Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 39

Car Clubeb 28 rs P r m eice for me al e a D al dv

NEW MINI COOPER SD Has firm worked its black magic again?

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Issue 39 | June 2011 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £3.50

legends

How Ford made two letters mean so much, plus meet the dealers that sold the dreams p42

PLUS

SCAM WARNING SHOCK New clocking con uncovered p10

ALSO

follow the leader How to make the most OUT of every lead p61

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Blackball Media 2a Church Road gosport, Hants po12 2LB T: (023) 9252 2434 W: CarDealerMag.co.uk Editorial Director James Baggott james@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerEd STAFF WRITER James Batchelor james.batchelor@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jrrbatchelor ADVERTISING Manager Duncan Chappell duncan@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerAds Advertising EXECUTIVE Jade Simmonds jade@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerJade

IGNITION.

has long been a Welcome. Clocking dark side of the car industry

that has tarred everyone with the same brush. An unscrupulous few have used quite legal tools to do very illegal tasks – winding back the miles so they can sell cars for a few quid more.

But now there’s a new foe in the war on clockers – and the timelord terrorists come from the unlikeliest of arenas. A Car Dealer investigation, in conjunction with HPI, has discovered that now car owners who have bought their cars on PCPs are clocking their vehicles and handing them back to avoid high mileage charges.

And to make matters worse, because they’re not technically selling the vehicle to you, they haven’t done anything illegal. In fact, it’s the innocent trader who decides to sell the vehicle on who breaks the law.

We’ve spoken to a dealer who was caught out and found out just how easy it is to have this underhand work carried out. You can read our special report on page 10.

DREAM DRIVE When I was 17 and pootling around in my mum’s Peugeot 306, a boy from college arrived in a brand new white Escort RS Cosworth which his dad had bought for him. Rumour had it the insurance was £5,000 a year. As much as we hated him, we all wanted to be him.

Ever since I’ve hankered after a drive in a Cossie. Okay, so it might not have been as brilliant as I was hoping it would be, but it still impressed. Some people say you should never drive your dream cars – but I don’t agree.

Sitting behind the wheel of the bright yellow Cosworth, staring at that whale tail in the rear-view mirror and hearing the mighty turbo suck in air was a real motoring moment – and one I’ll remember for many years to come. Read the remarkable RS success story on page 42.

James Baggott, Editor

Contributors Graeme Windell, Dean Smith, Mike Askew, Mike Jones, Big Mike, Alex Goy and James Litton

Thanks to...

Chris Jervis, Linda Baggott, Tim Naylor, Tim Smith, Martin Hill, Tim Heavisides, Richard Hoggart and Don Brough,

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

Don’t just take our word for it The WMS Group are launching a new initiative to recognise the ‘best of the best’ in UK used car dealerships.The Safe and Sound programme, which is based on our exceptional used car warranty product, including wear and tear*, focuses on customer satisfaction and retention by taking away the confusion and complexities for motorists buying a vehicle.

Motor racing legend

“I often get approached to put my name to products and services but when I was introduced to Safe&Sound I knew this was something that was valuable for the consumer... A car warranty that goes further and adds real value - a product that is good for the car buyer and good for the industry. We all know buying a car is a big decision and this product brings with it peace of mind - removing those niggling doubts about safety, car history, real mileage and even if you're paying a fair price. I am pleased to have my name associated with Safe&Sound; it's a winning product for motorists in the UK." Sir Stirling Moss OBE Motor Racing Legend

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Call us to be part of it: 0800 197 0321 sales@safeandsoundcars.com www.safeandsoundcars.com

Make your dealership a cut above the rest and gain a competitive advantage.

*Ultimate warranty applies to vehicles up to 6 years and 60,000 miles at the time of purchase that have not exceeded 85,000 miles at the time of claim.

The policy does not cover negligence i.e. insufficient oil or water, overheating or failure to ensure that minimum damage is incurred by taking preventative measures. A support product is available for vehicles that have exceeded 6 years and 60,000 miles at the time of vehicle purchase.

Join Car Dealer Club by visiting CarDealerClub.com Members get free legal advice worth £199 for a £25 annual subscription

42

INSIDE.

