Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 34

CarDealer.

Issue 34 | January 2011 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £3.50

[ GREAT ESTATES: Load luggers put to test p26 ]

Driving the future of the motor trade

chevy Metal

chevrolet boss Mark Terry on...

The good news for aLL dealers on camaro and Volt his plans for Five year Promise and hopes for a royal boost PlUs: orlando mPV – it’s some ‘fin’ different! p16

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We spend a day on your side of the fence at renault’s biggest dealershipp36 iNTerVieW: Renault’s new MD talks to Car Dealer about his plans for 2011 CarDealerIss34.indd 1

car dealer club: Subscribe for £25 and get Free legal advice worth £199

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Issue 34 | January 2011

RUNNING a car dealership is not an easy job. I’m not for a minute pretending to know the amount of pressure, strain and stress that falls upon your shoulders on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

But I can guess it’s pretty trying at times. Especially for the independent dealers among you. Not only will you be worrying about where the next sale is coming from, stressing about the amount of cash you’ve blown on the local paper’s useless Motors section, and fretting about whether Pete the Pole will shake off his vodka hangover to clean some of your cars – there’s a fair chance you’ll also be sprouting a few grey hairs about the cars you’ve already sold too!

We all know customers, to be completely frank, are a pain in the backside. If they’re not moaning about the five year warranty you’ve ‘failed’ to include on the three-year-old ex-rental they’ve just paid a £100 under book for, they’re bending your ear about a scratch only the Hubble telescope would pick up.

Let’s be honest here – and I can as we’re among friends – if you could sell cars without having to deal with punters, you would wouldn’t you? We all like to say the customer is our number one priority, but really what we really mean is it’s our bank balance.

Ok, so I might be rattling on a bit, and to be fair, most customers are actually pretty easy to please, but still, every single one of you will have dealt with The Car Geek. You may remember him from Big Mike’s rant about this perfectionist in Issue 17.

He’s like a Watchdog presenter on acid. For this breed of sub-human, even brand new isn’t good enough – he’ll still find something to complain about.

‘Oh, the gear knob is 1mm too far to the right – I’m rejecting it under the Sales of Goods Act,’ he’ll whinge.

And then, if you’re brave enough to sell him a car,

CarDealer.Club Free legal advice worth £199 with a £25 mag subscription p34 you know he won’t drive off into the sunset never to be seen again. Oh no. Mr Car Geek, of 1 Angry Street, Complainshire, will be back when the offside rear indicator bulb has blown, demanding you pay for a new one. He is, in short, your worst nightmare.

Wouldn’t it be nice to tell Mr Lifelong-Subscriberto-Which exactly where he can shove his Halfords lightbulb receipt? Unfortunately, that’s not always as easy as you’d like. When The Car Geek is threatening to sue you, or worse, rattle trading standard’s cage it would be nice to have some solid gold ammunition to fire back in his face.

That’s exactly what we’re offering members of our new Car Dealer Club. In association with a leading law firm we’ve managed to secure our members FREE motor trade legal advice worth £199. Simply subscribe to Car Dealer Magazine for £25 per year and you’ll get access to the 24hr legal help desk.

Run by leading motor trade lawyer Lucy Bonham Carter, you’ll get free legal advice to arm you with the bullets you need to shoot The Car Geek’s complaint dead – before it gets nasty. As you’ll read on p34, Bonham Carter knows her stuff – she’s been helping

‘he’s like a Watchdog presenter on acid. for this breed of sub-human, even brand new isn’t good enough – still he’ll find something to complain about.’

The Telegraph’s Honest John readers with legal matters for years – and now we’ve secured her services exclusively for you.

There are plenty of other benefits for becoming a Car Dealer Club member too. Not only will you get a copy of this glorious publication delivered to your desk every month, you’ll also benefit from a host of exclusive discounts with leading motor trade suppliers too. We’re adding more benefits all the time and as a Car Dealer Club member you’ll be the first to know about them.

For just £25 you’ll get all this, plus the knowledge to kill those complaints dead with the added benefit of knowing that if you need her, Bonham Carter can step in to help. I hope you agree, at £25, that’s an absolute bargain.

To find out how to sign up, and for more details on those discounts we’ve secured, turn to p34. Or if you’ve heard enough simply type bit.ly/dealerclub

into your web browser to be taken to the sign-up page on our website where you can pay by credit or debit card. It’s like the Beano Club, only better. But with less badges...

SEASON’S GREETINGS IN a freak only-magazine-publishers-know-why series of events we print our January issue in December, which means this issue will be landing on your desks as you sip mulled wine and gorge on mince pies. With that in mind, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy (and car sales filled) new year.

James Baggott, Editor

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

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“I’m with the wrong warranty provider...

GET ME OUT OF HERE ! ” If you feel like you’re trapped day after day with the wrong crowd of people and don’t like being restricted and dictated to, we can provide you with a perfect escape route and a more palatable alternative to your current providers menu. We have FSA and non-FSA solutions to fit the shape of your business and you won’t have to take part in a trial to enjoy the benefits of some fantastic profit making opportunities.

It’s that time of year when celebrity reality programmes seem to dominate our television screens in the run up to Christmas. It’s also that time of year when general managers and dealer principles begin to plan for the next year and that process usually starts with a long hard look at this year’s business and a review of current providers. Are you getting value for money? Do the products offer flexibility and a great level of protection for your customers? Will your current provider pay ratified claims in 24 hours and help your cash flow? The right change for next year can see increased profitability and a greater opportunity for customer retention combined with additional revenue from service and repair work.

The right business partner can deliver so much more when you are involved in the process. Free training, customer incentives and some fabulous protection products designed to fit your business profile and customer requirements.

So if you’re fed up with a diet of witchety grubs and green ants it might be time to order something from a tasty menu. The WMS group have great experience in design and application of warranty programmes across a range of diverse business partners 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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ignition Issue 34 | January 2011

32

dashboard 06 Feedback

Your comments from the web and Twitter

09 Royal boost

Hopes pinned on the royal Wedding

10 Citroen confident

French firm’s MD remains upbeat

12 Juke success

Nissan MD on ‘best ever’ car launch

14 Trader Tales

James Litton’s latest musings

16 Chevy special New Orlando driven

19 Silent problems

Heard the trouble with electric cars?

21 Finance

16

12

The increasing issue with ‘fronting’

25 Big Mike

Biker boys want boring bangers

forecourt

26 Skoda Superb 27 Volvo V60 28 Audi A4 Avant 30 Citroen C4

features 32 Video stars

Improve your website with stunning videos

40

34 CAR DEALER CLUB

Join and get free legal advice worth £199

36 A day in the life of

Car Dealer spends a day at renault’s biggest site

40 Renault boss

French firm’s new MD quizzed

42 Winn-ing team

Turn accidents into an opportunity

19

46 Drive time

How seven-day insurance can boost sales

50 Talking heads

Should you be using social media?

52 Ewards winners 54 911 for 2011 update 57 Right Click 58 Auctions 62 Recruitment 64 Used Cars 65 SMMT sales figures 66 Sub-Prime Time

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CF CCD

feedback Former Seat MD loves our birthday special

I saw your article on Seat cars in the December issue of Car Dealer. I read my son Philip’s copy which he receives as retail principal of Jewsons Skoda in Oxford.

I was accurately quoted by Ken Lister when I visited his dealership which according to my diary was on Thursday, June 13, 1985.

As the founder MD of Seat Concessionaires it was my own policy to personally pay the final visit to prospective Seat dealers to ‘look them in the eye’ and gauge the level of their personal commitment to their business, before appointing them as Seat dealers.

I visited all my prospective dealers in this manner and needless to say some failed to meet my standards. We had a desirable franchise offer in those days and there were plenty of applicants.

Your article was well researched although the 1,200cc Ibiza (C reg) was our launch model and the 903cc – four door model was not available until 1987.

I am retired now but look back fondly to those ‘glory’ days! I wish you continuing success with your interesting publication.

Douglas Clare, via email

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

Royal wedding will fire up buyers

Link: bit.ly/ChevyWedding What a load of hogwash. If car manufacturers are seriously expecting people to buy a car because a member of the royal family is getting married, their planning for next year is screwed.

That is one of the stupidest statements from a car boss I’ve seen in years. You might get some publicity from The Daily Mail through it, though.

Craig Thomas, via CarDealerMag.co.uk I have to agree with Craig. Due to our economic woes Irish dealers are clutching at any reason to predict an upturn. However I doubt any celebrity wedding will drag customers into my showroom…

AOR Motors, Ireland Full story, p9

MX-5 back up for sale

Link: bit.ly/BackUpForSale Anyone who is thinking of buying an MX5 for a bit of fun, do it, you will not regret it.

They are fantastic value, I have had mine for eight years and it reminds me of my days driving my Frog Eye Sprite!

Ron GWilliams, via CarDealerMag.co.uk Latest on 911 for 2011, p54

Tweeting about great estates RS2 Avant in Blue please :) Via @Jon404 M5 for me! Love a BMW, one day!

Settle for Leon Cupra at the moment!

Via @MOBILECARSOL #GreatEstates Citroen XM. Hydro suspension and a car I lusted for in my yoof. Always been odd like that.

Via @richardaucock Not sure if it is allowed but I don’t care coz it is too cool for school. One Aston Martin V8 Vantage Shooting Brake please.

Via @motormorph In the early 90s there was nothing faster round the streets of Essex, than my three-door Mk2 Escort Estate 1300cc GT twin carb.

Via @FactoryRSVR I’m going to plump for a Forester STI. Subtle, unknown, practical and freakishly capable on any A or B road you throw it down.

Via @dover_nige

Pug 505 GTi Family. Would speed family of six, clobber, bikes and Labrador in comfort. From new to 180,000 miles without a glitch Via @LawsonClarke The original RS2 1995 - Normal looking estate car but a Porsche eater... so understated no one knew what it was!

Via @specialistcars1 #GreatEstates it has to be the rare but beautiful Alfa 156 Sportswagon GTA 3.2 litre v6 Selespeed... wow!

Via @MotorAssessor

Follow @CarDealerEd or @CarDealerMag to join the conversation

Merry Christmas and thank you for all your support throughout 2010.

To buy more great used cars over the festive season,

to www.mfldirect.co.uk

the source of ex-Motability cars. online. every day PART OF

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WHEN A VEHICLE BREAKS DOWN, DOES YOUR BUSINESS LOOK UP?

Bad news? Not always. Especially if your customers have a quality warranty.

Research shows that customers who are happy with a warranty are more likely to return for repairs, servicing and new purchases. Last year, Car Care Plan spent more than £50 million on parts and labour. That’s business that you could be getting a healthy share of. Why not check us out. Or look us up. Call 0844 573 7591 or visit www.carcareplan.co.uk to discover more opportunities for you.

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

100799 Mechanic & Car_Dec 27.10.10.indd 1 CarDealerIss34.indd 8

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Car market could be tough until the Royal Wedding Manufacturer bosses say they’re hoping marriage will fire buyers into life Car manufacturer bosses are seriously worried about the state of the market – but there could be a glimmer of hope on the horizon: The royal wedding!

Chevrolet UK managing director Mark Terry has told us he believes the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April could fire buyers back into life.

‘I think the wedding is ever so well timed,’ Terry said. ‘I don’t know whether it’s romantically driven or government driven – one hopes it’s romantically driven, but you never know! From there I think we’ll see a brighter future, but I think getting back to the days of a plus-twomillion market may be a little way off yet.

‘The government’s austerity measures need to wash through, we need to get through the winter and the fuel bills that are associated with that and when the sun starts shining we’ll get that feel-good factor back.’

‘The market will be pretty flat next year and at best one to two per cent above the market this year.’

Terry’s comments could be translated as he doesn’t think the market will get any better until at least April – which is worrying. So what do other car manufacturer bosses think?

Bill Parfitt, chairman of GM UK, told us: ‘The market will be pretty flat next year and at best one to two per cent above the market this year. VAT will impact on sales in January. The market will start rising again in 2012 but we don’t think it will be until at least 2015 until we see the same level of market as we did in 2008-09.’

That’s a worrying five years of uncertainty then. So what about the UK’s best-selling maker Ford? Is MD Nigel Sharp as fearful?

Not quite. Big product launches, including an all-new Focus, are hoped to see the Blue Oval through.

‘The arrival in 2011 of the new Focus will complete our fresh medium car line up, which already includes five and seven-seat C-Max out this month and the stylish Kuga crossover,’ explained Sharp.

dashboard

Martin Hill

Net gains

Why it’s a good idea to ask for feedback on your website

Chevrolet boss Mark Terry hopes the Royal Wedding will boost car sales

‘They will be Ford of Britain’s product headlines in its centennial year, helping us to ride another challenging 12 months.’

Scrappage sales winner Hyundai is under no illusions as to how hard things will be either – and that’s despite the maker smashing its 2009 sales total, six weeks before the end of 2010. MD Tony Whitehorn said more important than the wedding will be an upbeat Budget on March 23.

He said: ‘The first few months of next year will be extremely tough. However, any positive feel-good factor after a few months of feeling down will always be sought. The Budget will play a part. If it is more positive than expected that will build nicely on the wedding, however if it is very negative not even an April wedding will raise people’s hopes!’

Linda Jackson, MD of Citroen UK, hopes the wedding will play a part too – as well as the lead up to the Olympics.

‘The availability and easing of credit facilities to consumers, and a stronger pound will help us to make even more enticing consumer offers,’ she told us.

‘But obviously feel-good events like the Royal Wedding and the lead up to the 2012 Olympics will help boost consumer confidence.’

So it appears things still aren’t too rosy on the car maker front – and one thing really does concern us: If car makers are pinning their hopes on a royal wedding boosting sales, how bad must things REALLY be?

Hear Chevrolet boss Mark Terry’s thoughts on video by typing bit.ly/markterry into a web browser and find more Chevy news on p16

T

he phrase ‘the customer is always right’ is often used as an example of how we should focus on the customer almost to the detriment of the product or service we offer.

This month, I’d like to focus some attention on this area - in particular, the importance of using your website to find out exactly what your customers want and what they think of you.

As the demands of clients change, ask yourself how you keep in touch with what they want. Do you actively seek out their thoughts on how they would like to be treated, or the way they would like to buy? Or do you simply continue with the same old sales approach?

There are distinct advantages in asking people for their opinion and input. Firstly, ‘If feedback is they feel valued - that their comments will be taken on negative, you board and something will stand a chance be done about it. Secondly, it establishes an important of putting it dialogue between you and your right before customers - something that it is too late.’ more and more customers expect from a website, as opposed to a one-way sales monologue. Thirdly, it also gives you an invaluable opportunity to listen to these people and to adapt your business processes for the better.

I’m not talking about an invitation to express dissatisfaction once something has gone wrong, either - use your website to garner valuable information from your customers before someone needs to complain! Here are a few tips: Consider a permanent section of your website that is dedicated to customer feedback. You’ll never get a chance to find out what people really think if you don’t ask.

Direct people to your website to give feedback whenever you can – refer them to your site from letters, articles and adverts.

Use the name of a senior management member within your business to ask for the feedback – it lets the customer know that you take their feedback seriously and acknowledge their feedback once they have given it.

Do what you say you will do - if you say that their feedback will be used to improve the quality of the service and offering you provide, give them examples of this!

Remember that being perceived as open, transparent and welcoming of customer feedback is something that will endear you to both existing and potential customers. And you win whether the feedback is positive or negative. If negative, you stand a chance of putting something right before it is too late. If positive, you know what you are doing is right and can replicate it!

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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dashboard Winn Assist

Accident management

Looking after customers in their hour of need can lead to selling them another car

Y

ou can increase customer service while delivering higher revenues by intelligent use of a branded accident management service. Winn Assist Automotive can deliver that branded scheme for you.

Consider the service you give to the customer – your buyers will benefit from professional advice should they suffer an accident. The scheme will report the incident to the client’s insurer to save the customer the hassle of waiting to get through to an insurance company call centre.

If the accident was not the customer’s fault a full repair with manufacturer’s panels and parts is guaranteed, no excess to pay, no increase in insurance premiums and a replacement like for like vehicle.

If the vehicle is repairable a diminution claim (reduction in value) can be made and if the vehicle is written off, retail pre-accident value is claimed from the insurer of the driver at fault. This ensures the customer is put back in the position he would have been in had he not suffered an accident.

But what about the spin-off benefits for you? There are lots: Increased customer loyalty – a customer who has benefited from the non-fault route and received help at a time when ‘This ensures they were often struggling to cope with the aftermath of an the customer accident are grateful to you for is put back in the help given. the position Increased satisfaction increases brand and dealership he would have loyalty – this is reinforced by been in had he a like-for-like branded vehicle not suffered an being provided. accident.’

Replacement cars – It is suggested that one-in-four drivers who suffer a moderate to severe accident replace their vehicle soon afterwards. If they have received good service and a replacement like-forlike branded vehicle the dealership has a good chance of making a sale.

Buyers have more money – Customers often have a bit more money at their disposal if they have received a diminution payment or retail pre-accident value. Possibilities for a sale or upgraded vehicle are better.

Tempt buyers – Smart provision of a replacement like-forlike vehicle could tempt customers into upgrading.

Upsales – Panel and parts sales increase. And if there is a tied bodyshop their sales increase. If not, a referral arrangement can be set up and an income stream is achieved.

Fleet – You can provide a hire fleet to the service providers so that service is enhanced and an income stream achieved or a deal can be done with another provider to purchase vehicles in exchange for use of their hire vehicles.

Commission – The service can be used on your own vehicles to reduce your insurance cost and significant commissions can be achieved.

Read more about Winn Assist, p42-45

What is Winn Assist?

Winn Assist Automotive provides branded full accident management for your customers and a host of other services. Call 0845 217 2542.

Citroen chief still full of confidence

French firm’s MD says marque has right cars at the right time CITrOEN UK boss Linda Jackson remains confident about 2010 and beyond, despite falling new car sales.

