Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 32

CarDealer.

Issue 32 | November 2010 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £3.50

[ WIN: Tickets to the MPH Show p12 ]

Driving the future of the motor trade

We head to the playground of the rich and famous in £500 bangers... in aid of charity BEN

CarDealer

ALSO INSIDE: We reveal the companies that can help you slash your monthly outgoings and boost your profits in 2011 CarDealerIss32.indd 1

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start

Issue 32 | November 2010

FORGIVE me for starting off with a bit of doom and gloom, but this month I’m seeing very little to be cheery about. Take the latest SMMT sales figures – reported on p65 of this issue. To save you from flicking to the back, I can tell you they don’t make very pretty reading. New car sales for the key month of September were down nine per cent.

Many dealers are reporting empty showrooms too – which for many has been the story of the summer – and we’re hearing sales targets have been missed and even industry leaders are starting to get worried (see p9).

Couple all that with the spending cuts that the Coalition government has deemed necessary and I’m inclined to agree with our columnist Don Brough that we’re heading for a – shhh! whisper it quietly – double dip recession… And I haven’t even mentioned 2011 yet and the worrying rise in VAT it brings with it.

Right, enough doom and gloom, I don’t want you cutting your wrists after the first page. Hear me out first. Tough times are not all bad news. Yes they’re upsettingly painful, but to the savvy dealer they can mean savings – BIG savings.

Just as the recession has benefited huge construction

projects like the Olympic Village in London where they’ve managed to drive down costs by demanding the best deal, so to can you benefit by driving hard bargains with your suppliers.

That’s why this issue we’ve run our popular Guide to Saving Money again (p41). It highlights those firms that can offer you great deals. By ensuring you’re getting the most from your money from every supplier you can keep things lean and pounce when the good times return.

Many new dealers who have started up during the recession have told me that it helped them not hindered them. ‘It meant we could get a great deal on everything we bought in and helped us think about even the smallest of costs and whether we were getting value for money,’ one new Seat dealer told me.

So, yes, it may be tough – but if you use it as a reason to plan better, cut waste and drive a hard bargain it might not be all bad news…

Dover to Monaco in cars costing less than £500 (that’s our car, Project Stealth, below in Monaco) all of which were sold upon our return to raise cash for our industry charity. This year’s event had quite a few last minute withdrawals but still that didn’t stop us enjoying an amazing trip with a cracking – if somewhat mad – bunch of motor trade professionals.

Not only did we manage to raise a five figure sum for BEN we also had a right laugh, as you’ll see on p32. A huge thank you to everyone who took part from the Car Dealer and BEN teams.

If you want to get involved next year I’d love to hear from you so I can make sure you get the details first.

We’ve got an even madder destination in mind and are just working out whether it’s achievable… But for now, don’t worry about that, just pencil in the dates of October 8-11 and let me know you’re up for it (contact details on p66). Go on, you know you want to…

BAnGERS4BEn EVEN when times are tough, it always warms the cockles to see dealers doing something to help those less fortunate than themselves. And that’s exactly what Bangers4BEN is all about. This year we drove from

James Baggott, Editor

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There are other ways to retain customers and make more profit!

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WMS have been helping dealers to keep their customers in the loop for sales, service and repair work by offering a range of Warranty, Gap and MOT insurance products so that the 1st profit isn’t the last profit.

We appreciate how hard you have to work for each sale so it makes sense to retain your customers with value for money protection that provides your customer with confidence and peace of mind and brings them back to your dealership when they need a service or an MOT – it’s simple we make you money!

No wonder we are the dealers favourite warranty company with over 3000 product re-sellers throughout the UK.

If you would like to discuss the products and services available from WMS Group, please contact me, Eric Stone, on 07789 682502 or email sales@wmsgroupuk.com

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0844 477 4909 www.wmsgroupuk.com 9/10/10 11:11:34

ignition Issue 32 | November 2010

25 dashboard 06 Ewards latest

Your last chance to enter our ewards

09 How tough?

Industry bosses on what the last quarter holds

10 Feedback

Your reaction to our latest stories

12 Hacking claims

Auto Trader issues advice amid con fears

14 Dealers Backing BEN Two more big names join the cause

16 Ford special

31

50

chairman on how Ford beat the recession

19 Vauxhall boss

Md on lifetime warranty, plus Litton’s column

21 Comment

Motoring.co.uk on what the iPad means to you

23 Big Mike

The case of the vexing Vauxhall

25 Paris Motor Show Lotus shocks at French expo

27 Finance

forecourt 31 Ford C-MAX

features

32

32 Bangers4BEN 3

one mad trip to Monaco in £500 cars for Ben

41 Guide to Saving Money The firms that can help you slash costs

49 911 for 2011

Update on our bid to turn £0 into a Porsche

16 27

50 Mobil 1 insight

They serve F1 superstars and YoU too!

55 Right Click 57 Auctions 58 Trader Directory 59 Suppliers Guide 60 Classifieds 61 On the Spot 62 Recruitment 64 Used Cars 65 SMMT sales figures 66 Sub-Prime Time

19

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CarDealer.

Car Dealer Ewards 2010

I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

autotorq.com

Inbox entry: TCAutos.biz As the Ewards deadline fast approaches, we take a final look at one of the entrants

T

ime is running out to get your website in front of the car dealer ewards judges!

The awards, being held in association with Autotorq.com, will be voted for this month and the winners announced in the next issue. one of the latest dealers to get their entry in is TcAutos.biz – a small, one dealership, family business based in omagh, northern Ireland, that holds franchises for Kia and renault. dealer principal damien Maguire said: ‘The internet levels the playing field in the digital domain and allows us to compete under the same parameters as anyone else regardless of size. our site is not only about presenting ourselves online.

‘It’s about pushing technological boundaries and trends and providing best practice examples within our industry.’

Tc Autos uses social media to interact with buyers and likes to think its website gives customers ‘a wealth of information, presented in a clinical and engaging way’.

We showed the Tc Autos website to our judges to see what they thought.

Headline sponsor Autotorq.com’s chief executive officer Stewart niblock said he could see a lot of planning had gone into it.

‘The homepage promotional offers and business categories are prominent and well presented with clear calls to action and imagery,’ he said.

‘There’s great use of customer testimonials and creative use of video which has become an important influencer in the prospective buyers’ decision making process.

‘The website has good navigation, allowing visitors to easily find what they are looking for and the new vehicle functionality clearly indicates deals per model and users looking for used vehicles have an option to search on different criteria.’

H

ow many reports and spreadsheets appear on your desk or inbox every month and how many go unopened or only get glanced at due to other pressures? A danger of the digital age is that anyone can easily produce glamorous spreadsheets and reports that look impressive on your screen, but in reality tell you nothing of value or help you make any meaningful decisions.

From a website perspective, you should be receiving at least the basic metrics we all now expect (visitors, key sources, lead generation ratios, user-goal completion, time on site) and be able to see the variance from the previous month and the trends over various time frames. The problem is that unless you know what these measures are really telling you and what ‘good’ looks like then it can all be meaningless and confusing.

For example, if you increase website visitors from 1,000

It wasn’t just niblock that was impressed. HPI’s automotive director daniel Burgess said he could see the dealership was ‘dedicated to making the buyers’ online experience as easy as possible’.

He added: ‘With tabs providing a range of options from aftercare to test drives, this site is informative, uncluttered and user-friendly.

‘Social media is noticeably utilised with links to the Kia Facebook page and Tc TV. It is very evident that TcAutos.biz has a real emphasis in engaging with the customer as well as evolving with the digital media age.’

Impressive stuff. Fellow judge Shaun Armstrong, managing director of dealer Plus, added: ‘Usability has clearly been made a top priority with this website. The design and development has been carefully planned making the site easy to navigate with a good level of functionality.

‘A variety of services are offered which range from classifieds and test drives to the ability to book servicing and repairs online. This promotes

Stewart niblock autotorq.com chief executive officer autotorq.com to 1,100 per month you might feel good, but what if you found out all your local competitors get 2,500 visits, or they generate far more leads per thousand visitors than you – would you still be happy?

Equally, if ‘time on site’ has increased from three to four minutes, is it because your content has improved or is it because customers can no longer find what they were looking for or your homepage is now so cluttered?

the garage’s services while clearly presenting the information to the user. The testimonials add a level of trust to the site and help to reassure the user.’

Finally, judge Alan Stuart, operations director for Spidersnet, hailed the offering as a ‘great site’ that was ‘jam packed with content’.

He added: ‘It’s what today’s demanding visitors are looking for. Latest offers and news on the homepage are great for search engines too. The basics are right, consistent navigation on every page helps the users.’

Entries for the Car Dealer Ewards close on October 14. We’re searching for winners in seven categories this year: Single Franchised Dealer, Multi Franchised Dealer, Car Supermarket, Independent and Car Manufacturer. The judges will also be handing out two special awards: Web Innovation and Special Achievement. For details of how to enter see the panel above right.

The real value in reporting is when it is backed by meaningful insights – reports and data are meaningless unless they are put into context and explain what matters; why the variance, what ‘good’ should look like and how you stand relative to the local competition.

If they don’t help you understand what you can do to improve things then they probably aren’t worth opening, and someone has spent a lot of time producing them for no effect.

So when it comes to reporting, less is definitely more – don’t accept reports unless they are accompanied by insights and recommendations that enable action.

Spending less time reading reports and more time understanding the insights will help you improve things – from the web perspective that’s about helping you generate more leads, sell more cars and increase profitability.

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in association with autotorq.com

your last chance to enter...

1 Your name and position 2 Company name 3 Website address 4 Name of the agency who designed the site 5 100 words (or more) saying what makes your site an Eward winner.

If you’ve entered before that doesn’t mean you can’t enter, but you will need to send us details of your website again. We will also consider nominations made by other parties and our judges will get to nominate some of their favourites too.

Keith Rowntree

Tim Smith

Autotorq

BCA

GForces

For me, the challenge will be on finding websites that focus on giving the consumer what they want, when they want it. Too many websites now seem to be intent on crowding as many buttons, banners and widgets as possible on to the home page, which often results in higher drop-out rates.

You wouldn’t push all your products, marketing material and advisors to the front door of your showroom, so why do it on the web?

I’LL be looking for sites that really engage with visitors in this year’s entries. engaging also means two-way communication: give consumers plenty of relevant content and information but allow them to provide their details or optin. Allowing visitors to comment is vital in today’s age where online recommendation is as important to brand reputation and perception as advertising and marketing.

InnoVATIon, execution, integration and results are what I will be looking for. Innovation displays a forward-thinking attitude and a willingness to embrace new technology. execution is about how well everything is put together; how well it works and how simple it is to use for the visitor. Integration is demonstrating how the business has adapted to meet the expectations of today’s ‘internetempowered’ customer.

Eric Stone

Terry Hogan

Rob queen

autotorq.com

british-car-auctions.co.uk Gforces.co.uk

Also judging

CAP

In AddITIon to all the judges profiled here, For me ‘creativity’ is the entries will also be rated key. When applied well and reviewed by car it ensures that the design dealer editor James and implementation Baggott. James said: successfully deliver on the ‘I’ll be looking at the purpose of the site. The websites with both a user experience should trade and consumer be intuitive, providing hat on. I want sites to clear signposts to the be easy to use but most journeys through the site importantly I want to and interactive to keep find car prices. So often the journey interesting on franchised sites it’s so and entertaining but hard to find a car’s price. without being intrusive.

That should be simple.’

CAP.co.uk

Submitting your website is a piece of cake. All we need is an email to ewards@cardealermag.co.uk with the following details:

Stewart niblock

Anthony Doherty

Martin Hill Codeweavers codeweavers.net

I’LL be looking for solid evidence of a well thought out customer journey – one where the constituent parts of the website work together to provide a true ‘pre-dealer contact’ interface. The best sites will be intuitive to use and the winner will effectively demonstrate a differentiated approach to web customers. If it caters for the web customer by not trying to force them down a sales process or route they Right Click, 55 don’t want to go down.

Daniel Burgess

Matthew Strudwick

James Tew

CarCarePlan

carcareplan.co.uk

Webzation webzation.com

I’M looking for websites that focus on making it easy for customers to navigate, that are simply and effectively laid out and that help drive their owner’s bottom line. The best sites load quickly without overloading users with unprompted data and they generate business by encouraging repeat business. They’re as much a window on the dealership as the forecourt frontage so we’re looking for fresh, uncluttered and tidy sites with intuitive usage.

I SIMPLY want to buy a car through your website! How much of the experience can be undertaken online?

The sites getting my vote will be those that enable either all or part of the buying process to be fulfilled online. I would expect to see everything from product presentations to the ability to handle part exchanges. A site should also demonstrate the affordability of the vehicle and a way to ‘shop and collect’.

Alan Stuart

Shaun Armstrong

WMS Group

wmsgroupuk.com

Motoring motoring.co.uk

Starkwood Media Gp

starkwoodmediagroup.com

HPI hpi.co.uk

Spidersnet

Dealer Plus

I WILL be looking for the site that compels me to stay online and provides a simple and straightforward path to my goal. How easy and attractive is it for me to buy other products like warranty and gAP protection with the relevant information?

A website can reach millions of people but sometimes we forget that it’s often ‘one at a time’ so make it a good experience through my eyes. Above all, it has to deliver.

THIS year we’ll be focusing less on the fine detail and more on consistent branding, ease of use for consumers and a clear message as to why a user should buy from this vendor. We’re also looking for Kerb Appeal.

And we’re hoping for more innovation in the new car offering. certain manufacturer websites have made leaps and bounds this year – but can retailers follow through on this brand experience on their own sites?

THIS year I am looking for something different, but I’m not sure what!

The web is changing so quickly with new features being introduced all the time that I guess it’s a motor retailer’s ability to adapt to this speed of change that I am looking for.

However any innovation needs to fall within the parameters of good, solid web design that is easily navigable and will be prominent within the major search engines. It’s a tall order!

IT IS all too easy to get carried away with detail and clever applications in an attempt to draw buyers in, particularly with social media complicating matters.

We will be looking for simplicity both in terms of navigation and well chosen information. That said, we are big advocates of adding value to websites. This could be as simple as partnering with other brands. Too much or too little? Striking a balance is not as easy as we all think.

ATTrAcTIVe and well laid out design, but most importantly a site where the dealer has fully embraced the technology that is available to them.

I will be looking for latest deals, all vehicles with images, and good quality ones. Interesting content about the dealership with images of the site, with a customer feedback area that is again ‘up to date’. I would also like to see video integrated into the site, either a profile of the business as well as individual vehicles.

I WAnT to see sites have embraced technology to give the users the best possible experience.

This means I’m looking for innovative online tools with an attractive and engaging user experience. Sites should be intuitive to use and the information has to be presented in a way that the user will enjoy the experience. getting the right mixture of information, technology and usability will provide the best results for the customer.

autopromotor.co.uk

dealerplus.co.uk

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. WE STOP THEM BREAKING DOWN.

Customer relationships are delicate things, they need nurturing and protecting.

That’s why at Car Care Plan, our warranty cover isn’t all mechanical. It’s also very personal. We give customers less of the small print, more of the hassle-free service they want. In fact, last year, we handled over 500,000 calls and paid a claim every 2 minutes. Happily. Find out exactly what makes Car Care Plan the No 1 warranty provider. Call 0844 573 7591 or visit www.carcareplan.co.uk

Car Care Plan Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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How tough will the rest of the year be?

That’s the question we posed to leaders, asking them to rate ‘toughness’ on a scale of one (easy) to 10. Here’s what they said...

Nigel Sharp

Managing director, Ford of Britain How tough? 10/10 The January 2 VAT increase is likely to result in some increase in the market in the last quarter of 2010, drawing some business ahead. With an estimated 30+ per cent excess capacity in the European car industry, the market is likely to remain intensely competitive, probably rated as a 10 on your scale. We will be concentrating on a balance of sales to fleet and retail.

Michael Cole

Managing director, Kia Motors (UK) How tough? 7/10 The market has shown more resilience than most people expected this year and while I would say the final quarter’s prospects are still 50/50 we feel that there is business out there and we could see a better close to the year than some people might expect. I also believe that we might see some pull-forward from January because of the VAT rise.

Paul Harrison

Head of motor finance, FLA How tough? 6/10 According to our latest figures, the sales of cars on motor finance in July were seven per cent lower than in July 2009. We expect this downward trend to continue although there may be a pick-up in demand – for prestige cars – around Christmas ahead of the VAT increase on January 4.

Tony Whitehorn

Managing director, Hyundai Motor UK How tough? 8/10 The car market is going to be extremely challenging for the last three months of the year. Consumer confidence, the main driver of demand for cars, has taken a dip in the last two months and is expected to remain on a downward trend. Only new product entrants will stimulate the market.

Linda Jackson

Managing director, Citroen UK How tough? 8/10 We feel confident that Citroen has just the right product for this current competitive market. The 2011 planned VAT increase could also generate sales opportunities before the end of the year.

Paul Everitt

Chief executive, SMMT How tough? 7/10 The economic outlook for the rest of 2010

remains tough and challenging. The last quarter of 2010 will be difficult, but the full year is still expected to marginally outperform 2009 and the January VAT rise could have a modest, but positive, impact.

Martin Hill

Net gains

Peter Wyhinny Director, Seat UK How tough? 6.5/10

Q4 will be a more challenging period, no doubt. However we are out of the blocks very quickly with an attractive, simple, and clear ‘pay no VAT’ offer across the bulk of our range. This, together with our consistent new model launches, means I believe we will be on course to significantly better our 2009 sales performance.

Ian Middleton

Dealer principal, Miller & Middleton SEAT How tough? 8/10 The last quarter of any year is always very tough but this year it will be harder than normal as people will be watching their pennies with the government cuts around the corner.

Jeremy Thomson

Managing director, Mazda UK How tough? 3/10 With weak consumer confidence and the government’s fiscal counter-measures not yet fully crystallised it is tempting to see the quarter as particularly challenging.

Through 2010 we have achieved a number of record months in retail shares and while small car sales are extremely price sensitive, we see strength in our mid and large car lines in both retail and fleet.

Jon Williams

Managing director, Toyota How tough? 7/10 The final quarter will be extremely challenging for manufacturers. We feel we have the right products for the current market and Toyota is on track to reach its sales target for 2010.

Kenyon Neads

Marketing director, Subaru UK How hard? 4/10 The exchange rate with the yen may be causing us headaches, but we’re anticipating a strong final quarter. Yearon-year sales are up 29 per cent, and this performance has been driven by genuine retail demand, with very few scrappage or fleet sales. All-wheel drive is once more being seen by consumers as relevant.

Is it time to clear out the clutter on your website?

A

s a judge for the upcoming Ewards, I have been looking at many websites over the past few weeks. Some are excellent, with a well-rounded offering that cuts straight to the point. However, there are all too many sites that have what can best be described as too much ‘clutter’ – web content that is designed to attract attention and to shout ‘look here’. This content gets in the way, and can be a real problem.

For example, you wouldn’t make a great art gallery simply by putting all the art in the world into a single room. When you do this, it ceases to become an art gallery and just becomes a warehouse. The whole point is that the important stuff needs to be put on the walls – the rest needs to be edited by someone so that decisions are made about ‘There are all what stays and what goes.

From a web perspective, too many sites you should always be looking that have what at the content of your site, and sticking to what is truly can best be essential. A useful exercise to described as too undertake with your own site much ‘clutter’. is to list all of the content, and then pare things down until This content you are left with the essential gets in the way.’ offering that you wish to portray to the public.

When you look at improving the content on your site, try not to just look at improving every single area – instead, consider adopting the same approach that Gordon Ramsey does when he evaluates the struggling restaurants in his Kitchen Nightmares programme. The first thing he does is trim down the menu of the struggling kitchen – usually to around 10 dishes or so. He doesn’t advocate trying to improve the 30-odd dishes that they currently have on the menu, as it’s all about polishing what is left.

My recommendation is that you continually focus on the offer to the customer – how can you make it easy for these people to view, understand and then respond to your offer?

