£69.99 Citygate “fuel and protection” fee WTF?

[andy43]

I’m buying a new-to-me car. Not viewed yet as it’s 4 hours away. Main dealer, 3 years old, one owner. I’ve paid a deposit subject to viewing and will be collecting/rejecting in a couple of days. I’ve got a video, hi-res photos, tyre brand and tread depths, service history paperwork confirmation and have spoken to another main dealer who’s sold and serviced it from new. It’s unlikely the sale won’t happen but you never know. I’ve never rejected a car before.

Todays email from the salesman states “ The price of the car is £xxxxx + our City gate fuel and protection fee of £69.90, Which is applied to all our vehicles.”

So what’s a fuel and protection fee? It’s not on Citygate’s website anywhere unless I’m a complete idiot, and it wasn’t on the manufacturers ad either. Google suggests it’s a desperate last ditch attempt by the motor industry to try and keep a roof over their heads and their kids fed but I’d be interested in any comments especially from the trade.

Edited by andy43 on Thursday 2nd June 18:50

[bitchstewie]

A quick Google suggests some sort of misfuelling insurance and/or device.

Grim.

[shih tzu faced]

Sounds like a new twist on the old £99 admin fee rip off. Basically paying them extra for doing basic tasks they have to do anyway.

[andy43]

Ooh now it’s been moved to the eternal pit of “Car buying”. Even grimmer.
I have now worked out it’s shown on the auto trader website -

Same dealer but on AT said:

£69 admin fee

This seller charges an admin fee, which has been added to the price of the vehicle shown. Here is the information the seller has provided about this fee:

Our admin fee is £69.90 and covers the cost of the following; registering the new keeper of the vehicle with DVLA, the HPI check paperwork, the registration of warranty and £20 fuel for when you collect on the day of handover.

If a monthly price is shown, this is only for the price of the vehicle and does not include the seller’s admin fee. Some finance lenders may be able to include this fee in your finance quote. Please contact the seller or the lender to find out more.

What is an admin fee?

Some sellers charge admin fees to cover things like a full valet and fuel for the vehicle.

Our advertising standards ensure that all admin fees will be clearly displayed from the start, so you will never get any nasty surprises along the way.

Bearing in mind I’ve negotiated a tank of fuel already, plus the fee isn’t shown on the manufacturers own website advert nor on the dealers own website I don’t think I will be paying their extra fee. Grim indeed.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

It's like any last minute re-negotiation. If you're prepared to walk away, then you might get it waived - or you might be walking away.

[shih tzu faced]

andy43 said:

Bearing in mind I’ve negotiated a tank of fuel already, plus the fee isn’t shown on the manufacturers own website advert nor on the dealers own website I don’t think I will be paying their extra fee. Grim indeed.

Quite right. I’ve walked away from buying a car before because of this admin fee nonsense. And the salesman was a right fecking knobhead, so that didn’t really help either.

[swisstoni]

I thought the trend today was towards more transparency and convenience. Not this sort of nonsense.

[Spleen]

How badly do you want that particular car? That sort of stupidness is enough to make me walk.

[CoreyDog]

I’ve walked from a car before because it had a “none negotiable” £150 admin fee.

Smacks of a scam just so their cars show up as some of the cheapest when you sort by price, add the fee on, it bumps them well down the list.

[georgeyboy12345]

To be fair to Citygate, the admin fee of £69 IS listed on Autotrader on all their cars. You can try your luck - tell them the deal's off and you want your deposit back unless they waive the fee. Might not work though if they have someone else lined up to buy it.

[Trevor555]

andy43 said:

So what’s a fuel and protection fee? It’s not on Citygate’s website anywhere unless I’m a complete idiot, and it wasn’t on the manufacturers ad either.

Edited by andy43 on Thursday 2nd June 18:50

If it wasn't on the advert you saw, and you've paid your deposit to them on the strength of the advert, then they've now changed the terms of the sale on you.

Print the advert off.

Pay it if they insist, then report them to the Advertising Standards Authority.

[andy43]

Yes it’s on all their AT ads, but on Kia’s website it isn’t, neither is it on Citygates Owen website. And I found it on the Kia site. Stinger! Red seats!
Paying if I have no choice and going to the ASA sounds like the only good option.
ASA only after social media obviously.
People must just pay it usually otherwise the dealers wouldn’t attempt to try it on like this. Nuts.

[littleredrooster]

georgeyboy12345 said:

To be fair to Citygate, the admin fee of £69 IS listed on Autotrader on all their cars..

AIUI, that’s got eff-all to do with fairness to Citygate. It’s a requirement from AT, just as they automatically show any ‘Cat’ cars. I bet if you see the advert on any other media, it won’t include either of those.

Edit to add: try telling them that they advertised the car at £x and anything else is an optional extra which you don’t need or want. Please delete & adjust the invoice accordingly.

I think it’s a massive con-trick, personally.

Edited by littleredrooster on Thursday 2nd June 21:16

[littlebasher]

I've never paid one of these stupid admin fees yet, just tell them to bin it or the deal is off.

They tried this with my daughter when she bought her last car, they wanted £150 to pay for checks that you would expect them to do anyway.
When i told them we wouldn't be paying it, the sales manager got all arsey and claimed that nobody had every questioned it before - unlikely i think. Got there in the end, possibly as he found it amusing when i suggested i charged a flat £150 fee for accompanying her. It broke the ice he backed down.

Edited by littlebasher on Friday 3rd June 04:16

[Wombat3]

You should try buying a motorcycle from BMW: £210 of "on the road charges" (not tax or registration, that's listed separately) and £350 for "Delivery "

[Pistonheader101]

Cinch and cazoo have no admin fees

[Mark83]

I noticed this earlier in the week when I saw them selling the the ex-Collecting Cars E63 S AMG estate. Immediately got my back up but didn't get as far as viewing when I saw how much work it needed, so didn't get to challenge them on it.

[DanL]

While I appreciate that the fee seems underhand, you’re looking at a car that’s four hours away from you. I assume it’s either a bargain or the perfect spec - either way, are you going to pass on it for £70? I’d have thought you’d be spending £70 in petrol to pick it up, apart from anything else…

[Dimebars]

Wombat3 said:

You should try buying a motorcycle from BMW: £210 of "on the road charges" (not tax or registration, that's listed separately) and £350 for "Delivery "

OTR and delivery charges on new vehicles are nothing surprising

[Trevor555]

Back to the OP's original post, I dont have a problem with if if they're upfront about it before you travel/place a deposit.

I understand why they do it, advertised prices have to be keen in this day n age, as most people search by price, low to high.

But the dealers who add it once/after you've decided to buy are sharks. Especially if you've traveled to buy it.

"We just had to add our admin fee"

No you wont, it's not on your advert.

They can refuse to sell to you of course. Best to pay it, and then report to ASA