Speaking to Car Dealer exclusively, the MD said she was confident the firm had the ‘right cars’ for the market.

‘The situation is changing on a weekly basis,’ she told us. ‘The end of September saw a lot of manufacturer registrations, then October saw the market dip and now we’re seeing things stabilise a little.

Whether that’s because of the VaT rise in January we’re unsure.’

When asked whether Citroen would move to offer a special VaT free deal to rival those from Skoda and Seat, she remained tight-lipped, but said there was some ‘activity’ planned for December.

Jackson took up her new post in July and has been ‘finding her feet’, but has made dealer visits a priority.

‘I get out and see dealers once a week – at the moment I go announced, but there’s a lot to be said for mystery shopping,’ she added. ‘Dealers are very happy at the moment. They like the product range

and with the new C4 arriving, and the success of the DS3 (pictured above) they’re confident.

‘We’ve got the right number of dealers at the moment. There are a couple of open points in London but apart from that we’re at the right level.

‘The next big step for the network is rebranding. We’re rolling this out at the moment and appreciate that it’s an investment so are helping some dealers with the costs.’

On the subject of cars, Jackson said she believes the DS3 is perfect for the marque and that the DS4 – due next year – will help this further.

When asked if a smaller DS1 – a spiritual successor to the Saxo VTr – was on the cards she said ‘nothing has been ruled out’.

‘We’ve got a good range of cars at the moment that is right for the market, the dealers love them and customers are buying them – only time will tell what we’ve got up our sleeves next,’ she added.

JAMES BAGGOTT

Audi confirms savage £40k RS3 Sportback aUDI has confirmed that it will produce an rS3 Sportback. Fitted with the 2.5-litre TFSI engine first used in the TT rS, the new quattro will get the classic five-cylinder soundtrack as well as deliver 340bhp and 450Nm of torque through a seven-speed S-tronic twin-clutch transmission. although limited to 155mph, the rS3 gets to 60mph in 4.4 seconds while returning a combined cycle of 31mpg, says audi.

Extensive use of lightweight materials such as a graphite engine block and carbonfibre wings has helped audi acheive those impressive performance figures.

The new car also features a sport button

which, when pressed, opens a flap in the exhaust to emit that legendary five-cylinder sound to an even greater intensity.

Order books have been opened this month with the car priced at £39,900.

Deliveries of the rS3 quattro are expected to reach customers in april.

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dashboard Pendragon offloads BMW and Mini sites to rival Sytner SyTNER is to take over the Maidenhead BMW and Mini dealerships from Pendragon.

The dealer group has bought the business from Pendragon for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the deal all of the employees will transfer to Sytner and the team members which number around 60 are currently being consulted. The transaction is expected to be completed by the middle of January 2011.

Pendragon’s chief executive Trevor Finn said the deal was originally planned and announced in 2007, but the economic climate postponed it.

Gerard Nieuwenhuys, Sytner’s MD, said: ‘We are delighted to have the opportunity of acquiring an exciting BMW and Mini business.’

Pendragon said its other BMW operations are not affected, and that the firm enjoys a very strong relationship with the marque.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce group borrowings.

Tim Abbott, BMW Group managing director, said: ‘We enjoy a strong relationship with Pendragon and its dealerships are doing a good job for us in the north of England. We would not rule out the possibility of working together in another area.’

Nissan boss: Juke’s our most successful launch NISSaN GB chief Paul Wilcox has declared the Juke’s launch as the most successful in the firm’s UK history. Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer as we handed over the Web Innovation of the Year Eward, Wilcox told us he was over the moon with the Juke’s success so far.

He said the marque received an incredible 3,000 pre-orders for the distinctive crossover and that dealers have seen unprecedented demand for it ever since.

‘Customers can’t get enough of the Juke or the Qashqai for that matter,’ Willcox said. He explained Qashqai 2 has sold out until March and that dealers were extremely busy.

‘We put a one third scale model of the Juke in dealers with interactive screens that let them show off the new car to customers early. This seems to have worked wonders.’

The Juke and Qashqai are helping keep Nissan dealers happy at a time when new car registrations have plummeted. November saw new car registrations fall 11.5 per cent

Share watch

– following a disastrous October when sales fell 22.2 per cent.

‘October was a surprise,’ agreed Willcox. ‘But Nissan is well placed for the remainder of 2010 and 2011,’ he added.

‘We haven’t heard any of our dealers complaining about tough times. The first quarter of 2011 will be tough though – March especially.

‘December will be the telling month with the VaT rise coming in January, but there is a long time

between those two periods.

‘We are in the fortunate position of having two major launches under our belts. The recent Juke launch was good for us, and the Micra has just landed in the UK. That’s not to mention the Leaf.

These are exciting times for Nissan and our dealers.’

Nissan UK’s Juke microsite won the Web Innovation of the Year Eward from Car Dealer this month. read about our judges thoughts on dealers and social media on p50.

...in association with ASE-global.com

Rocky markets as confidence fails T

he uncertain conditions underpinning the listed motor retail stocks has continued as we have moved through the final quarter of the year with many stocks struggling to hold on to hard won gains.

Even positive news and more bullish statements on the future outlook are being met with indifference or a short rally followed by a raft of profit taking.

The most significant announcement during the last month was the positive final results from Cambria.

Strong sales and pre-tax numbers and announcements over the success of new acquisition integration and potential growth resulted in a brief significant rally in the share price, however the price has now settled back barely above the 52 week low which was maintained through October valuing the business at slightly over 50 per cent of the initial flotation price earlier this year.

In slight contrast to Cambria, Vertu has managed to retain around 50 per cent of the share price bounce which followed the release of its interim results during October. This still leaves the business well below its initial flotation price, however it still appears undervalued when comparing the current market

‘The stellar performer throughout the last few months has been HR Owen with significant share price growth.’ capitalisation to the asset value of the company, even with the goodwill sitting on the balance sheet valued at nil.

The stellar performer throughout the last few months has been HR Owen with significant share price growth as the market came to terms with the new management and board structure. Over the past two weeks this share has also fallen back 10 per cent from previous highs although the stock remains relatively thinly traded as a result of the majority of the shares being held by a small number of long-term investors.

Inchcape has continued on a steady share-price growth curve during the last quarter having gained more

than 50 per cent in share value since the summer. The size, structure and geographic spread of the business is currently being well received and results in the share being seen as more of a safe haven than the more recently listed stocks.

In a virtual mirror image of Inchcape, the Pendragon share price has continued its fall during November.

Nervousness over results and the debt burden the business carries has seen a steady sell-off of shares and a drop in the price. The share is almost back into the realms of 2008 where significant amounts could be made or lost by short term share-price speculators.

Lookers has also fallen back over recent days, giving up some of the gains made since the summer, however the company retains a market capitalisation of nearly double that of Pendragon.

It is likely that the market will continue to remain cautious over future prospects until the 2011 sales volumes become clearer and scrappage ceases to be a distorting factor within vehicle registration numbers.

If you have any questions on the above, call me on 0161 493 1930.

Mike Jones, ASE director

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Alternatively email: enquiries@codeweavers.net or visit www.codeweavers.net/yourcarmotorinsurance for further information CarDealerIss34.indd 13

11/12/10 14:21:12

Y

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Cambria’s record year

Give it up, live the dream

T

here is no doubt about it, this trade can get you down. Often there are days when I look wistfully out of my office window and wonder why I followed my father into the motor trade – given my exposure to the business, I should have known better.

I also daydream about how my life might be different if I decided to sell all the cars and do something completely radical. I am sure we all do. Thing is, I know someone who has done just that. Let me tell you about my mate Alex Letteriello.

Three years ago, sick of looking at a forecourt full of heavily depreciating used cars he had an epiphany to build his own electric car.

Letteriello is a clever guy. A former Vauxhall master technician at a very young age and the sort of mechanic we all like, someone who thinks about what is wrong and tries to fix it, instead of the modern day ‘process of elimination’ replacement of all related parts.

He did not have any grant, no family money, no motor manufacturer input, in fact no input from anyone apart from him. Early on in the build the Discovery Channel made contact after hearing about it through an EV forum but he is so humble and deflective of attention that he told them he was not interested in making a documentary.

Over the last three years we have spoken regularly and at times I could hear the despair in his voice.

The cost has been huge, both in financial and human terms. There are so many stories within this story

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.

James Litton

Trader Tales

that in themselves would compel and stagger you but all the while Letteriello has kept his steely determination to see it through.

I went to see him recently for the first time in ages and the car is taking shape and most importantly while it is far from over, there is at least light at the end of the tunnel.

The car itself is fantastic. Based on a K1 Attack kit car (which has to be one of the best kept motoring design secrets of all time) the technology and product development are the match of any motor manufacturer with millions of research and development cash at their disposal. Naturally until it is finished there are no exact performance figures but if it all comes to plan, there is no car built by anyone which will be as breathtaking.

The silent assassin is coming.

If you are sat in the staff room reading this with your boat sat in dry dock, that novel still in your head or that 1968 Jaguar E Type in bits in the garage, let my pal Letteriello be an inspiration to you and remember where you heard his name first...

DEALER group Cambria Automobiles has announced its full year results and 2010 has been a record year.

Figures show that 2010 is the third successive year the group has doubled underlying profit. Before tax the final figure was £4.2m compared with the previous year’s £2.04m.

Total revenue for the 12 months increased by 53 per cent year on year (like-forlike revenue increase of 41 per cent) to £392.1m from £255.5m in 2009. New car unit volumes increased 58 per cent year on year against a market increase of 18.1 per cent. The group also saw used car volumes increase 34 per cent.

Growth and expansion are quoted as one of the reasons for the results. The group acquired seven new locations and 10 new franchised outlets, with Honda, Mazda and Triumph Motorcycles joining Cambria.

Chief executive Mark Lavery said: ‘This is the third year in succession that we have doubled underlying pre-tax profits and produced a record underlying 22 per cent return on shareholders’ funds. In what have been, without doubt, very challenging economic times, Cambria has demonstrated that it continues to drive excellent growth.’

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11/12/10 14:21:13

[Forecourt]

Chevy’s C-Max rival Chevrolet’s new Orlando MPV sees the maker enter a new sector, reports JAMES BAGGOTT

C

hevrolet will launch its Orlando MPV in the UK in time for the new reg next year starting at £16,395.

The Citroen C4 Picasso and Ford C-Max rival brings bold and brash American styling to the family car sector. With an impressive specification list in three trim levels and a choice of a trio of engines – two of them diesels – the Orlando sees Chevy enter a new market in the UK. The manufacturer’s top brass admit it’s a key one for dealers too and a sector that they believe the Orlando is perfect for.

‘This is an important market for us to get into,’ said Wayne Brannon, Chevrolet Europe vicepresident. ‘With six key model launches in the next 12 months we plan to double our growth in the next five to six years.

‘Orlando is a car that gets the job done for families that want it to do a job with no fuss. It shows Chevrolet is on the right track.’

TEST DRIVE Car Dealer tried the new MPV at the European launch in Valencia at the beginning of December. It’s an impressive step for the brand and is a competent car on the road.

Some of the interior materials used aren’t of the highest quality but the overall fit and finish of the car is far better than Chevys of old.

We tried both the high-powered 2.0-litre diesel engine which produces 163bhp (there’s a lower powered 130bhp option too) and also the 140bhp 1.8-litre petrol. The diesel is the pick of the two.

It’s refined, quiet and with the automatic gearbox very smooth to boot – it’s pretty nippy for the size of the car too.

The petrol is a bit lacklustre, in comparison, but the manual five-speed gearbox is precise and has a satisfying throw to it. Woolly steering lets the car down a little though and we did find the ride a bit hard on Spanish roads.

Kit is impressive with the top of the range LTZ models getting a choice of all three engines, 17-

inch alloys, cruise control, automatic headlights and wipers, as well as power folding mirrors.

That’s on top of the standard equipment which includes air con, electric windows, remote central locking, six airbags and tinted windows.

Performance for the preferred diesel engine isn’t bad. It’ll do 60mph in 10.6 seconds, a top speed of 111mph while returning 40mpg with emissions of 186g/km.

The seven-seater’s looks split opinion on the launch with many loving the bold nose, but were not so keen on the fussy rear. We’re inclined to agree, but it’s certainly distinctive.

Those seven seats are practical and the rear-

most pair fold flat into the boot when you’re not using them, leaving an impressive amount of luggage space.

We think the biggest stumbling block will be the pricing though. The range matches rivals like the Ford C-Max on cost, with the top of the range Orlando diesel auto retailing at £23,195 – the equivalent Ford is £23,245.

It’s certainly a bold move taking on the Blue Oval in the pricing stakes and one which we’re unsure will pay off. Perhaps the marque’s Five Year Promise offer will be enough to tip the balance in the Chevrolet dealer’s favour? We’ll have to wait until the spring to find out…

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VXR-style range not ruled out and ALL dealers will sell Camaro CHEVrOLET has not ruled out a VXr-style sports brand for the marque in the UK, boss Mark Terry has revealed.

The manufacturer is currently lacking hot models – something that would help it capitalise on Jason Plato’s BTCC Touring Car success in 2010. and with the Camaro sports car due to arrive in the autumn as the brand’s halo sports model, car buyers are far more likely to be receptive to a sports line from Chevy. ‘at the moment I think it’s more about the looks rather than all-out performance,’ said Terry. ‘In the future though I think there is scope for performance Chevrolet models. We’re not sure about a VXr-style brand at the moment as it’s early days, but it’s not been ruled out. We’ve got Corvette coming soon so there is certainly scope in the future for a sport brand.’

Terry did hint at a BTCC special edition model in 2011 that will have the go to match the show. The current Cruze CS is the only car in the range that marks the brand’s success in the series, but doesn’t have the performance to match its looks.

ON A PROMISE Chevrolet Orlando Price: £20,395 Engine: 2.0-litre diesel Power: 163bhp, 360Nm Max speed: 111mph 0-60mph: 10.6s MPG: 40mpg

Why Chevy dealers are no longer retailers WHEN’S a Chevrolet retailer not a retailer? When they’re a dealer that’s when!

That may sound rather like a confusing conundrum, but in fact it’s one of the latest changes Chevy UK chief Mark Terry has decided on making.

Chevrolet’s retail network is no longer referred to as that at the marque’s headquarters – they’re now dealers, plain and simple.

‘They’re known as dealers as that’s what they do – construct deals,’ Terry told me at the firm’s Orlando MPV launch.

‘The retail network name was a GM thing and now we’ve moved away from that to stand more independently we’ve decided to call our dealers what they are – dealers!’

It may be a subtle change, but it’s one that sums

‘They’re known as dealers as that’s what they do – construct deals.’

Mark Terry, Chevrolet MD up the straight-forward and to-the-point ethos currently ringing around Chevrolet HQ. ‘It’s not something that we had a meeting about and decided upon, it’s just a simple change in the way we refer to our network to reflect exactly what they do,’ added Terry.

‘To the general public it doesn’t matter what we call them – they just want a good deal and with our network that’s what they’ll get!’

The Chevrolet UK managing director also revealed the firm’s Five Year Promise deal will not ‘last forever’.

The innovative marketing campaign currently sees Chevy buyers get a warranty, servicing and breakdown cover for five years.

But Terry admitted it was a ‘here and now’ offer that was launched because the firm’s research revealed buyers wanted to fix their motoring costs.

‘I’m not going to give you a definite “it’s always going to be in” – but we’ll always have a programme for our customers that is what they’re looking for and it will be adapted accordingly.’

He confirmed Five Year Promise wasn’t a long-term strategy like Kia’s seven-year warranty and was merely a marketing strategy that works ‘at the moment’.

CAMARO & VOLT Terry also confirmed that the Camaro sports car and electric Volt, due late next year and early 2012 respectively, would be sold in aLL of the marque’s dealers.

Initially it was thought Chevrolet would pick a select network to retail the two specialised cars – like Nissan has done with the Leaf and GT-r – but Terry told us this wouldn’t be the case. ‘all dealers will be able to take orders,’ confirmed Terry. He wouldn’t give us an exact price for the Camaro, but revealed some customers have told him they’d be willing to pay between £4045,000 and then ‘spend money on extras’.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17 CarDealerIss34.indd 17

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STAY AHEAD You want your website to shift gear and put you in front. But to do that, it needs to rank highly with Google and other search engines. And be easy to use.

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dashboard

Heard the problem about electric cars?

JAMES BAGGOTT reports on the silent issues causing concerns

T

he electric car revolution is coming.

Many makers are readying batterypowered models and hybrids as the switch to eco-motoring becomes a reality.

But with that switch comes problems.

Charging points are scarce, there are issues with expensive batteries, but the loudest noises are being made about a silent problem: the lack of sound made by electric cars at town speeds.

Talk to city dwellers and you’re likely to hear a story about a silent Prius creeping up on them. Granted, pedestrians listening to iPods and not paying attention should know better, but what about the blind?

Some papers in the US are already branding hybrids ‘silent killers’ and electric cars are in danger of getting a bad press before they’ve even arrived.

So what’s the solution? Well, some makers are planning to introduce artificial noises to warn that a car is approaching – but currently there are no requirements for this to be fitted as standard.

The EU plans to introduce regulations that would set a minimum volume electric vehicles can make, but that’s not yet been implemented – and with that comes an even more pressing issue: What should electric cars sound like?

Audi is already looking to Hollywood for inspiration for its forthcoming e-tron, pictured below. Its acousticians are evaluating the noise made by the rSQ model from the 2004 film I, robot as one option for its production cars.

We’ve asked a number of manufacturers currently producing, or preparing to launch, electric cars on what they’re planning to do about the silence – and although it’s clear they know it’s an issue, a standard solution isn’t obvious.

‘The Tesla roadster is not completely silent,’ argued a spokeswoman for the firm. ‘There’s no engine noise, but you can certainly still hear it coming down the road. We currently have no plans to add artificial noise to our cars, but we’re paying attention to the conversation.’

