May 17, 2012

New or nearly new? Thoughts after a turbulent week

hmmm-new-or-used

Well it’s been a rollercoaster ride this week, with many motor dealers, including some old established names going belly-up. More personnel are being made redundant and factories are dramatically cutting back on production. But perhaps most shocking of all! … [Read more...]

Dealers out of pocket from January

An important piece of new legislation regarding tax refunds is coming into effect in January 09. Only the registered keeper (the name on the log book) or last recorded keeper of a vehicle will be entitled to claim a Road Fund Licence (RFL) refund. … [Read more...]

Bad news from inside the factory

Our man inside the factory is reporting tough times on the production lines with output slowed to an all time low in some places. Four day weeks are becoming commonplace as production is down by up to a half. There is doom and gloom on the front line … [Read more...]

October 2008 new car sales figures

The new car sales figures for October 2008 are in and yes, they are as bad as everyone thought. Some are not doing as badly as others however. Judge for yourself... … [Read more...]

Global deathwatch – Car industry meltdown

grim_auto

The economic crisis has hit automakers all around the world, and although manufacturing plants are already taking drastic cost cutting action, Honda Motor Company has spear-headed the UK’s effort by slashing production of the three- and five-door Civic by 22,000 units, or about 10 percent from the 228,000 units it had planned. … [Read more...]

Inside the auction – beware of the dark side

auction-the-dark-side

It’s getting closer towards what historically has been the best time of year to buy a used car and never more so than this Winter. The spectacularly chaotic mess that our fiscal brethren are dealing with is really having a weird affect on the used car market. … [Read more...]

Sale of the century!

vectra-sale-of-the-century

Yes, sure it's all doom and gloom but every ying must have it's yang (or something like that) and there are some fantastic bargains out there in the trade right now. We have seen this week 57 plate Vectras … [Read more...]

Australian motor trade lenders shut up shop

Depressing news from Australia. "CAR DEALERS are the latest casualty of the credit squeeze after two of the country's main vehicle lenders stopped writing loans, and one also scaled back finance for small businesses and home mortgages." - Sydney Morning Herald … [Read more...]

Beware the dodgy dealer when times are tough

billy-the-stamp

When you buy a car from an independent dealer or privately, or even through an auction, if the car is sold to you with a full service history, that should, of course mean exactly what it says. The vehicle has a full service record from a main franchised dealer … [Read more...]

Out of this world saving on a Galaxy

galaxy universe

A friend this week referred some customers to me who had just unexpectedly extended their family. The extra one they were expecting actually became 2(!) So they were looking for a suitable MPV with the extra space they require from their new family vehicle. … [Read more...]

It’s a changing landscape for car sales

buying new cars - a changing landscape

“It’s tough out there” is probably the understatement of the year and by the time you read this yet more car dealerships will have gone under. It is predicted that in the not too distant future there will be far fewer dealers anyway as manufacturers continue to impose … [Read more...]

Automotive Industry calls for extra help from Government

This news article first appeared on AM-Online Manufacturers are budgeting for a sub two million-unit new car market next year, the first since 1995. Some companies have told AM that they expect registrations to drop as low as 1.75 million; others points to 1.8 or 1.85 million units. No-one was willing to go on the record, however. … [Read more...]