Terrible Courtesy Cars

Keet

Keet

Zorg Guru (IV)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
Apr 22, 2018
Points
171
Location
Mansfield
Model of Z
E89 20i M Sport
Just had my Alfa serviced and MOT'd at my local Alfa dealers, which happens to be Stoneacre. As it's about 15 miles away, to save us having to take two cars so I can get home, I asked if l could have a courtesy car.

Now as they are supposedly an Alfa franchise the least I would expect would be an Alfa as a replacement maybe a little Mito.

No, I get a Citroen C3! Yes it might be brand new and have lots of extras. But, it was one of the biggest pieces of cr#p I have ever driven. It was slow, wallowy, plastic, just awful! Needless to say it spent the whole day on the drive until I got the phone call to collect mine.

I wonder how it would go down with BMW owners when they dropped their 5 series off and were given the keys to a C3.

Now I know that it was better than walking home or catching the bus (or was it!), but is it too much to expect at least a car of the same make from a main dealer?

Anyone else has any courtesy car horrors?
 
I used to drop my Mondeo Ghia X for servicing, and get to swag around in a base model KA for the day. From one end of the spectrum to another.

Got given a 8 year old Renault Laguna once as a courtesy car from a body shop, the exhaust back box fell off on the journey home. Had no choice to accept it as it was all they had and I was 100 miles from home. I doubt it would have passed an MOT the state it was in.

Eventually stopped asking for courtesy cars and started using "while you wait" servicing, free wifi and coffee and no crappy courtesy cars.
 
while my 5 series was in for 8 weeks BMW gave me a brand new car 86 miles on the clock nice 1 series had a lot more on it when i gave it them back
 
Ever seen the film the mask? If you have you'll probably remember "the loaner ":)
 
I took my Abarth 500 to Stoneacre for it's service, and ended up with a Fiat Panda...... :bashhead:

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gookah said:
I took my Abarth 500 to Stoneacre for it's service, and ended up with a Fiat Panda...... :bashhead:
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I still think I'd have preferred that to the Citroen! :p
 
Took my what then was a 9 year old Freelander 2 to the dealer for a service and had to wait while number plates were put on a brand new Discovery Sport HSE!

I think they might have been hoping I would buy one :whistle:
 
Redline said:
Took my what then was a 9 year old Freelander 2 to the dealer for a service and had to wait while number plates were put on a brand new Discovery Sport HSE!

I think they might have been hoping I would buy one :whistle:
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Mate of mine had a similar experience. Took his A3 in for a service and was given a top of the range A5!
 
gookah said:
I remember a long time ago, I took my BMW Compact for a service and ended up with a new courtesy car just out..



It was a boston green Z3 !!!!
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That ended badly then =))
 
I feel your pain with the C3. Had one recently as a holiday rental and everything about it was horrible, particularly the driving position - like sitting at the dinner table.
 
Lots of garages including many main dealerships don’t supply like for like when you take you pride and joy in for service or repair. So they gave you a new Citroen, what’s wrong with that. Just don’t understand badge snobbery.
 
Howard said:
Lots of garages including many main dealerships don’t supply like for like when you take you pride and joy in for service or repair. So they gave you a new Citroen, what’s wrong with that. Just don’t understand badge snobbery.
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The C3, whether it was new or not was just an awful car. The driving position was awful, the pedals were offset to the right and too close together. It was slow with no acceleration, purely when trying to pull out of a junction. The interior was cheap and plastic. The suspension seemed to bounce for an eternity after a bump in the road.

I would have preferred having an Alfa as a courtesy car because that is the car I have purchased, chosen to drive and enjoy driving and supposedly an Alfa dealership is working on my car.

It's nothing to do with badge snobbery.
 
Many, many years ago, I took my Sierra in for some warranty work and came out with the worst courtesy car of all time, a bloody Skoda Estelle :eek:. It lived up to it's reputation and promptly overheated and came to a halt in a cloud of smoke 2 miles after leaving the garage :arghh:.

On the plus side, when I took my Freelander in for a service, I ended up with a brand new 3rd gen Discovery HSE, just after they had come onto the market. I reckon I did 300 miles that day :whistle:.
 
Having worked in many main dealers it’s often the case that the dealers can’t or won’t supply like for like.
When I worked for Land Rover we had a few folk that also complained about being given a Freelander(new) when they owned a Range Rover. It’s impossible for dealers to supply the same cars as loan cars.. There’s always two sides to a discussion.
It’s also impossible to compare a basic C3 with any Alfa. Most Alfa’s are renowned for performance and there looks. C3 car for the masses and a cheap everyday run about.
 
the Nefyn cat said:
How much better did the Alfa seem after the Citroen? They know what they're doing.:whistle:
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It was absolutely amazing! :D

So was the wife's 15 year old Yaris compared to the C3!
 
Dino D said:
There is merit in this, if you get a really good courtesy car yours just feels old!
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Merit both ways. Making your own car feeling old might just get you back in the show room looking for a bright shiny new one. Am sure that works with some people.
 
Ahhhh but nothing revs like a hire car ;);)
 
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