle.
They dont make the cars in a little workshop round the back, they buy at Mannheim and they sell the px stock at Mannheim.

And they don't pay commission? I can assure you a trade buyer pays commission on every purchase a Manhiem, yes it is less than a private buyer but no it is not £85+vat that is completely wrong.

The commission charged is variable depending on the value of the vehicle purchased and can be well over £500, a private buyer would probably pay twice that on the same car though I haven't bought there as a trader for years and even then I only bought a few cars a year and sold maybe 5 or 6 a year at that time as it was more of sideline.

The indemnity fee is also paid by trade and private buyers unless something has changed in the last few years, which I doubt it has.

And Evans Halshaw only buy from Manheim?

Not BCA?

They don't deal direct with fleets?

The only reason for the seperate fee is so they can reduce the sticker price slightly, nothing more complicated than that.

This fee is no different to the money spent making a vehicle up to standard for retail.

Most dealers include those costs in the sticker price, CarGiant was probably the first to use this ruse way back in the late 80's early 90's it was cheaper then but still had the effect of making a car appear at was people believe to be a lower price point but still maintain profitability. Of course back then they were The Great Trade Centre or something like that. And had a small branch on the A40 itself in addition to the one they still have(which is probably 10 times the size it was then. They used the money from the compulsory purchase of the A40 site to grow the business massively.

It isn't an extra fee just advertised separately.

Who really cares anyway?

You can pay £8000 for a nearly identical vehicle at a main dealer or pay £6999 + indemnity fee at a Car Supermarket type dealer.

I would always advise against trading in at a Car supermarket as they tend to pay bottom trade, often below WBAC or WWAC and send most stuff to auction, if you have ever look at the WBAC cars or indeed CarGiant cars (trade ins) at auction you will probably see why.

Many of them are nails and avoided by traders.

Nearlyold

bigjl wrote: »

It's optional is it?

Why not list all the people who have opted not to pay it?

It is an indemnity fee, and the cars I have bought from CarGiant have never had details on the invoice as to how I can avoid this "optional" fee.
Do you really think other garages don't garage for these things?

They do and they include it in the sticker price.

No Need to list names as the Advertising Standards Authority have already seen details of enough customers who have not paid the fee to satisfy themselves that it's optional.

See https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/11/CD-Bramall-Dealerships-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_236544.aspx#.Vi4JpeFOehc

I do not say anywhere in my post that other dealers do not charge for the cost of HPI checks (which are nowhere near £99 for a dealer) dealers can include whatever they like in the sticker price, what I said was that showing a lower sticker price and having a separate optional "fee" was becoming more common as it's a way of making the car appear cheaper which is also what you correctly state.

Looking at the new post from the OP below perhaps we could start the list with carbuyer84!

carbuyer84

Hi all, thanks for your comments. I called Trading Standards and talked about the situation. When I went to the dealership I asked them to state in writing that the £99 admin fee is compulsory and not optional as stated and I would look into it after I had paid the fee. It was then waived and I just paid the sticker price. I'm glad I did my research, it's paid off. Thanks.

bigjl

Nearlyold wrote: »

No Need to list names as the Advertising Standards Authority have already seen details of enough customers who have not paid the fee to satisfy themselves that it's optional.

See https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/11/CD-Bramall-Dealerships-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_236544.aspx#.Vi4JpeFOehc

I do not say anywhere in my post that other dealers do not charge for the cost of HPI checks (which are nowhere near £99 for a dealer) dealers can include whatever they like in the sticker price, what I said was that showing a lower sticker price and having a separate optional "fee" was becoming more common as it's a way of making the car appear cheaper which is also what you correctly state.

Looking at the new post from the OP below perhaps we could start the list with carbuyer84!

I will defer to your specific knowledge of CD Bramell(Evans Halshaw)

I don't know where the paperwork is for the cars I have bought there over the years, but I don't remember reading it is optional.

I still don't see why the OP bothered spending money on a HPi check though, as buying from a dealer gives good title.

And I don't know of any proper dealer (as app odes to backstreet dealer) that doesn't do their due diligence and HPi their stock, Auction stock is already done of course but they won't take a trade in without a HPi check. Not unless they are crazy.

Strider590

EH are highly trained extractors of urine.

**woody123**

When my sister bought her car from Evans Halshaw last year, she got out of paying the £99 admin fee. All they said then was it was for a HPI check.

I went there myself last week to enquire about a car I had seen and was told that the admin fee was not only for a HPI check, but now included are car mats, and 1 weeks free insurance.

enfield_freddy

**woody123** wrote: »

When my sister bought her car from Evans Halshaw last year, she got out of paying the £99 admin fee. All they said then was it was for a HPI check.

I went there myself last week to enquire about a car I had seen and was told that the admin fee was not only for a HPI check, but now included are car mats, and 1 weeks free insurance.

when is 1 week free insurance not free insurance , that is misspelling
if you are paying for it , its not free is it?

Nearlyold

The small sticker on the windscreen states what the fee is for and its not for the 1 weeks Free Insurance or car mats. The salesman was obviously floundering in justifying the charge and just making stuff up off the top of his head and not doing very well at it.