Most people procrastinate getting car troubles addressed, and the high cost of service isn’t the only reason. Lots of people don’t have an alternate means of transportation but rely on their car to get them where they need to go. A customer who has to drop his or her car off at the service department, even for just a few hours, is one who might have to scramble to meet his or her transportation needs, and the personal or professional consequences can be serious for even one day without transportation, much less the several days often required for more extensive repairs.
That’s why offering loaner cars to customers to have their cars in for service at your dealership can build customer loyalty and increase satisfaction. While you certainly don’t have to offer loaner vehicles, having a fleet of loaner cars at the ready can add up to positive reviews and good worth-of-mouth advertising, as well as repeat customers.
Value Your Customers’ Time
The number one reason why customers will come back to a dealership that offers loaner cars is because customers value their own time highly, and they want your service department to value it, too. Offering customers loaner cars to use while they wait for their own cars to be serviced shows that you respect the demands of their busy schedules.
Having the option to drive a loaner car while they wait for their own cars to be repaired takes a huge load of stress off the minds of your customers, and it can even mean that they’ll bring their cars in for service more often if they know that doing so won’t mean having to scramble for alternative transportation plans. Customers who are able to get to work, pick up kids from school, and do their errands worry-free are customers are more likely to have the wherewithal to continue buying cars from your dealership as their needs change.
Clear Out the Waiting Room
Have you got a bunch of people waiting around in your showroom or service area waiting room for their cars to be serviced? Offering loaner cars can clear out some of those waiters, leaving more room for people who don’t need loaners because they are waiting for a shorter time. Most people don’t want to spend hours sitting in a waiting room while they wait for their car to be serviced, and those with longer wait times will appreciate that they can escape the noise and tedium of your service area waiting room.
Keep customers happy with your loaner program by making sure you can give them loaner cars that are just as nice as their own cars that they drive regularly. Eliminate car walkarounds — it can make customers feel resentful like you don’t trust them. But definitely do make sure customers understand that they’ll be held liable for any damage the loaner car sustains, including due to cigarette smoke, and that they’ll be required to pay for each day they keep the loaner car after their own car is ready to pick up.
Maximize Fleet Utilization and Turn
Maintaining a loaner fleet doesn’t mean you have to keep a fleet of unsaleable cars on your lot — to the contrary, it shouldn’t, because every car you have on your lot represents a depreciating asset. Maximize fleet utilization by collecting data on your loaner cars using dealership loaner fleet management tools. Try not to have more loaner cars than your dealership needs, and use loaner fleet management tools to hold customers accountable while they have your car. Of course, there are benefits for the customer, too — loaner fleet management tools can notify them when they’re low on gas or when the battery is losing charge. These notifications can vastly improve the loaner experience your customers have.
Dealership loaner fleet management tools can help you track your loaner cars using GPS, and even enable geo-fences to alert you when customers drive a loaner car too far. You can use tracking data to know exactly where your cars have been, so you can hold customers accountable for damage and tolls. You can even enable speed alerts and hold them accountable for traffic violations. And, perhaps most importantly, you can monitor the mileage of loaner vehicles, so you can still sell them with dealer incentives, maximize fleet turn, keep your loaner fleet profitable, and keep it stocked with the late-model cars your customers want to drive.
As people’s lives get busier and busier, customers increasingly expect dealership service departments to meet their transportation needs even when their cars are in for service. When you have a loaner fleet standing by, you can keep your customers happy and relieve some of the stress of having a car serviced, so they’ll keep coming back to your dealership again and again.
