Man Gets A Loaner At The Dealership. Then He Starts DoorDashing With It

A car dealer says she was surprised to learn that a customer was allegedly using a dealership loaner vehicle to make deliveries.

Brooke (@brookesdailydrive), a car dealer and general manager at a South Carolina dealership, shared the unusual story she says unfolded after a coworker spotted something strange on the road.

“Someone DoorDashing in a loaner car,” she wrote in the text overlay of her clip.

“Y’all, I’m going to have to start a ‘loaner vehicle chronicles’ because I have another one,” Brooke says before explaining what happened.

Brooke says a coworker saw someone in a white Chevrolet Equinox “driving like a crazy person” and asked whether customers were allowed to use dealership loaners for DoorDash or Walmart deliveries.

“That is not OK to do,” Brooke says.

She says she tried looking up the driver, but couldn’t find them in her dealership’s system. That’s when she says she realized the vehicle belonged to another dealership nearby. 

“Guess what I did?” Brooke says. “I called up to my friend at the dealership up the street … and told her the story.” According to Brooke, the other dealership was able to verify the car was theirs using the license plate number. She says the customer had already been told not to take the loaner outside Myrtle Beach.

“People are crazy,” Brooke says.

As of this writing, her video has more than 14,800 views.

Can You Use A Dealership Loaner For Deliveries? 

A dealership loaner might feel like your car while you have the keys, but the dealership still owns it. That means customers have to follow the rules they agree to before driving away.

Those agreements often place limits on how customers can use the vehicle, including whether they can use it for business purposes. Some dealerships, like Honda, specifically ban drivers from using loaner vehicles for commercial work, which can include delivering for an app-based delivery service like DoorDash.

That’s where things can get complicated for drivers using services like DoorDash.

DoorDash requires drivers to maintain their own primary auto insurance and says dashers are responsible for understanding whether their policy covers delivery work. The company also provides some third-party liability insurance in certain situations.

A dealership loaner adds another layer because the driver does not own the vehicle. If someone gets into a crash while using a loaner in a way the agreement does not allow, it could raise questions over who is responsible for the damage.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that drivers who use their cars for work (e.g., ride-sharing or delivery) may need additional coverage because personal auto policies typically restrict business use.

So while customers may view loaners as just “borrowing” a car for a few days, dealerships view loaners as company assets. So before you use one for anything beyond normal driving, it’s best to review the paperwork and make sure you’re not violating any agreements.

“What’s The Issue?”

Viewers in the comments debated whether using a loaner vehicle for deliveries was really a problem. 

“If he’s DoorDashing within the city what’s the issue?” one commenter asked. “You should be setting mileage limits if it’s an issue.”

Brooke responded that the loaner was not from her dealership, and every business handles its vehicles differently.

“It wasn’t at our dealership, it’s what the other dealership told him,” Brooke wrote. “Every dealership is different and I don’t blame them for wanting that to be the case.”

She added that her own dealership has different rules.

“We don’t really care where people go as long as it’s within the state lines,” she wrote. “We just have to know if it goes outside of there.”

Another viewer said they had a different experience with a dealership loaner.

“Worked at Jimmy John’s in Denver and had a VW loaner for a recall,” they wrote. “They said it was fine.”

“That’s good! Maybe they have insurance that covers it?” Brooke responded. “Every dealer has different insurance.”

Other commenters shared their own dealership stories.

“We sold a customer a car with a 90-day, 3,000 mile warranty [and] they brought it back with a list of problems,” one person said. “I just happened to check the mileage, 6,000 miles in 30 days.”

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“Wowwww that’s crazy! Some people drive a ton,” Brooke replied.

Motor1 reached out to Brooke via a direct message on TikTok. We’ll update this story if we hear back.

 

 

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