COVER STORY

How Ford made two simple letters mean so much to so many

ISSUE 39 I June 2011

dashboard Feedback

07

Has TescoCars hit problems?

09

Special Report: New clocking con 10 Mini success surprised directors

12

Are Subaru STI’s days numbered? 17

41 51

Audi A7

Around the World

21

My First Sale

22

Auto Trader attacked

24

Autos on Show’s new offer

26

Helpdesk: Ask Lucy

28

Last chance for Car Dealer Power 31

FEATURE

Rally-inspired legends

38 36

Dealer’s warning after car jacking 18

Manual

‘‘ ManuAl

Mini Cooper SD

Kia Picanto

Closer look at new city car

Finance

32

Big Mike

35

forecourt

Clocking isn’t just a trade thing anymore – now buyers are at it too

Clocking: New menace

10

Kia Picanto

36

Mini Cooper SD

38

Suzuki Kizashi

40 41

Audi A7

features Ford RS Legends

42

Rally Inspired Legends

51

911 for 2011 update

53

Codeweavers special

54

Lead Generation showcase

61

DATA FILE Right Click

77

Auctions

78

Net Gains

79

SMMT Sales Figures

81

Suppliers Guide with Alex Goy

82

Trader Directory with James Litton 84

a month in pictures...

We’ve always fancied ourselves as racers so when we got the chance to elbow Jason Plato out of the way on the Thuxton BTCC grid we grabbed our chance. Jade was particularly pleased she could be a grid girl for all of 30 seconds. And it wasn’t just RS models at our Ford photoshoot – we also got to try the last ever Capri made. It was silky smooth.

Shares

86

Sub-Prime Time

90

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

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feedback.

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

Has Tesco site hit trouble?

Link: bit.ly/TescoMotability I have been struggling with Tescocars for the last three weeks and I think this article probably explains why. On April 5 (the day Tescocars was launched), I booked a 2008/57 Zafira Club for £6,095. Expected delivery was April 24. On April 8 I was informed this was not available and I would be provided an alternative, but no similar automatics were made available.

On April 11, I suggested an alternative and the revised price was £6,463 for a 2008/08 Zafira Life with lower specs, more mileage, older car. I have asked them for a commitment to honour the original price and they have still not given this confirmation. Even on April 26 they are not sure the car will be available or I will have to look for an alternative AGAIN! I believe Tescocars is like WeBuyAnyCar.com in luring in people with cheap prices online and then making them unavailable and replacing with more expensive versions.

Kaps, via CarDealerMag.co.uk

Auto Trader attacked

Link: bit.ly/AutoTraderAttacked These things happen but it has been poorly handled. A quick email to all dealers explaining what is happening is the absolute least they could

twitter comments

Talking abuse for our Ford video from YouTubers I chickened out and disabled comments on my little YouTube channel.

Via @MajorGav As a rule the users of YouTube are utter, total and complete morons who should be disregarded.

Via @John_Slavin Never read the comments. EVER. Especially somewhere like YouTube. Batch is awesome and they’re all RUBBISH!

Via @A1GOY Anyone called cossiementalcraig and the like deserves to be ignored, your two reactions are do. We all spend a colossal amount of money on advertising with Auto Trader and rely on it as a major shop front. No enquiries generated at all from Auto Trader in 48 hours and just before a set of major bank holidays is extremely damaging.

James Jarvis, via CarDealerMag.co.uk

brilliant in that vid!

Via @TheCarDisco

The biggest problem with the internet is that it gave stupid people a voice. Via @sam_burnett Idiots. Really don’t know why they bother commenting just to be pointlessly nasty.

Via @MrPA He was a tad clueless but I’m sure he has decent knowledge of other cars lol great vid nevertheless!

Via @Carpolitics I have been unable to access the site since it was attacked on April 20 and it’s starting to have a serious impact on my business. I wonder if traders paying for ads on Auto Trader are aware many buyers still cannot access the site.

