The only ways a salesman can make money on a new car these days is by selling extras, most of which are mostly commission (for him). Paint protection is necessary because all cars built in the EC have to be painted with watercolours, the surface of which is very weak and needs protection. But only buy paint protection if it is unconditionally guaranteed and you should not have to pay more than £200 for it anyway. That still gives the salesman about £125 of commission on the deal. I’d never heard of tyre insurance before.

Never heard of wheel rim insurance either. GAP insurance is another commission earner. This is usually about a third of the price bought from an independent insurance broker, from who I guess you could also buy tyre and wheel insurance at lower rates. If sales managers adopted the principle of lifetime service this would not be necessary.

The idea is you have a single contact at the dealership – the salesperson from whom you originally bought the car. And he or she looks after you for everything: servicing, accident repairs, tyres, batteries, insurance, extended warranty, earning a smaller commission on each of these, then a bigger commission when you come back for your next car.