Your friend in the trade
The many and various bank holidays and Easter school break in the month of April mean that with only 18 days trading and many people taking a holiday it is likely to be a difficult month for car dealers. A difficult period in a market that many believe is getting harder. The influx of part-exchanges from late March are still finding their way on … [Read more...]
Used car prices — already rising — could soar as buyers are driven to seek alternatives due to a predicted shortage of some new vehicles in the wake of the continued disruption of Japanese car production, experts predict. Price increases at the wholesale level are already being seen for the compact and midsize used cars from Japanese brands … [Read more...]
It’s hardly surprising that car buyers are struggling to get an accurate price for their trade in, the market moves rapidly and today’s hero car is potentially tomorrow’s betamax. The trade guides rarely find common ground on the values of many cars and many professional buyers use their own skill and experience to value cars without … [Read more...]
4wd season looks to be well and truly over as the bad weather has subsided and the daffodils sprouting alert us to spring and warmer times ahead. It was not so long ago that just finding a decent late plate suv was like searching for hens teeth, and even then it would cost the national debt of a small third world country to acquire. Of course, then … [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...]
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...]
Happy 2011. Yep, we're back with another series of Bargain of the Week. OK, so I've had January off, but this particular edition is a personal one and something many parents dread. Our soon to be seventeen year old is getting her very first car and my other half is already snapping with worry. This is also the year where I'm (celebrating?) eighteen … [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...]
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...]
Being part of a merry band of 'insiders' can be quite fun at times and gives us an opportunity to tell tales and give away some trade secrets, and unlike the magic circle we hopefully won’t get thrown out for revealing the more darker examples. We have thankfully not sworn an oath to never disclose tricks and sales techniques, and at the end of … [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...]
Well there is only one thing to say about the current climate, buy used! I’m not sure this will be the long term view but with VAT on new cars a cost manufacturers simply have to pass on, they are more likely to be flexible and take a smaller profit on a used car which is not vatable but of which the extra VAT will cost them only £25 for every … [Read more...]
December has always been the month of culmination; a years' worth of work all down to the wire. The Car of the Year tag is over used and, although the end of the year isn't far away, I've decided on our very own – Best BOTW. I had no idea that two years down the line I'd still be writing MTI's BOTW but it's proven to be a good read and I've … [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...]
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...]
Trade price guide Glass’s has produced its annual list of 2010’s top 10 three-year old cars with the highest residual values. The key fact to emerge is that seven of the top 10 places were occupied by 4x4s or SUVs. Glass's has excluded exotic cars and small volume manufacturers from the list, which expresses the residual values as a … [Read more...]
Its Snow joke this week in the motor trade, a sprinkling of the white stuff and the tumbleweed flows through showrooms which are already seasonally down on traffic. One positive however is that it gives sales teams the opportunity to re-group and identify where there next customers might be coming from, and this very much maximises all areas of … [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...]
I’m not going out on a limb when I say that customers negotiating on buying a new or used car today are in a better position than they have ever been. They have access to much more detailed information and with most dealers advertising the cars on-line there is certainly more transparency in how sales people attempt to sell cars. The recent … [Read more...]
TVR. Just three letters arouse the motoring senses of us petrol heads. Front-engined, British sports car with a rumbling V8. No need for fancy electronics like traction control and ABS. Just you, one tactful right foot and good judgement. The only reason it features on our forecourt is because it still remains as one of the very few, good-old … [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...]
Despite the threat of a double dip recession, many of our sources are reporting unseasonably good showroom footfall and fairly strong demand. The rental companies are selling plenty of cars to the network and the auctions appear to be bustling with buyers. Of course this does not apply to everyone and I’m sure there will be many scratching their … [Read more...]
Once in a while something special comes along. Not all of you might agree, but certain BMW E30's are regarded as classics. Take the M3. Even twenty years on, they demand good money and are still hailed as great “drivers' cars”. I've been lucky enough to own some fabulous cars over the years and even now I still mention my old E30 325i with … [Read more...]
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