Steve Hawke, via CarDealerMag.co.uk

MY CONFESSION

How our techy got Mr Lover-Lover tag I work at a large franchised Mercedes dealership in the workshop and we had a threeweek-old ML420 in for supply and fit of a phone cradle. The lady bought the car at full list price, and was over the moon with her new Chelsea wagon. We kept it overnight as she couldn’t get back to the dealership to pick it up in time.

Instead of keeping the £60,000 car safe in the compound for the night, a technician decided to take it home. You know – road test.

Next morning all seemed fine, and we started

work as usual. The lady came to pick up the ML, and all was lovely. For now. Half an hour later, she returned – fuming. There were long blond hairs in the passenger footwell (the owner was a brunette) there were bare foot prints on the inside of the windscreen (spaced evenly apart) and a hair band down the side of the seat (also with blond hair on it). The lady was single, and had no passengers in the car before.

After spending £60k on a shiny new ML, she was now left with a rolling love palace! The

techy that took it home denied that anything had happened over night, he pleaded his innocence even more as his Mrs was away…

The plot thickened! So not only did he use a customer’s new car for extra curricular activities, he was now facing being sacked and having to tell his Mrs why. We had to supply a fully-valeted ML420, lots of flowers and explained the techy had been sacked. He still works here, though, but is now called Mr Lover-Lover...

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DASHBOARD.

Motorpoint delivers record number of cars on bank holiday bit.ly/bankholidayboom

‘There’s no rift’: Tesco denies rumours of Motability problems

Let’s hope for a speedy and strong bounce-back

Could there be stock problems in store for TescoCars.com? problems, but a spokesman denied the relationship was on the rocks.

‘That’s a spurious rumour that simply isn’t true,’ said a spokesman. ‘We have a relationship with them and are happy with that relationship. Motability is one of many sources of cars which include manufacturers and dealer groups. There have been no secret handshakes with Motability.’

We contacted Motability which issued the following statement: ‘Motability Operations can confirm that it has sold a number of second-hand cars to a new car retail website from Tesco.

‘First option to buy any ex-Motability car always goes to the network of 5,000 franchised car dealers who originally supplied or maintained the car through the Motability Scheme.

‘However, any remaining cars unsold may be auctioned or sold to independent car retailers, car supermarkets and internet sellers.

‘These additional channels are required due to the volume of cars not sold via the dealer network.

‘Supply of cars to any venture such as Tesco’s is subject to the same terms and conditions as all of Motability Operations’ second-hand car disposals.

‘There is no change to how Motability Operations works with dealers buying Motability cars at the end of a lease.’

These additional channels are required due to the volume of cars not sold via the dealer network.

he effects of the terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan are being felt in a wide variety of ways. None of them compares to the local impact, of course, and I’d urge everyone to donate to the relief support provided by the British Red Cross or Save the Children, but the repercussions on our market are starting to ripple through.

The suspension of new orders for vehicles built in Japan was almost inevitable and it’s remarkable to see just how quickly production has restarted since the events in March. Less apparent were the effects on producers further afield who rely on components or software for local production and European plants have been impacted substantially through supply chain issues.

Fortunately, parts supply for used cars and warranty repairs doesn’t yet seem to be too badly affected but time will tell whether there are repercussions for the average motorist on the street. Most parts providers are making alternative arrangements in case of disrupted supply and there is a good stock of parts in the overall chain, so we’re not worried at the moment.

We’re watching the used car market quite closely as the impacts on car prices could be interesting, to say the least. Some commentators are suggesting that manufacturers could push right-hand drive specification cars into the UK new car market which would depress used car values, while others seem to think that a restricted new car supply is inevitable and that will strengthen used car prices. Whatever the outcome, this is uncharted territory for our industry and could help or hinder in equal measure.

We really do work in a global industry and events on the other side of the world can have massive and direct impacts on local businesses and UK consumers.

The car industry has a great habit of bouncing back in times of adversity and I hope that this bounce-back is speedier and stronger than others.

‘Parts supply for used cars and warranty repairs doesn’t seem to be too badly affected.’

To donate to the British Red Cross, please visit redcross.org.uk; for Save the Children, go to savethechildren.org.uk

Who is Tim Heavisides?