Alex Goy

All Torque

Mini – which has been conducting trials of its ‘E’ electric model – said it had a number of solutions to the lack of sound.

‘We are looking to add an artificial external soundscape should it prove necessary,’ a spokeswoman told us. ‘There are a number of possible solutions available, but we can’t go into details just yet.’

So the manufacturers that have launched electric cars are all too aware of the problem, but what about those readying battery-powered models for sale?

It’s certainly something Steve Groves, an engineer working on the Nissan Leaf, is getting his head around. ‘at an early stage in the development Nissan identified that this issue is important,’ he explained.

‘The Leaf makes two sounds for pedestrians in forward and reverse. The forward “authentic EV sound” operates up to 30kph at which point the sound from road noise is sufficient to warn that a vehicle is approaching. The reverse beeping sound operates whenever the car is in reverse.’

Groves revealed that during trials Nissan considered 80s synth sounds and even natural ones such as choir and bird song.

‘From the clinics it was felt that the sound should be as authentic as possible so the sound from the car is audible but not unexpected,’ he added.

Renault said its electric cars – like the Zoe – would also make artificial noises up to 30kph. Peugeot and Mitsubishi are jointly preparing the iOn / i MiEV electric car for sale next year. Peugeot said it was considering a ‘pedestrian horn’ which would be less aggressive than a standard one and used ‘like trams’ when necessary.

Mitsubishi was a little more cagey, but admitted it recognised the need for an artificial noise and was ‘working on a solution’. While Vauxhall – due to launch the ampera electric car in the UK in 2012 – added that by the time its car was ready EU regulations on the matter would be clearer and it would have a ‘solution’.

One thing was startlingly obvious from our investigation though – with no industry standard on the preferred artificial noise, the sound of motoring in the future could be very different indeed.

Why I’ve got a sudden hankering for a Mazda MX-5

R

ecently I’ve come over all personable and started thinking about what people want. Car Dealer’s 911 for 2011 MX-5 sales got me started. It’s all about who wants what. And who can make it for them.

My personal choice is something with lots of toys, a whacking great engine and looks to scare even the hardest of hard men.

Ross Kemp or... someone.

But a recent week spent in the company of a new MX-5 got, as Poirot would say, ze little grey cells working.

You see, the model type pecking order goes as such: hot hatches are made for young’uns, Family hatchbacks are for families and exec saloons are for people who want to show off how much they make. Simple, ‘Those that can’t no?

Well, actually, no. Not at all. afford anything Because, at the recent Citroen brand new will C4 launch we were told that it was for a man in his mid-fifties, opt to go second with an ‘empty nest’. Not a hand. And if they family hatch any more, is it? It’s can, it’ll either be your old dad’s motor.

Looking further into Citroen’s sensible, lots of range – the DS3R hot hatch car for not much for ‘da kidz’ is going to cost money or a crate £20k plus. Which very few mid-twenties types have lying on wheels.’ around. Unless they’re minted, in which case they’ll buy a BMW. Probably with a bigger engine than a 2.0-litre turbo.

Those that can’t afford anything brand spanking new will opt to go second hand. And if they can, it’ll either be sensible, lots of car for not much money or a crate on wheels. If they can afford a new motor, well... the world is their oyster (as long as it’s not a mkII Clio post-facelift – terrible things).

Sweeping generalisations aside, it’s worth noting that the cars with massive stereotypes attached don’t tend to be sold to the stereotypical people. In fact, most of the time they aren’t. And the stereotypes are almost always misplaced. This leads me back to the MX-5.

I popped a pic of ‘my’ Mazda on Twitter, at which point one person piped up with: ‘Doing lots of hairdressing this week?’ It’s not fair to tar the wee MX-5 with that brush. If people say that about the dinky roadster they’ve clearly not driven one.

Or been in one. Everyone I gave a lift to was impressed – even if they had to endure the roof down (in November) and the music loud. It was brilliant – so much so I’m irritated that both the CDM cars have been sold.

Alex reviews the Citroen C4, p30

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

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19 CarDealerIss34.indd 19

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V.A.T.

INCREASE AHEAD Finance your new vehicle with Black Horse

Buy before

4 January th

2011

Visit blackhorse.co.uk

to find your nearest dealer Remember VAT is going up from 17.5% to 20% on all new vehicles from 4th January 2011.

Finance available subject to status. Indemnities may be required.

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13/10/2010 16:21 11/12/10 14:21:26

finance

...in association with

‘Fronting’ problems see finance fraud cases, warns FLA THE Finance & Leasing Association’s latest quarterly motor fraud figures show that first party fraud is on the rise in the UK. Much of this is due to ‘fronting’, says the FLA. It occurs when the person applying for motor finance has a good credit record but the car is used by a driver with a poor credit record or who cannot get insurance.

The FLA also say that ‘fronting’ is a criminal offence, and is often run by organised gangs. Criminals may use the stolen identity of someone with a good credit rating to deceive motor lenders into approving a finance agreement for a car that is driven by someone else.

Despite the rise in fronted fraud, the value of motor fraud cases overall in the third quarter of 2010 was £3.1m, down by 17.7 per cent on 2009. There were 188 cases of motor fraud in the third quarter, a drop of almost 24 per cent on the third quarter of 2009.

The reduction reflects the commitment of lenders to tackling financial crime and keeping credit affordable, says the FLA. In the 12 months

to September 2010, FLA members prevented more than 10,000 cases of suspected or attempted fraud and saved at least £125m.

The FLA has also revealed the number of recovered cars linked to fraud is also at its highest in three years. Partnerships with police forces, such as the industry-funded ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Scheme, have helped recover 700 vehicles to date.

Another initiative, the Vehicle Recovery Scheme, in which English and Welsh police forces notify motor finance companies when they seize vehicles, was extended to Scotland in October.

Paul Harrison, the FLA’s head of motor finance, said: ‘Motor finance companies are winning the fight against fraud through closer co-operation and partnerships with the police. But criminals are always finding new ways to beat the system. Fronted finance agreements are on the rise, but lenders are determined to protect innocent motorists by developing new procedures to clamp down.’

Black Horse is there to help dealers BLACK Horse has said it will help all of its motorcycle dealers prepare now for the Consumer Credit Directive (CCD).

The finance firm is currently rolling out training to car dealers across the country, so that they are fully equipped to deal with changes in the way finance can be sold and processed at the point of sale.

Mandatory for all lenders and credit card companies, the changes must be implemented

by January 31. However Black Horse brought the changes in on November 25.

Black Horse franchise development & leisure director Mike Whytock said: ‘We’ve taken great care, when interpreting the new legislation, to

consider what impact it will have on our dealers.

‘As a result, the information and training we’re providing them with is clear, accurate and thoroughly explained. Our aim is to help them overcome some of the complexities of the new legislation by helping them to embed it within their own sales processes.

‘Having fully trained up, knowledgeable people on board is critical, both for Black Horse and our dealers. Although this new legislation will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the sales process, it should be viewed positively by the industry as I believe it will boost consumer confidence. We want our dealers to know that they don’t face this alone.’

Sutton

Money talks

Times are still tough for dealers

I

t’s clear that the motor industry, like so many others at the moment, still finds itself in a difficult environment.

The question of whether we enter a ‘double dip’ recession remains unanswered, but there was certainly some joy when the Chancellor announced recently that the UK economy was growing at a slightly faster rate than was forecast. This trend is repeated across the globe, but should be viewed with caution.

The scale of public sector cuts are now beginning to materialise and this is likely to dent consumer confidence.

With Christmas fast approaching and the additional expense which comes with it, customers may be more unwilling than usual to commit to a large purchase.

The market itself continues to send mixed messages. While motor industry figures from last month show that new car registrations fell by 11.5 per cent in November, they are still on a par with last year excluding the scrappage scheme.

Despite the fall in October, the market remains 4.8 per cent up over the first 10 months of the year of 2010. The next few months could prove pivotal in terms of where the market is headed next year and it’s certainly not a time to rest on our laurels.

Black Horse went live with Consumer Credit Directive (CCD) implementation on November 25. It’s no boast to say we’ve lead the way on CCD this year, supporting our dealers by interpreting the new legislation for them and providing them with the right training and tools to face this change.

As I’ve said before, CCD should be viewed as an opportunity, not a threat, as it gives lenders a real chance to demonstrate their professionalism and deliver an enhanced customer experience.

Predicted increases in inflation do pose a real threat for next year, as does the increase in VAT to 20 per cent from January 4. Again, we’re on the front foot with dealers concerning this change, with a campaign designed to help them use the VAT rise as a positive selling opportunity, by encouraging customers to buy before the end of the year.

The support we provide to dealers to help them face the challenges which lie ahead reinforces the benefits of dealing with Black Horse. At times like these, it’s good to have someone on your side you can trust.

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

Finance levels rise five per cent THE number of cars sold on finance have risen five per cent, latest FLA figures reveal.

Both new and used cars sold to consumers on finance rose in September, five and six per cent respectively. This is despite a fall of almost 19 per cent in the total number of private new car sales in September.

However, the FLA has also revealed that despite this growth in the consumer market, the number of businesses financing cars in September dropped by 17 per cent for new cars, and four per cent for used cars.

Paul Harrison, head of motor finance, added: ‘The rise is great news for dealers, coming as it does in such an uncertain and volatile economic climate.

‘But we still have some concern about the business cars sector, where new loans have fallen.’

ACF Car Finance launches in-house valeting service ACF Car Finance has launched an in-house valeting service to improve dealership efficiency and improve the skills of its workforce.

The company has taken the role of valeting in-house as part of the latest initiative to enhance the customer experience.

Each ACF technician will be responsible for overall vehicle presentation, including full interior and exterior valets. Windscreen chip repair and SMART repair work will also be carried out.

Mark Jones, divisional manager of operations and logistics at ACF Car Finance, said: ‘We are delighted to launch this new service within our dealerships.

‘We can now ensure that all vehicles are presented to the same high “nearly-new” company standard – the standard our customers expect. It will also ensure a faster turn-around of vehicles so our cars are ready to drive away when the customer is.’

SUVs to battle the snow

Land Rover Freelander Now into its second incarnation, the Freelander is a much better model than its predecessor.

So it is quite a surprise to see a good finance deal from the maker who, with the Evoque models coming soon, is a sound investment for customers.

If ordered by December 31, the Land Rover Freedom Freelander SW 2.2 TD4 has not only quite a mouthful for a name, but an attractive finance deal running at the moment too.

The customer has to put down £36,211.84 with the dealer contributing £1,250, and after that there are 41 month payments of £299 at 7.9 per cent APR.

An optional final payment (which includes a £295 fee) of £8,836 secures the car, meaning that the total amount payment is £27,306.84. A charge of 12p per mile is added if 35,000 miles is exceeded.

Specification

Model: Land Rover Freedom Freelander SW 2.2 TD4 Price: £27,306 Engine: 2.2-litre diesel, 148bhp 0-60mph: 10.7s Max speed: 112mph MPG: 45.6mpg CO2: 165g/km

Citroen C-Crosser With Citroen upping their game and giving customers some really rather premium cars, the ability to slash new prices and give buyers free insurance has all but gone. But there are some deals to be had in finance, and the C-Crosser is one of them.

It’s the Citroen version of the Peugeot 4007 but, more importantly, both are French versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander and all three are based on the same platform. However, we think the Citroen is arguably the best looking out of the bunch.

An initial deposit of £2,465 is followed by 37 monthly payments of £449 at 9.9 per cent APR.

After this the customer needs to pay an optional final payment of £8,487 to secure their C-Crosser, meaning the total amount payable is £28,750.81.

Excess mileage is charged at only 10p a mile and the annual mileage limit is 10,000 miles.

Specification

Model: Citroen C-Crosser 2.2 HDi VTR Price: £28,750 Engine: 2.2-litre diesel, 156bhp 0-60mph: 9.6s Max speed: 124mph MPG: 40mpg CO2: 185g/km

Jeep Patriot Perhaps an unlikely choice compared to the Citroen and the perennial Land Rover Freelander, but that doesn’t stop the American manufacturer offering an enticing finance package, which is available until December 31.

The Patriot is quite a rare sight on UK roads, but Jeep is obviously hoping that its cheap price in comparison to its rivals and that offering a decent finance package on it will help add a few more on to the roads.

A 25 per cent deposit of £3,745 is the first payment needed from the customer, and 41 monthly payments of £199 at 3.4 per cent APR follows. An optional final payment (including a

£295 fee) of £4,035 is required, meaning that the final amount payable to the customer is £15,939. Like the Citroen there is a 10,000 mile restriction, however the price for exceeding this in the Patriot is 12p per mile.

Specification

Model: Jeep Patriot 2.4 Sport (manual) Price: £15,939 Engine: 2.4-litre petrol, 168bhp 0-60mph: 10.4s Max speed: 114mph MPG: 33mpg CO2: 194g/km

MOTOR FINANCE MADE SIMPLE blackhorse.co.uk

Finance subject to status. Indemnities may be required

22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerIss34.indd 22

11/12/10 14:21:29

...in association with

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

Dealer insolvency rates fall in October EXPERIAN has announced the number of business insolvencies in the automotive industry in the UK fell by 25 per cent year-on-year according to its October insolvency and late payment indices.

The firm believes that the rate of automotive companies becoming insolvent stood at 0.09 per cent in October 2010, which was 0.12 per cent in October 2009.

However, Experian has said that late payment figures continue to increase to record levels for the industry at 17.81 days beyond terms.

Joe Myers, director of commercial for Experian Business Information, said: ‘Although the insolvency rate and financial strength score for the automotive industry have seen some ups and downs each month, the general trend for both has been heading in the right direction.’

Alperha’s record levels of business Alphera achieved record levels of business in 2010 with a 230 per cent increase in new contracts and increased its partner network by more than 150 per cent since 2008.

‘It’s been a record year for us, although not an easy one by any means,’ Alphera director Spencer Halil told dealers and brokers at the company’s fourth annual partner forum.

‘This success is a direct result of our close working relationship with our partners. Alphera will continue to invest in initiatives designed to make our partnerships stronger as we grow further in 2011,’ he added.

The dealer partner of the year award went to Westover Group, and was presented to David Butler, group F&I manager. Alphera’s 2010 broker partner of the year was named as DSG Financial Services.

Their award was presented to DSG directors Mark Gow and Richard Hoggart. James Long of Alphera was named as the company’s business development manager of the year at the awards ceremony.

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big mike

Biker boys want boring bangers for winter weather B

angers. Regular readers of my mindless rambles will know that they’re a particular passion of mine, despite the fact that you rarely make much money on them and they never look especially pretty on your lot.

But to me, there’s something undeniably alluring about a vehicle that keeps on surviving, despite the worst a succession of British winters can throw at it – and boy do we know already what they can be like…

This year, though, there’s a real banger shortage.

Last year’s scrappage scheme wiped so many decent elderly motors off the map, that today it’s difficult to find decent ones, meaning if you’ve anything old and decent, you can hold your price and wait for your buyer at the moment. Especially as it’s the time of year where anything with a roof is in demand. Allow me to explain…

For some obscure reason, a rather odd bunch of people (CarDealer Editor Baggott included) like to go to and from work on a high-powered bicycle, wrapped in more leather than you’ll find in Miss Whiplash’s dungeon. They claim it’s a quicker way of getting from A to B, and maybe it is if you’re adept at the art of death-defying door-mirror dodging as you weave your way to the head of a traffic queue.

But for all the time you’ll save praying to goodness that a nation of dopey sods in Micras might, for once, ‘Think Bike’ as you weave in and out of traffic, you’ll waste just as much zipping yourself into, and out of your Power Rangers outfit at journey’s start and end.

Either that, or you’ll spend your day at work looking a bit silly and creaking.

What’s more, despite looking like the Mighty Morphin dudes, these oddball creatures aren’t actually invincible, nor are they fearless. Driving something rear-wheel-drive with an axle is a bit scary at this time of year, so driving something with just one wheel supplying the power is at best, lairy, and at worst, utter stupidity. All but the most foolhardy of bikers realise this, and despite many of them having an aversion to cars, they view them as a necessary evil through the winter months. Something to be bought as cheaply as possible in November, and sold as soon as the first daffodil comes out, ideally with a bit of tax and test left so they get most of their money back.

In the last three months, I’ve sold three bangers to bikers (how about Bangers4Bikers next year, Baggott?), including a hearing-aid beige Rover 200 to a comedian whose normal transport was a Vespa.

Strange, but true.

The last of the three was the funniest, though. A young guy in his mid-20s, whose sports bike insurance was so steep he wanted the least powerful, least desirable car he could find within his budget to keep costs down. He’d been looking since the end of September and still hadn’t found anything, even asking various family members to help him in his search.

At the time, I had a Suzuki Alto I took in part-ex and, as I often do with snotters, I listed it on a well-known

This is all well and good in the summer but snow and ice is pushing demand for four-wheels up from the two-wheel fans, says Big Mike

‘For some obscure reason, a rather odd bunch of people like to go to work on a high-powered bicycle.’ internet auction site. On the final day, the auction went mad, passing my reserve of £500 and finally ending up in the high 700s, a good deal more than I was expecting, or indeed would have got if I’d put it out through the forecourt.

It was only when the winner turned up to collect it that I found out why. During the last 10 minutes of the auction, the biker boy had been bidding on the car from his flat, while his well meaning Dad had been bidding on it to from the study in the family semi, intending to get it for him as a birthday present.

In the end, I took pity on them and let them have it for the £500 stand-in value, plus enough for a curry.

After all, they’d put a smile on my face.

But don’t think for one minute that Big Mike was full of Christmas spirit all of a sudden? No, not at all.

Because while the son was familiarising himself with the controls of the Alto (left, right, wash and wipe pretty much covers it) I convinced his dad to chop in his 2000 Volvo V70 for a younger model I had on the forecourt. Merry Christmas!

Who is Big Mike? Well, that would be telling. What we do know is he’s had 30 years in the car trade and picked up some seriously funny tales along the way.

