February 4, 2012
Car Buying Guide
We have talked many times about how much of a pivotal role a business manager now plays in a car showroom, and this year that role is set to take on even more importance. Car buyers are now prepared for the fact that they could spend just as long talking about finance and insurance products than about the right car and, of course, the best … [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...]
The various challenges facing dealers this year are well documented but the customer experience is seen by many as the key to keeping ahead of the competition. Many dealer groups are investing heavily in training for sales personnel and a good number are meeting the aftersales challenge by acknowledging the need for more sales oriented staff in … [Read more...]
With used cars likely to be in short supply this year and prices rising as a result, dealers could well be looking at a return to the days of buy backs and self registrations to generate used car stock. The last time we were at this stage it nearly caused the whole business to go into meltdown, and who can forget the fields full of brand new cars … [Read more...]
The fact that car dealers all seem to be chasing the same kind of stock, namely high spec, high end and predominately German or Indian cars (by that I obviously mean Jaguar Land Rover) clearly is leading to some mad prices being paid. However if there are customers out there willing to pay then how mad is mad? It is well known - although … [Read more...]
Surprise surprise! The bad news has only just begun to take effect and already we are hearing stories of many people looking to downsize or sell so they only have one car to maintain. Dealers still don’t seem to be properly geared up to make the process of buying cars from private sources easy enough to appeal to customers. This explains the … [Read more...]
With every man and his dog predicting tough times in the trade next year and not to mention more bad weather in the short term at least, dealers are gearing up for the pre-new year sales in the hope that they at least get the year off to a flyer. Despite the gloom there are still buyers out there but they are being choosier than ever before and … [Read more...]
At this time of year valuing cars becomes somewhat of a lottery. The true value of the car is dictated not so much by what it is really worth but more by the strange dynamics of the end of season market. Throw in “economic uncertainty”, dealers looking to bank end of year cash, hideous weather and many people with their minds elsewhere and … [Read more...]
Understanding your market is perhaps more important than ever and the ability to match cars with customers has never taken on such significance. As dealers begin to comprehend that they cannot quickly and easily provide the exact model with the exact spec for every customer, they need to understand the need to be more creative and “switched on” … [Read more...]
Cuts and rises in costs affects us all in some way or other, whether we are employed, work in the public sector, are students or retired the down turn will have some bearing on our attitudes towards spending any spare cash we have. However, if you look at many businesses, especially in the retail sector, they continue to post healthy profits in … [Read more...]
Finding the exact used car you are looking for has not been easy this year and those that have found the car they wanted had to pay a premium to get it. The trade buyers have been in the same boat and it doesn’t seem to matter how bad the economic news has been the values of certain models has remained high with motor traders shaking their heads … [Read more...]
When travelling around the dealerships of the UK, it fascinates me how differently they all run and it is almost always the busy happy ones that are the most successful. It may seem obvious but smiling happy personnel who actually look like they enjoy being there can make the world of difference, especially in tougher times like now. I was in … [Read more...]
The storm before the lull is how one of our car dealer colleagues describes what is happening at present. He suggests that the rise in showroom traffic and unseasonably high sales order take is basically down to squeezing the last bit of goodness from the success story of last two years. With all the offers about and the hype surrounding the VAT … [Read more...]
What is depreciation? To some people the depreciation in value a car suffers during their ownership is notional at best. Outside of the trade do many people really care all that much about the depreciation their car has suffered and the ultimate resale value? Well if the popularity of car buying sites such as webuyanycar.com and … [Read more...]
Let’s face it, few dealers have ever admitted to business being brisk – a ‘cup half empty’ mentality pervades the industry and always has done. Given the knocking the industry has taken over the years (block exemption, emissions-based company car taxation and showroom tax to name just a few) it is hardly surprising that many dealer … [Read more...]
The economies in China and India are the shining lights amid global economic darkness and companies have embraced the stunning growth happening there. None more so than car companies and at the pinnacle of this growth are the German car makers, especially VW. We have seen here, amidst the doom and gloom and without the security blanket of … [Read more...]
When the economy is suffering like it is right now, we all look for more value, and as much as we can get for our pound. We don’t like wasting money and we certainly don’t like giving it away for poor quality products or services. In the car business it’s really not that difficult for a good situation to turn bad quite quickly, all it … [Read more...]
In challenging trading conditions we do tend to see the cream rise to the top so to speak. In car retailing as less customers are in the market sales people have to work harder to generate sales from a smaller lead base. Converting enquiries to appointments is a skill which requires training and experience and relies on everybody in the chain … [Read more...]
It’s a funny thing in the motor trade, customers are increasingly wondering why they are not getting the treatment they deserve for what is probably one of the largest financial investments they will ever make. Each week we hear of customers who are wandering around showrooms and no one is acknowledging their existence, let alone attempting to … [Read more...]
What a load of cuts! We have been hearing about the cuts and austerity measures that are needed for some time now and, as the chancellor revealed, they will be deep and potentially fatal for many people. Lots of us will face major hardship and public sector workers will be hit hardest of all in terms of their job security. I don’t pretend to … [Read more...]
What is it about some car salespeople? Sometimes you wonder if they really get what car sales is really all about. They have fantastic training, are equipped with a sales process that is idiot proof and have some fantastic products which often sell themselves, yet still everyday up and down the country potential customers are made to feel like … [Read more...]
The last quarter of the year has always traditionally been the hardest in the world of car retailing. The job peaks in September then goes away for a little rest before coming out to play again in January. The truth is car dealers really ought to have made the profit they need to hit their budgets by now because if they haven’t, well they are … [Read more...]
Jittery car dealers are predicting worse than expected new car registration figures for September, with some calling the market as much as 20% down on September last year. September 2009 was 11.4% up on the same month in 2008 with 367,929 units being registered but let’s not forget that this figure was boosted by scrappage registrations and … [Read more...]
The VW Polo has always been a popular car but it is now more popular than ever. Car buyers looking to downsize and economise have moved over to the Polo not only because of the well known VW build quality but also because it is a very economical car to own and run. In the latest car registration figures for August 2010 the Polo joined its big … [Read more...]
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