Heavisides is CEO of Car Care Plan, the UK’s leading provider of motor warranty and GAP products.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

Martin Hill‘s Net Gains column has moved to p79

I

‘‘

warranty wonders

T

But a source tells Car Dealer there has been a breakdown in their relationship s the relationship between TescoCars.com and one of its main sources of cars, charity fleet Motability, on the rocks?

A source has told Car Dealer that they believe it is and that it could cause serious problems for the supermarket getting hold of stock.

Despite the supermarket categorically denying the relationship had gone sour, the news won’t surprise many in the industry if it has.

‘Motability sources its cars direct from us and we give them a discount when they buy,’ one car manufacturer board member told us.

‘That is on a gentlemen’s agreement that these cars are then offered back to our franchised dealer network first.

‘These cars are well looked after and are prime used retail stock for our dealers – when we heard these cars were then going to be sold via Tesco too we started to have some serious conversations.’

We understand a number of manufacturers have had similar chats with the charity.

And our source went as far as to say he thought the relationship may be about to come to an end.

Motoring.co.uk cofounder Chris Green, who has spoken to a number of dealers and manufacturers about this, told us: ‘It comes as no surprise to me to hear that the relationship is on the rocks, if that’s the case.

‘At the end of the day Motability is a charity that is supported by manufacturers and the dealer network so to go forward with a partnership with Tesco would be like writing their own epitaph.’

We asked TescoCars.com whether that was the case and if losing this source of stock would cause the firm

Heavisides

DASHBOARD.

Warning: New clocking con

There’s a new foe in the war on clockers. James Baggott reports on how buyers are ‘adjusting’ their car’s mileages to avoid PCP charges

S

o pleased was one Hertfordshire dealer at seeing a past customer return to buy a new car, some of the processes he’d normally undertake were missed. He knew the buyer personally, having sold him his VW Golf on a PCP nearly three years ago. They’d chatted when he’d been back for a service and had called him to ask if he’d be interested in upgrading from it into a new Passat.

Sales negotiations went well, a deal was struck and, under the terms of his PCP agreement, the car was handed back to the dealer. As the Golf was low mileage our dealer decided to stick it on his forecourt and two weeks later it was snapped up. It was only then that it was put through an HPI Check and the sheer horror began to dawn on our dealer that he’d been stitched up.

‘It had been clocked,’ reveals our anonymous man in the trade. ‘PCPs have high mileage charges so if customers go over the set limit it costs them. This one was set at 12 pence per mile and the owner had obviously decided clocking was cheaper than paying the high mileage fees.

We only spotted it when we were about to sell it on, but by then it was too late – we had to adjust the price and take a hit. It was a lesson learnt, that’s for sure.’

Customers clocking cars to avoid these fees looks likely to become a new menace for the motor trade. A Car Dealer Magazine investigation has uncovered countless unscrupulous ‘mileage correction’ firms that didn’t think twice about advising our undercover reporter about how to adjust their car’s mileage to suit their needs.

We contacted 10 mileage correction firms and told them we had inadvertently strayed over our PCP’s mileage ceiling and wanted to ‘correct’ it. Five replied via email saying it wouldn’t be a problem and three said they would do it if we ‘told them it was to correct an error’. Only two refused to do the work.

FLA figures show PCP deals are now the most popular way to buy new cars. In 2010 they accounted for 59.8 per cent of the market with £6.3bn advanced to buyers. ‘PCPs have been the success story of the recession,’ revealed Paul 10 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

INSIGHT

Why are PCPs so popular?

A personal contract purchase deal is one of the most flexible products available, giving buyers a choice about whether they want to own the car at the end of the agreement.

Dealers work with finance companies to offer buyers a car that suits their lifestyle and budget. Mileage limits are agreed at the start and are based on the customer’s anticipated mileage over the length of the contract.

When the deal is agreed, the finance company will make the best estimate of what the car will be worth at the end of the deal, in order to agree the balloon payment.

The payment is referred to as the Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) and reflects the age, mileage, make and model.

