Your friend in the trade
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...]
A real life tale from a real life motor trader in 4 parts... Eventually the sight of the great unwashed coming in on a Saturday afternoon became too much for the executives within the upper echelons of the motor trade to bear, so the dear old IMT’s were facing burnout. Also, this secondary element of the retail transaction was always regarded … [Read more...]
According to new data from British Car Auctions (BCA) sales of used vehicles continue to play a vital role in sustaining the UK motor industry. BCA's Report reveals in 2010 used car volumes rose to 6.8 million and the overall market value increased to a record breaking £35 billion as the used car market continued to lead the recovery in the … [Read more...]
Whilst kicking back at the auctions recently I found myself with a bunch of guys who were remarking on how difficult it was to source good quality used stock to fill their forecourts (quelle surprise). When they did manage it, they told me, it ended up costing them a fortune. As they were quite a mixed bunch, one a prestige buyer for a small … [Read more...]
With September well underway a strange pattern is emerging in the trade. Although, as we have reported, there is no pent up demand for new cars, the fact that there really is now a distinct lack of quality used cars in the network means there's a distinct overheating of prices on the wholesale market. As a consequence this is once again rendering … [Read more...]
One of the consequences of the changes in the car business in the last 10 years is that many small independent car traders are no longer in the business. Additionally those that have survived find it much more of a struggle than ever before despite their wealth of knowledge and experience. So why is it that we probably receive at least 5 to 10 … [Read more...]
There is more real choice for car buyers than perhaps ever before, yet the evolvement of the car auction is probably the most startling. A few years ago buying a car from an auction was a spin of a coin; if you got lucky you bagged a bargain if not you could end up with a nail. Simple as that, there were no comebacks and no refunds and … [Read more...]
I’m probably not going out on a limb when I say process and people are what makes a successful car dealer. That’s not to mention of course the cars, which are attractive to buyers and which help dealers make a profit. They say you can’t “make” a sales person; they are born with the gift to sell, although in today’s world the term … [Read more...]
Used car prices are plummeting, April has seen a huge influx of cars into the market which is creating an oversupply problem and which quite frankly has caught the market completely by surprise. Of course it hasn’t helped that there are so many holidays in April and that we saw a late surge of trade-ins in late March. In addition rental … [Read more...]
It must be very unfortunate to be a first timer at anything in the middle of a recession (are we in a recession? Certainly feels like it). First time buyers cannot get credit to buy their first houses and even if they could they couldn’t afford it, first time jobseekers cannot get employed in the jobs they would like because the cutbacks have put … [Read more...]
There appear to be increasing numbers of people deciding that car ownership has just simply become too expensive. What with the rise in VAT, ever increasing fuel charges, retail price hikes and even rises in the cost of insurance and vehicle excise duty has meant that many people have just decided enough is enough. The new car sales figures for … [Read more...]
As usual the auctions are jam packed with buyers pushing prices into no man’s land, even though popular opinion says that this is not due to any pent up retail demand. It is far more likely that trade buyers are looking to restock for the new year and retail customers are looking at the extra choice to see if they can “bag a bargain” at … [Read more...]
In most areas the snow is trying to melt and, low and behold, back come those lost car buyers. Panic over lads! That’s the cry coming from many a showroom this week and, right on cue, prices resurge at the auctions. Our guys on the road are reporting brisk trade generally for the time of year and buyers looking to take advantage pre-vat … [Read more...]
The latest Pulse report from BCA (British Car Auctions) reveals that the used market is settling back into a more typical seasonal pattern as average used car values edged up in September. Although the average increase over August was nominal - values across the board increased by just £33 - there was a significant rise in values in the fleet … [Read more...]
British Car Auctions (BCA) have revealed a list of cars which they refer to as “affordable future classics”, cars that you can buy today but may just turn out to be the collector’s items of the future "If you want a car that has a good chance of gaining classic status in the years ahead - plus the premium values that go hand in hand with … [Read more...]
Although the auctions are doing brisk business at present, there is a feeling that this is mainly down to short supply. There is expected to be a flood of cars later in the month as contract hire and lease cars are de-fleeted, meaning more choice and therefore a cooling of prices on the trade market. Since the end of scrappage the value of small … [Read more...]
BCA's latest Pulse report shows that the used car market rallied in August with values rising as supply reduced and professional buyers prepared for the busy autumn period. Increases in average values were recorded in the Fleet & Lease and Part-Exchange sectors, although average values decreased in the Nearly-New sector - the latter largely as a … [Read more...]
The Rover brand which is likely to be resurrected again by late September still has some unfinished business with some of the previous models. A pal at auction recently watched an 05 registered Rover 75 MG ZT 2.0 diesel saloon, which according to the guides should be worth somewhere around the £4,000 mark, achieve a staggering £7,000! … [Read more...]
When there is a recession in town, buyers look for bargains and cost savings across the board and especially so when buying cars. Unfortunately in their quest to find a cheap car people often overlook quality issues and the car can turn out to be not quite the cost saving it promised to be. For example with more private buyers visiting car … [Read more...]
The election is over, the coalition is getting up close and personal and although there is a certain amount of trepidation about cutting billions in spending, the conveyor belt which is the motor trade just keeps marching inexorably onwards and hopefully upwards. It’s funny but as the election fever dies down our insiders are saying that … [Read more...]
With the election looming on the horizon and an austere world of belt tightening and general all round pain following on just behind it, it is nice to take a peek into the world inhabited by, how can I put this, the rather more fortunate than the rest of us. Someone who probably sits quite comfortably (in more ways than one) in that bracket is … [Read more...]
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