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[TripleTest]

Skoda Superb Elegance Price: £24,780 Engine: 1.8 petrol Power: 157bhp, 250Nm 0-60mph: 8.4s Top speed: 136mph MPG: 38.7

SKODA SUPERB

Budget option: Huge load lugger has acres of space THE MODEL after years of making small, cheap Volkswagen-derived cars, Skoda launched the Superb in 2002. In essence it was a stretched and tarted up Volkswagen Passat, loved by mini-cabbers, which had a rather arrogantsounding name for a car that was just pretty ordinary.

Not any more – the new one sits on a stretched Octavia platform and comes for the first time ever in an estate variant. It has a premium air about it and to match this we’ve plumped for the £24,780 Elegance model to test – which still makes it the budget option.

UNDER THE BONNET Unsurprisingly the Superb range uses the most familiar of VW Group engines; namely the 1.4 and 1.8 TSI engines, and a 2.0-litre diesel. What is surprising, however, is a 3.6-litre V6 unit tops the range. We, though, had the middle of the range 1.8 TSI which, with its 157bhp and DSG seven-speed gearbox, manages 136mph flat out while returning 38.7mpg. It’s the perfect mid-range engine, but when carrying all that weight, it did, on occasions, feel slightly strained.

ON THE ROAD This Skoda is weighted more towards comfort than sports. Heavily weighted, in fact. To put it politely, it’s a motorway cruiser – Britain’s arduous motorway network is an environment that is well suited to the Superb Estate. To put it unpolitely, the Superb Estate

is a bit of a wallowey old thing. It takes pot holes on many a B-road with ease, but in the corners it feels more like the QE2 that a riviera speedboat. The steering, though, is of a good weight, it’s grippy, and the seven-speed DSG gearbox is brilliant.

SPECIFICATION This being the top-spec Elegance model means it comes loaded with equipment. There really is too much to describe here, but of note is the heated and electric leather seats, premium sat-nav and audio system, dual climate control, and xenon headlamps – all for £24,780.

Even the most expensive model – the 3.6-litre V6 Elegance 4x4 – is ‘only’ £29,420. When compared to its rivals here that pricing is very attractive.

The Superb’s 1.8-litre is a little under-powered; The nose gives it a premium look; and there are acres of space in the boot

SPACE Like the specification, describing this car doesn’t do it justice; you really have to see how big it is to believe it.

It’s 16 foot body gives the Superb the most amount of rear leg room in its class, and also gives it a boot space of 633 litres with the seats up, or 1,865 litres when the seats are down.

Obviously, with that kind of space and soft suspension, your customers’ possessions are going to go all over the place in the boot. Skoda have thought of this too as the Elegance model comes as standard with a ‘sliding partition tether system’ which separates all of your shopping into compartments.

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Words and pictures: James Batchelor

THE MODEL The first S60 debuted in the year 2000 and while it was a fine looking car, it could never take on the BMW 3-Series or audi a4 properly. With 2010’s all-new S60 comes an estate too called the Sportswagon. While it is evidently competing against the Germans, the V60 plays very much on its Scandinavian roots with rakish good looks, and simple design touches to charm customers’ pounds out of their pockets.

UNDER THE BONNET Volvo has thrown together a whole catalogue of engines for the V60, for it comes with a choice of two 1.6-litre petrols in the form of T3 and T4, the new 137bhp 2.0-litre T5, and a 3.0-litre T6; while in the diesel corner resides a 2.0-litre D3, and the perennial 2.4-litre D5. We’ve gone for the latter of the diesel options – the £32,490 D5 SE Lux – which produces 203bhp and 420Nm, and allows it to reach 60mph in 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 143mph.

The V60 is a ‘Sportswagon’ – read that as it’s an estate with not much room; the 2.4-litre D5 sounds great; and the interior is stylish

ON THE ROAD In comparison to other more practical Volvos, the V60 feels a lot stiffer and more planted. That’s not to say it’s sporty, though. Despite it being billed as one of the sportiest Volvos ever, the V60 has a little

too much body-roll and has steering that is – though well-weighted – just too disconnected from the front wheels. 203bhp for a 2.4-litre unit sounds a little old-fashioned these days, but the V60 feels as though it’s got more. It sounds good too – a great mixture of typical Volvo five-cylinder howl tamed by the gruff of the diesel.

SPECIFICATION Our £32,490 SE Lux Geartronic came with a whole host of equipment ranging from safety protection systems such as WHIPS (whip lash), IC (inflatable curtain, SIPS (side impact), to a leather interior, cruise control, voice activated sat-nav, auto-dimming rear view mirror, high performance audio system… the list goes on. although this test car had BLIS (blind spot information system) and pedestrian detection system which all bumped the price up to more than £35k.

SPACE Calling the V60 a Sportswagon has excused Volvo of admitting that this is a very small estate car. However, Volvo do say that if a customer wants space the V70 is the perfect car – and they do have a point. It has the smallest boot on test with a measly 430 litres with the seats up, but there is a decent amount of rear passenger legroom. >

VOLVO V60

New Option: Swedish star puts a sparkle into load lugging Volvo V60 D5 SE Lux Price: £32,490 Engine: 2.4-litre diesel Power: 202bhp, 420Nm 0-60mph: 7.2s Top speed: 143mph MPG: 44.8

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[TripleTest]

Audi A4 Avant S-line quattro S-tronic Price: £36,600 Engine: 3.0-litre diesel Power: 237bhp, 500Nm 0-60mph: 5.9s Top speed: 155mph MPG: 41.5

AUDI A4 AVANT

Premium option: It’s the best looking, but has price tag to match THE MODEL The audi a4 has been with us for a number of years now after debuting in the mid-1990s. The a4 has probably been the model that has been the best exponent of audi’s different ‘design languages’ over the years, with the current model arriving in 2008. Its natural rivals are the BMW 3-Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, although the V60 and Superb are competitors too.

UNDER THE BONNET Here we’ve opted for the 3.0-litre V6 TDI unit which packs 237bhp and an astonishing 500Nm of torque. This helps the avant get to 60mph in 5.9 seconds while returning 41.5mpg. along with the 3.0-litre diesel, a 2.0-litre and a 2.7-litre diesel also feature, while a 1.8 TFSI, a 2.0-litre TFSI and a 3.2-litre FSI cater for the petrol market.

ON THE ROAD Our test car was the £36,600 quattro S-line S-tronic model which makes for a delightful drive. Unsurprisingly there’s no shortage of grip from the quattro system as it’s a master in four-wheel traction. It enables the a4 to put all of its power on to the road, and with that incredible 500Nm available the a4 is a mightily impressive machine.

Couple this with firm but not uncomfortable suspension, and sharp steering and the avant rapidly becomes a guilty pleasure.

SPECIFICATION The a4’s dash is beautifully put together, while hard but nevertheless good-looking sports seats embossed with the ‘S-line’ logo hug your shoulders. and unlike the V60 and Superb the a4 feels very cosy, and if you don’t look

in the rear-view mirror you’d put money on this being an a5. But with options, this test car came to a horrifying £45k.

SPACE The a4 avant was never going to win the space stakes – the Superb walked that one – but it does make a fair compromise between style and practicality. With the seats up there’s 490 litres of space and, like the V60, there’s decent rear legroom. The avant also benefits from a bench seat that sits very low; maximising head room.

The 3.0-litre diesel is packed with torque; the interior is cosy and full of goodies; and even from the rear it looks impressive

VERDICT Each of these three cars are all winners in their own right.

For value-for-money, there’s no beating the Superb, and the V60 – with its sporty looks and current novelty value – is a great car too. While for those executives who need to get everywhere quickly, the a4 avant 3.0-litre TDI is very impressive.

We don’t really need to come up with a winner, but we’d feel as though we had wasted your time if we didn’t. and that winner is… the Skoda Superb. It’s a genuinely impressive car that comes with very few negatives. Okay, the handling is a bit roly poly but we can forgive it that. While the V60 and a4 are all very good, they’ve approached the idea of an estate car from the wrong angle. They are all about being sporty with an element of practicality thrown in to earn their estate car credentials. The Skoda, however, has been designed to be the best from the start. It’s huge, built well, looks good, and is affordable. The customer feels as though they are getting their money’s worth – and that is one of the best feelings a customer can have. [CD]

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[Forecourt]

Citroen C4 French firm’s new hatch has been made boring on purpose

T

he press briefing for the new Citroen C4 was refreshingly honest. While there was the usual mix of marketing adjectives being thrown around, there was the revelation that it isn’t a car for ‘da kidz’ – this is for middle aged men. Simple as that.

Well, at least, that’s what Citroen’s projections say. It’s for men aged 45+ with a household income of £45k and an interest in rugby. He may have kids, but they’re likely to have flown the nest. He doesn’t want to get to 62mph in less than three seconds, he just wants to get where he’s going. Similarly he doesn’t want a body kit.

He wants style, comfort and economy. With the C4 he’ll get it all.

The 2.0-litre 150 HDi we drove is the most powerful unit on offer. This doesn’t mean that C4 man will be taking on hot hatches, but if he wants a bit of fun along a B-road he won’t be disappointed. It boasts 150bhp and 340Nm of torque. So it’s not really a slouch. 60mph comes in 8.4s and it’ll go on to 129mph. Not record breaking, but in ‘warm hatch’ territory.

While it’s quite brisk, it’s also frugal. Motorway fiends can expect to see 68.9mpg. Citroen claims

the C4 will achieve 42.8mpg in town as well. All that happens while squirting out 130g/km CO2.

It’s not an ‘eco car’ by today’s standards, but that’s pretty impressive.

So it’s frugal and a bit quick. Which is no bad thing, but it needs more than that to make it a car of choice. Under pressure it’s quite grippy, so spirited mid-bend driving is rewarded with

Citroen C4 Price: £21,495 Engine: 2.0-litre HDi Power: 150bhp, 340Nm 0-60mph: 8.4s Max: 129mph MPG: 56.5

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the knowledge that it’ll stay there. Otherwise it’s a little numb – which is fine in the city. And for the target buyer. Heavy right foot at the wrong time? No problem, because the brakes are strong, and there’s decent pedal feel. The C4 will even throw the hazards on if you brake particularly hard.

Inside it looks and feels sturdy. The Exclusiv trim is the one to go for – there are shinier plastics and more toys. It feels well made – everything’s screwed together properly.

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[Feature]

SHOW OFF YOUR CARS

Nothing sells a car on your website like a video. James Batchelor reports on an easy way to get them on your digital forecourt

C

ustomers are becoming more and more savvy when it comes to buying a car. They can learn as much as they want about a vehicle they’re interested in buying in the time it takes to hard-boil an egg. But providing customers with general information is one thing; showing your customer the car they want, and making them come to your dealership is quite another.

This is what Trade Centre Wales found. Mike Harper, web sales manager for the firm, explains: ‘We used to sell our cars mostly through traditional adverts, and our website was more about giving information about where we were and special offers than actually selling cars.

‘Recently we have come to realise that the web is more important.

We have found that customers don’t read the text, so it was highly important for us, as a company, in moving forward that we were going to use photography and video to present the cars in the best light possible. Video is the way forward – you can’t get any better than that,’ explained Harper.

One thing is for sure, video is going to play an increasingly important role in dealer’s businesses in the years to come. It’s all very well shooting some footage on video camera, but how can you integrate it into your website easily? YouTube has its place – but professional businesses, such as yours, need a professional solution. That’s where Autos On Show’s innovative software can help.

‘The software we have created for dealers adds extra value to the customer who is looking to buy a vehicle from a dealer’s website,’ Autos On Show managing director Adam Price explained.

With the use of a turntable, a camera, and Autos On Show’s software, a dealer can turn a dull advert into one that’s alive on video.

‘In under 60 seconds a dealer can do all of the external photography of the vehicle, a full 360-degree spin of the vehicle, and make the car available online and visible immediately both through mobile devices and the website,’ says Price.

The idea was simple one. Price adds: ‘Imagine I’m a potential buyer and photographs aren’t always enough for me. So we thought it would be nice to see the vehicle as if I was actually there, walking around it, but in the comfort of my home.

‘We realised that a dealer is busy enough without messing around with video and photography so we had to turn something technical into a streamlined process – so instead of adding time to what they have to do, we would reduce the time on what they would normally do but would also add extra value to it.’

So, how does the product work? I’m not going to tell you how it works otherwise you’ll go off and do it,’ Price jokes. ‘But the software works in two ways. We spent three years creating a system that allows

Autos On Show’s Adam Price, left, with Trade Centre Wales’ owner Mark Bailey

‘In under 60 seconds a dealer can do all of the external photography of the vehicle, a full 360-degree spin, and make the car available online and visible immediately.’ dealers to just drag the file on to the software, and then our software does everything else for them. Once they’ve done that and as soon as the videos have gone online, the videos are available straightaway and displayed in a fantastic way. We’ve taken the headaches away with this software.’

There are two set prices for dealers which are dependent on the number of vehicles they have. ‘Less than 500 vehicles per month – it’s £3 per car, per month,’ says Price. ‘500 or more it is £2 per car per month. That’s the price of a coffee.’

Some of you will be thinking you can get all that for free using YouTube, so we asked Price why he thinks you should use his software instead. His reply was a simple one: He explained that Autos On Show takes the hassle out of editing and uploading video.

The software takes your camera’s raw video footage, chops out some still photography from it, which is used as part of the mini player as an incentive

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Trade Centre Wales uses a specially built platform and camera to take stunning videos of its stock

for buyers to click on it, and then crunches the file into one that’s compatible for your site. Within minutes of shooting it can be live on your site.

So what are the other benefits? Price adds: ‘Your stock gets shown in a completely different way. When the customer comes to the dealership they are further down the buying process – so the aim is when a customer does cross the dealer’s threshold, they are more likely to buy.’

The software has been robustly tested by various dealerships for three months, and the company has already had interest from some big clients in the motor industry. ‘We’ve got Motorpoint signed up,’ says Price. ‘They saw it on the Monday, we went to see them on the Wednesday, and they signed on the same day. The same happened with Salisbury Audi. Everyone sees the benefit, not just the gimmicky value.’

Trade Centre Wales was the first dealer that signed up for the software.

‘Our partnership with Autos On Show has been fantastic,’ added Harper. ‘At Trade Centre Wales we are always looking for exiting new ways to present our business. With the help of Autos On Show we will even be introducing a facility soon where the customer will be able to purchase the car they see on video online. They will come in and go straight to collections, test drive it, and if they are happy they will just drive away.’ [CD]

For more information click on autosonshow.tv or call 0800 644 6894

How dealers use the video system Trade Centre Wales has equipped a studio to help them make the videos of their stock easily. They sourced a turntable and installed powerful lights to show their cars off in the best possible way.

‘After some time tweaking it so it worked the way we wanted it to, we have got to the stage where the process takes a couple of minutes,’ Trade Centre Wales’ turntable explained Trade Centre Wales’ even copes with supercars Mike Harper.

But you don’t need a dedicated building, turntable, and lights! The Autos On Show software can work for anyone. ‘Salisbury Audi don’t have the space to have a turntable,’ explained Autos On Show’s Adam Price. ‘They have someone walk around the car with the camera while someone explains the spec – it all works the same way. Whether you spin the vehicle or walk around it, the process of picking it up and dropping it into the software and it being instantly available on your website is the same.’

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AskLucy...

Lucy Bonham Carter is a leading commercial lawyer specialising in automotive cases. Every month she’ll be answering Car Dealer Club members’ queries. Here are just some of the recent cases where she’s helped out dealers. Get advice like this by becoming a club member for a bargain £25 a year.

Customer got their car fixed by someone else and asked me to pay

I SOLD a 2007 audi a3 to a customer four months ago, taking a trade-in and the settlement for cash. There were no problems with the car and my wife had used it for a short while and didn’t want to get rid. It was advertised and this chap came along who wanted it. Everything is for sale here so it went. Never heard anything more until he rang up saying the DPF light was on.

I told him he needed to give it a good blast to regenerate and it would probably go out. alternatively my mechanic said it might be an exhaust gas differential pressure sensor fault. Either way I asked him to come back if the problem didn’t go away. This morning without any further warning he sent me a bill from another garage for £1,900 for replacing the DPF and a letter saying Trading Standards had told him I had to pay as I was liable to fix any fault with the car for the first six months. am I liable and how do I deal with this?

DM, Woking LBC says: The car is within the first six months of sale so the onus would have been on you to show any fault was not there at the time of sale under the terms of the Sale of Goods act. But the act is not blind to the age and condition of the vehicle and hence it would be up to the customer to show any failure was not a result of wear-and-tear since purchase. a DPF should not fail at this age but that does not necessarily mean it is your responsibility to fix it. The greater time between any purchase and any failure, the more the chance of making a successful case that the failure was not your responsibility.

Beyond that the Sale of Goods act is also absolutely clear on resolution in these circumstances and a customer cannot just instruct another company to fix any problem without any reference to you and then bill you for it. The proper procedure had the fault not have rectified itself as you indicated would have been to bring the car in for you to examine with a view to resolving who was responsible. It may be that agreement could have been reached for a financial settlement but by having the vehicle repaired unilaterally

the customer has effectively waived his rights to your contribution and any deal you would now agree to make (if any) would be entirely on a voluntary basis and as a goodwill gesture.

It sometimes assists if a third party distant from the case deals with breaking the bad news and if you want us to write to them explaining the legal position we can do so.

No aircon so not ‘as described’

WE sold a second hand Mini Convertible to a client. He’s now come back saying that we told him it had air conditioning and it does not. I have been through the literature and advertising and nowhere do we say it has air con (Mini convertibles with air con are quite rare) but he claims he had a discussion on the phone with someone and was told it had.

It is just about possible as we had a nonconvertible with air con in at the time. He says he wants air con fitted at our expense which is difficult, messy and will remove any profit in the car. What do I do?