If the customer exceeds the agreed mileage then excess charges will be applied as the car’s value will have dropped. It’s these charges that buyers are looking to avoid.

HPI predicts there are 600k clocked cars on the road bit.ly/600clocked

Harrison, head of motor finance at the FLA. ‘In 2006 less than 40 per cent of finance was for PCPs – now it’s 60 per cent.’

With this boom in PCP popularity and the mileage limits embedded in them, there are always going to be cases of customers straying over the limits. But it’s those that opt for a fraudulent solution that are such a worry for dealers.

‘This could potentially be a growing problem, which HPI is monitoring very closely alongside the relevant trade associations and dealer groups,’ said HPI’s Alan Bishop.

‘Leasing companies impose a mileage limit on all PCP deals which helps them determine the vehicle’s residual value. If the mileage has exceeded its limit, this can lead to penalties.

However in order to avoid paying these penalties, people are clocking the vehicle.

‘Consumers clocking cars is not a new phenomenon but it is fair to say that with the tools to adjust mileages so easily available on the web, consumers can get the job done much more easily than previously.

‘They are just as likely to be clocking cars as unscrupulous traders, doubling the danger to genuine dealers. Unfortunately some members of the public regard this type of fraud as a victimless crime. Clearly that is not the case – the victim is the dealer and potentially their next customer.’

HPI offers protection through the HPI Check and a National Mileage Register (NMR) investigation. The NMR contains more than 130m mileage records covering vehicles of all ages, some dating back as far as 1992.

One of the biggest setbacks for dealers is the fact that because consumers who hand their cars back to dealers with clocked mileages are not

‘‘

INSIGHT

How to spot a clocked car Examine wear on the steering wheel, pedals, seats and carpets and assess the general feel of the car. If it looks tired and well-used but the odometer is only displaying average mileage then check it out further.

Request to see the service history and log book. If it was serviced at your dealership check your own records or contact previous garages stamped in the service history.

Use HPI’s National Mileage Register Check, which will help decide whether a car has a discrepancy. The firm’s NMR investigation service is considered the minimum for meeting professional diligence. This helps dealers avoid prosecution for selling clocked vehicles.

in order to avoid paying high mileage penalties, people are clocking their vehicles.

technically selling the car on they can’t be prosecuted. It’s only when the dealer retails it that the law is broken.

Bishop adds: ‘The Office of Fair Trading has stated that mileage disclaimers are not enough. To meet due diligence, dealers must prove they have done everything in their power to validate a car’s mileage.

Mileage investigations can offer protection from part exchanging clocked cars and selling them on to customers, and provide a sound legal defence for a dealer’s business.’

So how big a problem is this?

Well, a staggering six out of every 10 cars checked by HPI shows a mileage discrepancy.

How many of those are on PCP deals is not clear, but it’s enough

to worry HPI and the FLA. ‘Vehicle clocking is fraud, but it can be difficult to prove,’ adds Harrison. ‘Our members do encounter problems – normally through their fleet leasing arms, with some vehicles coming back with abnormally low mileage.

Most likely in an attempt to avoid excess mileage charges.

‘The FLA has issued guidance to its members to help them identify clocked vehicles, and advise on what steps they can take to prosecute the offenders. This involves referring cases to the AVCIS Vehicle Fraud Unit for investigation.’

One of the main problems is the fact the law surrounding clocking is battleship grey to say the least. These firms are only allowed to operate if they are seen to be ‘correcting mileages’. The law is only broken when the car’s owner tries to sell it on without disclosing the mileage has been changed.

Bishop adds: ‘It is important to stress clocking services aren’t illegal – it’s selling a clocked vehicle without declaring the mileage change that breaks the law. However, it is hard to understand why it is not made illegal. The small number of legitimate cases for mileage adjustment could easily be handled via on official route like an MOT station.’

Official mileage adjustments would mean the procedure is logged. This sort of data could then be listed on the vehicle’s logbook making it obvious to potential purchasers that mileage correction had taken place. This would protect both buyers and dealers – leaving only unscrupulous clockers with a problem.

