Evans Halshaw - Admin Fee

TheProfessional

We bought a Fiesta from EH some years ago and they dropped the charge after I said I wouldn't proceed if I had to pay it. 

sweetsand

TheProfessional said:

We bought a Fiesta from EH some years ago and they dropped the charge after I said I wouldn't proceed if I had to pay it. 

So you did not pay it, good on you but I guess many have paid it. did they make you aware of the cost as they must have done.
Therefore EH was upfront about the admin fee but like some people you had it in you to get another 99 quid off the car like most people do be negotiating a deal. 
IMO, there is nothing "dishonest" in EH's and many others dealers admin fees which can be same or higher or lower  but it is down to what deal you get there it is not at all, no way to call EH "dishonest"  as all dealers could eaily put another extra few quid on the price and therfore their admin fee like every business is legal and a business ploy to make the most profits so they can go on serving the public and keep thousands in employment.
Simply put there is no "dishonest" in dealers tactics otherwise trading standards would be on to them A-Sap. Like when most people but a new or a used car, do a on the road price deal and forget about th admin, deliver, etc fees its the OTR price that is the bottom line.

Scrapit

sweetsand said:

TheProfessional said:

We bought a Fiesta from EH some years ago and they dropped the charge after I said I wouldn't proceed if I had to pay it. 

So you did not pay it, good on you but I guess many have paid it. did they make you aware of the cost as they must have done.
Therefore EH was upfront about the admin fee but like some people you had it in you to get another 99 quid off the car like most people do be negotiating a deal. 
IMO, there is nothing "dishonest" in EH's and many others dealers admin fees which can be same or higher or lower  but it is down to what deal you get there it is not at all, no way to call EH "dishonest"  as all dealers could eaily put another extra few quid on the price and therfore their admin fee like every business is legal and a business ploy to make the most profits so they can go on serving the public and keep thousands in employment.
Simply put there is no "dishonest" in dealers tactics otherwise trading standards would be on to them A-Sap. Like when most people but a new or a used car, do a on the road price deal and forget about th admin, deliver, etc fees its the OTR price that is the bottom line.

OK, in your opinion(hence the IMO) this charge is not dishonest. Fair enough, but it is outright dodgy for the reasons explained that you surely have just ignored. However, personal opinions aside, we live in a democracy and nearly all the posters so far believe this charge is wrong in some way, shape or form. Then there is you that thinks its fine.  So there's the answer, strenfth in numbers.

barbiedoll

I think it’s dishonest to advertise a car at, say, £6999, only to find that when you decide to buy it, you’re going to be charged a further £99. My sister recently bought a new (to her) car, and was presented with an “admin” charge. She texted me, and thanks to the advice that I’ve gleaned from this forum over the years, I told her to refuse to pay it. Which she did. The car is now on her drive and she’s thrilled with it. As was I with the bottle of wine she bought for me as a thank you gift! 😁

(Also thanks to advice on this forum, she declined a different car, after checking under the oil cap, and finding evidence of a potential head gasket problem down the line. She paid £200 “refundable deposit” for that one, which she only got back, three weeks later, after sending a sternly-worded email, written by me. I hate to generalise, but car dealers really are the worst!) 

bignred05

Herzlos said:

bignred05 said:

I went to view a car yesterday at a local Evans Halshaw 
upon going over the details of a vehicle I was interested in, I was advised of a compulsory £99 admin fee
apparently everyone charges these !!!!! I can't find anything online about this, quite the opposite in fact
I did say I wasn't interested in any sort of warranty or extras, just a straight forward cash/part exchange deal.

is these legal ?

Thanks

Ignoring the troll, the fee is pretty dodgy (they'll claim it's for stuff like the preparation and HPI that they are legally obliged to do anyway), but there are plenty of posters on here who have managed to get them to waive the fee by threatening to walk away.

I tweeted EH earlier today, they confirmed the £99 admin fee is "OPTIONAL" although that's NOT what I was told.

forgotmyname

Didn't someone from EH have an account on here and said that the fee is optional?

If the car is a good price but the fee puts it over then say here is the screen price money. That is what I am willing
to pay right now or I am walking away.

You don't have to buy from them, you get the choice to pay it or not. Spotted a car for sale at what seemed like a very good
price. Looked it over and there were minor parking marks on the corners but still seemed a good price. The buyer didnt want
to haggle the £99 though.  They said £99 on an £8k+ car is not worth the effort and paid it.  They were happy with
the car but would not take it to them for servicing etc.

sweetsand

bignred05 said:

Herzlos said:

bignred05 said:

I went to view a car yesterday at a local Evans Halshaw 
upon going over the details of a vehicle I was interested in, I was advised of a compulsory £99 admin fee
apparently everyone charges these !!!!! I can't find anything online about this, quite the opposite in fact
I did say I wasn't interested in any sort of warranty or extras, just a straight forward cash/part exchange deal.

is these legal ?

Thanks

Ignoring the troll, the fee is pretty dodgy (they'll claim it's for stuff like the preparation and HPI that they are legally obliged to do anyway), but there are plenty of posters on here who have managed to get them to waive the fee by threatening to walk away.

I tweeted EH earlier today, they confirmed the £99 admin fee is "OPTIONAL" although that's NOT what I was told.

That means you don't have to pay it so who would pay it? Link to tweet/repsonse or the edited version please.
TIA

DoaM

I stand by my "dishonest" statement ... I have no intention of withdrawing it.

I see her ladyship has yet again deleted her post and then reposted it so that my post here is out of sequence. 🙄 I guess she can't work out how to edit a post.

sweetsand

forgotmyname said:

Didn't someone from EH have an account on here and said that the fee is optional?

If the car is a good price but the fee puts it over then say here is the screen price money. That is what I am willing
to pay right now or I am walking away.

You don't have to buy from them, you get the choice to pay it or not. Spotted a car for sale at what seemed like a very good
price. Looked it over and there were minor parking marks on the corners but still seemed a good price. The buyer didnt want
to haggle the £99 though.  They said £99 on an £8k+ car is not worth the effort and paid it.  They were happy with
the car but would not take it to them for servicing etc.

Exactly, great post, thanks
Cleary their admin fee is not, never "dishonest" and the poster that said and the other usernames that tried to defend that need to witdraw their comments.
As I have said and you, you don't have to buy the car if you are not happy with the OTR price. Bottom line is OTR price, forget the other bits.  We almost always negoatiate in a last minute tank of fuel but a couple of years ago on the bigger cars we'd settle for half - no pint in throwing your money away if you can get it, get it.

ATB

almillar

So sweetsand, let's ignore EH for a moment. You go to buy a car, it says £10,000 on the windscreen. You test drive it, you like it, you sit down to do a deal. You go to sign the paperwork and the salesman takes you through the deal. It's £10,000 plus a £99 admin fee. Is this not dishonest? Is this not what OP was describing?