What Are Service Loaners or Demonstrator Vehicles?

 

Your perfect car is right at your fingertips--but you may be shopping on a limited budget, or you just want to save a few thousand dollars on your purchase. To hit all of the must-haves on your list, you're likely considering buying a used or Certified Pre-Owned vehicle or something you think is more affordable.

But there are a lot of factors that go into buying a used vehicle, and especially a used luxury car: prior service records, environment, age, mileage, etc. Most of that is out of your hands, and finding the best deal on a pre-owned vehicle generally comes down to luck.

When you explore your options for a competitively-priced service loaner or demonstrator vehicle from Patrick Cars, you could get the performance and luxury you want, at a price that you won't find at just any used car dealership. Our retired courtesy loaners and demonstrators offer an excellent opportunity for our clients to drive a like-new BMW, MINI, Cadillac, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Hyundai or Genesis at a significantly reduced price and still receive new car rates and special discounts.

Patrick Cars Service Loaner vehicles-- (also known as courtesy cars) are dealer-owned models that stay on the dealership lot and are used exclusively for business purposes, including serving as temporary rentals for service-center clients whose personal vehicles will be in service for longer than they can afford to wait. 

Patrick Cars Demonstrator vehicles-- are new vehicles that have been driven by dealership salesmen, managers or executives but have never been registered with the state. Any car, truck or SUV that has been registered with the state is considered a used car. 

Rule Of Thumb: Once a vehicle has been registered, it is legally considered used.  These vehicles have never been titled but because they have been driven as a service loaner or demonstrator the manufacturer requires dealers to sell as like-new vehicles.

Interestingly, loaner car inventories are actually the reason why luxury vehicles--like BMW, MINI, Cadillac, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Genesis--have one of the highest resell rates within 12-18 months of purchase date. Luxury dealers are incentivized to purchase new vehicles to stock their courtesy vehicle fleets, use them for a period of time as a convenience to their service customers, and then add them to their own pre-owned inventory.

Luxury vehicles take the largest hit of depreciation within their first 1-3 years of service. If you buy new, you are responsible for that loss of value. But when you choose to buy a retired service loaner or demonstrator, you avoid the largest drop in value, and the dealership--not you--takes on the weight of that cost. However, it's worth it to the dealer to spend a little in order to satisfy their client base.

Our loaner vehicles live on-site at each of our brand locations when they're not serving clients. So, when they need an oil change, tire rotation, detailing, or minor work, our courtesy cars are treated by the expert technicians in our service center. We are diligent in our performed services, so you never have to worry about whether the used vehicle you buy from Patrick Cars has received a high quality of care.

We hand-select the vehicles that join our loaner car fleet, so you know that you're choosing from the very best of the very best.

Browse our inventory to compare our courtesy or demo loaner vehicles at our Patrick Cars locations!