In fact, it may be a great starting point to actually consider what your offer includes! Let’s look at the vehicle description information that is displayed next to used cars. I’m not suggesting that this information isn’t read by prospective customers, but for goodness sake, let’s give it some structure!

Why not, for example, have a simple and effective list of several key items of data, followed by a link to more detail if required?

I would recommend that the single most important question you should ask as you evaluate your website is: ‘Is there a simpler and more effective way of doing this?’

Ewards last chance to enter, p6

Who is Martin Hill?

Martin is commercial director at Codeweavers.

Learn more about how he can help you at Codeweavers.net or call 0870 443 0888.

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feedback

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Your comments via email at james@blackballmedia.co.uk| From our website at CarDealerMag.co.uk | And from Twitter: Follow editor @CarDealerEd

mak

Dealers hit back at Which? report Garages fail to spot ‘dangerous’ faults

Our news story on the Which? Survey (p14, Issue 31) slamming garages last month has stirred up a reaction with readers. Here’s just a couple of the emails we received: AS a service manager of a franchised dealer I am shocked and surprised by the findings of Which? We read these types of articles all too often in the media and very little about the work that has been done in the industry to improve customer satisfaction.

We carry out free visual health checks on every vehicle that enters our workshop – not only to maintain a duty of care but also to ensure customers are aware of potential servicing and repair requirements. We also subscribe to the motor industry code of practice. By being a member of the motor industry code of practice we commit to an open, transparent and fair way of doing business.

I feel the person responding to the Which? report on your Feedback page last month has missed the point and maybe that is down to the explanation given by the garage? Just because the vehicle has passed the MOT this does not mean that there are items that need attention.

We have just passed the MOT on a 2002 registered Clio. However, we have also advised the customer that the front brake discs and pads are below the manufacturer’s limits but have passed the MOT requirements. In addition to this we have advised a cambelt is also due – this has meant an additional £700 of work has been identified despite passing the MOT. Please consider printing more articles on the positive things that are happening in our industry to balance out this type of negative press. I am passionate about customer service and have worked in this industry for more than 20 years. There have been great improvements in that time and the code of practice is a great way to show your business is committed to continually improving the service we offer.

Stephen Jones, via email I TAKE on board much of what Which? Magazine says in its report, but I cannot get my head around the ‘honesty’ screenwash test issue.

The charge for refilling a washer bottle is normally for the additive, not the water or the labour. As most are likely to be filled with tap water from home or the local filling station, it is a pretty safe bet that there is no additive. Hence, dealers will add this, whether the bottle itself was empty or full.

The alternative is a dirty screen or a cracked bottle in the winter, neither of which is what the customer would want.

Brian Steele, via email

Social media is good

Link: bit.ly/GetStart I THINK the trick most manufacturers and dealers are missing at the moment is that Facebook and Twitter don’t work as broadcast mediums, unlike conventional advertising. If the plan is to pump out press releases and then tweet and promote them via Facebook, then forget it.

Follow the advice above, and listen, connect and

Talking car stuff on Twitter Wow we’re really pleased with the Kia. That’s £1,000 more than the price we paid. An absolutely fantastic result for charity #bangers4ben @V6Dez on #bangers4BEn Nice looking cars! Bold and ambitious – great to see the brand moving onwards. @Bitesizebits on #newlotus Just watched your vid – fab!

Congratulations to everyone for

raising soooo much money! @Bexcci on #bangers4BEn Manual choke and a proper radio tuner eh? Even my Capri is more up to date than that :-P @Matt_WaxDaddy on #MK1Ibiza A question I’d be asking if I were you is whether the rumoured attempt by VW to buy Alfa is a sign they’re keen to dump Seat? @JoeSimpson on #Seat

Grrr, why did @cardealered make me open CAP earlier. I lose hours looking in there comparing depreciation values. @zuffle on #UsedCarValues Aston Martin is very pleased with third, thanks muchly! @laurabiss on #RTOTy10 The @cardealermag cover is awesome. Kudos to @cardealered and all involved @internetcarlot on #RTOTy10

Get involved. Follow the editor on Twitter @CarDealerEd or @CarDealerMag to join the conversation engage and social media can become the best lead generation tool ever, as well as giving you a real feel for what the world thinks about your business.

Mike CJ, via CarDealerMag.co.uk

DVLA invasion

Link: bit.ly/DVLAinvades THIS is just unbelievable. I think with today’s technology why can’t dealers log on to the DVLA and fill in details of the V5 I.E. document number and to verify car details to say that the car is with a dealer?

This would then give correct information instantly to DVLA/ police etc, stating who has the car if it’s in the trade.

Umesh Samani, via CarDealerMag.co.uk

Bangers4BEN auction

Link: bit.ly/BangersAuction WOW what a fantastic result on the auction – we never expected or anticipated that the Kia would have sold for that sum. Thank you to whoever bought her and we hope she’s put out somewhere nice to graze… possibly with other zebras and antelopes.

She served us well and was a fantastic motor to complete this event in, and we’re sure she’s still good for another 100k of happy motoring.

This was a fantastic finish to an amazing experience - we really can’t wait till next year for another fix. We want to come back and do it again all for charity!

Dez Thompson, via CarDealerMag.co.uk Read the full feature, starting on p32

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NetDirector

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LeadBeast NetDirector Auto TM

makes marketing work

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Steve Jobs, Apple

ation

NetDirector Auto V8 is the industry’s first ever Software as a Service website platform. With automatic updates, V8 integrates new technologies and features faster and simpler than any other platform on the market.

Isn’t it time you powered your digital dealership with a V8?

GForces works with more of the country’s Top 200 auto dealers than any rival and has the experience, talent and technological expertise to turn your website into a key sales and lead generating tool.

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Y

dashboard WIn: Five pairs of tickets to MPH Show up for grabs See Clarkson, May and Hammond live at the MPH show

EVER wanted to see Top Gear for real but can’t get tickets to see the three boys in the studio? Well the MPH Show, featuring Top Gear Live, could be the solution!

Packed with an assortment of cars and stars, Top Gear Live returns to Earls Court this year promising an action-packed programme of car stunts, jaw-dropping special effects and spectacular driving. With all the drama of the television programme in one place and hosted by your favourite three presenters it’s a show that you ought not to miss.

But once you’ve had your fix of Top Gear, MPH The Prestige & Performance Motor Show awaits. With some of the latest and most exciting machinery Earls Court’s halls can exhibit, and not to mention the hundreds of exhibitors’ stalls on offer, the show is set to impress.

And that’s not all – Tiff needell will be there too presenting the hugely popular Start-Up which returns this year. The ex-racing driver turned TV star will show off some of the greatest supercars ever – revved up and put through their paces.

Car Dealer has teamed up with the organisers to give away five pairs of tickets to the Earls Court show on november 5 at 1.30pm with a friend. To enter, answer this question: What is the real name of the Stig?

Michael Schumacher Ben Collins Jeremy Clarkson Entries can be made by emailing james@blackballmedia.co.uk with MPH Show in the subject title.

GADGETS

Auto Trader advice amid hacking claims AUTo TrAder has issued advice amid concerns from dealers that their accounts are being ‘hacked’. car dealer has been contacted by a number of traders who have been the target of scammers. The conmen have been sending out fake ‘phishing’ emails, like the one right, which tells dealers they’ve had an offer on a car for sale – usually a Toyota Yaris – and then asks them to ‘log in’. dealers told us when they clicked the log-in tab on the fake emails the conmen harvested their account details and added very cheap cars for sale to their accounts in an attempt to scam buyers.

‘Unfortunately, there will always be cases of fraudsters looking to operate online, targeting both consumers and businesses,’ said Helena Fearon, customer security director for Auto Trader.

‘We have been made aware that a small number of our dealers have responded to a phishing mail and in some instances, dealers have unknowingly given their username and password details. We have worked with the affected dealers to secure their accounts.’

ADVICE Auto Trader has issued advice to dealers who may have been the subject of these scammers.

Fearon added: ‘We want

to make it clear that we would never ask for our customers to share their details via email, we always advise that our customers use the trusted secure dealer portal to engage with us. Auto Trader takes fraudulent activity extremely seriously.

‘We strongly advise our dealers to verify any email they receive that requests password or log-in details and to be wary of clicking on links in emails.’

Auto Trader says that dealers who fear they may have given up their personal information should change their password immediately and check their account history for any fradulent transactions.

If you have any concerns you can also visit the ‘Safety & Security’ area on the Auto Trader website or raise concerns with the security team at phishing@ autotrader.co.uk

...sponsored by car gifts and gadgets website Caagis.com

Words: James Batchelor

Movies on the move will keep kids happy One of the things we liked about the Audi R8 Spyder on RTOTY ’10 was its open aluminum gear lever. But, £112k is a lot to pay for just a gaiter so why not have a sortof-replica on your desk? The ‘gear stick pen and post-it note holder’ brings supercar style to your otherwise dreary desk. The gearstick-shaped pen slots into the gearbox holder, with the post-it note pad just below. £21, caagis.com So you’ve got the gear stick pen holder, now you need to tell the time. The ‘rev counter desk clock’ really does look like a rev counter, meaning that when the hand strikes five o’clock, you’ll be effectively ‘red-lining’ it. A shiny bezel, a black face with white hands, and a body that angles towards you, means that the rev counter desk clock is a quirky and an attractive accessory. £30, meandmycar.co.uk Ever found your shirt is lacking a motoring accessory?

We have and think these ‘car dial cuff-links’ are an

attractive and smart solution. The swivel post links are both different with one being a fuel dial and the other a speedometer (limited to a Germanic 155mph…), and both have black dial faces giving them a smart look. The only hard decision will be what cuff deserves which dial… £25, meandmycar.co.uk The ‘Are We Nearly There Yet’ Back Seat Organiser hooks over the rear of the seat in front of your loved one and you fill it with toys from home. There’s place for colouring pens too and pockets you’ll be forever finding half-eaten Quavers in. £14.99, Halfords.com

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Above, the NextBase DVD players are a great way to keep children happy; right the car dial cufflinks and below, the cool rev counter clock and gear stick

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The NextBase Click 7-inch DVD Player Duo is a doublescreen DVD player that attaches to your rear headrests and plays your little one’s favourite Disney movie on the go. It might cost a few bob, but the peace and quiet you’ll get will be worth every penny. £389.99, Halfords.com

F L c A w

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dashboard Vertu snaps up two dual franchise dealerships Vertu boss Robert Forrester has sealed the deal on two more dealers

VERTU has exchanged contracts to acquire two Cheshire car dealers from Lookers plc.

The dual franchise dealers are Macclesfield Renault and Ford, and Altrincham Renault and nissan.

Altrincham is actually the first time Vertu has run a nissan car dealer. It also takes Vertu’s Renault representation up to five, and Ford up to 20.

Conveniently, the Macclesfield car dealer is right next to another of Vertu’s recent acquisitions, Vauxhall. It is a £3.9m deal, which Vertu will settle in cash from existing resources.

Currently, the two dealers are loss-making, on a turnover of £22.5m. Vertu predicts it will turn this around by early 2012.

CEO Robert Forrester said: ‘We are pleased to have agreed to acquire a further four sales outlets in the north West region, which demonstrates continued delivery of our strategy to grow a scaled motor retail group across the country in targeted regions.

‘We are excited by the opportunities this acquisition brings with our manufacturer partners Renault and Ford, and we are particularly pleased to acquire our first nissan dealership.

‘The nissan brand is going from strength to strength through a fantastic range of innovative vehicles, and a focus on delivering outstanding customer experience.’

The acquisition takes Vertu’s holdings up to 74.

Share watch

Dealers Backing BEn gathers pace AUToMoTIVe charity Ben has announced two new firms eager to support the charity’s dealer scheme.

Industry giants PSA retail and Vertu have agreed to join the charity’s dealers Backing Ben scheme, helping the charity’s work supporting more than 15,000 automotive industry workers to continue.

Along with Synter, Ford retail, Marshall, Lookers and Pentagon, PSA retail and Vertu will now participate in the Ben scheme that lets auction houses deduct £1 for Ben from every vehicle sold through the auctions. ceo of Vertu, robert Forrester, said: ‘Vertu are very pleased to be able to support Ben with this excellent initiative which will help to ensure that our industry charity can continue to support the people who work in it.’

While david Peel, chief executive of PSA retail,

Industry-wide initiative picks up speed as Vertu and PSA Retail join the campaign added: ‘PSA retail group are pleased to be able to support Ben in this way with an easy to administer fundraising initiative that helps to provide a sustainable income stream for our industry charity.’ nigel Williams Ben’s commercial development manager, said: ‘The response to dealers Backing Ben has

been magnificent and it isn’t just the major groups who are participating.’

The number of auctions who support the initiative is also growing. SMA has signed up, joining a list including BcA, Manheim, Aston Barclay, Wilsons, Fleet and eastbourne.

Bangers4BEn, p32

...in association with ASE-global.com

Gloomy outlook reflected in stocks W

idespread economic concerns of the speed (or indeed the existence) of the economic recovery continues to feed through to the quoted motor retail stocks with thin trading being matched with steady price declines for some.

As the threat of a double-dip recession gains increasing publicity within the media, investors are worried about the effect this will have on big ticket purchases. This is supported by ad-hoc industry discussions with a significant number of customers opting to hold fire on a vehicle replacement, particularly where there are low current maintenance requirements.

The largest faller over recent months has been Cambria which was hovering just above 50 per cent of its April IPO price until a spike at the end of September. This is in spite of a positive annual trading update in advance of the publication of its full year results to August and an increase in broker profit expectations for the period.

Looking at the overall valuation, this is now hovering close to a private sector valuation of assets plus a multiple of two times EBITDA for goodwill.

Vertu has continued on the acquisition trail (reported above), with the purchase of a Scottish Peugeot dealer and two dealerships from Lookers. As with Cambria the share price is hovering around the 52-week low with a 50 per cent drop compared to the final quarter of 2009. Market reaction to the purchase from Lookers was interesting. The Vertu share price remained largely unchanged with Lookers jumping eight per cent.

The top performer among the sector for 2010 has been HR Owen. This is partly a reflection of the significant share price reduction during December 2009 and also a reflection on the company’s restructuring and improvement plan.

In the interim results for the first six months of 2010 the company posted a return to profitable trading with pre-exceptional profits of £1.5m. This was partly reduced by a termination payment to the previous chief executive of £700k. With the announcement of the appointment of the company’s new chief executive, HR Owen appears to have completed its board restructuring.

Among the other listed stocks there has been

limited activity. Pendragon’s share price has stabilised following the drop experienced immediately after announcing its positive results for the half year.

While the results were good, investors appear concerned over the level of debt the business is carrying. This debt level should be reduced by the disposal of the North West Region market area for Mercedes Benz to Marshall Motor Group, however interestingly this transaction was announced by Marshalls rather than Pendragon.

Caffyns has undertaken a steady share-repurchase plan during the month, with the company adding £99,000 of shares to treasury stock. Inchcape has continued to move within its recent price bands showing little sign of a strong price increase or decrease.

The market in general appears set for a period of malaise with all stocks primed for a significant increase when the green shoots of recovery become visible. If you have any questions on the above, call me on 0161 493 1930.

Mike Jones, ASE director

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dashboard

Ford chief: How we beat the recession James Litton

Trader Tales

Taking the used car gamble

R

ight, I’m going to don my horns and pitchfork and play devil’s advocate to those considering the benefits of retailing older cars. There are two routes you can follow to this perceived pot of plenty. You can utilise existing display space thus adding no additional operational costs, or, as both of my previous employers did, open a stand-alone used car centre.

The major reason that my last employer chose the latter was due to the significant restrictions enforced upon them by the brands that they represented. One German manufacturer particularly would be less than impressed if all of a sudden 10-year-old miley beasts started appearing next to former management cars.

This is unless of course they adhered to their strict preparation standards but having seen some of the reconditioning bills for five-yearold cars with sensible mileage, the margin soon disappears.

There is also the issue of customer perception to consider. No car buyer likes to think of themselves as a second class citizen when they are quickly ushered to the ‘bargain basement’ section round the corner. Similarly if the 10-year-old swapper starts to give some trouble, there is the question of reputation to consider.

So with these points to ponder, you may decide to visit the FD and beg for some funds for a used car centre. You can operate with an independent name, change many stocking and display processes but naturally there are the large additional overheads and operational costs to consider.

In my experience of franchise-owned used car centres, one of the biggest problems lies in the labour rate and the potential resentment it can cause. In order to be competitive with the likes of me, and many like me, a discounted labour rate is essential to effective pricing and profit retention.

However, no aftersales manager in the land will be prioritising work at £50 an hour which can be sold for £120 and no franchised sales manager is happy when they know service work is being carried out in the group at half the price.

The other major factor which affects both retailing methods is the issue of stock. It’s hard work getting hold of the right cars, especially when many sales managers are guilty of taking a gamble and giving blood money for a swapper which should be traded. In my opinion, the best route for older cars from a franchise is to the trade. ‘Scared of the competition’ I hear you cry. Far from it. It’s like me opening a bodyshop...

‘No car buyer likes to think of themselves as a second class citizen.’

Who is James Litton?

James runs theinternetcarlot.co.uk. He‘s been in the business for 12 years and always has something to say about the industry he loves.

Ford president Alan Mulally has told top UK business leaders how the global powerhouse made its turnaround.

He spoke at the cBI Annual Lecture where he explained how the Blue oval was the only big US car maker not to go bankrupt during the recession.

That was despite Ford losing cash when Mulally joined in 2006, he said. Three years later, Ford was in profit to the tune of $2.7bn, and this year overtook gM in sales for the first time in 80 years.

He did it under the ‘one Ford’ strategy, business leaders were told. This is about focusing on global manufacturing, to maximise economies of scale. It also helps roll out new Ford cars in fast-growing emerging markets.

The UK has a prime role in this, he said: ‘one third of Ford cars globally are powered by engines manufactured and engineered in Britain.

‘Ford in Britain can produce two million engines a year. It has a global role and one that can grow in importance.’ dealers are playing their part here though, of course. The UK is actually Ford’s second-largest market of all outside the US – yes, bigger than germany and bigger

than china. As Mulally, pictured above, pointed out, Ford has also been the UK car market leader for no less than 33 years.

The cBI speaks for 240,000 UK businesses that employ a third of the private sector workforce.

Its director-general richard Lambert said: ‘Alan’s personal insight into the overhaul of Ford’s US product line, including the introduction to the US of new small cars developed in europe, and his culture change at an executive level, provides businesses with valuable lessons on how to adapt to a changing economic climate.’

Ford hopes to shift 20,000 C-Max in 2011 Ford is hoping to find homes for 3,500 new c-MAX models by the end of 2010 – and 20,000 next year!

Marketing director Mark Simpson told car dealer the new model is extremely popular with customers and the marque’s dealers alike. demonstrators will be arriving in dealers this month, he said, and the real marketing push will begin in January. ‘everyone knows not to battle with Santa claus,’ Simpson told car dealer. ‘So we’ll be

The DVLA invades!

DVLA teams removed vehicles on SORn from private properties – including those owned by car dealers. The cars were taken because the cars had not been described as ‘in the hands of a dealer’ with the DVLA. One car dealer has since asked for compensation for the six hours of phone calls and the 80-mile round trip he had to take to sort things out.

The action by the DVLA has been described as ‘heavy-handed’ by dealers in a report by the Exeter Express & Echo.

One dealer told the paper: ‘Those in the motor trade say the rule that they must be declared “in trade” is rarely enforced because such cars often have a new owner by the time paperwork is complete.’

What do you think? Feedback, p10

having a real push early in the new year.’

Although he wouldn’t reveal how many pre-orders for the car had been taken, he did say there were ‘some in the bank’ and that customers can expect a six-week wait for their new car. ‘existing customers have been keen to snap up the new car and our dealers have reported some interest already,’ added Simpson.

C-MAX first drive, p31

1,527 miles on a tank VoLKSWAgen has broken the world record for the longest distance travelled by a production car on a single tank of fuel.

