I’ve been getting a few hits from people asking what happens to AA driving instructor cars once they go back.
From what I have been told by AA instructors, the cars are supplied by a company in Kent called Ambrosetti . Until a couple of years ago it was via a company in Leicestershire. The AA pays for the cars, but no one seems to know how much or if they actually buy them or just lease them.
Instructors keep the cars for 6 months, and then they are collected by Ambrosetti when the new one is delivered. The old cars are auctioned off, but I don’t know who to or the mechanics involved. Since Focuses hold their value quite well (and are expensive to begin with) I would imagine that there is little financial loss as far as the interested parties are concerned. After all, the AA charges its franchisees around £200 a week and is unlikely to be paying anywhere near full retail prices for them, and Ambrosetti would be able to sell the cars on for probably more than was paid for the 6 month lease on each car.
If anyone is genuinely interested in getting hold of one, the best thing to do would be to contact Ambrosetti to start with on 01304 611023 (the webpage seems to be down as I write this).