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Blogs

  • Is the price ever right?

    Published 26th February 2009 Published 26th February 2009

    Is the current high-street sales culture affecting car buyers’ attitudes? Retail giants took the unprecedented step of slashing their prices pre-Christmas in a bid to drive demand and, for some, this strategy appears to have worked. Debenhams’ customer numbers were up two-thirds, proving the theory that customer will still buy – but only if the price is right!

    The high-street of course is a volume market – high margins, low unit costs – so there’s scope to slash back prices, ensuring the best sales rate. The motor trade doesn’t offer quite the same flexibility with its lower margins on higher unit costs. Or does it? Why are some dealers reporting healthy sales and others still finding the market ‘tough’?

    With a ‘haggle’ being an intrinsic part of the purchase, and by default every used car being different, is the perception of a good deal driving those sales for some?
    After all, purchasers are setting out with the attitude that it’s a real buyers’ market and therefore won’t buy without a deal. Could some dealers, therefore, be rightly accused of hanging on too grimly to their pricing policies, rather than realigning to fit customer expectations?

  • White elephant or great white hope?

    Published 9th February 2009 Published 9th February 2009

    Is it me or has the entire industry lost the plot? White cars… We’re being inundated by reports that top manufacturers just can’t chuck ‘em out fast enough and that this ridiculous trend is about to set the used trade on fire. Well it isn’t.

    OK, I’ll admit I’ve had my head turned by the odd gleaming well spec'd white hot hatch – but you can bet your bottom dollar that it’s a company vehicle and no thought was given to the residual when the driver was presented with the paint chart… It’s a fad, it’ll wane. Watch out, pay too much heed to it and you’ll catch a cold.

    The forecourts need brightening up from the 'safe' greys, blacks, silvers and blues - not white elephants - remember the last time?

  • Automatic turn-on

    Published 21st January 2009 Published 21st January 2009

    Everyone wants something for nothing. Well I reckon right now that the trade's missing a trick...

    Autos are a gift horse – but no one seems to have spotted it. As an optional extra, automatic transmission pushes up OTR prices by as much as £1300 on an average mid size, but take a look at used trade prices and there’s barely any uplift if you switch from stick to shift.

    OK, you’ll need to educate your customer - conventional wisdom says they’re a luxury but many modern autos are now only very marginally less efficient than manual (check out VW’s DSG if you get chance) – but they drive a dream and savvy dealers say it’s the clincher for a growing number of mid-sized sales right now.