Piloted by a team from The Sunday Times, a Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion set a guinness World record after driving from Maidstone in Kent to the South of France and back again on one tank of fuel – a 1,527-mile round trip.

Before setting off, the Passat was drained of fuel and refilled with 77.25 litres of standard diesel and eventually achieved 89.83 miles per gallon – exceeding the manufacturer’s 64.2 mpg figure. The fuel cost for the journey was calculated at just 6.17p per mile travelled.

Our Own French Invasion: Bangers4BEn, p32

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Vauxhall play their ‘unbeatable’ trump card The Vauxhall GTC Paris concept points the way to the next Astra

dashboard

Alex Goy

All Torque

Gadgets good... Gimmicks bad...

Well, at least I think that’s right

I

Vauxhall’s new MD tells Richard Aucock why its Lifetime Warranty should have rivals quaking in their boots

V

auxhall MD Duncan Aldred has said the Vauxhall Lifetime Warranty is ‘the biggest thing the industry has ever seen’. Speaking to Car Dealer ahead of the Paris Motor Show, he also admitted his surprise that rivals had not reacted to it.

‘We were expecting other brands to steal some of our thunder, but, so far, nobody has. Mind you, maybe they’ve already played their hands – Ford, for example, had already reduced its list prices,’ he said.

The incentive, which has been running for several months in Vauxhall dealers, is applicable to all new Vauxhalls. Owners simply visit a Vauxhall dealer for a free annual check to maintain it.

Surprisingly, creating the Lifetime Warranty idea didn’t take long. ‘It was one of those ideas we had kicking around – brands were doing five year warranties, while Kia did the seven year. We knew if we did something, it would have to be unbeatable.

‘It was a pipe dream when we first mooted the Lifetime Warranty idea. But, in the space of half-an-hour in a meeting, we realised there were ways and means. It quickly got momentum; four weeks later, we actually had it launched.’

The small team that was behind it helped here, says Aldred. ‘There were only eight people involved in it during the launch phase. This meant decisions could quickly be reached, which absolutely was imperative.’

Aldred says there is no downside to it. But what about the 100,000-mile limit, though?

‘With this, it was a matter of how to make

the impossible possible.

95 per cent of people who buy a Vauxhall NEVER do 100,000 miles. For the average man, the Lifetime Warranty is, I feel, phenomenal reassurance.

‘We are also still working on the second owner stage. We did it so fast, we wanted to get it out there before it leaked out. A decision on second owners isn’t imminent, but work continues on finding a solution for it.’

Aldred says the uplift effects of the Lifetime Warranty are already being seen.

‘75 per cent of people we surveyed said it has positively changed their perception of Vauxhall. We were keen for it to define the brand – it speaks of quality, assurance, confidence.’

This is something, he feels, that will improve all areas of Vauxhall’s UK operations.

‘It puts a lot of pressure on the entire business to improve quality. If you don’t get it right, it will cost the business, simple as that. A quality focus then becomes inherent.’

Aldred is still waiting for other manufacturers to react, but feels that the Vauxhall offer is pretty much unbeatable.

With new models launched at Paris adding to a roll call of new metal, he says Vauxhall dealers have not been in so strong a position for years. Sales and, more importantly, dealer returns will follow…

Hear more from the new Vauxhall MD in a full interview next month in Car Dealer and there’s more Paris show news on p25

don’t get people. They confuse, anger, upset, delight and confuse me. Not necessarily in that order. Car buyers get me most of all, because they tend to be like moths. Big, shiny, new things attract them, luring them to drop more and more money on their chosen wheels, be they a 1.2-litre hatch or a 6.0-litre hypercar. There’s always something to extract more cash from these people. Which is good news for you!

I remember buying my sacred Mini. The dealer listed all the different trinkets it had on board and how, in some small way, they would make my life better. I believed him. Oh, how I believed him.

In fairness, everything attached to my car is very useful. But it was made in 2002 when the most exotic thing you could have was heated seats and folding wing mirrors. Neither of ‘I like looking at which I have, incidentally. the road when In 2010, a few years later, you can spec all manner of tat I’m driving; and, as you well know, people not thinking a will buy it. The first-time car purple fairy is buyer, if you’re lucky, will spec everything they can and more. right over my Leather, sat nav, heated seats – shoulder.’ despite the fact they make you feel like you’ve had a bladder accident.

The tech geek will have everything with a screen, they may even go for the biggest stereo money can buy. Families will take the extra airbags, cubby-holes and lighting.

The middle-aged man will take the biggest engine you have. Preferably in the ‘youngest’ colour you have. My mum will take a small hatch in a flat colour with climate control and a 1.2-litre engine. And me? Big engine, all the toys and the loudest colour you’ve got, please.

I would never spec mood lighting though. I don’t understand who needs them or who even wants them. They just appear to be there in an options ‘pack’. They’re the most distracting thing in the world unless they’re in the same colour as the speedo. And even then they’re there, in the corner of your eye almost begging you to park in a tree. I like looking at the road when I’m driving; not thinking a purple fairy is right over my shoulder.

People claim to love them. They say that having mood lighting calms them down after a hard day. What happens if a bulb goes though? Will they be cross on their drive home?

Or, as I suspect, will they really not notice?

Who is Alex Goy? He‘s a motoring journalist with a lot to say. He also produces a brilliant weekly podcast. Check it out by typing bit.ly/alexgoy into a browser

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comment

What the iPad means to you Terry

Hogan I

’m sure you’ve all seen somebody using an iPad recently. They were probably a bit hipper, younger and smarter than the average Joe, and in marketing speak, would probably be classed as an ‘early adopter’ – a consumer who dives into new trends as soon as they are available, often followed by the masses.

I’m not an early bird, I prefer to bide my time and wait for round two when they get the product right, but I’ve got a sneaky feeling that this is a game changer for manufacturers and dealers in the not too distant future. digital information delivery on a large, superbright screen with online interaction sounds just like what consumers need and brands love.

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t see myself interacting fully with a three-inch screen on an iPhone or Android.

And for those of you wondering what the difference between an iPad and a laptop is, well apart from a couple of kilos in weight it has the Apple factor, meaning it’s so cool you overlook the limitations and just integrate it into your life. no wonder those crafty manufacturers have been spending millions on sexy new websites with high quality images and video with this new delivery channel coming up. And iPad users spend lots of money on Apps, those early adopters are either an inquisitive bunch, or they just like to be first. Whatever the case, they are hungry for new products.

However, with digital delivery comes the need for data, and the fresher the better. How do you find these users, what are they doing and why are they doing it?

There’s no point pushing a brochure out to

Want an iPad? So do we and most of the rest of the country...

‘It has the Apple factor, meaning it’s so cool you overlook the limitations and just integrate it into your life.’ a prospect who has already bought, or a service offer on a user that has changed his car to a different brand. I’ve stressed in the past that the web is becoming more real-time, with google eyeing Twitter and Facebook as real threats and opportunities.

If I have been researching an expensive 4x4 car, why wouldn’t I want some information on the range rover evoque? And with delivery costs at a fraction of traditional hard copy, why wouldn’t

I want the whole range for that matter. But to deliver data to the right people at the right time requires a combination of strategies that are difficult to fulfil on your own – whatever size your organisation.

Motoring.co.uk operates across many parts of this data delivery process, with real-time data from consumers who are looking for information across a range of vertical searches like car finance, product research and car insurance. our new site launch is imminent – and it’s much more user friendly. Have a look around at the capture points where we are bringing in users from different stages of the sales process and ask yourself this question: What could I do with that?

Car Dealer Ewards deadline looms, p6

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big mike

How I was vexed by Vauxhall with mysterious mileage T

hey say that something like one-in-seven used cars has something of a dodgy history behind it – and in more than 30 years of trading I’ve seen more than my fair share.

But sometimes, even an old stager like me can get caught out. A few weeks ago, I took an old Vauxhall Calibra in part-exchange. I’m sure I’m like a good number of you in that I have a kind of fixed rate for old snotters – £250 if they spend up to five grand, £500 if they spend upwards. I don’t even look at the car in question – normally I just punt it out to the bloke down the road who underwrites half of my stock for me and flogs it off cheap via the local paper or eBay. He always pays me £250, so on the high profit cars I take £250 on the chin, and the lower ones I know I won’t lose out.

The Calibra, though, I kept. My reason being that it had quite a tasty number plate, one letter, one number, three letters, which I decided to have a go at Just because it polishes up well doesn’t mean all can be taken at face value... selling separately.

After a few weeks, I’d sold the reg for more than the car owed me, so I had nothing to lose – I could have passed it on to my contact (it’s a condition of our deal that he takes anything – so he gets some cracking cars, and some filth that he usually strips and weighs in) but it to be transferable, and in order to keep the plate the owner just so happened that he was sunning himself on a had kept its identity, but not, perhaps, the car to which it Greek island after flogging five Big Miker’s in a week should have been attached? on top of his day job, and I needed the space.

The answer came when I stuck it on the interweb at a On top of that, after a couple of pints of Fursty stupidly affordable price, and a young lad who was into his Ferret in The Dog last week, I got talking about modified Vauxhalls travelled over on a train to ‘pick it up’ – said Calibra with a friend who likes to spend his there was no question of him ‘viewing’ – his mind was set. weekends walking around fields full of cars and He told me on the phone that he had a Calibra Turbo that their associated parts. Apparently, the steamrollered had gone the way I suspected ‘my’ car had maybe gone Cavalier is starting to get a bit of a classic following, before, in that it had rotted away around itself, but was still especially if it’s rot free. mechanically as tough as the proverbial aged footwear. His Quite often, when a vendor sells a rot-free car plan, he said, was to drop the turbo engine and box into my it means you buy the car, and get the rot for free, solid shell. But things weren’t as straightforward as I first but when I looked over the old Cally it was actually thought… a really solid old thing with fairly decent paint. I Knowing his Vauxhalls as he did, the first thing he said to started to think I had a viable car on my hands. me was ‘that can’t be an M-reg’, then promptly went round The following morning, I got my staff boy, Jason, the car showing me the various bits of it that were clearly to give the thing a clean and polish, and it came not of the same vintage as its allocated registration number. up looking half decent, with the exception of some It was, he concluded, about three or four years older than its depressingly naff aftermarket alloys. proposed identity. And what’s more, the paint code on the While he was outside buffing the bodywork and VIN plate wasn’t the same as the colour as that in which the getting a tan, I sat in the office doing the hard work car was painted.

– looking on the computer to check its history. These Thinking, at this point, that said punter was about to hop days, you can get the last four MoTs up on the screen back on the big metal people carrier to his initial destination, if you type in a few details, and it turned out the and I was going to drop said Calibra off at the breakers on Calibra had something a little odd about it. my way home and run the final mile, my eyes almost popped In 2006, it had covered 59,000 miles. In 2007, out when he subsequently made me an offer just £40 below 62,500. In 2008, 66,000. So a nice, low mileage car. what I’d advertised it for.

In 2009 it failed its MoT on excessive corrosion, with After biting his hand off, almost literally, I only got as far as 68,100 miles on the clock. A fortnight later, it was ‘But what about…?’ before he interjected. ‘Don’t worry,’ he resubmitted for a test and passed, with 121,000 said. ‘It’ll be a P-reg by the time I’ve finished with it…’ on the clock – clearly, there’s an excellent welder somewhere on Pluto.

Who is Big Mike? Well, that would be telling. What we do At this point, I decided to cut my losses as know is he’s had 30 years in the car trade and picked up some something was clearly amiss. Could it be, perhaps, seriously funny tales along the way. that a car needed an MoT in order for its registration

‘Quite often, when a vendor sells a rot-free car it means you buy the car, and get the rot for free.’

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Paris Motor Show

Five alive for Lotus as it steals the Paris limelight Lotus launches new models and shocks motor show

ELAN

LOTUS stunned Paris Motor Show goers with an extravaganza that dropped jaws. The flurry of cars was breathlessly non-stop: one minute, a new Esprit was being presented.

The next, Mickey Rourke was pulling the covers off a new Elan.

The next, Bob Lutz was apologising for not being able to be there…

What is Lotus trying to do?

Reinvent itself as a premium manufacturer to take on Ferrari and Aston Martin. It is leaving its subPorsche, specialist nature far behind and becoming a luxury brand instead. With prices to match.

It will all be backed up by posh branding, a marketing push of a totally different league to today, plus loads of motorsport activity to include today’s F1 operation all by spring 2013.

What about the dealers?

Nothing is confirmed – but the network WILL change radically.

Dealers will face much tougher standards, probably requiring big investment. It is expected the network will be significantly reduced.

Is it right to be a touch cynical here?

Time will tell. They have the right people, the money, and the talent at Lotus really is without question.

Elan

The Porsche 911-rivalling sports coupe one When? Autumn 2013 How much? £75k Up against? Porsche 911 Carrera Engine? 4.0 V6, 450bhp, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive How fast? 3.5s 0-60mph, 192mph How green? 199g/km CO2, optional hybrid, optional KERS. Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says: ‘The Elan will convert people to Lotus.’

Kia Optima Kia has made waves in every car sector it’s reinvented itself in. But still, said COO Paul Philpott, there are three sectors where it has work to do. The Mondeo sector is one: the Magentisreplacing Optima is the answer. Kia has very high aims for this car, within a D-sector that still commands high numbers in the UK.

Ford Focus It’s such a staple of British life, any new Ford Focus is significant. With this one, Ford has taken the ‘global’ experience it learnt from designing the Fiesta, and stepped things up a gear. Can Ford reinforce its UK stranglehold with this 2011 car?

ELITE

ELISE

Bentley Continental GT

How is it doing it?

With big investment from its Malaysian owners Proton. Nearly £800m, some are saying – and work is already underway to rebuild Hethel in order to make the cars.

Other notable debuts

ESPRIT Esprit

The high performance supercar one When? Spring 2013 How much? £110k Up against? Audi R8 Engine? 5.0 V8, 620bhp, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive How fast? 3.4s 0-60mph, 205mph How green? 250g/km CO2, optional hybrid, optional KERS Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says: ‘The Esprit is the ultimate supercar.’

Elite

The 2+2 front-mid-engined folding hard-top GT coupe one When? Spring 2014 How much? £115k Up against? Ferrari California Engine? 5.0-litre V8, 620bhp, front-mid-engine/RWD How fast? 3.7s to 60mph, 195mph How green? 215g/km CO2, hybrid optional, KERS standard

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says: ‘It’s the ultimate sports car feel with comfort and space.’

ETERNE Eterne

The four-door saloon (and Elite-derived) one When? Spring 2015 How much? £120k Up against? Aston Martin Rapide Engine? 5.0-litre V8, 620bhp, front-mid-engine/RWD or AWD How fast? 4.0s to 60mph, 195mph How green? 220g/km CO2, hybrid optional, standard KERS Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says: ‘There is nothing else like it out there in terms of design and performance.’

Elise

The entry-level one When? Spring 2015 How much? £35k Up against? Porsche Boxster Engine? 2.0 four-cylinder, 320bhp, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive How fast? 4.5s to 60mph, 167mph How green? 150g/km CO2, engine stop-start (’mild hybrid’) Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says: ‘This is a natural progression for us.’

Like them? Let us know, see p10

Footballer’s lives have been waiting for this one. New metal is what keeps the luxury market ticking over, and Bentley has arguably kept the current Continental GT on sale too long. This car changes that. Bentley’s taking the Porsche route of evolution with the styling. Can’t argue with that, we say.

Range Rover EvOque Range Rover is heading straight into BMW and Audi heartland with the £30k Evoque – with great looks, spot-on image and fuel efficient engines, there really is little that counts against it. They showed the first image of the five-door at Paris, too!

Hot cakes for sale, anyone?

Renault Zoe Renault thinks leasing electric car batteries, rather than selling them, is how to popularise electric cars.

This cuts list prices, which makes sense (on EVs right now, they’re too high): combine this with the styling of Renault’s Paris Zoe concept supermini EV, and you’ve all the makings of EV allure. Don’t be fooled by the concept tag... ‘It’s 95 per cent there,’ said a spokesman…

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CCD CHANGES ARE COMING

WE’LL GET YOU GOING

The Consumer Credit Directive (CCD) changes are coming and are about to alter the way dealers sell finance. Fortunately, Black Horse is here to help

To find out how these CCD changes will affect you, please speak to your Account Manager or e-mail

thefacts@blackhorse.co.uk

steer you through. We’ll start implementing these CCD changes from 25 November and we have a comprehensive package of training and support planned for dealers this autumn. Black Horse will get you going on the right road for CCD.

Finance available subject to status. Indemnities may be required. Black Horse Limited, St William House, Tresillian Terrace, Cardiff CF10 5BH.

CarDealerIss32.indd 26 1561-BH CCD Press Ad 210x297 20mm Gutter.indd 1

9/10/10 11:12:33 6/10/10 10:04:06

0 10:04:06

...in association with finance FLA tweaks its test to comply with new rules FLA experts have improved the Specialist Automotive Finance test to comply with new ccd regulations. The new sales processes are required by the consumer credit directive which came into force this month. extra questions have been incorporated into the SAF test to cover these; the test has been extended to 60 questions, with 20 questions dedicated to the ccd. In fact, the directive is now the most heavily weighted part of the test.

FLA head of motor finance, Paul Harrison, said it would complement dealers’ own processes for getting staff up to speed on this important issue.

He said: ‘Although most lenders will be introducing their own ccd training for their unique processes, we hope our SAF test will be a useful starting point for industry-wide ccd compliance.’ ccd demands car buyers are given the fullest information and protection related to car finance. Sales processes that need to change are detailed in the SAF test, so dealers are in no doubt. He said: ‘I believe

Sutton

Steering you through change that by reading the material and taking the new extended SAF test, staff at dealers and lenders will be well prepared for these important regulatory changes.’ going one better, the SAF can be accessed free of charge. The FLA will keep the ccd questions in for a year, to help compliance with the new rules.

After that, it will revert back to the existing 45-question structure. By then, everyone should already be up to speed with what they need to change for ccd…

£3.4m recovered Harratts gets SAF group Harratts has by police and FLA MoTor announced plans to spend A TOTAL of £3.4m of car buyers’ money has been recovered by a partnership between the police and the finance industry.

Over the past 12 months, the vehicle fraud unit of the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service has recovered 200 cars on behalf of FLA member motor finance companies. More than 60 fraudsters were arrested in the operation.

Set up using private funding from the FLA three years ago, AVCIS police officers have recovered approximately £12.4m-worth of cars obtained using fraudulent motor finance.

These recoveries are good news for the industry, as fewer losses mean savings can be passed on to customers through attractive and reasonable finance deals. It has also been revealed that the FLA has agreed to sponsor the unit for a fourth consecutive year.

‘By catching fraudsters our partnership with the police is helping motor lenders to stay competitive and ensure customers are offered the best possible terms’, said the head of motor finance at the FLA Paul Harrison.

Money talks

£50k in staff training schemes.

The Yorkshire-based company confirmed three programmes to train its employees across its business in an effort to strengthen its network growth.

The news comes as Harratts revealed its sales staff have undergone SAF-approved additional training to ensure they give car buyers the best possible advice.

I

n less than two months time, one of the biggest changes facing the POS motor finance industry will come into effect for all dealers. I’m talking, of course, about the Consumer Credit Directive (CCD), which we will implement for all new business on November 25.

We’ve already contacted our dealers to let them know what’s in store and how Black Horse intends to support them, so that we are all ready to hit the ground running come the date of implementation.

We’ve taken great care, when interpreting the new legislation, to consider how it will affect you. As a result, the information we share with you will be clear, accurate and well explained.

While this new legislation does bring with it some significant changes to the way in which finance is sold at the point of sale, it should by viewed as a positive step forward by all within our industry.

We made the decision to go early with our live date to give dealers time to fully embed the new processes within their own sales systems, well in advance of the official live date of February 1 next year.

As with all legislative change, there is a plethora of new requirements to be considered and responded to, and our specialist CCD working party has already come up with showroom solutions and a detailed programme of training which is being rolled out to dealers next month by our fieldbased relationship teams.