GS, Abingdon LBC says: If there was documentation to show the vehicle had been advertised with air conditioning and it has not then the vehicle would not have been ‘as described’ and it is possible he could have rejected the vehicle or asked for a refund – it is very unlikely that he could demand you fit it. Similarly if a member of staff could be shown to have made claims that it was fitted (even verbally) then the same would apply – especially if he could show that air conditioning was a key factor in his reasons for purchasing the vehicle. as things stand it is probably difficult for him

to prove that he believed that air conditioning was fitted if it was not advertised as such and I think you should resist his claim under the circumstances or at the most make a token gesture of goodwill without accepting his argument.

Manufacturer’s possible liability for fault?

WE sold a Ford C-Max with CVT to a client which had come in as a trade-in. I wasn’t aware at the time but there have been problems with gearbox failure in this particular model – some are okay but some not and this was not. The upshot is that we have sold a 2005 car which is broken down and cannot be repaired and the customer is demanding his money back. reading around the subject there seems to be an inherent design fault with this particular model which means that only about a 10th of these that were made are still on the road. That being the case should it be us or Ford that pay out?

MV, Stirling LBC says: Technically it is you that sold the vehicle so the contract is with you.

However, as you say, this particular vehicle is somewhat notorious and litigation is currently proceeding against both Ford and another dealer. The problem appears to be a design fault in the implementation at the point of manufacture – most specifically that the gearbox, the CFT23, was designed to handle 230Nm of torque when the 1.6 diesel it was fitted to produces 240Nm of torque at 1,750rpm so it is almost always running over torqued. Ford are aware of the problem and are endeavouring to reach some form of resolution to the satisfaction of both the client and the selling dealerships. We are party to the ongoing negotiations so if you want to stay advised on developments we are happy to keep you updated.

Want to get expert advice like this for FREE? Then all you need to do is join the Car Dealer Club. A year’s membership is just £25 and you’ll get access to free legal advice just like this from Lucy. Log on to bit.ly/dealerclub for more details.

Lucy Bonham Carter is a leading commercial lawyer specialising in automotive. She heads the legal team at AutoLaw, a multi-disciplinary insurance and legal practice which specialises in providing legal assistance on motor trade-related legal issues and she provides advice to Car Dealer Club members

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DAY in the life OF

rENAULT LONDON WEST We head to Renault’s biggest UK dealership to find out what life’s like on your side of the fence. James Batchelor reports.

T

o a customer, a dealership is like a shop; they pop in there to get what they want, and then they leave without much of a second thought. But a dealership is like any other business – it wakes up early in the morning and only closes in the early hours of the evening.

To find out what life’s like we headed to Renault London West, the marque’s flagship dealer. It boasts not only cars but commercial vehicles too, and is one of only 12 Renaultsport specialists in the UK. Here’s how the day unfolded.

06:35 I pull up outside Renault London West which resides on the busy A40, and next to a Parcel Force warehouse which is frantic with early morning mail deliveries. Despite the road noise, it’s quite eerie being at a car dealership this early in the morning.

06:51 The lights in the Renault Minute Centre flicker into life. The technicians, it seems, are the first staff here, meaning that the dealership is officially awake for business.

07:28 I leave the warm Audi I travelled up in and walk into the dealership through the revolving door. While I take in the sheer size of Renault London West, a door at the back of the showroom opens and out strides the general manager, Andrew Feehilly.

07:30 He describes the role Renault London West plays in the Renault Retail Group. It’s the largest Renault dealership in the country and boasts Renault Minute, Renault Pro+, and is one of only 12 Renaultsport retailers in the country. ‘Plenty for you to see,’ jokes Feehilly.

Jasbir Harbias chats to our man Batch 07:50 ‘The first thing you’ll be experiencing is sitting in on the parts and servicing meeting,’ he tells me. We walk through the dealership, past the new Megane Tourer GT which is rotating on a plinth, and through the parts area where staff are busy preparing for the day. Feehilly smiles and greets all who are in his path.

07:52 I meet David Leighton, service manager, who draws me up a chair next to him. He then calls his team in for their morning meeting.

Leighton explains that they have these at 8am sharp every day, and once a week they have the same meeting but in the workshop.

08:00 With the service profit analyser on his computer screen, Leighton begins his meeting.

‘Yesterday we did an impressive amount of labour sales. It was down on last week but the same as last Tuesday,’ says Leighton. ‘We need to get to our magic figure to get in on target for November. We have 37 jobs today.’ He goes on to ask generally whether any of his team have any problems. They don’t. ‘Good, right, customer services scores for October.’ Pause. I sense everyone stiffen. ‘They’re very positive, so well done.’ To end the meeting, Leighton tells the team of a bonnet catch affecting Clios and that Renault have notified owners again. ‘Expect those jobs to be coming in soon,’ he says.

08:11 The dealership has been open since 8am, but customers are able to wander in at 7.30am.

One customer is taking advantage of this – he’s sitting on the dealership’s gloriously comfortable black leather sofas watching BBC Breakfast.

08:12 I’m introduced to Matthew Robertson.

At the Renault London West site they take ALL

Batchman was banished to the roof (He scared the customers) Santa’s little helper

Matthew Robertson crunches the group’s service hours

calls for Renault Retail Group’s London branches and Swansea and Cardiff. ‘On a busy day,’ says Robertson. ‘We take around 1,500 calls. A normal average would be 1,000.’ The phone first rang at 8.02am.

08:30 I chat to Priya Patel who answers calls. She describes her normal day to me which begins at 8am and finishes at 7pm. She’s been doing this job since May. 08:35 Robertson interrupts our chat to ask whether I would like to listen in on the calls.

I’m given a headset just like Patel’s, but she

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Day in the life of Andrew Feehilly

General manager

I ARRIVE at the dealership between 7 and 7.30am on a normal day, and I’m based here on average four days a week. There’s meetings on a national basis to do with the Renault Retail Group that sometimes occur here or at Maple Cross, but I normally begin the day with a revie w of a trading position and our month-to-date , and have a look at the key performance areas of the site.

Presentation wise I look at stock, staff , uniforms as presentation is key, so I concentrat e on how we look to the outside world. I also deal a lot with staff issues – morale and motivation. I’m norm ally here until 6.30pm.

somehow manages to wear it with dignity. I look a complete fool. ‘I’d push your microphone up if I were you,’ Patel says in a serious tone. ‘We don’t want people to hear your voice.’ I do as she says. I now look even more ridiculous.

08:43 a customer calls from Wales. ‘I don’t have the number for parts,’ he says. ‘I’ll put you through,’ says Patel and, again taps in a number.

It must be difficult learning all the numbers for the departments in this dealership, I ask.

‘Oh, the caller didn’t want this dealership. It was for renault Swansea,’ she says casually. I’m dumbfounded.

08:46 robertson leads me from the call centre and down a flight of stairs back to the main part of the dealership. The walls in the stairwell are full of photos of renault London West over the past few years. Most of them are charity events but some are of the dealership and its staff winning awards at various events. Some of which are renault events, and there’s the odd photo of Feehilly standing next to none other than day-time TV star Jeremy Kyle. ‘He came to a few of our events,’ says robertson. ‘Nice guy.’

08:57 anita, who runs the renault Cafe in the dealership, serves me up a cup of the strong stuff. according to anita, the café serves both customers and staff, and is a frequent lunchtime destination for the sales people. I watch some customers check out a Megane while I down the brew.

09:50 I leave the comfort of the warm dealership to take a walk around the site. Used renaults span the whole perimeter of the site, meaning there’s hundreds of used and approved cars

available. So many in fact that the dealership’s used car section has its own premises – deep in the middle of the rows of used renaults.

10:13 although there are few customers, the dealership still feels generally busy. No doubt helped by the sales people at their desks.

10:30 Meeter and greeter Jill Kayem opens the post.

11:07 I come up with the idea of climbing the tower which surveys the whole renault London West site with our snapper for some pics. I venture in to Feehilly’s office to ask permission.

He says no problem.

11:11 Liam Gray, renault London West’s site maintenance manager, comes down to meet me.

‘I’m taking you up to the roof,’ he smirks, and we leave the glamourous showroom and head for the plant room. a ladder leads to a hatch and we’re on to the roof.

11:18 Like a scene from Moonraker, I’m climbing the ladder to the very top of the tower. We Anita serves up tasty treats to staff and customers

Top of the Tower: Batch and Liam Gray get up there and Graham starts to snap away.

Canary Wharf and the London Eye can be spotted, though I’m more interested in the scale of renault London West’s site. It’s one thing walking around in it, but it’s quite another looking down on to it.

11:57 I have a photo next to a renault Trafic van.

I look an idiot.

12:16 The workshop is next. I meet John Webster under the back end of a Scenic seven-seater. He explains the rear braking system to me. Most of it goes over my head.

12:28 I find the staff room where the employees can relax. It’s quite a large room with a set of tables, a couple of sofas, two vending machines, a kitchen, and some chairs, though it’s mostly the technicians having their lunch at this time.

Bargain Hunt is on the television.

12:57 The red team win.

12:58 There are no customers in the showroom, but I notice that renault Minute is busy. So >

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11/12/10 14:22:11

[renault special] I head over there and ask Leighton to show me around.

13:01 Leighton takes me around renault Minute, ‘It’s renault’s version of Kwik-Fit,’ he says. any make of vehicle can turn up and be serviced without an appointment, and all vehicles leave the Minute workshop with a 25-point safety check.

Our man Batch was tempted to part with his cash

13:22 Leighton also shows me the workshop.

I should be used to this by now, but it’s huge.

It seems everything at renault London West is done on a massive scale.

13:31 I walk over to check out the Megane Sport Tourer GT. This is the first GT model I’ve seen which bridges the large gap between the Privilege and renaultSport models. It’s finished in pleasant Malta Blue, and with its big alloys and subtle bodykit looks really rather sporty.

Prices start at £22,910.

13:33 I have a chat with meeter and greeter Jill Kayem. She has worked here for six-and-a-half years, and enjoys being the public face of the dealership. While we’re chatting, a customer of retirement age comes in and Kayem immediately slips into her professional role. He’s looking for a particular salesperson, so Kayem phones them directly and within minutes the customer is being served by the right person.

Renault London West’s plate wouldn’t have worked on a Megane

‘Out of the corner of my eye, I see a blue Clio RS 197. I’m sure it’s being moved around to tempt me to part with my cash.’

13:59 Out of the corner of my eye, I see a bright blue Clio rS 197. I’m pretty sure it’s being moved around to tempt me to part with my cash. I resist the urge and move on to parts...

14:01 I meet Daniel Bickell, branch parts supervisor. It’s another office which Bickell shares with his staff. There appear to be offices everywhere, but they all seem to be hives of activity, this one in particular. Here he tells me that renault London West is the main hub for all parts distribution in London. ‘We deal with more than 11,000 lines at any one time, and it’s a mixture of new and older models. Orders come from Enfield which are selected and dispatched

Day in the life of...

Jill Kayem

Meeter & greeter I start the day here at 8am, and I’m the meeter and greeter. I stand and welcome people to the dealership and ask them how I can help. Wherever customers want to go, I take them. And when they leave, I say goodbye. answer That is the main job, before I used to still carry a all of the calls to the dealership, but I also I can phone around. Partly out of habit but mer is waiting contact any one of the staff if a custo the post, or needs to speak to someone. I also do mers custo see can I that so here at the main desk ing. coming in, and I also do a lot of the order

from here, and at the moment we have about £400k’s worth of stock and run on a group stock of £846k.’ This place must serve a lot of trade customers then? ‘about 6,000,’ says Bickell.

14:17 I ask Bickell whether he’s worried about the electric car and what it means for departments such as his. ‘It’s a challenge,’ he says. ‘Staff will need a lot of training, but you mustn’t forget that not all customers will have an electric car. We will still need to look after customers with older cars, so we’re not too worried,’ he smiles.

14:25 Feehilly is getting a cup of tea at the cafe. ‘I wanted this place to be the John Lewis of motor retailing – so it needs to look tidy, every department needs to be open, the staff need to be on hand and be able to answer any of customers’ queries,’ he tells me. He’s doing a good job. The dealership even has a merchandise department where customers can go and try on a renault F1 Team shirt if they wish. ‘It was tremendously popular in 20042006 with Fernando alonso winning the F1 championships,’ he says.

14:55 I venture upstairs to accounts, where Malcolm Wright is number crunching. We

A BMW Compact commits suicide talk about why there needs to be an accounts department in the dealership. He explains it comes back to size. The place is so big it can cope with the important role of looking after the regional accounts, and there is a team of people who look after renault retail Group too.

15:10 I find Paul Isley, bodyshop manager, in his office and he gives me a tour of the bodyshop.

There are a good 20 or so cars all undergoing repair work. ‘This is by no means full,’ he says. It would be hard to imagine this place any fuller.

There are a handful of Scenics having their doors re-skinned, an 02-reg Espace in one of the five paint booths being sprayed and a whole array of other renaults with minor damage.

15:36 I meet alan Case who’s the longest-serving employee in the department. I quickly get the impression that he wants to get on with the minimum amount of fuss. It’s obviously a good practice as he’s been here for 36 years. He joined this renault dealership on august 12, 1974.

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Used car sales executive Nav Kundi shows our man Batch the door

16:24 Heading towards the doors to go over to the used car centre, I pass two customers looking at a Clio rS 200 which looks particularly mean in black. ‘Look at those bucket seats,’ the man excitedly says. His wife, I presume, doesn’t see the attraction.

16:27 I meet David Smart who talks to me about used cars at renault London West. Despite the large number of cars the site has, they are all relatively new. He tells me that 55-reg is the cut-off period. I ask about the blue rS 197 I’ve had my eye on. ‘I can easily see you in that car,’ Smart says. Knowing that he’s trying to sell it to me, I foolishly relent and said I would… if I had the money.

16:37 I speak to Nav Kundi, used car sales executive, who specialises in used renaultsport models. ‘renaultsport drivers tend to really know about the cars – they’re on all of the forums, they read all the mags. So it helps having a salesman who knows a little about them to sell one to them. It reassures them.’

16:54 I head back to the main showroom to find Peter richardson ‘the Motability man’. He, however, is slightly busy. He’s selling a five-seat Scenic to the customers who were looking at the Clio 200 earlier.

16:56 Instead I speak to roberto Giambrone, sales manager, and Saf Yousaf, new car business manager, about new car sales. The situation at renault London West is good. Naturally October’s 22.2 per cent decrease in the number of cars registered had an effect on the business

Day in the life of Alan Case

Workshop controller I GET here at 7am and I am normally the first one in the bodyshop. I delegate work out to the lads, and try to give them three jobs at a time so they’ve always got something to be working on.

To keep them working, I supply them with the materials and order some too, and I also deal with any customer queries. I’m backwards and forwards.

I started my apprenticeship as a mech anic, then I moved on to paint spraying and pane l beating, so I have always had a varied life here.

but, on the whole, renault London West is doing well. ‘We’re bucking the trend,’ Giambrone says.

‘To the year to date (the end of October) we’ve sold 450 cars whereas last year we sold 384. Staff sales are up, but the biggest growth has been in Motability.’

17:22 I leave Giambrone and head over to Eduard Jones-Dellaportas, renault London West’s renaultsport specialist. The dealership has the honour of being one of 12 sites in the UK that specialises in selling the performance sub-brand, and is the only renault retail Group dealership with the renaultsport specialist title.

‘renault originally set out to have just the 11 dealers, and out of the whole dealer network, about half of them applied,’ he says. Sales performance, product knowledge and customer satisfaction records were all examined by renault before the dealership was awarded the contract, and Jones-Dellaportas and after-sales expert andrew Campbell now run the operation.

18:02 I take my last opportunity to have a final walk around the showroom before it closes.

There’s a young family just leaving, and two men talking to another sales person. It’s completely dark outside making the inside of the showroom seem cosy. The majority of the showroom is dominated by the mainstream model line-up, with a section devoted to renaultsport and, at the far end, renault commercial vehicles.

18:43 Some of the sales people are shouting from the other side of the showroom. ‘Have you called an ambulance? There’s a car on fire outside.’ It’s not a renault. a BMW 3-Series Compact has burst into flames in the middle lane of the a40 at rush hour. The fire brigade are quickly on the scene.

18:58 It’s time to go. The doors aren’t locked with a huge set of keys, but are automatically locked later in the evening. For me it’s been an insightful day, but for renault London West, just another day in motor trade. > To get your dealership featured in our ‘Day in the life of’ series, email james.batchelor@blackballmedia.co.uk and you could be the stars of Car Dealer soon.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 39 CarDealerIss34.indd 39

11/12/10 14:22:19

[renault special]

No growth for Renault in 2011 JAMES BACHELOR chats to Renault’s MD Thierry Sybord about his hopes for the brand in 2011 and beyond How has 2010 been for Renault in these tough economic times? 2010 has been very good for renault for both new cars and LCVs. But the problem we have is that in the recent months it has been very challenging compared to the beginning of the year. For 2011 we think we will achieve the same market share level we achieved in 2010 – five per cent. So our objective is to reach between 4.5 and five per cent in 2011.

Would you describe zero per cent growth as a good year? You can always do more, but of more importance is to have a good balance between market share and profitability. We think that we have the right balance, so five per cent is good. Unfortunately, in the past, we had some very bad results and it was a sore choice of where to lean towards for the evolution of the company – market share or profitability? We had to increase the profitability of the company. But, if we can push more and reach six or seven per cent it would be done unnaturally and the cost of that is too high.

Would you like to see the return of scrappage?

It is a difficult question because, in the short term, the scheme is always good because it gives the market a boost. For this result, I would say ‘Yes’. On the other hand, I think it is better to let the market do what it has to do in a natural way. When there is a very specific situation like we had with the financial crisis, it is good to have a boost, but at the moment I don’t think it would be a good idea to relaunch it.

What are you expecting from the VAT rise in January? We think it will make a small decrease in the market, around five per cent – so not a big one – and that the market will recover in 2012. I think that, from a market point of view, the VaT will not have a huge effect, but it will have an effect on the first few months of 2011.

