The hand-over of a car is basically a nice conclusion of the purchase process. The car is polished, the paperwork is handled by the dealer, and the only thing on your mind is to drive off. However, it is recommended to go through the agreement you made with the seller one more time. Make sure that all the promises are honoured. It is always easier to get things done while you still have your money in your pocket.

Pre-Delivery Service

Most dealerships charge a fee for the pre-delivery service, but what do they do for this fee? There are no fixed rules, but in general the car gets a fresh MoT, polish, and the dealership will handle the paperwork. Resulting from the MoT, some small repairs can be made, but do not count on a complete service. And certainly no preventive maintenance on parts that are due for replacement. At least, not if you do not ask for it.

 

So, it is your job to negotiate extra maintenance to be part of the pre-delivery service. For starters, browse through the car's service history. If the car is due for service soon, ask for this to be done as part of the pre-delivery service. Also consider any reparations of a chipped windscreen, or a touch up of dents and scratches.

The state of the car at the hand-over will depend mostly on the dealer. Warranty is a big motivator for the dealer to care about the car's technical state and it being in a good condition. However, it is no guarantee that any upcoming service will be performed before delivery. So, if you want to have something extra done to the car, it is essential that you make some additional agreements during the draw up of the contract.

 

Conclusion

The pre-delivery service is a well-known term in the business of trading cars. However, the contents of this service depend highly on the dealership. So, you have to talk about the contents of the pre-delivery service with the sales man, and take the initiative to make additional agreements part of the contract.