Is this the end of courtesy cars

All great revolutions start somewhere. Mt Druitt may become known as the place that panel shops finally took a stand against supplying courtesy cars. Half a dozen shop owners met in November and resolved to get rid of their courtesy cars and replace them with a specialist service from an independent hire car company.
The hire car company had already done a trial run at Nathans Prestige Autobody Repairs in Rouse Hill when Richard Nathan gave it office space on the proviso that it would have cars waiting for smash repair customers and would handle the paperwork. Also part of the deal was that the rental rate would be under that of commercial hire cars.
With the trial just completed, the Vehicle Substitution Group (VSG) was then invited to quote for the Mt Druitt repairers ‘ which by that time had others interested in neighbouring suburbs, St Marys and Campbelltown. The movement is set to spread rapidly throughout NSW and then the rest of Australia.
VSG managing director, Bruce Manefield, said that his company was moving quickly to expand its panel shop hire car service to cover the growing demand. In some cases his company will purchase existing loan cars in good condition and incorporate them in the fleet. Some big users will retain signage on their transferred cars but ultimately all will be plain ‘ which is what VSG believes customers prefer.
Not only does the scheme require a change of attitude, and a certain amount of customer explanatory tact on the part of the smash repairers, it comes with a change of terminology. Gone are the words ‘loan’ and ‘courtesy’ ‘ one of Richard Nathan’s pet hates. They are now ‘replacement cars’ ‘ and they will cost the customer around $27 a day plus GST. As in all hire cars, reducing the insurance excess will increase the rate, but it still remains well under that of the well known hire companies. An additional incentive is that the customer will step into the replacement car at the smash repair shop and will return it there when the repair is completed.
Each shop will be asked to display a sign which states that replacement cars will only be available through VSG. The company will provide training for smash repair reception and clerical staff so that they can explain the terms and conditions of the replacement car where a VSG representative is not on site.
The logistics of running this type of service are quite a challenge, Manefield said. The company currently has NSW depots in Lithgow, Leura, Richmond and Penrith. It plans more in areas closer to the smash repair centres around Sydney.
‘This type of operation would not be viable as a stand alone business,’ Manefield said. ‘We have another branch of the business which is a regular hire car operation. This means we can still utilise the smash repair replacement fleet when the cars would otherwise be idle.’