Car dealer indemnity insurance

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Sun 28 Jan 2018 22:59
Car dealer indemnity insurance - GT

I'm in the process of buying a 2 y.o. car from a car supermarket. On top of the price of the car, they are charging me £150 for "indemnity insurance". As far as I can guess, is this to protect the dealer (maybe for professional negligence?) rather than me? Why am I having to pay for this? Does this insurance perhaps protect the dealer if I sue him (e.g. for false representation of the car, etc...?). Are there any circumstances where this insurance is of benefit to me? Could I claim against it, and if so, for what?

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Sun 28 Jan 2018 23:04
Car dealer indemnity insurance - SLO76
Nope, it’s another one of those “admin fees” unscrupulous dealers like to add onto the sticker price. Tell them the deal’s off if you have to pay it and 99% of the time they’ll wave it.
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Mon 29 Jan 2018 01:05
Car dealer indemnity insurance - KJP 123

Not sure, but I think that it is an insurance against title – stolen car or finance outstanding.

I think some auctions apply this. dealer is different, they can check and have different responsibilities.

Might be worth having but I don’t think that you should pay for it.

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Mon 29 Jan 2018 07:07
Car dealer indemnity insurance - RobJP

Considering a full HPI check if £10, they're ripping you off to an amazing extent.

First question I'd be asking is this "Do I want to be doing business with a company like that ?"

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Mon 29 Jan 2018 07:59
Car dealer indemnity insurance - Manatee

Sharp practice. It's the dealer who needs an indemnity, not you - your recourse is to the seller who needs to provide you with clear title or compensate you accordingly; a dealer cannot be an innocent purchaser.

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Mon 29 Jan 2018 08:41
Car dealer indemnity insurance - skidpan

IMHO it comes down to the total cost to change. I don't give a monkeys how the dealer build that figure but providing the car is what I want and the price is good (i.e. less than elsewhere) does it matter if you are paying a spurious £150.

By all means try and get it removed (or reduced but if walking away means paying more elsewhere surely that is just plain daft. Last time I bought a car form a supermarket it was 5 days old, brand spanking new basically and had been prepped by the supplying dealer before it even went to a supermarket. They wanted a £50 valetting fee which was probably need on some of the grubby ex hire stuff on site but not on a new motor. To get the deal they removed it but I would still have bought it anyway, it was £3000 less than a grubby year old one from the local Ford emporium.

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Mon 29 Jan 2018 09:21
Car dealer indemnity insurance - argybargy

With all due respect, don't try to "guess" what this insurance is for. Ask the dealer to explain it properly, and if it still isn't clear get someone you know and who has a good grasp of these matters to check and explain it to you. Then you can make an informed decision about it.

I recently bought a used car from a main dealer. As part of the deal they slapped on a 98 quid admin fee. I could have refused to pay it, and was advised here not to do so, but because we were shifting a potentially troublesome vehicle for a much better one I decided to close the deal and swallow that medicine.

In a different situation I would have walked away, and you, presumably still have that option.

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Mon 29 Jan 2018 10:45
Car dealer indemnity insurance - GT

Response from dealer: "The indemnity insurance is to protect you to make sure that the history of the vehicle is guaranteed for as long you keep the car." I thought the dealer had to guarantee the history of the vehicle, and any discrepancy I uncover would protect him if I sue. Isn't guaranteeing the history all part & parcel of the "attraction" of buying from a dealer?

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Mon 29 Jan 2018 12:00
Car dealer indemnity insurance - argybargy

Never heard of this myself.

When I bought from the dealer I was presented with a plethora of optional insurances covering everything from alloy wheel damage to pet insurance for the sales manager's dog (not that last one, but it wouldn't have surprised me). The only mandatory charge on top of the price of the car was the admin fee, and that was clearly arguable.

I don't see why you should have to pay good money to insure and protect the dealer's interests. Surely the HPI check verifies the history in your interests as well as theirs?

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Tue 30 Jan 2018 12:10
Car dealer indemnity insurance - Miniman777

Response from dealer: "The indemnity insurance is to protect you to make sure that the history of the vehicle is guaranteed for as long you keep the car." I thought the dealer had to guarantee the history of the vehicle, and any discrepancy I uncover would protect him if I sue. Isn't guaranteeing the history all part & parcel of the "attraction" of buying from a dealer?

What a load of cods...bordering on scam tactics. They are nothing but weasel words to mislead. If the vehicle history is sound, then you don't need to,spend £150. End of, no ifs or buts. Tell them deal is off.
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Tue 30 Jan 2018 12:19
Car dealer indemnity insurance - Gibbo_Wirral

Agree. They'll add a pre-sale valeting charge of £25 next.

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Tue 30 Jan 2018 12:39
Car dealer indemnity insurance - RichardW

Ask to see the policy documents and what you can claim against what false histories. That should provovke an interesting conversation!

As above - I wouldn't worry about this small sum if the overall deal works out for you. It will be (another) way of them reducing their VAT bill.

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Tue 30 Jan 2018 12:55
Car dealer indemnity insurance - Manatee

Ask to see the policy documents and what you can claim against what false histories. That should provovke an interesting conversation!

As above - I wouldn't worry about this small sum if the overall deal works out for you. It will be (another) way of them reducing their VAT bill.

That's more or less fine from the purchaser's point of view if they advertise of agree a price of say £5,000 and then tell you the invoice will show £4,750 plus £250 for the (presumably non-VATable) 'service'.

The trade did that for years with "warranties"

Adding it on to what has been advertised or agreed is sharp practice, although even VAT avoidance is arguably immoral when somehing worth £20 is 'sold' for £250.

Crooks either way, just a matter of degree and who the victim is.

Edited by Manatee on 30/01/2018 at 12:56

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