The VaT rise is two per cent – it is nothing.

We don’t see the VaT increase as having a big impact on the market.

What would be your message to dealers in the first quarter of 2011? The message is very clear: Firstly, it is to thank our dealers for 2010 because that is very important – 2011 would not be the same if we did not have renault’s recovery in 2010.

Secondly, our objective is to remain at the same sort of level, to stabilise our market share, and to work more on our products and the value of the brand, the quality of service, and to really sell the range we have.

How much of the buying public are you aiming for with electric cars? I am sure that electric cars will walk – I am sure of that. The price of oil will increase. at the moment, I think the public is not quite sure what the electric car is, or they are afraid of it. But, once they have driven one, all

of the doubts will go. The market will increase, I am sure, but at what speed I do not know; the forecast we have at the moment is that the electric market will be about 10 per cent in 2020.

Will there still be a place for Renaultsport? Sure. a range like renaultsport is all about the pleasure of driving, and the way the car looks and feels.

When you look at the success of renaultsport, especially in the UK, we are sure it will give us an opportunity for tomorrow to mix renaultsport with electric cars and to make them work together. I am 100 per cent sure of it.

‘The Avantime design was fantastic, but the quality was a disaster. We launched it with the wrong engine and gearbox.’

Is Nissan more of a competitor than partner in the EV market? Nissan has already launched the Leaf but only because they were ready before us. But we are partners, and I think the best way to show that is that we have a vice-president of electric cars for both Nissan and renault – we share everything, and the alliance gives us a real advantage in terms of volumes.

Will the Leaf be treated as a trial run by Renault in the EV market? No, it is not a trial. But we will learn from it and use it for the launch of our cars.

Is there a gap in the Renault range? Model ranges used to be easy, but now there are niche markets.

Look at the Nissan Qashqai for instance which started out as a niche but is now the best seller in its market. Look at the Juke – it is not like the Clio, it is a niche. I would like to say that if we had a car like the Qashqai, we would be very happy. We don’t have the car at the moment. We need to give the customer the right car and the right moment, and at the moment, in Europe,

Nissan is the benchmark for this.

Are there going to be more cars like the Avantime and Vel Satis in the future? I think so. In fact I think we were just too ahead of our time. I am sure that if the Vel Satis was launched today with a good level of quality, the success of the car would not have been the way it was.

The problem with the avantime – and it is a subject that I know very well as I was the French marketing director who launched the car, and I was the person who stopped the avantime – was that though the design was fantastic, the quality was a disaster. It was not at the level of quality that was expected, and we launched the car with the wrong engine and gearbox. It had a V6 engine and a manual gearbox – and, at the time in France, it should have had a diesel engine and an automatic gearbox. We had a terrific car but we were unlucky.

What Renault are you most excited about? It is not one model but the whole electric range.

When we launch Zoe and Twizy in 2012 it will be very exciting as we will be able to launch a range of electric cars. I am also excited about Dacia as we can have a new way of selling cars – selling a low-cost unit – which is very exciting.

Excluding electric cars and Dacia, the most exciting car for me is the new Clio as it is a very important car for the UK market.

Is there a market for a small, stripped out, twoseater sports car like the Spider? Yes, I think so, and you also have to remember the alpine. But the problem is whether these cars would be profitable.

Do you see Gordini being successful in France and the UK? For sure, it is more for the French market than it is for the UK. It gives us the opportunity to animate our showrooms. Even if we do not sell many Gordinis, it will be good for the image. [CD]

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Accidents will happen but with Winn’s help you can make the whole process less painful for your clients.

JAMeS BAtChelOR explains how...

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t’s probably something you would rather not think about. and it’s probably something that your customers would rather not think about either.

What are we talking about? accidents – that’s what. The grim reality is that accidents do happen and some of them will be your customers in cars that they have bought from you. So what can you do to help them in their hour of need? Well, employing the use of an accident management service could be the answer. Winn assist – the accident management service from Winn Solicitors – could be the answer.

‘We’ve been using them for just over 12 months,’ says Colin Pybus, Benfield Nissan of Newcastle’s general manager. ‘Before using Winn assist, we used another accident management system and I can recall only on one occasion where we actually used them.

‘But, since using Winn assist, we’ve found it to be very successful. anybody who has used the service has been very impressed with it and with Winn assist’s efficiency, because they do what they say they’re going to do. By using Winn assist, you enhance your company’s reputation and you increase the possibility of customers returning to you to buy another car.’

So what is Winn assist? The company’s sales manager Ian Meachin explains. ‘Winn assist is a fully-managed accident-management product,’ he says. ‘With dealers, we go white-label so it becomes their own brand. It is an extension of their own brand which gives added value to the customer experience.

‘So when a customer has an accident, rather than the danger of them going off to a competitor’s bodyshop or being steered away by an insurance company, Winn assist gives dealers’ bodyshops the work so they can continue the customer journey within their own brand and be in control of their customers.’

This ‘customer journey’ makes customers happy, says Meachin. ‘The majority of customers are much happier because they have already bought into that particular brand, and by staying with them it makes them feel more comfortable.’

Making the customer feel comfortable is the primary aim of Winn assist. For example, if one of your customers has a non-fault accident but no claim is made on their insurance, the first thing they will do is contact Winn assist’s

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[Feature] Winn Assist will ensure your bodyshop gets the work from insurance companies

‘By using Winn Assist, you enhance your company’s reputation and you increase the possibility of customers returning to you to buy another car.’

accident management system which is branded as YOUR accident system.

The accident is claimed on the other driver’s insurance, meaning that your customer has no increased premiums or expensive excesses to pay.

A replacement, like-for-like vehicle is provided for the customer, and you, the dealer, are delivered the vehicle to repair the work with genuine manufacturer panels which is inspected when completed.

It’s all part of the benefits for dealers, adds Meachin. ‘Another key benefit for dealers is parts sales. If a dealership has its own bodyshop,

we will steer their customers into their bodyshop, so dealers will earn more money from the sale of genuine manufacturer parts.’

Meanwhile, the customer’s vehicle will have devalued due to the accident despite the highquality repairs. But Winn Assist provides the customer with a diminution value: ‘We also run diminution on vehicles under three years old whereby when a vehicle is heavily damaged and then repaired, we pay the perceived depreciation of that vehicle to the customer.

This puts extra money back into the customer’s pocket to trade in.’

However, after the accident, what if the customer complains of injuries? No problem – Winn Assist will immediately refer the customer for physiotherapy at the cost of the other driver’s insurance.

When the customer has recovered and, with their compensation for injury and diminution value cheque, the customer decides they want a new car. Due to the great customer service they received from your dealership (remember Winn Assist’s services are branded as yours), they return to you to buy another car.

‘There is a good percentage of customers who

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Winn Assist can help you turn an accident into an opportunity

will want to change that car because they will feel that the car doesn’t feel the same. So there is a revenue opportunity of keeping hold of the customer,’ says Meachin. ’We don’t charge dealers anything at all for the service,’ Meachin continues. ‘Some companies charge for the process of the accident claims, but we don’t because we feel that if the system works for the dealers, then they have a revenue stream. They do get competitive commissions though.’

Having Winn Assist branded as your own accident management service really benefits your customers. Stationary such as leaflets, cards and keyrings supplied by Winn Assist but branded as your own accident management firm should be shown to the customer on hand-over.

‘The product is not sold – it becomes part of the handover pack because it is branded,’ says Meachin. ‘What we don’t want is the sales team to start talking about an additional product managed by another company because that straight away breaks that bond with the customer.’

Benfield Nissan employs this method and they have really seen the results. Pybus adds: ‘We introduce the service to customers on handover with stationary supplied by Winn Assist and branded as Benfield Accident Management. At this particular site, we estimate about five or six customers a month opt in for the service.’

So do Lifestyle Europe, a former Car Dealer Magazine Eward winner. Across their eight branches throughout Surrey and Kent, the firm has a similar success story to tell.

‘We’ve been working with them since June 2009, and they operate our own accident management system for us,’ says the firm’s bodyshop manager, Peter Palmer. ‘It is branded with our own name – Lifestyle Accident Assistance – and it is fantastic. Winn Assist supplies all the merchandising, materials and the freephone number, and if our customers have an accident they just phone the number and Winn Assist will answer the phone in our name. Since it was branded with our name, the service has become a lot more popular with our customers.’

Lifestyle Europe has had experience with other accident management firms, but with those they cannot be so complementary. Palmer explains: ‘We used to work with a number of accident management firms, but like a lot of these companies, they want large referral fees and are slow to pay. Whereas since using Winn Assist it has been fantastic. They pay promptly, there are no big fees, and what you see is what you get.’

In fact, some of Lifestyle’s customers have even used Winn Assist as a helpline. ‘We’ve had a few customers who have had an accident with an uninsured driver and have contacted the number to assist them,’ says Palmer.

And Palmer has even had first-hand experience of Winn Assist’s accident management service.

‘My wife was driving her 4x4 and had an accident. It was 6pm on a bank holiday and I phoned them, and we had a hire car the next morning, and had a phone call straight away to get the vehicle in for repairs. The standard of service was fantastic.’

You don’t get more of a ringing endorsement than that! [CD]

For more information, contact Winn Assist on 0845 217 2542 or winnassist.com

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[Feature]

Super c Your sales

p

H

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Words: James Baggott Pictures: James Batchelor

r charge

s

process...

Free seven-day insurance from HPI could be the key to speeding up your sales, reports JAMES BATCHELOR

S

elling cars is a business transaction. Dealers naturally want their customers to have the best experience possible and a similar thing could be said from the customer’s perspective. But no matter how you dress it up, in essence you want that customer to buy the car and leave as quickly as possible – and so does the customer.

This is where HPI’s Driveaway product can become very useful. Driveaway is a free seven-day insurance product underwritten by Aviva that allows the customer to literally drive away within a matter of hours. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? Well, it’s not.

‘Before we started using Driveaway, if a car was sold to a customer and was on finance we would have to arrange for an insurance cover note to come through, which made the customer wait and delayed the collection process,’ Car Giant’s marketing manager Darren Miller told Car Dealer.

‘It makes the process simpler and quicker for the customer, and the flip side of that means that the car goes a day earlier. From the customer’s point of view, we are able to tax a vehicle quicker, whereas before they would have to wait,’ he says.

Such is the effectiveness of Driveaway, the car

‘It makes the process simpler and quicker for the customer, and the flip side of that means that the car goes a day earlier.’ supermarket has seen between 60 and 70 per cent of its customers take up the seven-day free insurance product.

Miller adds: ‘It works really well with the car supermarket model – well, with any car dealer really.’

It’s easy to see why such a high proportion of Car Giant’s customers use Driveaway – the product benefits the insurance company, the dealer, and, most importantly, the customer.

‘From Aviva’s perspective,’ explains Driveaway operations manager Mike Unsworth, ‘they are giving away seven days’ free fully comprehensive insurance to people who are buying a car there and then. So Aviva get red-hot data and the commercial hope is that a good proportion of customers will say “love the quote, I’ll take the annual policy”.’

One of Driveaway’s biggest successes is that the seven days’ worth of free insurance also comes with an annual insurance quote too. It’s non-obligatory, but allows the customer to insure their car for 12 months with Aviva there and then, or seek other insurance within those seven days. >

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[Feature]

10

Amount in pounds a used car can depreciate every day when sat on your site

48 50 500,000

Percentage of Car Shop customers that take advantage of HPI Driveaway

percentage of Driveaway dealers that manage to achieve same day delivery

number of Driveaway policies set up every

year

Unsworth adds: ‘From the consumer’s perspective the seven days’ free insurance comes with a real feel good and convenience factor, coupled with one of the biggest names in insurance. It’s convenient because it allows the customer to drive away on the day when their car is ready, and sort out their annual policy at their own convenience in front of the fire instead of rushing home and having to send out documents to pick up their car.’

But what about you guys? Well there are plenty of benefits for you too, explains Unsworth. ‘From a dealer’s perspective, efficiency is key. In the car trade, taking an order is very different from delivering it, and what 99 per cent of dealers are desperately trying to do these days – unless you are selling Ferraris or rolls-royces for example – is to close the gap between order and delivery.

‘These days it is a key performance indicator to get it out as quickly as possible as cars cost money to keep in stock and to store, and they depreciate. Depending on the car, it can depreciate between £5 and £10 a day. If you multiply that by five days for the customer to go away and get insurance, and then add in the number of used cars you have, that can be a lot of money on an annual basis. and if you are unfortunate enough to go over an end of the month between order and delivery, you’ve got another month’s devaluation.’

Unsworth adds: ‘albeit a small factor these days, there’s also the issue of customer remorse – Driveaway prevents a customer going home and saying “Darling I’ve bought a Lada” and their partner replying “You’ve done what? Go back and undo it”.’

HPI’s Driveaway has just celebrated six years of servicing dealers. Initially it was an agreement set up between Ford and aviva – then branded as Norwich Union – who duly bought HPI in 2004. Driveaway then became the responsibility of HPI. Since then HPI has been sold on to Solera, and Driveaway has gone on to become an even bigger success for the company.

‘Somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 dealers use Driveaway,’ reveals Unsworth. ‘We started out as all programmes do on a trial and it worked incredibly well. We now generate in excess 500,000 Driveaway policies a year. Little has changed since it began – only that in 2009 Driveaway was made available online, which has speeded up the process and takes away any irritation value of admin errors.’

But why is Driveaway such a success in the eyes of dealers? Unsworth puts it down to its simplicity. ‘It is a very simple formula for all parties concerned – for aviva, for the customer and especially for the dealer. Stock moves

HPI’s Mike Unsworth on how the Driveaway process works FIRST and foremost you sell the car.

Driveaway is a delivery aid not a sales aid. you then go through the admin procedures, and then at that point you introduce Driveaway to the customer by simply explaining that Aviva has a seven-day free insurance policy.

They will get an annual quote which

they may decide to accept or reject as it is non-obligatory. The customer can get on the phone or on to the web and five minutes later it is all done.

The dealer will then receive the cover note via email and the customer can drive away that day or whenever they choose. It’s as simple as that!

quicker, customers are happy meaning that they are more than likely to return again in the future, and the dealer does not have to be FSa-regulated because they are not advising the customer about insurance.’

Making Driveaway live on the internet is one of the product’s biggest attractions. Once a customer has decided to buy the car they can phone or go online to arrange Driveaway. Within a matter of minutes, a cover note is sent through by email allowing the dealer to arrange the insurance, tax and finance, and, more importantly, to remain in control. ‘They can say to the customer: “have a cup of coffee while we prepare the car for you” – then bingo, the deal is done,’ adds Unsworth.

Some firms have taken Driveaway and adapted it for their own use too, consequently making the process even simpler. One of the UK’s leading car supermarkets and former Car Dealer Eward winner, The Car Shop, is a strong supporter of the HPI product and has developed a method to speed up the delivery process.

‘We have a dedicated terminal for customers to use to sign up,’ explains The Car Shop’s group operations director Jonathan Dunkley. ‘Not all dealers can offer this but we’ve found that a simple shortcut on your desktop can make the service easily accessible.’

It’s clearly a method that works. Car Shop believes that approximately 48 per cent of their customers take up Driveaway meaning that they take their car home within an hour. ‘We secure more deals and boost customer satisfaction, which has a direct impact on our profits,’ says Dunkley.

‘In these times it is essential that dealers find ways to set themselves apart from their competitors, and with new car lead times getting longer, the savvy used car dealer can fill this niche by delivering their cars swiftly.

Products such as HPI Driveaway have helped The Car Shop do this.’ [CD]

For more information on HPI’s Driveaway, call 0845 301 1813

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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.

Find out more by calling 0845 2508820 or visiting www.ukwebsites.net Email: support@ukwebsites.net

Part of

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CarDealer.

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

autotorq.com

Does it

payto be

social?

First some geeks invented the internet, and as if that wasn’t enough of a pain, another load came up with social media.

Here we asked our Eward judges whether they think car dealers should bother dabbling in Twitter and Facebook Tina De Souza

Annie Milner

Autotorq.com

CAP.co.uk

SOCIaL media is increasingly becoming a tool for engaging existing and potential customers. I think the first question is what is the dealer’s strategy for social media? Instead of diving straight in, dealers should decide what they want to do, how they want to do it, and ask if it’s sustainable. The three keys for social media are: listen to the customers, engage with them, and then refine what you are doing. Start small and see what works.

DEaLErS have to take it seriously and designate someone in particular to manage social media. I believe there are 25 million people in the UK who use Facebook with the majority of them being adults, so by not using social media dealers will be missing out on a big opportunity to market their business, and I think it is the modern consumer’s preferred way of communicating. Good news travels fast and if dealers get some good messages on to social media, they’ll get spread very quickly. They can push what they are doing in the community and special offers they are running and they can target specific audiences with those offers.

Stewart Niblock Autotorq.com I THINK social media is a fantastic thing to use if they think carefully about it in advance. The challenge I’ve got is that too many people actually open a Twitter or Facebook account and they focus on it for a couple of days, wonder why they are not getting any results and then it tails off. Social media, in itself, is nothing new – we do it down the pub. It is about listening to people and being influenced by them, and Twitter and Facebook can be useful for that if you go about it in the right way. Take it cautiously, think about how best to do it, and then think about if and when you should use it. Don’t just jump in as that can do more damage than good.

Alan Stuart

Eric Stone

Codeweavers.net

wmsgroupuk.com I FEEL dealers will be missing a tremendous opportunity to focus on customer retention and, of course, improving their customer base – and if they don’t contact the customers, someone else will. Social media is fantastic for keeping customers in the loop, to keep them aware of any development within the dealership, and to keep them returning to the dealership. Not necessarily to buy a new car but to keep their cars serviced.

Autopromoter.co.uk rOUGHLY 42 per cent of the UK population is on Facebook alone, and this is a huge audience dealers need to be aware of and actively communicate with. There are plenty of things that you can do that people might be interested in – talk about new cars and events at your dealership.