Having fully trained, knowledgeable sales advisers on board is critical and our sales teams will help guide your staff so that they have a good understanding of the detail. Our sales teams will also show our dealers how our leading showroom technology can help them ensure compliant sales. This will also help speed up and enhance the buying experience for customers, while at the same time cutting down on paperwork. In the meantime, Black Horse dealers should start planning to incorporate CCD into their existing FSA training, competency and self audit processes. If you’re unfamiliar with FSA procedures, please speak to your Black Horse sales representative. We want our dealers to feel reassured and confident knowing that they have us on their side.

Who is Chris Sutton?

Chris is managing director of Black Horse Motor Finance

MOTOR FINANCE MADE SIMPLE blackhorse.co.uk

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finance

Deal finder

Finance news Car Dealer rounds up the latest stories from the world of car finance

Service plans can help boost profits CAR dealers are being advised to look at service plans to help keep profits from fluctuating. Market ructions in the used car sector means sales are down on 2009 levels, which is putting dealer profits at risk.

The Warranty Group says this gap can be managed if car dealers look to make more money on each deal – and selling finance and insurance products like service plans is one way of doing this.

Basically, says the firm, it is a double profit opportunity – once on the initial sale, and later as a way of capturing future service and repair business.

Ian Simpson, sales and marketing director, said: ‘Because economic conditions remain difficult, used car customers remain open to the idea of buying products that allow them to plan their future motoring expenditure as exactly as possible.’

Bridford ties up insurance deal BRIDFORD Financial Solutions has announced a partnership with Nowell & Richards Insurance Services. The collaboration aims to provide premium buyers with a ‘one stop shop’ for financing and insuring posh cars – that will save cash too.

Bridford owner Tim Marlow said: ‘The natural synergy between the two companies means we are able to offer a complete solution to financing and insuring prestige vehicles at the best rates on the market.’

The latter point is key, added Nowell & Richards MD Richard Nowell: ‘Both companies have extensive client lists and we hope to be able to benefit from this and offer clients excellent levels of service and competitive packages to help them reap the rewards of driving luxury cars.’

As a further draw to the racy motors Bridford finances (through both franchised and independent car dealerships), Nowell & Richards can also arrange track day insurance for posh cars…

october New cars

Volvo S60 Volvo dealers are seeing the new S60 range quickly grow. This month, first details of the V60 estate version have been announced, but it’s the UK-fresh S60 saloon that’s new to dealer showrooms right now. Volvo is making dealers’ job easier with a 7.9 per cent PCP that, on a £23,295 D3 163 ES model, asks for a £6,035 deposit. The carrot is a manageable £349 a month for 36 months, before a £7,662 final payment. Total payable? £26,261.

A mightily affordable finance deal, in other words; with this to post on their showroom windows, along with the obvious lure of a BMW 3 Series rivalling Volvo, it’s no wonder dealers

are chuffed. The new model certainly looks good as well, and the new downsized five-cylinder diesel brings an offbeat thrum to this sector of the market. The really economical DRIVe version doesn’t arrive until next year, though.

Specification Model: Volvo S60 2.0 D3 163 ES Price: £23,295 Engine: 2.0-litre turbo diesel, 163bhp 0-60mph: 8.7s Max: 137mph MPG: 53.3mpg CO2: 139g/km

Ford Mondeo Many customers in the marketplace for a large new family car won’t be able to stretch to a Volvo. Enter the new Ford Mondeo, totally refreshed to enhance this staple Ford dealer car’s desirability. Ford has quickly devised finance offers to match, too: the new 2.0 145 Zetec five-door is available on a very keen 4.9 per cent APR PCP deal.

24 monthly payments of £339 undercut the Volvo – and that’s after a manageable deposit of £4,093. This is matched by a Ford dealer allowance of £500.

It means a total charge for credit of just £1,021, and a total amount payable of

£19,466. Guaranteed minimum final value is £6,727; chances are, Ford may well again have something new to tempt them. For now, the fine-driving, good-looking new Mondeo remains one of the class leaders.

Specification

Model: Ford Mondeo 2.0 Zetec 145 Price: £18,445 Engine: 2.0-litre petrol, 145bhp 0-60mph: 9.6s Max: 130mph MPG: 35.8mpg CO2: 184g/km

Seat Ibiza ST SEAT has something new in the market that’s an interesting take on both cars. The Ibiza ST is a stylish supermini estate, offering big car boot space practically for a low purchase price and running costs.

Even better is the Solutions PCP deal it is launching the car with; this makes the 1.2 TSI Sport, with metallic paint, available for 35 payments of just £149 a month.

The deposit is £3,384 on the £12,493 car, which again is highly manageable. Only a steep £5,542 final payment could dissuade – but as this is based on Seat’s strong retained values, maybe that’s less of an issue. Total payable, thanks to

an 8.6 per cent APR rate, is £14,327. Oh, and if you’re wondering about just how practical a supermini estate is, try this: the boot is 430 litres – EXACTLY the same size as the estate sister to that new Volvo S60 above! The Mondeo hatch beats both…

Specification

Model: SEAT Ibiza ST 1.2 TSI Sport Price: £14,290 Engine: 1.2-litre turbo petrol, 105bhp 0-60mph: 10.2s Max: 118mph MPG: 55.4mpg CO2: 119g/km

MOTOR FINANCE MADE SIMPLE blackhorse.co.uk

Finance subject to status. Indemnities may be required

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...in association with

Finance news Car Dealer rounds up the latest stories from the world of car finance

Finance firms get a hand from HPI HPI has supported an FLA and ACPOS initiative to get back cars snared after being illegally driven without insurance.

The Finance & Leasing Association will now work with police forces in Scotland to retrieve vehicles impounded by the police when the driver is caught for insurance evasion. Any vehicle seized by police will have a background check to see whether there is outstanding finance. The finance company will then be contacted, allowing them to recover the vehicle before it is crushed or sold.

HPI’s Alan Bishop said: ‘The scheme utilises our HPI CrushWatch service, developed in partnership with the FLA to tackle illegal driving and which is free of charge to police forces. £6.8m worth of cars recorded on finance were checked and at risk of being crushed last year.’

VAT overpayment fears for dealers CAR dealers may face tax bills when HMRC starts claiming back VAT overpayments it made on demonstrators. Baker Tilly expert George Bull is warning dealers to be prepared for unexpected demands from the Inland Revenue.

It is because HMRC now feels it has repaid too much to car dealers, following claims by car dealers for OVERPAID tax. These relate to the ‘Italian Republic’ claims.

Many car dealers have submitted claims for tax-back cash, says Bull – some payments have ran into millions of pounds. But now, HMRC reckons it has paid some car dealers too much.

It is because they have changed their mind on a previous view that partial exemption does not affect car dealers: ‘HMRC now believe that some motor dealers will be partly exempt by virtue of the number of demonstrator vehicles sold and, as such, those businesses should reduce the value of their claim by the amount of input VAT they are not entitled to claim on overhead costs.’

More details from bakertilly.co.uk.

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© 2009 Exxon Mobil Corporation. Mobil 1 is a trademark of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.

With a proven record for performance, Mobil 1 is the World’s leading synthetic engine oil. But leading in technology is only one thing; Mobil 1 goes further to boost your business performance. Because meeting the high demands of today’s customer triggers a higher demand. Mobil 1: the surest way to make the most out of your lubricant business. To learn more, visit mobil1.com

CarDealerIss32.indd 0173_M_A4_livre 1 30

9/10/10 11:12:51 1/27/09 11:07:53 AM

07:53 AM

[Forecourt]

C-ing double It might not be a looker, but the new C-MAX pairing is likely to be a volume seller very soon

B

Ford Grand C-MAX Price: £20,995 Engine: 1.6-litre EcoBoost Power: 150bhp, 240Nm Max: 134mph 0-60mph: 8.7s Economy: 41.5mpg CO2: 159g/km

uyers looking for a seven-seat Ford will have some tough choices to make with the introduction of this, the new C-MAX. Joining the Galaxy and S-MAX in the Ford line-up this month is the replacement for the Blue Oval’s popular compact people carrier and it now comes in two body styles.

The spiritual successor to the outgoing model is the larger Grand C-MAX (left) – this has seven seats, sliding rear doors and a range of new engines to tempt buyers. The smaller five-seat C-MAX (main picture) is seen by the maker as a softer option to the new Focus which will be sportier than the outgoing car when it arrives in 2011.

For this test we focussed on the larger car which is set to account for two-thirds of C-MAX sales.

Featuring the maker’s now famous kinetic design it boasts the signature Ford grille at the front, sweeping headlights and a new piano-black finish to the plastics.

To be honest, it’s not the prettiest of cars in this sector – which includes the VW Touran and Vauxhall Zafira – but it’s what’s on the inside that really counts. Here it’s well appointed and designed with real thought.

The button layout has taken cues from mobile phones, separating functions from the centre console and adding them to the steering wheel for intuitive inputs. Inside it also has the look of the new Fiesta and Ka with a swooping centre console, smart steering wheel and high-quality materials.

Buyers in this segment demand practicality – Ford sees the C-MAX mostly being bought by families – so the sliding rear doors which offer easy access to the cabin will be a real boon.

The rear seat configuration is also flexible with the centre seat of the middle bench folding away

into the chair behind the driver. This is very easy to do and creates a walkway to the two rear seats.

Those rearmost perches are only really for children as there’s little legroom, but for emergency seven-up trips they’ll do just fine.

Potential buyers will be pleased to hear that just because they’re buying a family car it doesn’t mean driving gets dull. The C-MAX really is great to drive – the new electric power steering is full of feel and perfectly weighted and the new six-speed gearbox is far better than the outgoing unit with a pleasant, knotchy throw.

For a people carrier – even a compact one – it handles brilliantly, with little body-roll in the bends.

But the real gem is the new 1.6-litre petrol EcoBoost powerplant. It produces 150bhp and 240Nm of torque which is spread throughout the rev range making the C-MAX extremely responsive.

Other options for under the bonnet include two lower powered 1.6-litre petrol units and two TDCI diesels – a 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre – both of which are excellent.

Standard kit has also been improved over the outgoing model with a host of handy extras thrown in. On the most popular trim level – Zetec – buyers get those sliding rear doors, Bluetooth handsfree, voice control, a handy powered rear hatch, alarm and parking sensors.

There’s more good news for potential owners too – residual values are better than the outgoing car, insurance ratings are lower and the cost of the cars have been cut in comparison to the old ones.

The C-MAX range starts at £16,745 and the Grand C-MAX at £18,745. We were really impressed with the C-MAX – packed with kit, comfortable and enjoyable to drive it’s the perfect car for expanding families. [JB]

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Monte Carlo

or rust

We head to the most glamourous F1 circuit in the world in the most unglamourous cars possible – to raise money for industry charity BEN

M

the onaco. Absolutely filthy – but in ctraffi l, smal A e. sens rich ing stink the journey. a car for less than £500 to complete rs of choked principality for the pilla the event after sold be Those cars would then s to leak Euros. proceeds the all capitalism, the whole place seem and ion auct BCA ial at a spec cash, but it’s also But not only is it rammed with handed to BEN. n. And, Stefa like le Peop too. le peop d s there would full of weir To add to the fun we told team us. like and best car come to think of it, people ed be prizes for the best them was our trip to tive to make Let me explain. Bangers4BEN 3 incen an them g givin – s dres fancy led between ing for the excit the billionaire’s playground, nest more their bangers look a little the Mediterranean team that sold the for France and Italy and basking in gong a Plus e. ntur epic adve £500. The profit. Here’s how climate, in cars costing less than their car at the end for the most clutch of a saw r Dove from trip d roun 1,700-mile on. we got nals – from main teams of motor trade professio of boring s mile le tack – rs ture ufac man dealers to PROJECT STEALTH on subs and the it late.

French toll roads, plasticky jamb In typical Car Dealer style we left for six months diary Gendarmerie. the in been had en Bangers4B you see on e weeks thre Stefan – the half-naked boat hand rise surp by so quite how it took us ome party at the nd me. But beyo is the right – was Car Dealer’s welc off take to due were we before we were sat taking Monaco harbour’s edge. While . it did. And we panicked multi-million er, eBay and in the prosperous panorama of Dunc set about scouring Auto Trad GP us famo the ide ite the desp but pound gin palaces, just outs iot, char Gumtree for a suitable plete with wacky XJs and a ar tunnel, along jogged Stefan com Jagu ries, 7-Se BMW of s attraction at Dunc and I, et, we were Bermuda shorts. Taking one look Range Rover all coming in on budg mock pilot’s our in bs thum poor like out with 1,700 cially standing espe – bility relia t abou worried ent), he insisted outfits (I’ll explain that in a mom miles to tackle. g our contacts. on a picture.

So instead we set about squeezin Civic da Hon £250 a in h , the .com Now, during our trip sout Cars ion4 Friends of the mag, Auct bird (again, I’ll ket group rmar – dressed to look like an SR71 Black supe car of site web ly trade-on used to some weird ps with a 1996, explain later) – we’d got quite Motorpoint, soon came up trum n Stefan whe So os. phot for ests requ itre engine, 100k looks, and 1.4-l ’ ghtly ‘spri , Civic da Hon P-reg he wanted one of ths. Cost to us? mon asked for a picture we assumed few a miles, tax and MOT for us. But that wasn’t the case... ain. barg A £250. on English. No lem – it was ‘Take picture,’ he asked in pige But there was one glaring prob re on earth whe g derin won ed, repli we ce of me chan problem, more was e ther and , turquoise it became clear myself aco Mon he was concealing his Canon. Then to ng growing wheels and drivi hippy-coloured a he wanted a shot WITH us. ing pilot us of was e ther than ping into line So we needed a ‘You send it to me,’ he says, step bore box to the south of France. ra. came the for ing in the world car st and salut dulle the e mak to plan A plan. ns to run off, ‘I’m Stefan,’ he shouts as he begi remotely cool. re.’ of how to do ‘From Haiti – you send me pictu Problem was we didn’t have a clue How r. orde an was It s of crisis: time in That wasn’t a request. do ys alwa it so we did what we ‘Stefan from a plan was later are we going to do that? Google nds seco few A ter.

Twit to Turned need a private 140 characters of Haiti’? But before we realised we’d beginning to form – thanks to rounded a he’s n agai him find to tor burgh-based car investiga Edin an – .biz rapz CarW om. wisd and is gone. cover the car in to multi-million pound Sunseeker red offe wrapping company – of many during inating that That weird episode was just one elim thus us, for vinyl black a matt industry charity. a few minutes And our epic adventure in aid of our ur. colo sick-inducing turquoise of raising funds firm, offered to ng Bangers4BEN is our unique way tinti a on, Lond agon Pent later s paid a £500 entry decided – we’ll for the automotive cause: Team black-out the windows. So it was n, meals datio mmo acco their red cove h long-range Mach fee – whic the bird, Black like look it e mak tasked with finding aft. > and ferry crossings – and were 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircr

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Words: James Baggott Pictures: Dean Smith

t

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We’ve been building bespoke websites exclusively for the motor industry since 1999. A number of our sites for dealerships have won awards. And being automotive professionals ourselves, we know what your site needs to help you sell more cars.

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Part of

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Bangers 4BEN3 Project Stealth in all her glory

Is that really a Delorean?

The rabbit needed regular petting

Why? Because that’s a cool plane. no other reason. dunc was soon dispatched on a 1,000-mile shakedown to get the car prepared for the off, which was due to take place just three days later. A fair few miles and costa caramel lattes later and he was back, exhausted, but with a car that was starting to look seriously cool. carWrapz.biz had even managed to sort us USAF stickers for the sides and a huge US Air Force crest for the bonnet. Halfords chipped in with a new stereo, some driving Leds for the front, and red neons that we’d use as ‘landing lights’ every time we stopped, and we were just about ready for the off.

DAy OnE

W

e couldn’t drive an homage to the coolest plane in history without the right attire so we spent double what we had on the car on making sure our outfits were spot on too. Flight overalls were sourced, an Army surplus store raided for authentic badges and belts and flightpacks bought on the internet. And even if I do say so myself, we looked Top gun cool – but my word did we get some strange looks at the services...

We picked up our pay-load in guildford – snapper dean Smith – and were soon closing in fast on the White cliffs. With the Top gun theme tune blasting out on the stereo, Flight officer dunc ‘Ice(cream)Man’ chappell and Pilot James ‘Moose’ Baggott made a textbook landing in SeaFrance Ferry queue 246. And were promptly trumped…

This year teams had gone to town on dressing cars and their costumes.

The first entrant that caught our eye was one of the Marshall teams who’d sourced a left-hooker Kia carnival seven-seater for £250 and dressed it up like a Zebra. It even had a tail. The drivers – dez Thompson and John cook – also donned zebra jump suits and looked brilliant.

A few minutes later the enterprise rent a car foursome arrived in one of the best cars I’ve ever seen – a Saab 9000 that had been made to look like the delorean from Back to the Future. And then the team got out – one with a wig and doctor’s coat looking like doc ‘where we’re going we don’t need roads’ Brown and a trio of Marty McFlys. The Salorean – as it was nicknamed – looked incredible. Purchased on eBay for £460 it had already completed four charity rallies before it and came complete with flux capacitor, bolted-on afterburners and a smoke machine in the boot.

While we were admiring it things took a rather surreal twist when a rabbit turned up. nissan gB had entered two teams in the rally and one of

them had sourced a 100 nX for £420 and spent £2,000 getting it covered in fur. Yes, fur. It had bucked teeth attached under the number plate, a bushy tail and two massive floppy ears that flapped in the wind. drivers Bjorn churchill and chantal Mendes even had bunny costumes. other teams hadn’t gone quite as mad. The other nissan gB team had cleverly added a number of empty picture frame graphics to their car which they’d then charged friends and colleagues to write messages on in exchange for sponsorship cash. others had spent their money wisely on luxury cars to make the trip south a comfortable one. There were two BMWs – one from HPI and one from north oxford garage – as well as a Marshall team in a Lexus LS400, two Volvos – one V70 estate from WinWinWorld and a 940 estate from another Marshall team. others had gone the cheap and cheerful route.

A Vauxhall Astra from Bayliss cost just £145 while the last Marshall team rocked up in a Toyota corolla they’d bought for the princely sum of £0.

But the real shock of the event was about to unfold. Surely the signwritten orange and green 02-reg Audi TT rolling up wasn’t taking part in ‘bangers’ 4Ben? It sure was. out jumped Adam Mepham and daniel cholewinski of carlyle Finance – dressed as Batman and robin – with grins from ear to ear.

‘Yes we paid £500 for it,’ explained Adam. ‘Well, at least that’s what it says on the invoice…’ Which, as the rules state, is fine. To be honest, we really don’t mind teams bending the rules a bit and spending a bit more on their cars because at the end of the event, when they’re sold at BcA, it means more money for Ben. However, time would tell whether when we got back to dover the Audi pilots would be quite so pleased with their purchase…

THE TRIP SOUTH

I

f you were traveling to the continent on a SeaFrance ferry on September 12 we apologise if you thought your seasick tablets were making you hallucinate. Yes, there really were two US pilots, a brace of bunnies, Mario and Luigi of Super Mario Bros fame, Batman and robin, two teachers, two zebras, karate kids and the moustached ones from the 118118 adverts getting baguettes and coffee. The whole scenario was so surreal it would have made Salvador dali scratch his head.

The first leg was a 383-mile trip south on toll roads to dijon – our first night’s stop. >

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Bangers 4BEN3 Dunc and I had made a pact at the start of the trip that we’d wear our flight suits all the way there and back – and our helmets until the hat hair got unbearably painful. We thought that was only right given that the Honda teams from Bangers4BEN 2 wore their Impossible Dream get-up for the entire journey.

It wasn’t long before the convoy had spread out and we settled into monotonous miles of French Autoroute. There’s no doubt that the French toll roads are a great way to travel – they’re relatively traffic free, well surfaced and you can do 80mph legally. But my word are they dull. Where are the middle-lane hoggers? The Wombles? The up-turned caravans?

The Audi-driving sales reps nudging you off the road? On the M25, that’s where. Strangely, you sort of miss them when roads are this dull.