‘We all know that sometimes procedures are missed when you’re selling a car – especially if it’s to somebody you’ve dealt with before,’ said our conned dealer. ‘And that’s the case with PCPs – the customer is obliged to come back to you. At the end of the day I never imagined a customer would clock a car. I thought that was a trade thing. Apparently not anymore. I’d advise other dealers to watch out – don’t get your fingers burnt like I did.’ [CD] CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

DASHBOARD.

BMW dealer launches service as you fly scheme bit.ly/serviceasyoufly

Winn Assist ‘Mini success was accident management

Keep the communication lines open by adding value

H

ow often, and more importantly how, do you communicate with your customers?

Here at Winn’s we are currently working with dealerships to help them improve the communication level they have with their client base. Customers will take the first opportunity they are given to stop receiving additional mail or email. So how do you prevent them putting a stop on your communications? You add value.

Everybody wants to feel value in the information they receive. For example, it is no good just sending out a plain mailer to all your customers telling them about this month’s special offer of five per cent off XYZ tyres. What is that telling the customer who has just purchased a new or used vehicle? Do you actually get to see and sign off the content of the communication?

Do you select customers by any form of grouping?

We are in the business of improving your customer retention. How you communicate as well as what you communicate is a key deliverable for any business.

We are capable of looking with you at your message and assisting in the development of a clearer and more value-laden offering. We offer real advice that will help you build a communication your customers will want to read.

Customer communication is a key part of the customer journey and therefore a key part of customer retention for your business. Recent figures show that more customers are turning away from their dealership for items like servicing – and as you will know, it will not stop there.

Your communication to your customer base has to come across from the business as a whole; it should speak as one team and cover all aspects of vehicle ownership. Creating more belief in the buying experience will keep more belief in your after-sales process and provide security for the customer, reducing their need to wander.

To understand the details and increased revenue opportunities of this scheme, speak to Ian Meachin, key accounts manager at Winn Solicitors, on 07525 986 854.

‘More customers are turning away from their dealership for items like servicing’

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.

12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

a major surprise back in 2001’

P

henomenal sales of the ‘new’ Mini in 2001 took BMW by surprise, says the firm’s UK director Jochen Goller.

Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer at the launch of the Mini Cooper SD, the director said that at the launch of the Mini in 2001, actual sale numbers took BMW by surprise.

‘I was part of the launch team back in 2001 in Munich, and was also part of the roll-out of the car for the next three-and-ahalf years,’ said Goller.

‘I remember in the beginning we only anticipated sales of 100,000 worldwide, but by year four we were breaking the 200,000 mark. The success of Mini has been absolutely phenomenal in the last 10 years, and I have to admit it took us really by surprise.’

Goller also revealed that the Mini was going to be a premium small car from the very outset, and would form part of

Sensational sales figures as BMW created a whole new segment BMW’s premium image it now portrays – and Rover never cut the mustard.

‘With the Mini we purposely created a new segment – it was never going to be just a replacement for the original Mini,’ he said. ‘We took the original Mini, which was a basic car, and then placed it as a ‘‘premium small car’’.

‘We created Mini to be a brand, not a car, and in so doing created the segment with the intention to own it. BMW has learnt many lessons from history. We are very experienced when it comes to premium products, but we didn’t do too well when we bought Rover.

‘It was always our intention to make Mini premium.’

Mini SD Manual, p38

Lookers’ share price up as speculative offer rejected

Saab secures its long-term future

CAR dealer group Lookers has rejected a speculative offer for the company. Shares in the firm leapt 6p to 61.25p – adding more than £23m to its market value of £210.2m – as talk of the approach reached investors.

The London Evening Standard reported that there were private-equity firms interested, one of which was rumoured to be Apax, as well as rival dealer Inchcape. Interest has been spiked as many think the car industry is on its way to recovery with next year predicted to be a good one for the trade.

Lookers operates 124 dealerships and represents 33 brands including Ford, Vauxhall and Toyota.

Share Watch, p86

SPYKER has announced Saab has sold shares to Chinese motor group Hawtai to secure its long-term future.

The Chinese motor group will invest €150m in the Swedish brand in return for shares.

