Glossary
Courtesy Car
A courtesy car is a temporary replacement vehicle a dealer or workshop lends to a customer while their own vehicle is being serviced or repaired.
Offering a courtesy car keeps a customer mobile — and keeps them coming back — while their vehicle is off the road. Managing a small fleet of loan vehicles well, though, takes more than a spreadsheet once a workshop has more than a couple of them.
What courtesy car management covers
- Availability — which loan vehicles are free, booked, or out with a customer
- Condition checks and mileage logging at handover and return
- Insurance and licence checks before a customer drives away in one
- Servicing and MOT due dates for the loan fleet itself
Why it belongs in the DMS/GMS
Treating courtesy cars as just another set of vehicle records — linked to the same booking diary as customer jobs — avoids the classic problem of double-booking a loan car or handing one out that is itself overdue for an MOT.
Related terms