Martin Hill I BELIEVE they should use it but, in most instances, only if they have got something to say. I think the problem is that there is such a proliferation of social media activity, that sometimes it’s not actually providing anything for the audience which can be a bad thing. Social media is great, but you really need to work at it. Companies concentrate a lot on creating new customers, and the beauty of social media is that you’re creating an audience which is much better. So, with an audience listening to what you have to say, they are more likely to come to you.

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in association with autotorq.com

James Tew Webzation.com In a nutshell dealers should be using social media, but it’s the way they do that’s the real question. Things like Twitter are great broadcasting tools, more and more people are using it, and you’ve got the benefit that it really improves SEO – Google loves the latest information and Twitter does that. I think Facebook is a different fish altogether. Some 23 million people use it in the UK so that shows that people like to use it, but you have to use it carefully – it’s like playing with dynamite. For dealers Facebook can go horribly wrong if you don’t look after your customers as they can post nasty things about you. The jury is certainly out on Facebook.

Jonathan Blackmore HPI.co.uk In broad terms, yes they should use it, but dealers should be careful how they use these sites. I don’t think it is the cure for all ills. Social media is certainly a good way of getting out special forecourt offers, but you have to remember that car dealers aren’t necessarily the most important people to consumers unless the consumer is in the market for a new car. So while it is important to build a database of customers it is important to keep it fresh.

Matthew Strudwick Carcareplan.co.uk I think that media consumption has changed greatly over the past decade or so and car dealers should definitely look to reflect this in their advertising. Social media is one of the fastest growing and exciting media at the moment, and it is absolutely an area that car dealers should look to embrace.

Keith Rountree British-car-auctions.co.uk USE of social media should be kept in perspective. I think social media comes with a bit of a health warning because done poorly it is not worth doing at all. I think social media comes with a view that it is more than just

a set of dedicated tools – people can think it is all about Facebook, but, in reality, it is equally about your own site and making that more interactive and social, promoting the community aspect to a brand. The key thing for me is that just because the tools are free, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to spend time to make it work.

Mark Humphfrys Dealerplus.co.uk I think it is quite vital to have a social media strategy in place. It is a great way to talk to your consumers, find out about brands and products. Social media is a good way to communicate and find out what people honestly feel – people are a lot more honest on sites such as Facebook and Twitter and say things that they wouldn’t to your face. It is a great way to get feedback.

Tim Smith Gforces.co.uk I think, in the future, dealers should use it. But at the moment it is questionable whether there is any money in it. There are very few examples of where dealers have actually been able to make money through social media, and there is a huge amount of hype. What dealers should actually be concentrating on is pay-per-click and SEO – really the basics of digital marketing. Social media is, I think, for advanced users of the internet and for companies that are willing to engage at a higher level, but most dealers at the moment need to focus on the basics of web marketing.

Rob Queen Starkwoodmediagroup.com I think it depends on the type of dealer. If the dealer is set up to handle social media and to actively engage with it every day, then yes they should use it. If they’re not, and they think by having a social media section on their site is the answer to all their questions and they are going to leave it day after day, then no, I don’t think they should. More online consumers are getting involved with social media and for the dealer to find out what people are saying about them is becoming more and more important. >

‘Dealers have to take it seriously and designate someone in particular to manage social media.’

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AT103 A

CarDealer. in association with autotorq.com

Meet the winners of the Car Dealer Ewards 2010. Editor James Baggott hands over the coveted trophies

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

autotorq.com

Multi-Franchised Dealer Website of the year

Franchised Dealer Website of the year

Car Supermarket Website of the year

Winner: autoplanet.co.uk

Winner: hillsford.co.uk

Winner: autoquake.com

t

A

W

his new category in Ewards 2010 aimed to reflect the challenges multi-franchise groups have in promoting their own branding, while also promoting a host of different manufacturers’ cars. Sealing the win by just two points was autoplanet.co.uk whose website boasted a clean layout, bold graphics and easy navigation which earned it the win, while smc-cars.com and hrowen.co.uk earned highly commended status from the judges. Brett Kavanagh, group marketing manager, who accepted the award, said: ‘Online is now central to the success of every automotive retailer in the country. We estimate 60 per cent of customer leads come from the website which shows how crucial the web is.’

Independent Dealer Website of the year

imed at franchised dealers that represent just one brand, this category was the closest of any in the Ewards’ three-year history. Just one point gave Hillsford.co.uk the win over second and third, which was audinorthwest.co.uk and alandayvw.co.uk respectively.

With sites at Malvern and Kidderminster, Hills Ford grabbed the win due to its impressive, bold design, eye catching offers, and the level of detail in new and used car listings. Speaking at their Malvern site Martin Weston, pictured here with Tina Hill, said: ‘We are situated in a strong retirement area; though while the customers are loyal to us, there are few finance deals sold. This reinforces why we need a good website.’

ith so many online car supermarkets in the UK, differentiating yourself is difficult. But autoquake have managed it with a site that is genuinely simple to use. Each car has 40 images to illustrate it, and customers find the car they want, reserve it with a £100 deposit, pick their finance and warranty options, then elect to have it delivered or pick it up themselves.

The site triumphed over CarShop.co.uk in second, and third place TheCarPeople.co.uk.

‘Our website is our showroom,’ said CEO Dermot Halpin, pictured. ‘We have standards and aspire to be transparent. You have to have an understanding of e-commerce to understand it and we do.’

A

Web Innovation of the year

Car Manufacturer and Special Achievement

D

A s t a v Winner: thameservicestation.co.uk

Winner: citroen.co.uk

Winner: Nissan Juke microsite

t

C

O

hame service station have produced a website that is clear and well laid out, with plenty of pictures, detail, and incorporates a common feature these days – live chat. It won our Eward this year beating Mccarthycars.co.uk and Motorite. co.uk both of whom were highly commended.

‘Our company boasts ready-to-go products, with designated salesmen who sell, and a handover who just hands-over cars to customers,’ explained Thame’s sales director, Nick allen, pictured with MD Karl White. ‘We based the site on a wellknown e-commerce one and our aim for our site is for the customer to be able to buy a car 24 hours a day. We know that when a customer visits the dealership they are purposeful – they want to buy.’

itroen managed to seal two wins in this year’s ur stipulation for this category this year was Car Dealer Ewards. Firstly the manufacturer that the winner had to be as innovative as took first place beating audi and Land rover into possible. Nissan Juke’s microsite was the perfect second and third. Citroen was the clear winner example because it encompassed everything we with its dramatic flash site featuring cars and were looking for. offers on a billboard-style layout.

The quirky site matched the quirky looks of and the maker’s cool Citroen’s C3 ‘Wash Me If the Juke, while captivating music and impressive You Can’ microsite beat all comers in the Special graphics left you wanting more. Citroen.co.uk achievement category. The clever online advert and Carsite’s raC videos were awarded highly was viewed by 290,000 people in only a few commended. weeks. ‘We are absolutely delighted to win not ‘The Juke took 3,000 pre-orders making the one but two awards. We are especially pleased Juke’s launch the most successful in Nissan UK’s that it is in recognition of our work in digital and history,’ said Nissan MD Paul Wilcox. ‘We are in new media, as this is really difficult to get right,’ the fortunate position of having the right car at said Citroen’s Marc raven, pictured. the right time.’

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C A F

M

AT103 Automotive Xmas Advert

30/11/10

15:39

Page 1

Do you hear what I hear?

Delivery & Collection at the touch of a button A FURTHER BENEFIT FROM THE UK’S LEADING ONLINE REAL TIME USED-CAR TRADING NETWORK

Along with sourcing and disposing of vehicle stock, our members now benefit from a new transport service at a competitive cost, allowing members to collect and deliver vehicles at the touch of a button.

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Call 01243 523000 to try Autotrade-mail.com FREE for two weeks Make it your New Year’s resolution

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.

The UK’s leading online real time used-car trading network CarDealerIss34.indd 53

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911for2011

UP MOVING ON

We’ve shifted the last of our Mazdas and have traded up to something rather more exciting

t

hings move rather quickly in the car industry. We’re certainly getting to grips with that as our 911 for 2011 campaign moves on apace. The main problem we’re finding though is that buyers have no respect for magazine deadlines, making these monthly updates somewhat difficult. It seems no sooner has the mag gone to press, the majority of the action kicks off. anyway, let’s recap for a moment. When we left you last month we’d just sold the nicer of the two Mazda MX-5s via the powerful medium of Twitter.

The second – slightly ropier of the two – had spent a week on eBay with only one bid (which was removed halfway through the auction) and was still sat outside Car Dealer HQ. Instead of fannying around with local paper ads or other classified listings, we decided to stick it back on flea bay with a lower starting price.

We dropped it from £995 to £495 to get things moving and set it live one Monday evening. That lower price certainly did the trick with the first bid arriving within 30 minutes of it going live. It just goes to show that a lower starting price on the auction website is the key to attracting interest. buy sensibly – especially if we are to hit our Porsche 911 target at some Why sell it on a Monday? Well, we did some digging around and stage in early 2011. apparently the busiest times for eBay are Monday and Tuesday as luck would have it, the motor industry elite had been keeping an eye evenings. Something to do with most of us not having much else to do on our bid to turn £0 into a Porsche in aid of BEN, and after a few tentative at the start of the week. emails to contacts we had an offer.

But I digress. Come the Saturday the MX-5 was Daksh Gupta of Marshall Motor Group fame had been still languishing at £590 – an absolute bargain following our adventure with interest and when we asked considering we’d just put £225 worth of tax on it. him if he had a suitable part exchange to help we received a It was such a steal even I had started looking at four word email reply: ‘Give me 24 hours.’ insurance quotes for it (£300 fully comp if you’re True to his word the very next day he was back in touch Cash List interested). with a deal that was too good to be true. To mark the Incoming I managed to clear the potential purchase with group’s recent acquisition of a clutch of Mercedes Benz Audi A3 £790.03 head office (wife), but decided I’d only shell out dealerships in the north west, Gupta had sourced us a Merc.

VW Golf £250 £1,000 for it. Sunday night arrived and it quickly and what a cracker it is.

Ford Fiesta £2,150 climbed above my ceiling, shattering my dreams of The CLK 240 Convertible is on an 03-plate, has just shy of Hyundai i10 £5,005 top down motoring.

60k on the clock and comes with six months MOT and an H-reg MX-5 £1,600 It eventually finished 24 hours later for a decent impressive service history. It was up on his site for £9,000, but G-reg MX-5 £1,120 £1,120. The buyer picked the car up a week later – even Gupta admitted that was cheap – a quick trawl of auto walking the five miles from his house to mine – and Trader found them ranging in price from £9,500 to £10,500.

Outgoing paid in cash. Happy days. and typical of most Mercs, it’s packed with kit and even has a CLK £6,245 So with £6,805 burning a hole in our pockets it Tracker system installed. was time to go shopping. Problem was with the So what did we pay for this beast? £6k on the nose. Oh, IN THE POT £560 last two steps adding £3,005 (Hyundai football) and plus £245 for 12 months tax. Bargain? You’d better believe it. £1,970 (mashed Mazdas) to the total, we needed to ‘It owes us a bit more than £6,000 but as this is for BEN – a

‘This is for BEN – a cause that is very close to my heart and everyone else’s at Marshalls.’

Daksh Gupta

CASH

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The snow ended our plans for a proper welcome photoshoot for the Merc, we’ll sort some decent pics for next month. Far right, editor James (and tache) accepts the keys from Mercedes Benz of Bolton boss Andy Banks

cause that is very close to my heart and everyone else’s at Marshalls, we’ll let you have it for that,’ explained Gupta. ‘I wanted to find you a car you could make a healthy profit on.’

Gupta suggests we put it up for £9,399 and see what happens. ‘At that sort of money most of the CLK convertibles are the old shape – this is the new model and is packed with equipment,’ he added.

We picked the car up a few days before this issue went to press from Mercedes Benz of Bolton – quite a long haul from our Gosport HQ, down here on the south coast. Dealer principal Andy Banks handed the keys over and had even added an ‘MMG 4 BEN’ souvenir number plate to mark the occasion. Nice touch as that was, it wasn’t as impressive as the £700 they’d just spent servicing it for us!

‘We wanted to make sure it was in tip-top condition for you,’ Banks told us when we picked it up. ‘We’ve had four calls on it this weekend.

One customer even turned up with cash for it! Thankfully we managed

to find them other cars.’

Sorry about that Daksh! There’s no doubt this is one brilliant buy – and huge thanks must go to Marshalls for helping us, and indeed BEN, out. We plan to put it up for £9,399 on Auto Trader and see how it gets on – if we can get £9k for it we’ve done extremely well and would be little more than a trade away from our 911. We’re aiming for £12k to buy the Porsche trade.

I’m just hoping this white stuff disappears soon – flogging two soft-tops when it was damp was bad enough, but when you’re under a foot of snow I think shifting a convertible will be nigh-on impossible. Fingers crossed I’m wrong.

You can see the editor (complete with dodgy Movember moustache) show off the Mercedes on video by typing bit.ly/merconvid into a web browser.

And stay up to date with our 911 for (some time in) 2011 feature on our website – simply type bit.ly/911for2011 into a web browser to be taken to the latest posts.

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... £2,720

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55 CarDealerIss34.indd 55

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C

M

Y

M

Y

Y

Y

K

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right click

...in association with GForces

It’s not about 9-5 any more – customers want 24-7 attention Tim Smith looks at what customers want – and when...

C

onsumer consumption has changed somewhat over the past 50 years. The ever increasing speed of technology evolution in the recent decade has meant that new generations are brought up in a completely different world – you can order your groceries through your fridge, read books and magazines online, submit homework electronically, video chat across the world and shop at 3am.

Our world is spiralling fast into a 24-7 culture that answers to the right here, right now.

The internet has developed an infectious nocturnal breed. The way we socialise and spend money to that of 10 years ago is completely different and businesses need to understand this new-fashioned consumer behaviour.

The growth in surfing from the sofa among iPhone, iPad and other smartphone traffic is increasing as users, most likely husbands, browse while the wife watches Corrie or the X Factor.

Combined with early morning surfing from the bed, periods that were traditionally seen as dead time are now becoming ‘traffic hotspots’ full of potential customers.

Tesco, Ocado and aSOS are doing it right.

They know when their customers are online and understand how to communicate to them. aSOS operate a 24-7 customer care line on Facebook; burning questions are answered within minutes.

Dealers could bode well by following suit as our research shows that 51 per cent of visits from a sample of 50 of Top 200 dealer websites take place outside of nine to five business hours, with peak activity occurring between the hours of 7pm and 10pm.

Dealers need to capture this missed opportunity and wake up to the potential of 24-7 live chat. The future is about speed of response, capturing those right then and there 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. according to Forrester research, the average individual spends more than 13 hours a week

The busy web times of the day have changed as gadgets like the iPad let users shop for things like groceries 24/7 – is your dealership ready for this too?

‘Tesco, Ocado and ASOS are doing it right. They know when their customers are online and understand how to communicate to them.’

online and people who engage with a business through Live Chat are 4.1 times more likely to convert than visitors who don’t.

The need to be able to talk with potential customers immediately these days is important, but not nearly as important as your customers needing and wanting to talk to you. The odds of calling to qualify a lead decreases by over six times in the first hour. any delay or unanswered questions about a car, part, accessory or service booking will lead to people clicking away from your site faster than you might think.

Given the challenges facing auto retailers, can anyone really afford not to be communicating with soap opera shoppers and potential customers 24-7?

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 57 CarDealerIss34.indd 57

11/12/10 14:23:42

market analysis

Henstock Auction stations Markets are showing signs of returning to normal

T

he key feature of 2010 has been a return to a more normal and seasonal trading pattern for the used car market. Following the market changes of 2008 and 2009 – which really were extraordinary in terms of the fall and subsequent recovery – 2010 has had a much more familiar feel to the ebbs and flows of demand and price.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing, of course. Issues of used vehicle supply, condition and pricing strategy have emerged in 2010 as fleets and leasing companies have extended cycles, and car dealers have ‘Now buyers have seen new retail business volumes come under some more ways to buy pressure. We expect those used stock and broad trends to continue into 2011 as decent levels it is the online of demand and reduced channels that supply keep prices relatively have kept the buoyant.

One significant factor industry moving,’ affecting trading was the weather. In past years, the snow and attendant travel chaos would have caused serious disruption, simply because the industry remained largely reliant on trade buyers being physically present.

Now buyers have more ways to buy used stock and it is the online channels that have kept the industry moving over recent weeks. Many customers have struggled to attend sales in person and have turned to the internet.

Our Live Online, Bid Now and Buy Now services saw big spikes that coincided with the worst disruption. Live Online buyers account for around 18 per cent of the vehicles sold at BCA – this rose to over 23 per cent nationwide, with some centres reaching 50 per cent or more.

This highlights that sourcing used stock profitably will be the critical factor for both franchised and specialist used dealers and online channels are likely to continue to grow in importance as they allow professional buyers to look further afield for good quality vehicles.

Long-term there could be supply issues regarding younger used cars while new car sales remain in the doldrums. If dealers need an alternative source they will turn to the younger cars coming from the fleet-lease sector. The fleet age profile started rising in 2010, though, and this is likely to continue.

With continuing economic pressures, motorists will look at their costs closely and buyers will look for keen deals.

The budget market will remain competitive, and we expect to see continued demand in the high-end sectors – where financial constraint is less of an issue.

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.

Mobile web is way to go for all smart dealers L

ess than 10 per cent of the UK’s biggest car dealers tailor their website content for smart phones, says GForces.

The web management firm carried out the survey and found that just 17 of the country’s top 200 dealers tailor their online content specifically for users of web-enabled iPhones and other smartphones.

This is despite one-in-four UK consumers already using their mobile devices to research or transact purchases online each week, says the firm. GForces warns that by not doing so dealers risk missing out on a large and growing revenue generation opportunity.

GForces’ commercial director Tim Smith said: ‘The era of mass-market adoption of internet-enabled mobile handsets is upon us.