Project Stealth was performing in typical Honda fashion too: Boringly.

Our 100,000-mile model worked perfectly. Nothing was faulty, every switch did what the factory intended it to do. The seats may have lost a bit of their padding over the years – in fact a park bench would have been more comfortable at times – but everything else was spot on.

Dunc, snapper Dean and I decided to take regular food and coffee breaks to break up the Camp X-Ray-style mind-numbing boredom of the Tarmac, while Twitter and texts kept us up-to-date with our fellow participants. Spotting one ‘live’ en route became a real event. The look on French truckers’ faces when the Salorean chased by an SR-71 buzzed them was priceless.

Not all of us were having quite such an uneventful trip down though.

Team WinWinWorld sparked a manhunt by the Gendarmerie when they left a petrol station after forgetting to pay for 70 Euros worth of fuel.

They soon realised their mistake but it cost them three toll charges to turn back and pay for the unleaded.

‘When we got back to pay, the attendant seemed more annoyed that we hadn’t been stopped by the Gendarmerie,’ said the team’s Mat Hutchin. ‘Apparently the BEN team saw the cops bombing down the motorway, blue lights flashing, searching for us!’ Whoops.

soon the subject of their cameras, not the famous rubble-strip lined arc.

Apparently there are more policemen in Monaco than residents – at least that’s what Piers Morgan said on TV – so it’s a surprise that we were allowed to park up for so long. As the teams slipped out in between the Bentleys and Ferraris (which really do account for every other car), Dean snapped them and they began their victory lap.

The convoy completed the circuit – including a blast through the famous tunnel – before going their separate ways to enjoy the destination. The Rabbit lapped the Casino’s fountain – much to the disgust of the concierge – while others parked up to do some shopping.

Of course, by shopping we mean buy cans of coke at five Euros a pop…

We parked up at the harbour’s edge and enjoyed the incredible view (until we were disturbed by Stefan). Monaco really is a special place. Its links to Formula 1 just make it even more special. Everything that people say about it is true – the money, the boats, the cars. As a destination for a bunch of £500 bangers it was perfect.

Over dinner in Nice the teams were buzzing. Tales of strange looks, the long drive south and the achievement were recalled over chicken and beers. And already the talk has turned to next year’s event and where we should head…

RICH & FAMOUS fter an overnight rest stop and some French ‘food’ in Dijon we started our big day – the drive to Monaco – with a health check from The AA. The fifth emergency service had provided a patrol – staffed by Andy McMorran and Brian Evans – to follow our convoy there and back. And just in case of a problem they couldn’t fix, The AA had also given every team free European Breakdown Cover as well as driving packs and maps. Nice people.

Co-pilot Dunc was a bit worried one of Project Stealth’s wheels was loose. This was highly likely as we’d taken the alloys off a few days before to spray them matt black and weren’t what you’d call thorough with the tightening procedure. We were more concerned with getting the neons working. Andy and Brian checked our SR-71 over with a torque wrench and it was soon cleared for take-off.

A

‘Everything that people say about Monaco is true – the money, the boats, the cars. As a destination for a bunch of £500 bangers it was perfect.’

Turns out our wheels wouldn’t be the only thing The AA duo would be looking at. The Carlyle Finance caped crime fighters were queuing up behind us with their TT – it was starting to display a few warning lights and they were getting concerned. We left the four of them working out how to remove the black plastic covering the engine and what looked like it could be a long diagnostics check.

I’d like to say the panorama improved as we headed south – but that would be a lie – however the weather certainly did. As we finally battled our way through an annoying Lyon traffic jam the sun came out and promptly baked our matt-black car. In hindsight black was probably the wrong colour to pick when your Civic’s spec is missing air con. At least we had a sunroof to bake Dean’s bald head with.

We arrived at the meeting point just outside Monaco to re-group, and after a soaking from an almighty thunderstorm headed into the principality just as the sun started to come out. Following the Performance PR team who’d helped us organise the trip, we edged on to the ‘grid’ among the supercars, super rich and super confused. Following the famous track up the hill we bemused the loaded pedestrians with our eclectic mix of metal before coming to a stop on the famous F1 hairpin. The area was packed with tourists and our strange cars were

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We were proud of our Civic’s badge

Approaching 88mph... (allegedly)

Project Stealth by Monaco harbour – ladies loved it Qu’est-ce que c’est McFly?

100% true

THE LONG DRIVE HOME

A

fter a night of partying, day three saw a sedate drive back to Dijon.

Some of the participants headed to Cannes and St Tropez for lunch while others slept off hangovers on the beach and soaked up the sun. Team Project Stealth did neither – a magazine printing problem back home kept me holed up in my hotel room talking a colleague back home through resending the last issue’s cover. Stressed out, we left late, and chased the teams back to Dijon.

Thankfully my mag problems paled into insignificance compared to others. ERAC to the Future’s Salorean had developed a healthy appetite for oil and had been flashing a warning light for several hundred miles.

The AA predicted it was terminal, but the foursome decide to press on all the same.

But it was the TT that was really struggling. Those warning lights were a precursor to the Audi putting itself into ‘limp home mode’. Although sounding like a gentlemen’s problem, this in fact restricts speed to 30mph – not very handy on the Autoroute.

Most teams arrived in Dijon refreshed and relaxed – while poor Adam and Daniel rock up at 1am looking decidedly worse for wear.

As this was the last night everyone would be together, presentations for the best dressed car and best fancy dress were handed out. The BEN representatives on the trip called the shots here and there could only really be one winner in the car stakes – ERAC to the Future’s Saab Delorean got the nod. Although the Rabbit and Project Stealth did get mentions in dispatches.

And, as the BEN team admitted, it probably wouldn’t be a popular choice, but we managed to secure the best fancy dress with our pilots uniforms! ‘It was more the fact you’ve worn them all the way there and back that swung it for us,’ admitted BEN’s Kelly Neal. ‘We felt sorry for Dean having to put up with the smell.’ It was not a fix – we repeat, not a fix.

Day four was a depressing drive back through torrential rain to Dover – which Dean and Dunc slept most of. That’s the problem with a trip like this, going home always feels like a major comedown. Especially when the border guard at the ferry port has a distinct sense of humour failure at our uniforms. ‘Why are you wearing helmets?’ he asks. ‘Because we’re pilots.’

That didn’t go down well. In fact I think we’re lucky we got away without full body cavity searches. Welcome home boys. >

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Bangers 4BEN3 THE AUCTION

B

angers4BEN might be a lot of fun but there’s also a serious side too – raising money for industry charity BEN. Every single person that works in the motor trade, or an industry associated with it, can ask for assistance from BEN. The charity’s care homes look after 350 people around the country and they provide assistance to countless numbers of our colleagues every year.

That’s why raising money for the cause is so important – and why we had such high hopes for our line-up at the special BCA auction. Held at the incredible Blackbushe site, British Car Auctions put on the sale for free and waivered all buyers’ fees to create even more demand.

Most of our cars made it to the auction. Two were so far north we couldn’t get them to the sale on time – these will be auctioned off by BCA soon – while Bayliss’ Astra would have cost £150 to transport to the sale and only booked at £110 so the team donated £200 and scrapped it.

When the cars rolled into Hall One the trade flooded in to watch the mad cars sell. As site manager James Gibson ramped up the enthusiasm, there were some real surprises.

The Kia ‘Zebra’ Carnival stole the show making an incredible £1,000 more than the £250 the team paid for it, sealing the overall win go to Driven to Destruction. Other sales of note included Karate Skids’ Corolla selling for a £550 profit, the Nissan Almera went for £900 and even the Rabbit found a new home – making £750 in the process.

Our car sold for £375 – a disappointing return – but still profit. All the cars sold apart from the TT. The Carlyle Finance team had put a reserve on it of £4,400 and bidding only got up to £3,950. The team decided to sell it privately instead – adding £4,500 to our overall tally.

On the day the sale made £5,350 (including the £200 from Bayliss), add the £4,500 from the TT, and the £3188.61 raised by teams in sponsorship and Bangers4BEN 3 made £13,038.61 for the cause. And that’s before the Lexus and Volvo have been sold. Next year we’re planning on doing it all over again. But the end destination could be rather more, er, chilly…

We’ll be starting on a Saturday this time, so there’s less time out of the office, and the event will again take place over four days. If you’d like to register your interest now send an email to james@blackballmedia.co.uk and keep the provisional dates of October 8-11 free. [CD]

BANGERS4BEN: THE VIDEOS Watch our Making of Project Stealth video and see us at Monaco by typing bit.ly/projectstealth into your web browser Watch the Bangers4BEN auction at BCA and see the Rabbit, Delorean and Project Stealth find new homes by typing bit.ly/b4b3sale into your web browser

The Results

Team Car Bought for Sold for Driven to Destruction Kia Carnival £250 £1,250 Karate Skids Toyota Corolla £0 £550 Bangers & Cash Nissan Almera £500 £900 Swearing at Rabbits Nissan 100 NX £420 £750 Project Stealth Honda Civic £250 £375 WinWinWorld Volvo V70 £500 £600 Bayliss Brothers4BEN Vauxhall Astra £145 £200 North Oxford Garage BMW 730i £250 £275 HPI BMW 520 £310 £250 ERAC to the Future Saab 9000 £460 £200 Carlyle Finance Flyers Audi TT £500 £500 No Turning Back Lexus LS400 £500 – Griffin Growlers Volvo 940 £200 – SPONSORSHIP (so far) TOTALS

*1 Team sold car privately which excludes them from the overall competition. But we still salute their fundraising! *2 Price donated by team. *3 Unable to get to the auction in time, cars being sold by BCA closer to their dealerships

Profit £1,000 £550 £400 £330 £125 £100 £55*2 £25 -£60 -£260 £4,500*1 –*3 –*3 £3188.61 £13,038.61

Special thanks to...

Dean Smith (twitter.com/dean_photo) for taking the pictures for free for us and putting up with our snoring on the drive down. Dean has just turned freelance so if you want to book him get in touch.

CarWrapz.biz – for wrapping the car TarMag.co.uk – for helping to organise the wrapping and stickers for our car PermaClear – for paying for the vinyl PentagonLondon.com – for expertly tinting our windows Auction4Cars.com – for supplying the turquoise Civic James Batchelor – for his help filming our videos and preparing the car Stikit.co.uk – for supplying the stickers for our car SeaFrance – for giving us a deal on the ferries The AA – for all their help!

Performance PR – for bringing Joe along for the ride and helping organise the trip Bluecycle and Hills-motors.co.uk – for finding the spark plugs for our trophies Halfords.com – for coming up with some cool pimping products and an awesome stereo to keep us amused.

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9/10/10 11:14:58 20/9/10 10:53:55

DRIVE TRAFFIC Your website is your online forecourt. So it needs to work as hard as you do. It’s also got to be easy to navigate and rank highly with Google and other search engines that will drive traffic to your website.

We’ve been building bespoke websites exclusively for the motor industry since 1999. A number of our sites for dealerships have won awards. And being automotive professionals ourselves, we know what your site needs to help you sell more cars.

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all good businesses should be conducting efficiency drives right now. opportunities to save money in car dealerships are extensive and all encompassing. We’re all familiar with the recession, and it’s not going to be over in a hurry. the only way to regenerate profits is to do what you already do, much better. Car Dealer knows this, so has been on the road to help. Here is our latest guide to how you can save money in your dealership.

How to save money on...

Trading cars

Tradernet

Trader-Net.co.uk 0844 877 1111

T

o say 2010 has seen volatility in the used car market would be an understatement. Many are predicting this uncertainty will continue into 2011, too – which, says Trader net director James Buxton, means it is more crucial than ever to review how you actually source and dispose of stock.

To be blunt, he says, if you’re sticking to methods you’ve long tried and tested, without testing new ones, you may well be missing out; for sales, sourcing, exposure and most importantly profits. enter his Trader net platform – an online auction that is guaranteed to be trade-only. This is an immediate draw in itself; but it isn’t the best bit, nor is the fact it runs 24/7 every day of the year. no, it’s the fact there are no buying or selling fees. At all! Sell one car or 100, you pay a flat rate. Buy one car or 100, and you pay a flat rate. Buy And sell way More than 100 and, yes, you pay the same flat rate.

Which is? Just £45 a month. ‘no catches,’ says Buxton. ‘It really is as simple as that. ‘The system provides dealers with what must be the most cost-effective route to disposal and acquisition in the market today. It also allows independent dealers and fleet disposal experts to offer stock to the broader market.’

CarDealer

More recently, he adds, an interesting trend has emerged. ‘A number of vehicles have been sold on the auction to franchise dealers. This underlines a need to remain incredibly focused on used car retailing while the uncertainly of the upcoming VAT rise and public sector cuts continue to cause mass uncertainty in the new car market.’

Speedy cashflow will help there, too: against a traditional auction, it’s much faster, reckons Buxton, with vehicles sold having to be paid for within three days.

Users don’t need to be internet experts – Buxton says the site is ‘exceptionally easy’ to use. It can upload five chunky 4Mb images in less than 15 seconds, for instance; that’s because he has invested in both powerful servers and intelligent design.

But it doesn’t want for sophistication. ‘The system allows you to set the auction duration, reserve and starting price, and even allows you to specify the finish time. This means you can avoid busy periods, such as weekends and such like,’ explains Buxton.

Users can set up custom email alerts, alerting them when a marque they are interested in is added to the auction. It will also send out emails informing both of your bid status, plus the status of the cars you’re bidding on.

The idea seems to be catching on. ‘We are currently adding around 250 new registrations a week,’ reveals Buxton. ‘We have had to recruit two new members of staff to cope with the growth of the business – and we are still looking for more! ‘our ethos is that by offering a range of vehicles across all price brackets, from independent franchised to fleet dealers, the site will appeal to a huge range of users. This certainly seems to be proving the case.’

That’s not all, either. ‘We have a couple of VerY large announcements hopefully just around the corner,’ teases Buxton. ‘You’ll be hearing more from us in the coming weeks…’ Watch this space, it seems. Saving time, effort and money all the while! >

Top Tip: Eliminate auction fees with Trader Net trade-only online auction by signing up for a bargain flat-rate monthly subscription.

James Buxton TraderNet

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CarDealer

How to save money on...

Warranties

Warrantywise Wisedealer.net 0800 001 4486

W

arrantywise is a big player in the private car owner world, thanks to one man: Quentin Willson. The UK’s most well-known car dealer fronts the Warrantywise business… because it was he who designed the firm’s gold-standard warranty. His aim? ‘To create the UK’s best used car warranty.’

He adds: ‘I’ve always dreamed of being able to offer customers a warranty like this one. nothing was ever good enough though. So, I designed my own.’ Promising the ‘highest level of cover in the marketplace’, Willson’s warranty is quite something on paper. Warrantywise ceo Lawrence Whittaker took car dealer through some of the key features.

‘For many years, we have been providing high-end warranties to premium dealers,’ Whittaker told us. ‘Well-known players, such as Sytner, Tom Hartley and graypaul. These expensive warranties cover all aspects on the country’s most expensive cars, and we have gained a strong reputation as a result.

‘However, we recognise there are big opportunities in offering warranties to ALL car dealers. This is why we have recently changed a lot of things in our warranty product make-up, in order to come up with a more affordable solution for mainstream car dealers.’

Whittaker is very keen, however, to point out that the quality of the warranty has not suffered: the Warrantywise reputation for quality and inclusivity is not put at risk.

He says: ‘All our warranties include no excesses to pay, no betterment clauses, consequential damage cover, no cooling off periods, choosable claim limits of up to £10,000 per claim – and various levels of cover from Platinum and gold, to Silver and Bronze.’

There’s more for dealers, too. ‘Because we operate as a service and maintenance plan, there are no FSA exams to take or hoops to jump through.’ This will be a BIg draw to some cars dealers… and as Whittaker adds: ‘We are VAT registered, so if dealers are too, they can claim the VAT back on the cost of warranties.’

With such comprehensive cover available to so many, the opportunities to protect and enhance your reputation are there for the taking. By offering a high level of cover, says Whittaker, you are minimising cause for complaint from car buyers. ‘This approach marks out which type of operation the car dealer is.

‘In my experience, there are two types of car dealer – the ones who want simply to offer a branded warranty to cover the basics, and those who see

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Tip: Save a customer for life (and up to four of their friends) by spending a little more on a warranty.

Instead of saving a few pounds and losing them, potentially hundreds of pounds, plus up to 10 more customers besides.

Lawrence Whittaker Warrantywise

warranty as a way of really looking after the customer. They understand warranty is the key to the future business of that buyer, and know that word of mouth benefits may arise because of it, too.

‘There IS a difference in price for such “real” cover. But when you think one happy customer can bring four more through the door – without you having to spend a single penny on advertising, prospecting or other marketing campaigns – you can see how the savings will start to add up.’

It is also easier to upsell if you offer Warrantywise cover, says Whittaker. Statistics show the trusted branding of Willson, coupled with the cover-all clarity offered by the schemes, means buyers are more confident their extra spend will be worthwhile: they’ll be getting something back for a little extra outlay, in the form of even greater protection.

Something that, at the moment, all buyers are thinking carefully about. They’re already committed to buying a new car, and will have searched hard for just the right one given their tight budget. How much more open they would be to the idea of assured protection of this car from an improved warranty…

Cover is not really all that expensive either, says Whittaker. ‘Warranties start at £35 for three months cover – and that’s still with us covering the car for “failure” and not simply “breakdown”.

This is a critical point, explains Whittaker. Some cheaper car warranties stipulate the car must actually break down before the scheme will pay out. ‘But not many faults will cause modern cars to physically stop; they are designed with built-in redundancies to keep on working, even if only in a limp-home mode.

‘It is hard to compete on price with warranties that stipulate this; our warranties will cover cars for failure, not just for breakdown, but this is by its nature far more inclusive. Our own figures show that car breakdowns are low – but car component failures are high…’

Dealers will be in good company by going with Warrantywise.

Whittaker says that groups such as Sytner and Maranello all give a very high level of cover, as reputation management is paramount.

‘By offering a warranty from us, car dealers can be helped to reach these standards,’ he explains.

‘Warranties are about far more than just complying with Trading Standards. If a customer is unhappy with a dealer, they’ll cost you word of mouth, which will cost you money. We’d be happy to help dealers save their reputation – and, longer term, large amounts of money in the process…’ >

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CarDealer

Tip: Avoid risk to car batteries AND lost car sales with a battery booster – that may even save money on breakdown recovery call-outs.

How to save money on...

Flat batteries Charging Solutions

Charging-solutions.com 01743 884 669

I

f a car you were interested in buying didn’t start, would you be so eager to buy it? First impressions matter – and we’re all familiar with the sinking feeling that comes when a customer’s first impressions are of a flat battery. That’s because we know car buying is an emotive process. The thought of spending £15k of hard-earned on something that won’t even start on the first meet is something many shy away from. With the help of charging Solutions, though, that sale can be saved.

The firm has recently started importing Fronius vehicle charging systems.

They’re a german firm with more than 60 years’ experience of battery charging. Their name is good enough for Bentley, Audi, rolls-royce, BMW and Lamborghini, among others, so reputation is not in doubt. But they also offer battery-charging sale-savers for car dealers, too.

Its newest product is its smartest yet. The AccTIVA SeLLer marries clever

active inverter technology with an external power supply. Perfect for car showrooms: it makes drained batteries on unattended cars a thing of the past. Press the remote and cross your fingers no more!

James Jean-Louis is Md of charging Solutions. He says that it is a compete solution to discharged batteries; there needn’t even be any issues with not meeting main dealer showroom standards. ‘due to the detachable mains and battery connection leads on the SeLLer, the unit can be placed completely out of sight either under the vehicle or in the engine compartment, with the leads fed down through the engine bay.’

There are obvious cost and convenience benefits, as it helps dealers avoid the expense of battery replacement under warranty. Most battery damage, Jean-Louis explains, is caused by ‘cycling’, where it is charged and discharged often. The SeLLer overcomes this by charging it fully when first connected – and then switching to a conservation charge to gently maintain this state. If you’re selling premium cars, which may not immediately sell, yet which may boast very expensive battery systems, it’s the perfect solution.

