Loaner cars are dealership-owned cars customers are given when their own vehicle is in the repair shop. Over recent years, loaner cars have slowly been dwindling and a Florida-based Buick GMC dealer explains why.
“The days of dealerships not having a loaner to give to a customer, these days have been long gone,” TikToker Starling Buick GMC Stuart (@starlingbuickgmcstuart) says. This perplexes the content creator.
“It just doesn’t make sense. Why would you not want to put a customer in a loaner?” he asks. “They just bought a vehicle from you, spend thousands of dollars from you, they got some sort of hiccup. Put them in a car.”
He then explains, “There was a time there with the chip shortage where there wasn’t a lot of cars. I get it. Didn’t have enough cars to sell much less loan out. But those days are long gone.”
All in all, the TikToker claims that it boils down to greed.
“The problem here is that a lot of dealerships wanna try to wean their customers off that idea ever existing,” he says. “They don’t wanna put the miles on the car. That’s just bad business.”
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard stories of somebody buying a car where they have a problem with it and the very salesperson and the managers are really nice to you right before they buy the car,” he continues. “Then, you come back a few months later with some sort of issue and they act like they don’t remember you.”
“What kind of service is that?” he asks.
What is the car chip shortage?
A car chip is an electrical circuit that powers a vehicle. It is found in the vehicle’s transmission and suspension systems. But after the COVID-19 pandemic, low supply coupled with high demand led to a chip shortage which has been disastrous for the automotive industry.
Why are dealerships cutting back on loaner cars?
In 2022, while car chips were still in low supply, a car shortage also arose, making it even more difficult to get a loaner. These days, according to Knight Law Group, dealerships are no longer required to provide a loaner car regardless of the situation with your vehicle.
Now, one of the only ways to snag a loaner is if the dealership is a part of the loaner program. Customers must ask employees to find out.
Viewers resonated with this experience
The TikTok post received 132,000 views. Users shared their own experiences with getting loaner cars from the dealer.
“Genesis never has loaners. Lexus always does!” one viewer wrote.
“I spent 3 thousand dollars in repair and the dealership refused to give me a loaner for two weeks of work, that was the last time of coming to that dealership,” another said.
“My Porsche dealership rarely has a loaner or I have to schedule WEEKS out to get in line for one. Absolutely ridiculous. On the flip side, the Mazda dealership where I bought my little Miata is always glad to help. Seems backwards to me,” a third commented.
@starlingbuickgmcstuart What most dealers don’t want you to know!
♬ original sound – starlingbuickgmcstuart
However, some claimed that they were successful in getting a loaner car.
“My Lexus dealer give loaner for oil change, at least during my 2 year certified warranty,” one user revealed.
“Lincoln always takes care of me! I had a new navigator last week as a loaner! It was amazing,” a second praised.
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and direct message.
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