It happened at a Jeep service centre where I had sent my Compass for its first free service. Nothing of such sort happens when I give my Polo GT for servicing at VW.
BHPian KartAttack recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I have given my Jeep Compass Nighteagle (petrol auto) for the 1st year free service. I requested the service center to equip the Jeep with the OEM dashcam (front & back) + sun film + door edge guard + touchscreen guard.
When I told the service center I will pay by credit card, he responded that he will charge me 2% extra on the bill value and is pushing me to pay through cash.
On a side note, when I give my Polo GT for service I never get charged anything additional and I pay by credit card only.
Has anyone else faced this with Jeep service centres? Is this the norm with them? Any guidance here will help me when I pick up my Jeep in a couple of days.
Here’s what GTO had to say about the matter:
He is basically trying to get the MDR from you, which he would be paying. Used to see this a lot with small shop owners back in the day, but in today’s digital India, I haven’t come across the practice in a while.
You should not be paying this extra charge.
Here’s what BHPian Pancham had to say about the matter:
This is absolutely not normal. Paying with your credit card for service is usual practice just like you do in any other shop. I have been doing it for years now and also in Jeep Service centres. They are trying to trick you here.
Here’s what BHPian libranof1987 had to say about the matter:
Bavaria Motors – BMW Motorrad, Pune does. Weirdly, friends who take their BMWs (4W) to them for service have mentioned they don’t get charged the extra 2% for credit card payments.
That said, Bavaria Motors is far, far away from being a decent ASC. But being the only one in the city means they can get away with it.
Fun fact: Do you know, they also charge some 300 bucks just to mount the bike on a paddock during service? Thank god they don’t charge car owners for their cars to go up the lift!
Thankfully, I haven’t been charged extra for credit card payments at any of the other ASCs I have taken my cars to, be it Hyundai, Honda, Ford or Tata.
Here’s what BHPian binand had to say about the matter:
I have seen three types of merchants doing this (not across the board; just some of them).
- Those whose ticket sizes are large (running into lakhs – say, big jewellers).
- Those whose transaction count is small (say, a village store with maybe, a dozen CC transactions a month).
- Those who are individuals accepting payments (eg: doctors running independent consulting offices).
In all these cases the business advantage of accepting credit cards I guess isn’t sufficient to offset the extra transaction cost or regulatory headache.
Keyword: Can a car dealer charge 2% extra for servicing if I pay via credit card