There’s even a special housing construction, which means you can use T-locking systems such as Kensington Locks. clamp it securely down and it won’t get stolen – again, ideal for shows. really, you can’t avoid taxing a battery on a modern car. even opening the door can draw a current of more than 40 amps, as the ecU instructs all control units to ‘wake up’ and prepare for an engine start. Here, though, it is the SeLLer providing the vehicle with the power required and not the starter battery, which remains in conservation charge mode. Ingenious!

So you can save a sale, save expenses And a lot of hassle too...

NO MORE DRAINED BATTERIES IN THE SHOWROOM Introducing the Fronius ACCTIVA SELLER... designed to help you SELL vehicles Now your customers will be able to try every feature of the vehicle all day long – every day!

O Intelligent 30A Power Supply O No harmful charge and discharge cycles – vehicle powered by the SELLER and not the starter battery O Battery fully charged when car leaves showroom O 100% Electronically safe, for vehicles and on-board electronics O Detachable leads allow unit to be placed out of sight O SELLER only supplies the power needed when required O Completely silent due to fanless design O Edge Guard protects paint and bodywork O Simple use – just ‘plug and charge’ O 2 YEAR WARRANTY O Ideal for SHOWROOMS, VEHICLE HANDOVER, VEHICLE LAUNCHES and MOTOR SHOWS O Full range of battery chargers also available – approved by major manufacturers

www.charging-solutions.com

Our sales team are ready to help – call

01743 884 669 or 07590 750 511 Charging Solutions Ltd SY5 9AN Powys Wales

info@charging-solutions.com

BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEMS PARTNER 60 YEARS OF CHARGING

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How to save money on...

finance quoting

Tip: Enhance your website and drive dealer finance with free online finance calculators and proposal forms from DSG.

DSG Finance

Itsabsolutelyfree.co.uk 0844 880 0660

L

ets face it, car buyers like to speak with you about buying cars. They don’t really relish spending 20 minutes sitting at your desk with you, as you enter fields on a finance form in order to generate a quote.

Indeed, they’d much rather do this themselves.

How do you drive finance uptake, then? You KNOW it’s often cheaper than bank rates, but customers will not really believe this if you tell them – and with no way of proving it, how do you get the message across? This is where independent finance provider DSG reckons it can help.

The firm services franchises and larger car supermarkets, with smart products that broaden dealers’ finance offers and, in a nutshell, help them sell more cars. It provides two free calculators which dealers can put on their websites. AutoQuote lets customers configure PCP or HP schemes – both balloon and simple HP – on the dealer site itself.

DSG’s Richard Hoggart says this ‘interactive configuration of the terms that suit the customer greatly enhances the buying experience for them’.

The AutoApply product goes one step further, and actually allows them to use this quote and apply for finance. Both products work independently though, so dealers can choose to take either one, or both.

‘They have been running for around two years now,’ says Hoggart. ‘Many

dealers, however, are surprised that we’re giving them out for free, so now we’re striving to get the message out there.’

The firm has a clear objective in mind with it, he explains. ‘We want to support the dealer community and to write finance business. If providing such services for no charge achieves our objectives, then it would be wrong to try and profit through fees.’

If you’re interested, DSG will make things as straightforward as possible to integrate on your site. ‘Dealers are provided with a specification document,’ explains Hoggart. ‘They will need their website maintainer to do some integration work based on our document. This will allow them to ensure the look of any quotation is in keeping with their website, and the dealer remains in complete control of this.’

So what does DSG get in return? Retail finance business, that’s what.

‘This is a great way for dealers to enhance their website, promote car sales more effectively and save money against the costs of IT companies who will charge significant sums for the same service.’

Couldn’t be more straightforward, really, says Hoggart. They want to supply the finance products, and reckon your website is the ideal shop window for them. In return for this exposure, they’ll give you a flash tool for your front page, while also helping you sell more cars and improve profitability. A win-win-win for you… and to Hoggart.

‘All our products are delivered via Maia Online. This system was the winner of the Institute Of Transport Managements Dealer Finance Technology Award in 2009, and we believe it is what sets us apart from our competition.’ >

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

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45 CarDealerIss32.indd 45

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CarDealer

Tip: Monitor how much ‘liquid gold’ you use, and improve profits on oil by more than a fifth – saving, literally, thousands…

How to save money on...

Wasted oil

Castrol Professional

Castrolprofessional.co.uk

T

hink how many technicians you have working for you. If we were to say you were wasting £1,500 every year for each technician you employ, what would you say? castrol Professional has the figures that show this, though – and it’s all down to oil wastage. You know only too well how much you spend on lubricants for car servicing and maintenance: it’s one of those thousandsof-pounds figures that stands stark on any supplies balance sheet.

And from that huge pile of cash, you are wasting up to 11 per cent.

Staggering, no? It certainly surprised many of the dealers castrol Professional surveyed. Most knew oil was being wasted – you can’t avoid spillages and the odd half-litre going into a demonstrator, goes the thinking – but they put the figure at under £1,000 in total. certainly not £1,500 per man.

The figures even came as a surprise to castrol Professional – which is now aiming to change all that, with the help of its expert equipment Services division. Andrew Bosworth is castrol Professional equipment services manager, and says the opportunities exist because the majority of dealers simply never measure oil wastage. ‘nearly half of dealers have no means of monitoring day-to-day oil usage. When you think that most oil waste occurs due to poor reporting across departments, it’s easy to see how the costs add up.’ don’t rest easy if you have an oil measuring system in place, either: one-in-five say they’ve never had it calibrated…

‘All this wastage hits the dealer twice – both in the initial cost of buying in the oil, and then through the missed profit of not selling it.’ enter castrol Professional Matrix, a highly researched fluid management system that is both high-tech and quite brilliant in logic. It consists of a keypad on the oil dispenser: To use, the technician enters a unique code, which ensures every last drop is fully accounted for.

This all flows, real-time, to an electronic management system that helps management track all oil usage. It not only shows which oil has been dispensed, but also identifies which technician has dispensed it. don’t think you can’t benefit, even if your oil storage systems are getting on a bit – castrol Professional says it can be retro-fitted to any dealer oil storage tank. Furthermore, as there is no need to cut pipes during fitting, there is minimal downtime when installing it.

‘The proof is in the field trials we conducted earlier this year,’ said Bosworth. They showed an improvement of 22 per cent on car dealer oil profits. When you factor this into the annual spend on oil, it’s a huge saving.

Implement it and, yes, you really could be coining in the real gold, not just save the liquid stuff… [CD]

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911for2011

Slow Progress Fixing up our trio of Mazda MX-5s to sell for BEN seems to be dragging on

T

here’s good news and bad news in our quest to turn £0 into a Porsche 911 for BEN by 2011. The good news is we’re well on the way to getting two of our three Mazdas back on the road. The bad news is it’s taking time – and time is something we haven’t got much of.

When we started our fundraising plan with a difference we said we wanted to get our supercar in time to celebrate the new year. The clue, after all, is in the name of the feature. But now it seems we might have to reassess our plan.

We’re aiming to get up to £12,000 to buy our 911 trade – which should equate to £14,000-ish retail when we sell it for the charity – so there’s a lot of work to do before we reach that target.

Our pot currently stands at £4,505 after we shelled out £500 on these three Mazdas.

Since our last update, Matt Kendell of White’s Motors, Portsmouth, and his team have been working hard to get G799 OCW and H109 XGH through MOTs. We’ve had success with the former. After a bit of welding it flew through its test. The latter is taking a bit more work though. That’s the one that failed on an ‘inadequate repair’ that’s ‘seriously affected

strength of the body mountings’.

Matt and his team have found the problem, but the workshop has been so busy with other (paying) jobs that they’ve struggled to fit it in.

By the time this issue is in your hands, it’s likely both will be on the road and ready for sale.

Unipart has chipped in with service kits for both cars free of charge. G799 has already had the work done including new plugs, air filter, fresh oil and oil filter – and it’s now running like a dream. Once H109 has been through its MOT it’ll get the same treatment.

The only real problem now is how they look.

The paintwork on G799 is in need of some serious buffing while H109 isn’t quite as bad, but does still need work. Thankfully Autoglym have offered to give both the works. It has a team of valeters that can bring back most cars from the brink so we’ve booked them in for the once-over mid-October.

Once that has been sorted we’ll get them up for sale. We’ve decided to let the White’s Motors team have the crashed MX-5 – PJI 180 – that we’ve used for bits as payment for their work.

They’d already done us a deal on fixing them up, but instead of digging into our pot of cash

we’ve decided it’ll be easier to let them have the broken car. We know we’ve kind of missed the summer selling season for the soft-tops now, but we’re hoping the appeal of two original, classic MX-5s will be enough to find buyers even when the nights have drawn in.

We think we can get at least £1,500 each for them. They will both have full MOTs, will have just been serviced plus we’ll add six months tax too. The only thing we’re not sure about is where to sell them – we’ve had a lot of luck with eBay recently, while Auto Trader found a home for our Fiesta for a healthy profit. Perhaps we’ll pitch the two sales sites against each other and put one on each to see which finds us a buyer first.

Hopefully by this time next month we’ll have flogged them both. With that in mind if you’ve got anything interesting that you want to sell us that could make a decent profit for BEN please let us know via email: james@blackballmedia.co.uk.

And if you want to keep up to date with our campaign in between issues type bit.ly/911for2011 into a web browser which will take you straight to the latest posts on our website.

The story so far...

Bought for... £0 Sold for... £250

Bought for... £0 Sold for... £790.03

Bought for... £985.25 Sold for... £2,150

Bought for... £2,000 Sold for... £5,005

All bought for... £500 Sold for... £?

Current total: £4,505

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49 CarDealerIss32.indd 49

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Feature

Winning Mobil 1 has rebranded its products to make it easier for dealers to upsell, reports Richard Aucock

Team

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I

f you are a car maker, you default to one oil when filling car engines on the production line more than any other: Mobil 1. It is used by more brands to fill engines for the first time than any other oil in the world. And now, the world’s leading synthetic oil is aiming to capture similar default status with car dealers and their customers.

Work has been underway on this all year – aimed at making the product more easily marketable by car dealers, and more clearly understood by customers. Earlier this year, Mobil 1 launched the New Life, Extended Life, Turbo Diesel, Fuel Economy and ESP Formula product ranges.

Each does, well, exactly what it says on the tin! The idea was to bring real clarity to the oil buying process, particularly for the majority of buyers to whom oil technology is unfamiliar.

Mobil 1 aimed to use its ‘Lewis Hamilton cool’ brand image with a clear statement of what each oil did, to make life as easy as possible for buyers.

Awareness was driven through a concerted marketing campaign, involving Lewis Hamilton, celebrity chef James Martin and various others. Dealers have reported it’s been pretty successful, too.

Now though, it is time for the second stage of this rebranding drive. As franchised dealers will be only too aware, most new cars need manufacturer-approved status for the oils they use. Highertech engines won’t run on just anything, if peak efficiency is to be realised; indeed, using the wrong oil could even invalidate a car’s warranty if big problems later emerged.

To help make things clearer given these stipulations, Mobil 1 has launched the Super family of engine oils. All fully

approved and certified by leading test bodies and car makers for use in their showroom-fresh machines. We spoke to Mobil 1’s Jo Mitchell to explain the latest stage in the firm’s rebrand.

‘The whole idea behind it is to improve clarity. Dealers and customers alike can find the world of oil confusing. Simplifying this will make life easier for everyone – particularly now the oil-standards association ACEA has given oil makers tougher targets to meet by the end of the year.’

ACEA is the association that regulates engine oil – it’s the allimportant benchmark test. If oils fail to meet the guidelines set out during the independent testing, they won’t get the vital certification at the end; simple as that.

The stricter tests Mitchell speaks of are to account for the increasing technological demands being made of engine oil. From the end of the year, all oils will have to come into line with the ACEA 2008 regulations. Diesel particulate filters in particular make demands from lubricants you could only dream of a few years back.

To mark it making the necessary formulation changes to meet this, Mobil 1 has launched the Super rebrand to tie in with this – giving dealers an extra line of information to help capture the upsale with customers. Not that they’ll want to go too deep into the ACEA rules, mind.

That’s because the ACEA codings are pretty involved: A is for petrol, B for diesel and C signifies some form of catalyst or emissions control. >

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Feature ACEA C4, for instance, is for diesel engines with a particulate filter. A5 and B5? This is low viscosity, which must show a 2.5 per cent improvement in fuel consumption compared with normal oil.

Scratching your head? This is with insider knowledge, too: imagine how your customers must feel. This is why Mobil 1 removes all of the confusion with its simplicityinducing rebrand. In Mobil 1 language, it’s simply Super 3000, Super 2000 and Super 1000.

The best is Super 3000 – this is fully synthetic engine oil. Super 2000 is part synthetic, and Super 1000 is normal mineral oil. Again, to reinforce, all are both ACEA and car manufacturers approved.

A customer chooses the right oil by simply searching for their make of car on the label. For example on the Super 3000 range: they have maker-specific naming, explains Mitchell. ‘We have a Super Formula V for Volkswagens, Super Formula M for Mercedes, R for Renault, P for Peugeot, and so on. This clarity is much appreciated by dealers and is helping them battle the minefield of codes they are inundated with.’

Developments have continued for other brands too, says Mitchell: just recently, a new oil for Jaguar Land Rover models was introduced.

‘Even better, such clarity can avoid order errors, so dealers will always have the exact stock they need to meet each need. No delays, no lost sales, no affected service schedules – the benefits to our clarity drive are wide-reaching.’

And if they help push up sales of oil, then you’re quids in. Aftersales can be boosted by profitable oil sales; choosing a Mobil 1 premium upgrade instead of a regular oil will cost the customer around £20 per annum.

‘Multiply this across the whole customer base and the income opportunity becomes plainly clear for all to see.’

It’s not just multi-litre sales that are important, though.

Mobil 1 is a leading proponent of the Top-Up pack. ‘These continue to be one of the biggest-growth aftersales profit centres for dealers,’ says Mitchell. ‘Unfortunately, they still don’t receive the attention they should.’

The Top-Up pack theory is one of insurance. Many customers buy oil simply as a distress purchase, paying way over the odds at filling station forecourts to

extinguish the glowing red light on their dash. This shouldn’t be happening if the customer is a regular at a car dealer, though! Because that dealer should have sold them a Top-Up pack.

‘It is essential for dealers to ensure that every customer who leaves the dealership has a Top-Up pack in their car.’

This is not purely for profit and sales revenue; it is also doing the customer a good turn by insuring them against the drama of flashing red lights. After all, by the time the light comes on, the damage is usually done – and, with extended oil change intervals making service work much less frequent, the chances for this occurring are high.

Company car drivers should be a particular target here.

They cover high miles, often working the car quite hard, and are often unwilling to get under the bonnet to check the oil. If the light in their car does come on, they’ll want it fixed as soon as possible, without risking damage and awkward questions with the fleet manager. A Top-Up pack would give them the exact reassurance they’re after (and also stop them having to fork out themselves at the forecourt if worst comes to the worst…).

Here’s where the importance of a knowledgeable service advisor comes in, she says. ‘Investment in training should be a prerequisite.’ As part of its Best Practice programme, Mobil 1 has a range of training programmes to help service advisors. ‘These highlight the benefits and revenue potential, while also recognising the increasingly demanding environment they work within. Do all you can to help your staff by sending them on courses such as these.’

This will benefit the business as well as the sales advisor and their customers. Car dealer aftersales should increasingly start to think of themselves not just as plain ‘after-sales’ divisions, but service providers. The economic situation means customers are holding on to cars for longer. Not only that, they’re also trying to delay services for as long as possible.

A good aftersales department will not solely focus on selling a service, says Mitchell, but will try to do much more besides. ‘They should deliver support and solutions to their existing pool of customers. In return, they will provide valuable word-of-mouth marketing, something no dealer should ever underestimate.’

‘It is essential for dealers to ensure that every customer leaves the dealership with a Top-Up pack in their car.’

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If you become trusted and seen to be ‘doing the right thing’ for the customer, they will have confidence in you and keep on returning to you. offering the right products is an important part of that – which is where, says Mitchell, trusted and wellrecognised brands such as Mobil 1 come in. Use us, she says, to support your efforts in managing relationships and keeping customers for life.

This is why Mobil 1 is so heavily into its own marketing – to support dealers and foster these longer-term relationships. customers must be retained, and new ones proactively sought, with savvy marketing initiatives, says Mitchell. ‘High-impact, prominent sales support material will only go to reinforce the upgrade and Top-Up message.’

The brand has run some comprehensive marketing campaigns through the year, which dealers and garages have been encouraged to hook into. ‘When we launched the first stage of the rebrand earlier in the year, we committed to a prolonged exposure campaign to support our retailers. It’s about a concerted campaign rather than a one-off. ‘our James Martin campaign was perhaps the most widely-

seen. He spent a week finding the best and worst roads in Britain, blogging about it as he went. But we also ran a big launch campaign of the oil range at McLaren’s HQ, and also managed to get Lewis Hamilton to do a radio campaign for TalkSport!’

There’s more to come now the Super range is here, too.

‘We are soon launching our first iPhone App, and we are also about to start promoting an online driving game via The Sun newspaper. Both intend to build upon the clarity of our new ranges, meaning customers can feel enthusiasm about the product, rather than being overawed by confusion with unfamiliar numbers and codes.’

The complete package, in other words, which makes for quite a proposition. Mobil 1 not only makes you money, it helps you retain customers And feed more in from the brand’s own marketing efforts. If, every time a customer sees Lewis Hamilton or a McLaren racer, they think of YoUr car dealer, then that can only be a good thing.

Become the default dealer for Mobil 1, in other words.

Simple, eh? [CD]

Dealers can capitalise on Formula 1 association with the new Mobil 1 packs, left

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53 CarDealerIss32.indd 53

9/10/10 11:16:12

AT100 Looking for - Car Dealer

4/10/10

10:29

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Looking for quality stock?

Maximise your buying opportunities With over 4700 subscribers advertising more than 1000 cars a day, Autotrade-mail subscribers enjoy first choice of the prime stock offered by other members across the UK. It should be an essential part of every successful sales team.

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The UK’s leading online real time used-car trading network CarDealerIss32.indd 54

9/10/10 11:16:13

right click

...in association with GForces

When servicing the car is also servicing the customers’ needs GForces’ Tim Smith looks at customer retention

B

CA recently published their highly researched Used Car Market Report 2010 which pointed out that the vehicle parc is ageing due to many years of successively lower new car volumes than the peak in 2004.

Less new car sales and a subsequent decrease in vehicles less than five years old mean the franchise dealers’ traditional service hunting ground is shrinking. Furthermore, cars are becoming more reliable and have longer service intervals so the market dynamic is shifting to older vehicles. It is not going to kill the service business – Google actually report a 15-20 per cent increase in service-related searches since 2004 – but it’s making things harder.

With the dealer franchise market consolidating and fewer, larger groups, leveraging their size, margins will be squeezed. Such shifts in the market mean dealers need to make more of every element of their business and also react specifically to the shift in the service profile over the coming years.

Dealers must also be mindful of how the mega brands like Amazon and Tesco are forcing car dealers to make changes to the way they do business. While this may not be appreciated by many motor retailers right now, the influence imposed by these companies is changing the way consumers interact with suppliers especially in the digital space.

One dealership that has already recognised the need to focus on their service business and use technology to improve their interaction with customers is Wessex Garages. Keith Brock, managing director, said: ‘We are focused on the sale of service plans, exceptional levels of customer satisfaction and retention.’

To confirm the importance of the internet to his service business, Brock added: ‘Our service department generates more bookings from the website which in turn has reduced the burden on our phone lines. By giving customers the

NetDirector Auto TM

Retaining a customer for the service of their purchase would appear to be trickier than you might think

‘Dealers who have more than 80 per cent service retention tie their customers to them with more reasons to service with them immediately after purchase.’ opportunity to use online service scheduling on the website they can book when it’s convenient for them rather than having to call us during normal working hours. Tools such as live chat, SMS and email have had a very positive impact.’

