Your friend in the trade
Motor Trade Insider - Bridging the gap between the customer and the Motor Trade
Find more about me on:
Trade buyers are now actively seeking older, higher mileage, small, economical cars to stock their forecourts, as buyers continue to look for bargains. There are now 2 district variety of customers, those who 'rent' their cars like our American cousins through PCP’s or other leases and those who pay cash. You may say that is how it’s always … [Read more...]
The recent truncated spell of winter weather has played havoc with traditional buying patterns. Just when the sun pops out from behind the clouds one step outside tells us it still cold and biting so buying a summery drop top is still not on the horizon. Whilst normally the queue for buyers of 4wd drives would start to dwindle at this time of … [Read more...]
Funding cars by PCP (Personal contract purchase) is rapidly becoming the norm, it is reckoned that as many as 60% of car buyers use a PCP to buy their next car and this figure is only going in one direction. Although many of us do not necessarily like the thought of another monthly commitment it is invariably better than to have an older car … [Read more...]
With March well and truly underway many dealers are caught in the crossfire of the car maker’s market share war! Some of our people are telling us that the targets are not only unrealistic but causing forced registrations as the manufacturers continue to incentivise dealers to pre-register new cars in order to grab more share. The effect of … [Read more...]
There is likely to be a short term rise in the amount of personal plates being acquired as buyers keen to avoid an unlucky 13 plate, but still wanting a new car, turn to private registrations to avoid the perceived bad luck. This sort of behavior, fear of the number 13, even has its own specifically recognized phobia, Triskaidekaphobia. The … [Read more...]
Here's a peculiar conundrum for you. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association new car registrations fell 8.5% in January to the lowest level for more than 20 years – Registrations fell to 918,280 new cars, and the ACEA said it is the slowest January since its records began in 1990. But in an amazing contrast, UK car … [Read more...]
Despite the bad weather we have recently had it looks like business is brisk although, on the downside, dealers are telling us that margins are under pressure. It is safe to assume that this is going to be a fairly important year and dealers are keen to ensure that q1 is set up to give them the best start possible. The competition with the new car … [Read more...]
With high street retailers closing at a rapid rate it’s vital that businesses adapt to this seemingly never ending recession and the fact that the way we, as consumers, shop is changing just as rapidly. I was recently at a conference where after we’d sat through all the usual “state of the nation” and “how are we bearing up” speeches … [Read more...]
These are frightening times for workers at Honda with over 800 redundancies being planned less than a year after they announced a multimillion pound investment at their Swindon plant. In periods like this you sit back and wonder what the future holds if this can happen to a giant like Honda, and at this point I have to declare a personal … [Read more...]
The way we buy cars is changing rapidly and car dealers are struggling to keep up with how they deal with the needs of the modern customer. However no matter how much technology improves our lives and empowers us as consumers, there will always be those that will buy in the traditional way. The irony is that as we have just had a record year … [Read more...]
As yet another topsy turvy year in the motor trade draws to a close, there are many things to be optimistic about and many lessons learned from these uncertain times. Behind every stat there is a story. For example, on the face of it, we will register more new cars than last year with a probable 5% increase which on the surface is fantastic but, … [Read more...]
It’s ironic that the lead up to Christmas is the one of the quietest of times in a car showroom with lots of sales execs and service advisors twiddling their thumbs or putting out the crimbo decs. Let’s face it we are pretty easy to read in this country; the high street shops - possibly for the only time this year - are actually packed out … [Read more...]
K.I.S.S is an acronym that has become a little passé of late, much the same as 'we are not re-inventing the wheel' however in the motor trade I occasionally wonder if some people are actually listening. As I tour around dealerships in my day job and especially when business is tough, I always hear people announcing what imitative they will put … [Read more...]
We thankfully now live in age where we are more equal than we have ever been and although we have an awfully long way to go in many ways, we have to acknowledge the progress being made on things like rights at work, equal pay between men and women and your sexual orientation or religion not precluding you from similar opportunities. Perhaps this … [Read more...]
It will be interesting to see how the times new classified site driving.co.uk fairs in the current market. It appears it will be continuing the high end theme that has been a hallmark of the Sunday Times motoring section for many years. Interestingly the site will also combine the advertising of thousands of premium brand cars alongside reviews and … [Read more...]
The major car auctions in the UK are growing their business rapidly with more dealers committing their unwanted trade-ins to auction than ever before. In days gone by dealers would move most of their trade-ins on themselves mainly to local traders and other garages that may specialise in retailing older examples that the dealer themself would not … [Read more...]
Deciding what car to buy is obviously an important decision making process (we all know what happens when you get that wrong) but the “when” can be just as vital. There is generally always an optimum time to buy for any model and a selection of models within any brand which are slow sellers are therefore likely to attract a more attractive … [Read more...]
The other week a well-known vehicle data check company launched a new feature which they clearly hoped they’d be able to sell to subscribers until they realised that they had unleashed hell on the dealer network. On the face of it the said function could have been quite a useful tool for consumers as it gave information on whether a vehicle … [Read more...]
So the OFT has finally decided that there may be a wee bit of trouble with the insurance industry resulting in the investigation by the competition commission. For many of us who have felt the frustration of trying to get a decent quote and not be stung by continually higher premiums this will be welcome. It is estimated that insurance premiums … [Read more...]
Car dealers are being fairly optimistic about September as a whole as many we have spoken to have managed to get some good footfall and convert some business. It is reckoned that most dealers like to go into the “plate change” month hoping to have achieved 50% of the September target in order to have a chance of getting near to it by the end of … [Read more...]
The constant price hikes in fuel continue to have an effect on the used car market. It is reckoned that more people are getting rid of the second family car due to the simple economics of keeping it on the road and making do with one car, however inconvenient that may be. Cheaper economical cars are still making all the money in the trade but … [Read more...]
We often like to discuss the secrets of how you get the best price for your car, whether you’re disposing of it simply because it’s surplus to requirements or you need to chop it in for another. We believe that in an ideal world the dealer who gets your business should, in theory, be the best buyer of your existing car especially if it is one … [Read more...]
At MTI we have always promoted best practice and outstanding customer service. However we do realise that one size most certainly doesn’t fit all and that it can also be a two way street. Many customers can enter showrooms in “attack mode” simply because they’ve had bad experiences elsewhere and although it can give a bad impression of … [Read more...]
With yet another plate change nearly upon us, the 62 to be exact, it amazes me that people still ask me what it all means. They are clearly still muddled as to what the September plate change is all about. Although when the plate in march became a 12 it was obvious but 62 is all a bit confusing, unless you are working in the trade in which case you … [Read more...]
The economic downturn - which incidentally is or isn’t getting better depending who you speak to - is still likely to claim victims both in terms of jobs and businesses going under as, with margins under pressure like never before, car dealers struggle to compete for a smaller share of a declining market. There has been a near 25% increase in … [Read more...]
We are always looking for experienced writers who can write good original quality posts on motor-trade-insider.com.
Please contact us if you would like us to consider you. Make sure you give us details of your own blog or a link to some articles you have written.
Copyright Motor Trade Insider © 2013
Facebook
Google Plus
Twitter