‘People are increasingly using their mobiles to perform extensive research before making a purchase, whether that’s online or in the showroom. To successfully harness the opportunity, dealers must understand how mobile technology is being used and adapt their online content to reflect the change.’ according to recent research, 43 per cent

of people in the market for a car will use their mobile phone to perform an initial search.

One dealer who has worked with GForces and built a user-friendly mobile site is East Sussex-based Harwoods Group. Since March they have seen the total number of calls generated rise by 31 per cent, with visitor numbers also increasing by 62 per cent. archie Harwood, group marketing manager, said: ‘We decided to introduce a user-friendly mobile site that made the browsing experience as easy and hassle-free as possible.

‘It’s added a new, cutting-edge dimension to our business which reflects today’s consumer behaviour. By allowing mobile site visitors to search concisely through models by make, model, price or location, we can deliver the right content in the right way.’

Smith suggests that dealers look at Google’s best practice for making websites ‘mobile friendly’, which include: being clear with your message, being ready for mobile commerce, optimising content for mobiles, staying smart and understanding your web presence.

On the mobile

Weather no barrier

MANHEIM has introduced a new mobile auction service for buyers – and the service really is mobile!

The firm has added a fleet of customised Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans to its company, bringing a service that is literally ‘mobile’. It is being hailed as the ‘key to success in continental Europe’.

The units can be set up to operate a large physical auction in any location at around two weeks notice.

Manheim’s business development director Jonathan Holland said: ‘The proposition that both vendors and buyers clearly want revolves around providing maximum choice through sales channels which really offer flexibility.’

BCa and Manheim have reported its buyers are not being put off from buying despite the snow and ice.

BCa has revealed that its buyers are logging on to Live Online, to ‘Bid Now’ and ‘Buy Now’ in the comfort of their own homes and offices, and bidding for vehicles over the internet, meaning that the firm has not lost a single sale.

Meanwhile Manheim remarketing’s Simulcast has experienced similar activity. More than 2,000 buyers have logged on to the site in the past few weeks, with online sales accounting for more than 50 per cent of sales. The firm saying business is booming.

58 | CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerIss34.indd 58

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0844 477 4909 www.wmsgroupuk.com 11/12/10 14:23:43

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

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 Jamie Whitmore 07553 358404

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 Philip Wight Motor Co Philip Wight Sensible buyer of hatch and estates up to £4k please.

01923 220000 phil@click4cars.co.uk

Subaru Cheam Subaru Richard James 07836 549553 Sparshatts Subaru Louis Jones

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

60 | CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerIss34.indd 60

11/12/10 14:23:44

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61 CarDealerIss34.indd 61

11/12/10 14:23:46

recruiting success in the automotive industry

Relax – your success is our business John Gibson Associates – The UK’s l 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.

Each 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.

Naturally talented hunters working for you

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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JGA Regional Office

15554 15550 15562 15544 15526 15564 15438 15559 15482 15556 15430

Buckinghamshire Leeds Ipswich East Lancashire Yorkshire Croydon Hampshire North London West Midlands Bristol Central Lancashire

Thames Valley North East East Anglia North West South & West Yorkshire South East Dorset, Hants, Cornwall London West Midlands South Midlands Cheshire

Workshop Controller Vehicle Quality Control Prestige Business Manager Sales Manager Aftersales Manager Financial Controller Service Controller Service Team Manager Assistant Bodyshop Manager Sales Executives General Sales Manager

$BS%FBMFS 1PXFS

Winner 2010 Recruitment

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CarDealerIss34.indd 62

Tel: 0845 644 3003

THE LOCAL, REGIONAL, NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE RECRUITERS

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

11/12/10 14:23:46

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Call 01430 473053 for a confidential discussion Or email your CV to: admin@connect-hr.com You can also upload your CV at: www.connect-hr.com CarDealerIss34.indd 63

11/12/10 14:23:47

used cars Fiat’s far-reaching remarketing plans FIAT Group UK has appointed Jonny Miller as the firm’s new group remarketing manager.

He will be responsible for the remarketing and disposal of all Fiat Group vehicles.

‘Using my knowledge of the used car market, I aim to develop Fiat Group’s approved programmes and strengthen our vehicles’ residual values,’ said Miller.

‘I’m especially excited to be working with the new Chrysler Group products that will be launched over the next few years.’

Most recently Alfa Romeo UK’s dealer remarketing manager, Miller began his motor industry career with Fiat in 2001 in the fleet and used car department for all brands.

Premium prices paid for Peugeot RCZ PEUGEOT’S RCZ has smashed predicted used values at a recent auction.

At a recent closed auction at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, more than 70 dealers fought over 15 RCZs – each with approximately 8,000 miles on their clocks – and all sold.

The cars achieved an average of 92 per cent of manufacturer RRPs and an aggregate 103 per cent of CAP Clean.

The star lot was a GT THP 200 in Mercury Grey with 6,000 miles on the clock, which made an impressive £23,500; 111 per cent of CAP and 97 per cent of manufacturer RRP.

Winter months see some ups and downs L

eading auction and remarketing firms experienced different market conditions in October, figures would suggest.

Auction4Cars and Manheim Remarketing experienced average used car values rise in October, however G3 Remarketing and BCA report that the market for used cars in October fell dramatically.

The Auction4Cars website reported that they saw a record number of dealers using their website, pushing average prices up by 11 per cent to £2,745.

Neil Prescott, group disposal manager at Motorpoint, said: ‘There is clearly a shortage of good-quality stock available in the marketplace at the moment, which is why we have seen prices rise sharply. However, we expect things to level off at the end of the year.’

Manheim Remarketing report similar news. The firm said that October saw used car values rise by 1.1 per cent to £6,813, with superminis and 4x4s being the biggest earners rising 9.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively.

Manheim Remarketing’s managing director Mike Pilkington said: ‘October has continued in much the same vein as September with no huge influx of volumes impacting on either pricing or conversion rates but buyers are becoming more selective with clean, low mileage and wellspecified vehicles attracting greater interest.’

However, BCA and G3 Remarketing report contrasting news. The auction

firm said that the month saw used values falling – a sign that the used market is taking its traditional, seasonal shape.

BCA’s latest Pulse report showed that average used car values dropped by 2.5 per cent (£146), with economic uncertainty being the reason.

BCA’s communications director Tony Gannon said: ‘October has heralded the typical slowing in demand that the market usually experiences in the run-up to the Christmas period.

‘However, the effect has been tempered this year by the continuing shortage of retail quality stock – the competitive pressure for the best examples in the wholesale arena has meant average values are probably stronger than expected.

‘Used cars continue to be the battleground for dealer profitability and this will remain the case while new car retail sales continue to be slow.’

G3 Remarketing also report that October contributed to the market

taking its seasonal shape.

The online vehicle disposal company has reported that it is experiencing a slow down, and that buyers are becoming more selective.

‘Online activity continues to be strong since the beginning of 2010 which includes a 23 per cent increase in October alone,’ says director Matt Dale.

‘However, it is very apparent that the market has softened in recent weeks and with the industry guides adjusting values by around three per cent in November we expect the market to remain lukewarm until mid-January,’ he said.

‘The demand continues for clean, well specified vehicles while damaged examples remain difficult to place. There is a level at which they will sell but the market is awash with standard spec cars that have suffered considerable hardship during their contract life. It is our opinion that demand for such vehicles will remain limited until early 2011,’ added Dale.

The most searched for cars in November on...

Compucars

Motoring.co.uk SX4

Motoring.co.uk (bodystyle)

ContractHireAndLeasing.com

1 BMW

3 Series

1 Suzuki

1 Hatchback

1 Audi

Q7

2 Mercedes

C Class

2 Skoda Yeti

2 4x4

2 Mercedes

C-Class Saloon

3 VW

Golf

3 Daihatsu Terios

3 Supermini

3 Volkswagen Golf

4 Ford

Focus

4 Mercedes

SLK

4 MPV

4 Volkswagen Scirocco

5 Vauxhall

Astra

5 Ford

Fiesta

5 Estate

5 Range Rover Sport

6 Mercedes

E Class

6 Volkswagen Golf

6 Saloon

6 Audi

A5

7 Land Rover Range Rover

7 Audi

A3

7 Green

7 Audi

Q5

8 BMW

5 Series

8 Vauxhall

Corsa

8 Coupe

8 Audi

A4 Saloon

9 BMW

1 Series

9 Skoda

Fabia

9 Convertible

9 BMW

5-Series Saloon

10 Audi

A4

10 Mazda

2

10 Nissan

Qashqai

64 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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11/12/10 14:23:49

Market still on target to top 2m mark N ovember saw new car registrations fall by 11.5 per cent, the latest figures from the SMMT reveal.

Registrations fell to 139,875 units, however the month performed ahead of expectations remaining 3.4 per cent up over the first 11 months at 1,907,029 units.

November was the fifth successive month to see registrations down, but was an improvement over October’s poor figures, which were down by 22.2 per cent – the worst fall since May 2009.

The SMMT’s chief executive, Paul Everitt, explained the month performed ahead of expectations:

‘New car registrations fell by less than expected in November with demand from the fleet sector helping to offset the market rebalancing following the end of the scrappage scheme.’

However, Everitt warns that while the end of 2010 maybe strong, 2011 is still going to be challenging: ‘Registrations are expected to fall next month, but demand may benefit from motorists looking to avoid the January VAT rise. This factor, coupled with the strength of the first half of 2010, means year-end volumes are expected to lift to over 2.03m units, two per cent up from last year. Next year will continue to be challenging as consumer spending

tightens and the government’s austerity measures take effect.’

Although it is not all bad news; the market was up 14.0 per cent compared with last November’s market less scrappage volumes, registrations of diesels were up by 53 per cent, and fleet volumes were up 10.7 per cent over the year to date.

Ford locked out the top two positions in November’s best selling car charts with the Fiesta taking top honours. The Focus took second place, jumping up three places compared to October’s figures. 6,488 Fiestas were registered last month, with the Focus reaching 5,537 units.

SMMT sales data November / year to date

Figures supplied by SMMT

November 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

109 808 68 6,398 54 9,962 0 842 35 5,578 0 2 0 10 2,848 19,641 4,403 0 3,772 30 1,386 174 3,372 2,382 355 78 2,893 5,466 6 3,117 768 6,165 0 40 7,617 603 43 6,315 594 2,661 2,985 478 9 189 1,267 5,312 16,124 12,802 1,991 51 72 139,875

% market share

2009

0.08 0.58 0.05 4.57 0.04 7.12 0.00 0.60 0.03 3.99 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 2.04 14.04 3.15 0.00 2.70 0.02 0.99 0.12 2.41 1.70 0.25 0.06 2.07 3.91 0.00 2.23 0.55 4.41 0.00 0.03 5.45 0.43 0.03 4.51 0.42 1.90 2.13 0.34 0.01 0.14 0.91 3.80 11.53 9.15 1.42 0.04 0.05

137 640 43 6,595 44 8,547 10 1,248 168 5,558 0 60 0 183 6,014 22,107 5,447 0 5,634 9 1,467 192 5,369 2,474 370 32 3,762 5,963 37 3,097 1,014 7,214 7 84 7,562 473 50 8,163 186 2,328 2,841 623 36 265 2,157 8,427 15,664 11,911 3,656 81 133 158,082

Year to date (YTD) % market share

0.09 0.40 0.03 4.17 0.03 5.41 0.01 0.79 0.11 3.52 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.12 3.80 13.98 3.45 0.00 3.56 0.01 0.93 0.12 3.40 1.57 0.23 0.02 2.38 3.77 0.02 1.96 0.64 4.56 0.00 0.05 4.78 0.30 0.03 5.16 0.12 1.47 1.80 0.39 0.02 0.17 1.36 5.33 9.91 7.53 2.31 0.05 0.08

2010

%market share

2009

%market share

1,338 7,757 1,009 94,753 945 102,045 24 12,784 1,301 69,761 2 170 2 766 50,254 266,411 59,824 4 58,644 188 15,325 1,892 53,650 35,036 5,984 526 43,006 69,653 272 39,120 11,354 83,278 0 724 103,146 6,171 729 89,601 5,148 30,896 38,345 7,208 239 3,473 19,894 82,543 230,717 163,827 35,103 994 1,193 1,907,029

0.07 0.41 0.05 4.97 0.05 5.35 0.00 0.67 0.07 3.66 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.04 2.64 13.97 3.14 0.00 3.08 0.01 0.80 0.10 2.81 1.84 0.31 0.03 2.26 3.65 0.01 2.05 0.60 4.37 0.00 0.04 5.41 0.32 0.04 4.70 0.27 1.62 2.01 0.38 0.01 0.18 1.04 4.33 12.10 8.59 1.84 0.05 0.06

1,268 8,468 1,114 86,158 725 90,817 115 17,144 2,499 65,850 36 2,247 17 2,464 54,878 294,637 70,773 46 53,391 41 16,727 2,185 45,779 27,132 7,019 455 43,218 65,593 360 36,007 10,538 71,640 193 580 95,812 4,920 896 57,966 7,177 27,510 32,375 7,334 762 3,242 26,867 96,517 222,920 146,189 31,393 844 1,225 1,844,063

0.07 0.46 0.06 4.67 0.04 4.92 0.01 0.93 0.14 3.57 0.00 0.12 0.00 0.13 2.98 15.98 3.84 0.00 2.90 0.00 0.91 0.12 2.48 1.47 0.38 0.02 2.34 3.56 0.02 1.95 0.57 3.88 0.01 0.03 5.20 0.27 0.05 3.14 0.39 1.49 1.76 0.40 0.04 0.18 1.46 5.23 12.09 7.93 1.70 0.05 0.07

% Change

-20.44 26.25 58.14 -2.99 22.73 16.56 -100.00 -32.53 -79.17 0.36 0.00 -96.67 0.00 -94.54 -52.64 -11.15 -19.17 0.00 -33.05 233.33 -5.52 -9.38 -37.20 -3.72 -4.05 143.75 -23.10 -8.33 -83.78 0.65 -24.26 -14.54 -100.00 -52.38 0.73 27.48 -14.00 -22.64 219.35 14.30 5.07 -23.27 -75.00 -28.68 -41.26 -36.96 2.94 7.48 -45.54 -37.04 -45.86 -11.52

% Change

5.52 -8.40 -9.43 9.98 30.34 12.36 -79.13 -25.43 -47.94 5.94 -94.44 -92.43 -88.24 -68.91 -8.43 -9.58 -15.47 -91.30 9.84 358.54 -8.38 -13.41 17.19 29.13 -14.75 15.60 -0.49 6.19 -24.44 8.65 7.74 16.25 -100.00 24.83 7.65 25.43 -18.64 54.58 -28.27 12.31 18.44 -1.72 -68.64 7.13 -25.95 -14.48 3.50 12.07 11.82 17.77 -2.61 3.41

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65 CarDealerIss34.indd 65

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tail light

Sub-Prime Time I

hear that US technology is once again trying to gain a foothold in Britain; a starter interrupt device that allows lenders to prevent borrower’s vehicles starting if they default on payments, which was first brought to our shores in 2007.

Once payment is made, borrowers are given a code which they enter into the device, allowing usage until the next repayment date.

First response Finance was offered the opportunity of using this technology three years ago. We investigated it thoroughly but declined to be involved; nor did we consider using it during the recession.

The basic premise of this technology is fairly straightforward. a borrower, with poor credit, will be allowed to purchase a car but it must have an interrupt device fitted (and some companies make the customer pay for this to), then the customer may get a reduction in the rates on offer or may get to purchase a car, when they were previously refused.

In 2007 many non-standard customers were missing payments because of over-lending in our industry, and that was the main reason they struggled to meet monthly commitments.

There is only a minority of customers that have ‘no intent’ to repay from the outset, and most finance companies spot these during their underwriting processes, or should do.

So in 2007 a lot of the problems with customers missing payments was down to over-lending by finance provides and we’ve seen the fall-out of this over the last three years in the UK. In general today, I see good signs that lending is being pulled back to sensible levels based on the customer’s ability.

So here we are about to enter 2011 and we’re starting to hear overtures once more from the US telling us that this starter interrupt technology is a great idea; but I still

‘There is only a minority of customers that have no intent to repay from the outset, and most finance companies spot these during their underwriting processes.’ don’t think so.

I think that the only way to truly help a non-standard customer is to give them honest and decent advice. If they can’t afford the vehicle they want, advise them to find one they can – within their monthly ability – while allowing them an appropriate level of monthly capacity for the other unforeseen extras that come up.

I know this is soap box time for me, but this is important. Good quality advice can’t be ignored and this device could be used, by some, as a way of mitigating the consequences of their poor lending decisions. But the need for responsible lending remains, as does the need for responsible borrowing.

Even if this device is used with the best of intentions to begin with, I’m concerned that over time it would allow irresponsible lending to creep back into the market.

This device is said to work in the US non-standard market. I didn’t believe in the device just before the recession kicked in, and I still don’t believe an idea that came out of the overheated US non-standard lending market is appropriate for the UK today.

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.

PO Box 227 | GOSPORT | PO12 9DE [ISSN 1759-5444] Tel: 023 9252 2434 | CarDealerMagazine.co.uk

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Thanks to... ricahrd aucock, Chris Jervis, Mike askew, Linda Baggott, Terry Hogan, Simon Evans, Tim Naylor, Martin Hill, Dean Smith and Matt richardson Cover photography...

Chevrolet (yes, as fishy as it looks, we’re not kidding)

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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

CarDealerIss34.indd 67

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Cover not available in N. Ireland. Age restrictions apply. Aviva may decline to quote for the annual policy in some circumstances, meaning that the 7 days’ complimentary cover cannot be given. Only one 7 day free policy is permitted per customer per vehicle registration number. Calls will be charged at local rate and may be recorded and/or monitored. HPI and the HPI logo are registered trademarks of HPI Limited. HPI is a Solera company. * Dependent on volumes.

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