There are a few tools in the digital space to help dealers bolster their service marketing to bring back these lost customers including vehicle inspections, online servicing scheduling and cross selling to help reclaim what they have lost and increase absorption rate.

This move toward pragmatism and improved

customer service is the bedrock that will help dealerships flourish into the next economic boom. Top performing dealers are utilising such forms of automated communications via email, text and calls to attract more customers to their service lane.

Those dealers who have more than 80 per cent service retention tie their customers to them with more reasons to service with them immediately after purchase so they can establish a habit. Another leading motor retailer, Lifestyle Europe, have integrated a successful aftersales section on their website, allowing customers to not only book a service directly online, but have the option to amend servicing requirements and add extras to create a bespoke service.

Therefore with an average of only 20 per cent of dealership customers returning for a service, we question why and how dealers are missing out on this 80 per cent margin when it costs 10 times as much to capture a new customer than it does to retain a current one.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Steve Jobs, Apple

NetDirector Auto V8 is the industry’s first ever Software as a Service website platform. With automatic updates, V8 integrates new technologies and features faster and simpler than any other platform on the market.

Isn’t it time you powered your digital dealership with a V8?

0845 658 9290

www.netdirectorv8.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55 CarDealerIss32.indd 55

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WMS_Egg_AD_0910.pdf

29/9/10

12:01:38

?

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What comes first in your business?

The story of unrequited love.

Profit can be a by-product of a robust sales process. Get the process wrong and it could all end in tears.

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Meet and greet can be just like romance - awkward and rushed, avoided completely to save embarrassment or satisfying for all parties and the perfect start to an enjoyable process. There’s no need to be selfish, all you need to do is ask your customer if it was good for them!

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Many years ago I carried out a mystery shop at a car supermarket and it turned out to be exactly that. It was a mystery why anyone would shop for a car at that dealership.

As soon as I arrived a salesman who never introduced himself shouted at me from across the car pitch – “Are you going to buy a car today?”, “Have you got the money to buy a car today?”, “Are you ready to buy a car today?”

No, but I was considering committing a homicide. He had destroyed any pleasure that could be found in buying a new car in less than 30 seconds. Yet this was important to me and I wanted to be wooed and enjoy the thrill of the chase, after all I wanted to be treated properly. Any thought that this could ever be a long lasting relationship just evaporated so I felt completely deflated.

I decided to see the whole thing through, which lasted approximately 2 hours and included a low down on the disastrous love life of the salesman (now there’s a surprise), a test drive designed to frighten me into submission and the immortal words “yea mate this motor is well nice, know what I mean?” I left without buying and he never asked me my name once. He’s never written or phoned and I’m devastated.

A well structured and practised sales process will help every business to build a strong relationship with the customer who is about to make one of their biggest purchases and needs your help and guidance every step of the way. It’s no surprise that the most successful salesmen stick closely to a logical process and this includes creating customers for life through after sales opportunities. We’re not talking flowers and chocolates here, just building a relationship for the future. The sales process doesn’t have to end when the customer drives away from the forecourt.

It’s never too late to re-kindle the spark of a fulfilling relationship. WMS have a range of warranty and protection products designed to fit into your sales process from meet and greet right up to delivery and provide all of your customers with reasons to keep coming back to your dealership. It’s simple we make you money!

If you would like to discuss the products and services available from WMS Group, please contact me, Eric Stone, on 07789 682502 or email sales@wmsgroupuk.com

CarDealerIss32.indd 56

0844 477 4909 www.wmsgroupuk.com 9/10/10 11:16:14

auctions

Mercs making big used car money

Henstock Auction stations Enhance your business by using the social networking

T MANHEIM has reported strong sales of Mercedes and Smart models at their Leeds auction house.

Some 211 vehicles from the MercedesBenz and Smart ranges went under the hammer at a Mercedes-Benz closed auction, in front of 63 dealers both in the hall and online recently.

Following a strong selling tradition, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabriolet and estate were top sellers, with Manheim reporting sales of E-Class cabriolets averaging £39,459 (equivalent to 112 per cent of Glass’s Guide and 118 per cent CAP Clean), while estates cashed in an average of £32,065 (equivalent to 105 per cent of Glass’s Guide and CAP Clean).

The star of the show though was a Mercedes-Benz E350 CGI Sport Cabriolet which sold for more than £42,000 – achieving 107 per cent of the Glass’s Guide price, 119 per cent of CAP Clean and

99 per cent of the original price new.

Head of used car remarketing at Mercedes-Benz UK Barry Pleat said: ‘The prices achieved today reflect the desire in the market for these class-leading models. The cabriolets looked striking and the dealers’ strong interest in these cars reflected their strong desirability.

‘Our continued partnership with Manheim Auctions enables us to ensure that the new generation E-Class is presented in an environment appropriate for its status and ensures our remarketing objectives continue to be achieved.’

Manheim’s James Leese added: ‘We are very pleased with the success of the auction debut of the new E-Class cabriolet and estate car at Leeds. Manheim has a good relationship with Mercedes-Benz UK and the success of this auction further demonstrates Manheim’s remarketing capability and expertise.’

Slow decline in LCVs halted after three months BCA has reported average values of light commercial vehicles grew in August – halting a three-month decline.

The month saw values improving from £99 to £4,211 in August compared to a £168 fall recorded in July, says the auction house.

August’s increase is the first sign that seasonal trends are returning to the market – slower summer seasons and busier autumns – says Duncan Ward, BCA’s general manager for commercial vehicles.

He added: ‘Professional buyers were notably more active in August, buying stock to get ahead of the game before the anticipated hike in demand expected in September.

‘Buying was still selective, however, with

well-specified vehicles in good condition outperforming the market by a considerable margin, with little appetite for vans requiring refurbishment or repair.

‘The buyers serving the retail market are looking for retail-ready vehicles to take away and sell tomorrow, not vehicles to sit in the repair bay or spray booth before they can be sold.’

Nearly-new rose from £10,875 to £12,383 and part-exchange values were up £59.

However fleet and lease average values fell back. These values dropped by 1.5 per cent to £4,757.

Values have now fallen for four months in a row, following a run of six consecutive ‘record months’, added BCA.

he power of social networking is well established.

Businesses are now looking at the opportunities they can leverage in these areas as well as the threats that may or may not be associated with moving into social networks.

Research for BCA suggests the internet is continuing to grow in importance for used car buyers (18 per cent cite it as a factor). It’s used not so ‘Businesses much in transactions but as should accept a research tool.

Generally, business talk the need and social chatter does not to be thickmix well. Those occupying skinned. Online, and using social networks have finely-tuned senses everybody’s a to when businesses critic, an expert are sticking their oar in.

Businesses should and an author.’ accept the need to be thick-skinned. Online everybody’s a critic, an expert and an author....

Facebook pages, like blogs, can be used to outline the latest cars available or deals on servicing with optional pictures and videos too. LinkedIn is a ‘business version’ of Facebook, allowing you to form relationships with clients and potential clients.

Dealers can use YouTube to post ‘how to buy a used car’ video, or promotional broadcasts. MySpace can be used in a similar manner – particularly if you’re aiming at the younger end of the market. Twitter is limited to 140 characters per entry (tweet) but can be used as a portal to bring visitors to an existing site and can advertise brand values to a new audience.

Follow these basic rules to get the most from social networking: Don’t be a lurker – it is all about engaging in conversations, so be prepared to leave comments.

Use Google Alerts to monitor what is being said about your business and use RSS feeds to get the latest information instead of visiting your favourite sites.

Proactively manage your online footprint – ensure accurate, reliable information is available and don’t ever post embarrassing photos. Build your Google rating – this is what powers the search engines. Blogging and social networking can optimise your presence making what you have to say more prominent. Think multimedia – look beyond the written word!

Who is Simon Henstock?

Simon is UK network operations director for BCA. Find out more at www.bca-europe.com or call 0845 600 6644.

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Trader directory

F

inding the right cars at the right prices isn’t always easy difficult. On top of that, selling cars that you don’t necessarily want to put on the forecourt can be tough

Alfa Romeo Sturgess Alfa Romeo Scott Allen 0116 275 8800 scottallen@ sturgesscars.co.uk Buying used Alfa Romeos up to five years old Benfield Alfa Romeo Dax Pearce dax.pearce@Benfield motorgroup.com Alfa stock wanted up to 40,000 miles. Call for immediate bid. 07501 257220 or 0191 211 2200

Aston Martin Mangoletsi (Holdings) Limited Fraser info@mangoletsi.com 01565 722899 HWM Aston Martin Paul Spires paul.spires@hwm.co.uk 01932 240611 07850 326755

Audi Wimbledon Carriage Company Limited John Crisp 07885 211872 Walton & Epsom Audi Mark Loughnane 01932 220404 07739 519306

BMW Williams Rochdale Craig Fenlon 01706 717700 07808 092110 Vines Group Dominic McConnon Buying used BMWs up to 5 years old 07776 246905 dominic.mcconnon@ vinesguildford.bmw-net. co.uk

Bentley Harwoods Simon Elkin 01798 877211 07803 088711 Jack Barclay Bentley Derek Bennett 020 7629 7444 07713 887 886

Citroen Marlborough

too. Our Trader Directory aims to alleviate these problems. Instead of thumbing through endless pages in price guides looking for the right trader, you can consult the Trader Direc-

Ferdi Khab ferdik@marlborough. uk.com 020 8225 5840 07949 219 830

Hyundai

Daihatsu

Hatfield Hyundai Mark Littler/Tim Barnes 0161 767 9500 07920 599 394 07787 921 222

Woodford Motor Co Ltd Stephen Barnard 0208 504 0017 Proven Daihatsu Keith Pattison 01428 652554 07771 547406

Ferrari HR Owen Ferrari Nick Carey nick.carey@hrowen.co.uk 07824 362229 Monza – Ferrari Andrew Ludlow ferraribuyer@ntlworld. com 07889 305 053 Maranello Ferrari John Dutton 07817 019 456

Fiat Glyn Hopkin Ltd Glyn Hopkin 07730 711889 Sturgess Fiat Ian Callis 0116 254 1717 icallis@sturgess cars.co.uk Buying used Fiats up to five years olds

Ford Benfield Des Sammon des.sammon@benfieldford.co.uk 07831 828024 Lifestyle Ford Richard Walker 07748 177889

Honda Brayley Honda Mark Corr 07812 342 635 Thames Honda Group Jerome Chandiram 0208 845 3551 Holdcroft Honda Luke Regan / Chris Thursfield 07971 543884 07813 737 921

Bushey Heath Hyundai Jon O’Donoghue 0208 420 5100 07976 177 959

Jaguar Sturgess Jaguar Chris Allen chrisallen@sturgess jaguar.co.uk 0116 282 6868 Buying Used Jaguars up to five years old

Murray Motor Company Graeme Robertson 0131 200 8888 07765 252745

Maserati Meridien Modena Warren Butt 02380 283404 07860 530703

Lifestyle Mazda Mark Spowage 01293 845045 07974 770020

W R Davies Neil Swan 07739 625958

Jeep

Mercedes-Benz

John Holland Sales John Holland / Mark Holland 07836 690818 07831 824644

Hughes of Aylesbury Tony Oblein 01296 319600 07785 781623

Chapelhouse Kia Andy / Neil 01925 570800 07891 531129 07825 311 297

Lexus Lexus Twickenham Dave Cooper / Steve Gurr 07831 704134 07921 408983

Land Rover Sturgess Land Rover Chris Allen chrisallen@sturgess jaguar.co.uk 0116 282 6969 Buying used Land Rovers up to five years old Beadles Land Rover Greg Wilcox g.wilcox@beadles-landrover.co.uk 07740 717209

Lotus Dick Lovett 07808 940777

Nissan

Mazda

Mitchell Mazda Brian Blanchard 07826 817850

Lee Gilmour Tower Hill Garage 01923 263700 07768 367085

North City Autos (Chingford) Ed Tyrrell Interested in low mileage FSH vehicles 020 8524 8855 07736 610285

Sturgess Nissan Ian Callis 0116 254 1717 icallis@sturgess cars.co.uk Buying used Nissans up to five years olds

HR Owen Nick Carey nick.carey@hrowen.co.uk 07824 362229

Charles Hurst Jaguar Stewart Begg 0208 938 1300 07534 927 821

Kia

tory, either in the magazine or online, and find them right away. If you’d like to be included you can submit your details in the Directory find out how at the bottom of this page.

Tony Purslow Ltd Simon Sneath 07810 771 161 Mercedes Benz of York Darren Hewitt-Craft dhc@rybrookmercedes. co.uk 01904 694000 07701 001491

Mini Vines Group Dominic McConnon Buying used MINIs up to 5 years old 07776 246905 dominic.mcconnon@ vinesguildford.bmw-net. co.uk Sytner Mini Matthew Jones 07870 688793 Specialist Cars Stevenage – Mini Jason Ayriss jason.ayriss@specialistcars.co.uk 01438 760303 07918 680445

Mitsubishi Livery Dole Mitsubishi Nigel Clegg 07836 516945

Peugeot Robins & Day Guildford Julian Mills 01483 414 311 07795 291087

Porsche Paragon Mark Sumpter 01825 830424 07778 968911

Renault Sunwin Renault Preston Sean Dean 01772 329900 07790 253827 Renault Retail Group Ian Millichip 07718 967026

SEAT Hobin Group Ltd – Seat Alex Cullen 07950 566427 Kings Seat Mike Read 07789 956937

Skoda Mitchell Skoda Richard Macklin / Ross Thompson 07500 539791

Smart Smart of Exeter Darren Webber 07940 756063

Subaru Cheam Subaru Richard James 07836 549553 Sparshatts Subaru Louis Jones

louis.jones@sparshattsgroup.co.uk 01489 785111 07775 508255

Suzuki Glyn Morgans Ltd Glyn Morgans 07836 240059

Toyota Currie Motors Toyota Dave Cooper / Steve Gurr 07831 704134 07921 408983 Toyota World Stuart Smith 07966 172397

Vauxhall Monorep - Vauxhall Andrew Ringer 020 8836 3031

Volkswagen Ridgeway Newbury Andy Jones 07917 635534

Volvo Sturgess Volvo Scott Allen 0116 275 8800 scottallen@ sturgesscars.co.uk Buying used Volvos up to five years old

General Buyers Sol Cars Tim Hancock Wanting part exchanges of all types up to 4k 07973722243 timfoxhancock@btopen world.com Barry Freedman 01753 543105 07836 338694 barry.freedman@virgin.net Trade buyer of PX vehicles anything up to £8k Manor Hill Cars Danny Jay The best buyer in the UK for low mileage hatchbacks 01707 642 007 07931 317 007 danny@manorhillcars.co.uk Philip Wight Motor Co Philip Wight Sensible buyer of hatch and estates up to £4k please.

01923 220000 phil@click4cars.co.uk

To have your details included here log on to CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/trader-directory.htm There’s also a more comprehensive list of traders on the website, updated throughout the month.

Prices for six month listings: £29.99 On Website | Or £39.99 for Magazine & Website Prices inclusive of VAT. Payments can be made online via credit or debit card. Your details will appear in the next available issue

74 | CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerIss32.indd 58

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[suppliers guide] IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A MOTOR TRADE SUPPLIER YOU CAN FIND THE DETAILS OF SELECTED COMPANIES HERE AUCTIONS Auction4Cars W: auction4cars.com

FEATURED ENTRY...

BCA T: 0845 600 6644 W: british-car-auctions.co.uk

Dealer-auction.com W: dealer-auction.com T: 0844 3350174 E: info@dealer-auction.com

Dealer Auction W: dealer-auction.com T: 0844 3350174 E: info@dealer-auction.com Info: The Uk’s fastest growing online trade auction.

Franchised dealers can offer physical trade cars to over 1500 registered trade buyers nationwide.no monthly subscriptions, no Buying fees and no Sale no Fee makes us the most profitable option for franchised dealers wanting to maximise their dealerships trade car profit.

AUCTION CAR BUYING SERVICE AuctionCarBuyer.co.uk T: 07768 338585 W: auctioncarbuyer.co.uk E: joe@auctioncarbuyer. co.uk

CALL RECORDING VoiceSafe T: 0845 421 5050 W: voicesafe.co.uk E: enquiries@c-a-solutions. co.uk

FINANCE Bridford T: 0844 815 8888 W: Bridford.co.uk E: sales@bridford.co.uk Black Horse Motor Finance T: 02921 386 338 W: Blackhorse.co.uk E: michael.mcpartlin@ blackhorse.co.uk Info: Black Horse is the market leader for point of sale motor finance in the UK and has been supporting the industry for more than half a century. To find out what Black Horse can do for you contact us today.

Car Finance Company T: 0800 023 2440 W: thecarfinance company.co.uk E: Via website Clements Car Credit T: 08444 142100 F: 08444 142200

W: aawarranty.co.uk E: paul.hanna@ aawarranty.co.uk Info: AA Warranty offers peace of mind to customers, with comprehensive cover for mechanical and electrical breakdown lasting up to three years. Full training is given to ensure you add value to your profile and profits. A range of Products are available, including mechanical breakdown, gAP, tyre, Key and MoT insurance. We provide telemarketing, data services and dealer finance.

DEALER AUCTION is the latest firm to be included in our not-tobe-missed guide. It’s the most affordable way to get your company in front of thousands of car dealers every month.

Simply call the number above to find out how your company’s details could be included in next month’s issue!

W: clementscarcredit.com E: tony@clementscar credit.com Info: Motor finance broker for car dealers, prime and sub-prime.

First Response T: 0115 946 6370 W: frfl.co.uk E: Via website

KEY TRACKING Keytracker T: 0121 559 9000 W: keytracker.com/cd E: sales@keytracker.co.uk

OILS Mobil 1 W: mobil1.com E: Via website

ONLINE ADVERTISING Compucars T: 0845 667 6000 W: compucars.co.uk E: Via website Motors.co.uk T: 0845 265 5502 W: Motors.co.uk e: sales@motors.co.uk Really Good Domains T: 0161 482 7650 W: reallygooddomains.com e: sales@reallygood domains.com Skupenet T: 020 8610 6103 W: skupenet.com e: info@skupenet.com

Online Trading Autotrade-mail.com T: 0870 2000 848 W: autotrade-mail.com E: sales@autotrademail.com Info: The UK’s leading online real time used-car trading network. The fastest place to buy and sell trade prime stock.

The most active site of its type. over 4,000 dealers subscribe. The professionals choice. run by dealers for dealers. The original and the best. call for your Free two week trial.

PROVENANCE CHECKS HPI T: 01722 435444 W: hpi.co.uk Apply at cardealerMag.co.uk and register in the fold down corner tab

SOFTWARE Dragon 2000 T: 0845 838 2000 W: dragon2000.co.uk E: sales@dragon2000.co.uk WinWin World T: 020 7538 6688 W: winwinworld.co.uk E: callmenow@winwin world.co.uk

TEXT SERVICES Any Text T: 0845 638 1421 W: anytext.co.uk E: info@anytext.co.uk Info: established 1994, AnyText specialises in text SMS

services. Keep your customers informed by text from your Pc. Send full vehicle details, including pictures.

MoT reminders, service follow ups. customer satisfaction surveys. Free account set-up. no minimum billing or monthly charges. Full, free support. Just buy bundles of texts as needed.

TRADE BODIES Motor Industry Code of Practice W: motorindustry codes.co.uk

WEB DESIGN

TRAINING Rapport Training T: 07793 612401 W: rapporttraining.co.uk E: rapporttraining @fsmail.net Info: Specialising in car finance and insurance sales training for managers, owners and sales executives. our realistic and interactive approach to the learning experience helps increase both skills and profitability in these key business areas.

VALUATIONS HPI Valuations T: 0845 300 8939 W: hpi.co.uk Apply at cardealer Mag.co.uk and register in the fold down corner tab

WARRANTY AA Warranty T: 08707 559 614

Warranty Management Services T: 01844 290536 W: warrantymanagement services.co.uk E: sales@warrantymanage mentservices.co.uk Info: Warranty Management Services offer a full range of unique products designed to increase profits. Bespoke programmes to suit your requirements and fit electronically into your sales process. With over 2,000 supporting dealerships throughout the UK, supported by 30 dedicated field managers delivering sales and FSA compliance training.

Autotorq.com T: 020 7384 8501 W: autotorq.com E: enquiries@autotorq.com CDWD T: 0844 880 1630 W: cardealerWeb design.co.uk E: info@cardealerweb design.co.uk Info: Fed up paying web designers to do a job you can do yourself? cdWd can help. We’ve collaborated with HPI to offer a unique product.

Codeweavers T: 0870 443 0888 W: codeweavers.net E: enquiries@code weavers.net G-Forces T: 0845 055 9040 W: digitaldealership.co.uk E: info@gforces.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79 CarDealerIss32.indd 59

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[ Classifieds ]

FBMFS $BS% EXCLUS IVE DEAL!

Car Dealer subscribers’ guide to the best offers from suppliers

FEATURING

BCA | Gforces | WMS | Winn Solicitors | Bluecycle | Autotrade-mail Progress DMS | Viper Image Media | Dealer Auction | Compucars UK Car Exchange Webzation | Zype | Any Text | TomTom | SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk |

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All new subscribers to Car Dealer are sent a copy of our special Car Dealer Exclusive booklet free of charge

Want to advertise here? Call (023) 9252 2434

HAVE yOU SUBSCRIBED? If you like CarDealer.and want to keep receiving it you need to subscribe. Just because you’re getting it now doesn’t mean you always will UnLESS you’ve signed up...

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Want to DRIVE TRAFFIC to your website?

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Part of

78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerIss32.indd 60

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[interview] Peering into the lives of the motor trade...

On The Spot name: Martin Peters Age: 37 Lives: Weston-super-Mare Any family? Single. Two brothers What do you drive? Vectra VXr What was your first job? Working for my dad delivering eggs around devon and cornwall!

What was your first car? 1981 W reg VW Polo (Yellow, nice!) It was the vicar’s car, or so the garage said.

Who do you work for now? Autoclenz.

What does this involve? My main activity is managing the Autoclenz sales force and ensuring we grow the business through our bespoke brands of valeting, SMArT repair, collection and delivery and specialist cleaning.

What would you say are your job’s biggest challenges? ensuring that Autoclenz keeps a step ahead of the competition and ongoing understands trends in the marketplace so we can fully understand our customers’ needs, for today and for tomorrow.

Any downsides? The motor industry is a volatile market and you can never become complacent in your service delivery and ability to adapt on a day-by-day basis to changing requirements and new opportunities which present themselves.

How much do you earn? enough to enjoy a good life, but not enough to retire on yet.

Do you have an average day and how does it pan out? Blimey, what is average? Typically spending a day with one of the regional business development managers around the country visiting new customers and prospects to ensure the unique Autoclenz offering is promoted professionally and understanding the challenges our customers have and how we can help.

What newspapers/magazines do you read? daily Mail, Land rover International and all the car mags, including car dealer!

What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought besides your house? Probably

‘My all-time favourite film has to be the The Italian Job, the one with Michael Caine.’

What’s your mobile phone ring tone? normal ring I’m afraid, the novelty ones irritate me although occasionally put a smile on your face, but not for work thanks.

What was the first record you bought?

Phil collins, think it was an album, can’t remember which one!

What’s your favourite film and the last one you saw? My all-time favourite film has to be the The Italian Job, the one with Michael caine in. The last film I saw in the cinema was Sex in the city with the girlfriend.

There was only me and two other guys in there – everyone else was female!

Favourite football team? not really my thing, but have to stick to my roots with supporting the green Army Plymouth Argyle.

my latest Land rover, which I use for offroading and green laning. It has got all the high-tec bits on including winch, suspension Favourite drink? Fosters is a firm old lift kit etc. favourite or a cheeky Vimto cocktail.

Favourite holiday destination? Las Vegas and Protaras, cyprus.

Have you got any superstitions? no, but I have had my fingers crossed all the time I am writing this...

What is the biggest challenge car dealers face? Looking at all opportunities that are available to increase profitability and not to stick to the same old, same old.

What would be your number one tip for car dealers? Talk to me! Autoclenz dealercare delivers a package of dealer profit opportunities from upselling valeting and SMArT repair services as part of aftersales care programme. Train your aftersales desk to upsell! dealers can also save costs by outsourcing vehicle preparation so you can concentrate on your core business of selling and servicing cars.

And finally, what’s your motto in life and business? one life, live it.

Want to face the Car Dealer questions? It’s not as bad as it sounds. Email james@blackballmedia.co.uk for details

@

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61 CarDealerIss32.indd 61

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Recruiting Success in the Automotive Industry $BS%FBMFS 1PXFS

Winner 2010 Recruitment

Recruitment Nightmares

T John Gibson Associates – The UK’s leading Automotive Recruitment Consultancy. With a Head Office in York supporting a national network of Regional Offices, each run by experienced Motor Trade Professionals who know the local market inside and out; ensuring we are the only providers of national coverage on a local basis.

Specialists in working confidentially; respecting the identities of all our clients and candidates meaning that there are no embarrassing situations.

Every candidate we put forward is pre-interviewed so that we are certain that not only do we find exceptional candidates for the job but also for the business environment – we take pride in our reputation for expertise and an outstanding professional service.

Every vacancy we handle is a genuine client requirement and every candidate we put forward has been contacted, giving their consent to be considered for a vacancy.

We’ve been established for over 20 years. Our track record speaks for itself; we enjoy an 85% level of repeat business and place more candidates in more jobs than anyone in motor trade recruitment. All this means that John Gibson Associates are the recognised and trusted brand in Automotive Recruitment. And because we are confident that you will be more than satisfied with our client services – all this comes with a six month guarantee.

here are so many horror stories about recruitment! We hear numerous ones everyday, thankfully all about our competitors!

Have you heard the one about the agency that sent the CV of a candidate to their current employer?

That’s one that occurs regularly!

We’ve been told that some agencies send countless, unqualified, unsuitable Candidate CV’s which have not been verified to see if the information is accurate, or has been falsified. Nor do they offer to take references. Even if they are lucky enough to stumble across a match – how many times has a new employee started and then within a few weeks leaves the company, putting you back where you started and more often than not, out of pocket.

As a Candidate, if you’re looking for a move – how many times has your CV been sent out without your permission, or you’ve been coerced into applying for a job that you don’t really want – or doesn’t suit your career aspirations? Perhaps the job you’ve applied for isn’t as advertised and you only get to see the full picture after you’ve applied and potentially exposed your intentions to move away from your current position. We also hear of agencies wanting to charge Candidates for their services and attempting to stop

them from registering with other Recruiters by signing a disclaimer. In our industry this is illegal.

All the above scenarios happen on a regular basis.

These ‘nightmarish’ experiences can easily be avoided! Working with a respected and trusted Recruiter with experience and know how will help to prevent many, if not all of these pitfalls. You need find a consultancy which provides a high level of service that does a background check on candidates to make sure that they are right for the job and the business environment, who only advertise genuine vacancies and only put forward candidates that have given permission to be represented. And who also have a watertight guarantee in place in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.

John Gibson Associates continuously work to ensure the entire recruitment process is as seamless as possible and we strive to give our Candidates and Clients a service that they can trust. Contact JGA today, speak to one of our Industry Professionals and see how working with the award winning and trusted brand in Automotive Recruitment will benefit your future success… at the end of the day – Your job, is Our job.

JGA cover all positions in the Motor Trade and it’s related industries – below is a selection of the different vacancies currently being handled by our network of Regional Offices – visit www.jgauk.com to see a complete list of genuine client requirements and take the next step towards your future success.

Job ID Job Title

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15178 15165 15150 15155 15042 15189 15029 15009 15125 15168 15043

Hampshire Thames Valley Tyneside North East PE Postcode East Anglia Central Lancashire North West Yorkshire South & West Yorkshire TN Postcode South East Plymouth Dorset, Hants, Cornwall West London Area London Staffordhire Head Office Taunton South Midlands Humberside Head Office

Service Manager General Sales Manager Sales Executive Automotive Showroom Host Aftersales Manager Service Team Manager Sales Executive Dealer Accountant - Prestige Production Manager Senior/Master Technician Service Manager

JGA Regional Office

Tel: 0845 644 3003

THE LOCAL, REGIONAL, NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE RECRUITERS

Web: www.jgauk.com Email: info@jgauk.com

CarDealerIss32.indd 62

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CarDealerIss32.indd 63

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used cars

Used car prices rise in September Rival auction houses BCA and Manheim have agreed on one thing – that used car values rose in September. The market leaders in the auction world have both reported values are on the up.

First Manheim released its figures. It said September saw both fleet and dealer part exchange values increase. It said average wholesale used car values in the fleet sector increased by 2.9 per cent (£169) to £5,960 – the first rise for four months.

Meanwhile dealer part exchange prices rose 1.8 per cent to £2,219 and overall average values remained ‘fairly stable’ with a drop of just 0.7 per cent (£47) to £6,736.

BCA said values rose across the board – and it also saw a significant rise in the fleet and lease sector. Part-exchange and nearlynew values rose too with conversion rates jumping 4.5 per cent. The overall rise isn’t huge – a modest 0.5 per cent – but it does indicate the used car market is at last setting into a more typical seasonal buying pattern.

BCA’s Simon Henstock said: ‘Although

September has not seen the big value rises that were typical of the pre-recession era, much of that was due to August being so strong, with many buyers seeking to acquire stock ahead of the anticipated September rush.’

Managing director of Manheim Remarketing Mike Pilkington added: ‘September has been a relatively strong month in terms of both price performance and conversion rates. The increase in fleet values suggests the return of the traditional autumn seasonal uplift and improved buyer confidence.’

The most searched-for cars in September on...

Compucars 1 Vauxhall Astra 2 Ford Focus 3 Honda Civic 4 Ford Fiesta 5 Vauxhall Corsa 6 Honda Jazz 7 VW Golf 8 Mini Cooper 9 Ford Mondeo 10 Renault Clio

Motoring.co.uk (bodystyle) 1 Hatchback 2 4x4 3 Supermini 4 MPV 5 Eatate 6 Saloon 7 Convertible 8 Coupe 9 Green

Motoring.co.uk 1 Ford Fiesta 2 Mazda 2 3 Mazda 3 4 Skoda Yeti 5 Volkswagen Golf 6 Suzuki SX4 7 Renault Clio 8 Nissan Juke 9 Citroen C1 10 Vauxhall Astra

ContractHireAndLeasing.com 1 Mercedes C-Class Saloon 2 VW Scirocco 3 VW Golf 4 VW Passat CC 5 Audi A5 6 VW Touareg 7 Range Rover Sport 8 BMW 3 Series 9 Jaguar XF 10 BMW 5 Series

64 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Industry continues post-scrap struggle N ew car registrations plunged by 8.9 per cent during the key month of September report latest SMMT figures.

This is one per cent better than the SMMT forecast in July… but still fell to the second lowest volume for the month in over a decade.

It comes on the back of a wider decline over the past three months, which sees new car registrations down by 11 per cent.

This equals 65,000 new cars and reflects the ending of the new car scrappage incentive scheme.

The SMMT admits the scheme was a positive net contribution, but its after-effects are now distorting

year-on-year monthly comparisons.

‘Despite an 8.9 per cent fall in September registrations, demand for new cars has stabilised and will end 2010 slightly up on last year,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.

‘It is important that alongside the government austerity measures, the comprehensive spending review signals a strong growth agenda to boost consumer and business confidence.’

The decline came in the private sector so boosted by scrappage. In contrast, fleet sales posted ’solid growth’ – while both diesel and alternative-fuel cars grew in both volume and market share.

Ford and Vauxhall dominated the September sales charts with the Fiesta, Corsa and Astra locking out the top three positions. The highest-placed premium car was the BMW 1-Series, which was the 10th best-selling car in September.

But while the figures are disappointing, the SMMT has been keen to stress that the overall picture is an improving one. The car market has risen by 14 per cent over the past 12 months and has now passed the quarter-million mark.

The SMMT is also predicting a year-end 2010 new car market slightly up on 2009 – just over two million units is forecast.

SMMT sales data September/ year to date

Figures supplied by SMMT

September Marque

Abarth Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Citroen Corvette Daihatsu Daimler Dodge Fiat Ford Honda Hummer Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Kia Land Rover Lexus Lotus Mazda Mercedes-Benz MG MINI Mitsubishi Nissan Opel Perodua Peugeot Porsche Proton Renault Saab SEAT Skoda smart Ssangyong Subaru Suzuki Toyota Vauxhall Volkswagen Volvo Other British Other Imports Total

2010

244 1,571 124 15,889 141 18,673 3 2,274 289 12,856 0 29 0 211 9,366 46,389 12,176 3 8,431 26 2,929 383 8,257 5,788 1,220 29 8,611 14,426 32 7,567 2,691 15,767 0 99 18,309 618 89 14,225 1,212 5,382 5,463 1,405 14 648 4,557 14,636 42,235 24,701 4,965 94 199 335,246

% market share

2009

0.07 0.47 0.04 4.74 0.04 5.57 0.00 0.68 0.09 3.83 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.06 2.79 13.84 3.63 0.00 2.51 0.01 0.87 0.11 2.46 1.73 0.36 0.01 2.57 4.30 0.01 2.26 0.80 4.70 0.00 0.03 5.46 0.18 0.03 4.24 0.36 1.61 1.63 0.42 0.00 0.19 1.36 4.37 12.60 7.37 1.48 0.03 0.06

212 1,978 160 15,117 99 19,526 8 2,955 681 13,688 1 284 0 773 11,712 54,553 14,750 0 11,031 24 3,360 560 9,778 6,587 1,786 54 11,289 12,690 61 8,634 2,287 16,142 0 85 18,440 472 146 10,354 1,093 5,628 6,301 1,268 152 863 5,371 21,179 41,255 28,181 6,192 32 137 367,929

Year to date (YTD) % market share

0.06 0.54 0.04 4.11 0.03 5.31 0.00 0.80 0.19 3.72 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.21 3.18 14.83 4.01 0.00 3.00 0.01 0.91 0.15 2.66 1.79 0.49 0.01 3.07 3.45 0.02 2.35 0.62 4.39 0.00 0.02 5.01 0.13 0.04 2.81 0.30 1.53 1.71 0.34 0.04 0.23 1.46 5.76 11.21 7.66 1.68 0.01 0.04

2010

%market share

2009

%market share

1,154 6,106 845 81,739 806 82,049 23 11,223 1,184 59,218 2 165 2 737 43,858 230,426 52,275 4 51,815 121 13,133 1,614 47,523 30,790 5,326 387 37,810 59,220 250 32,820 9,810 71,178 0 640 89,234 4,969 639 75,791 4,177 26,152 32,527 6,355 220 3,078 17,701 71,947 198,623 138,211 29,910 866 1,006 1,635,659

0.07 0.37 0.05 5.00 0.05 5.02 0.00 0.69 0.07 3.62 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.05 2.68 14.09 3.20 0.00 3.17 0.01 0.80 0.10 2.91 1.88 0.33 0.02 2.31 3.62 0.02 2.01 0.60 4.35 0.00 0.04 5.46 0.30 0.04 4.63 0.26 1.60 1.99 0.39 0.01 0.19 1.08 4.40 12.14 8.45 1.83 0.05 0.06

973 7,135 936 72,385 625 74,229 105 14,792 2,086 53,838 36 2,080 17 2,111 42,294 249,076 60,836 44 40,578 24 13,948 1,825 34,777 22,074 6,252 355 36,058 53,645 265 29,790 8,599 57,447 0 432 79,172 3,894 773 41,365 6,656 22,773 25,412 6,138 666 2,745 22,647 79,954 187,892 122,501 23,180 640 964 1,517,039

0.06 0.47 0.06 4.77 0.04 4.89 0.01 0.98 0.14 3.55 0.00 0.14 0.00 0.14 2.79 16.42 4.01 0.00 2.67 0.00 0.92 0.12 2.29 1.46 0.41 0.02 2.38 3.54 0.02 1.96 0.57 3.79 0.00 0.03 5.22 0.26 0.05 2.73 0.44 1.50 1.68 0.40 0.04 0.18 1.49 5.27 12.39 8.08 1.53 0.04 0.06

% Change

15.09 -20.58 -22.50 5.11 42.42 -4.37 -62.50 -23.05 -57.56 -6.08 -100.00 -89.79 0.00 -72.70 -20.03 -14.97 -17.45 0.00 -23.57 8.33 -12.83 -31.61 -15.56 -12.13 -31.69 -46.30 -23.72 13.68 -47.54 -12.36 17.67 -2.32 0.00 16.47 -0.71 30.93 -39.04 37.39 10.89 -4.37 -13.30 10.80 -90.79 -24.91 -15.16 -30.89 2.38 -12.35 -19.82 193.75 45.26 -8.88

% Change

18.60 -14.42 -9.72 12.92 28.96 10.53 -78.10 -24.13 -43.24 9.99 -94.44 -92.07 -88.24 -65.09 3.70 -7.49 -14.07 -90.91 27.69 404.17 -5.84 -11.56 36.65 39.49 -14.81 9.01 4.86 10.39 -5.66 10.17 14.08 23.90 0.00 48.15 12.71 27.61 -17.34 83.22 -37.24 14.84 28.00 3.54 -66.97 12.13 -21.84 -10.01 5.71 12.82 29.03 35.31 4.36 7.82

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tail light

Sub-Prime Time

o

f course it’s true that the market’s wide open this year for those that are strong and have the ability to capture market share.

This year First response has also enjoyed unprecedented volumes and great collection results from the outset, but as the double-dip potential has grown during the year we’ve increasingly focused our tactical plans towards servicing existing markets and dealers to ensure our current dealer partners have the support they require to weather the next bleak period.

I know this is a bit ‘doom and gloom’ and if I’m wrong I’ll apologise towards the end of 2011, but I’d caution some of the finance providers still going all-out for growth as overzealous lending this year may be the difference between their future success or failure.

Frankly, the last thing our dealers need is for more finance providers to fall by the wayside.

There are a number of factors that are increasing the chance of a really tough time ahead and one of these is the outcome of the comprehensive Spending review.

This will be available about the time that this issue is printed, and I wonder how many people have truly understood the depth of the cuts that are going to be made, and the impact this will have on unemployment, associated trades, consumer confidence, etc.

I personally feel that the double dip we’re about to experience will be a lot quicker and a lot harder than before, and this means (if you’ve not already done so) that you need to plan for it now – so please review and improve your previous action plans (what worked well and what could work better) as we’re likely to

‘I personally feel that the double dip we’re about to experience will be a lot quicker and a lot harder than before, and this means (if you’ve not already done so) that you need to plan for it now.’ see similar effects ie, a slowdown in purchases and a move towards increased retention cycles, less new car purchases and a move towards used (especially with the VAT increase), a lack of decent quality used cars at auction and a hardening of residuals. of course we’ll now see big impacts on areas with high concentrations of public service employees, and you’ll need to factor this into your thinking if your dealership is in or near such an area.

Perhaps I should be more upbeat and focus on the positives, but as I’ve said before we at least need to look potential risks to our business full in the face, and then decide if we wish to make changes or adjust our tactical plans. What seems like a good idea today may not look so clever with hindsight in just a few months’ time.

is chief executive officer of First Response Finance. For Who is Don Brough? Don more information visit www.frfl.co.uk or call 0115 946 6370

CarDealer.

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0115 946 6370

Many Happy Returns 17% of our business comes from returning customers – and we always encourage people to visit the same dealer for their next vehicle (or point them towards a supporting dealer from our network).

To help your business benefit from our many returning customers, join our dealer network by calling 0115 946 6370 today.

First Response Finance Limited, Chetwynd Business Park, 5 Regan Way, Chilwell, Nottingham NG9 6RZ

CarDealerIss32.indd 67

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