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Battersea Power Station to host green motor show bit.ly/batterseashow

So upbeat about STI Are its days numbered?

No, not at all, says Subaru

S

ubaru has dismissed the idea that with ever-more-stringent emission regulations, the STI could be axed in the near future.

Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer, the firm’s marketing director Kenyon Neads was adamant that the WRX STI performance brand will not follow the Honda Civic Type-R in being axed in the UK, due to falling foul of EU emission regulations.

‘Absolutely not,’ said Neads. ‘There are no plans to shelve STI as it has received very strong reviews from both press and enthusiasts alike.

‘We are very upbeat about STI.’ On whether the STI range sits awkwardly in a culture moving towards electric vehicles, Neads said: ‘Put it like this. We also sell a 3.6-litre six-cylinder version of the Outback. It’s by no means a big seller, but there is a proportion of our buyers who appreciate the sophistication of the six-cylinder, and the cost of filling it up doesn’t matter to them. These are niche markets, and while these markets are becoming smaller it is still worthwhile for Subaru to be in them.’

But it’s a market which has very recently got smaller still, believes Neads. The Subaru director said he thought the STI’s greatest rival – the Mitsubishi Evolution X – will slip off the price lists after current supply has ended.

In response to that, Mitsubishi said: ‘Production of the current Lancer Evolution X continues as planned.

However, as the market’s needs and demands change, MMC (Mitsubishi Motors Corporation) is considering not advancing the Lancer Evolution concept in the same way as before, but to find a different direction for the model to evolve.’

Maintenance

Magnificent seven from Ferrari FERRARI has introduced a sevenyear maintenance programme for its latest cars, regardless of mileage.

The Ferrari Genuine Maintenance programme covers all the scheduled maintenance for the first seven years, regardless of vehicle mileage.

The programme covers all new Ferrari California, 458 Italia and FF models and is provided at no additional cost to the customer.

All standard maintenance items are covered, and the programme is transferrable to all subsequent owners.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

DASHBOARD.

Hoggart

point of sale

Transparency and clarity must be the watchwords

I

ncentive, reward, inducement or bribe.

Only the recipients and offering party can determine which word best suits their actions. However, the definition becomes increasingly important going forward as the new Bribery Act hits the statute books.

Finance companies have been incentivising dealers for many years, and correctly regulated and managed there is no reason why this should have to stop.

However, there is still some evidence that behaviour can go beyond the reasonable and then we risk entering some shady, perhaps criminal, territory.

It is now more important than ever that management are completely on top of how some casual finance providers are ‘earning’ business and ‘developing’ relationships within their sites. Under the Bribery Act, both parties can be found equally liable if it can be evidenced that underthe-table payments are made or excessive blatant corporate hospitality hosted.

This is good news for an industry that has largely done a good job in stemming the flow of casual vouchers, trickling through the hands of people influenced to place business where it is not necessarily in the best interests of the dealership. We are still aware of places where relationships between dealer staff and finance providers is influenced in this way, and it is wrong. Hopefully the new laws will force everybody to take stock of their habits.

I am not saying there is no place in the industry for incentivisation. Let’s just make sure it is 100 per cent above board, that senior management teams are aware of any site participation, that HMRC gets its element of any prizes or rewards and that any schemes don’t disproportionately encourage behaviour.

Transparency and clarity need to come to the fore here. Fair reward for assistance, encouragement for focus in certain areas, no problem.

Our scheme Absolute Rewards (info on our website) can confidently promote this. However, there is no place for sneaky under-the-table stuff anymore and we all need to ensure it is completely stamped out.

‘Hopefully the new laws will force everybody to take stock of their habits.’

Who is Richard Hoggart?

Richard is managing director of DSG Financial Services. For more information on what his firm can do for you call 0844 880 0660 or visit dsgfs.com.

18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Nissan sales up 35 per cent in first quarter of 2011 bit.ly/nissansales

‘I lost concentration for a moment – and car jacker struck’ Experienced dealer issues advice to others after falling victim to criminal

A

car dealer who was the victim of a car jacking has issued advice to warn others.

A thief posing as a legitimate buyer of the dealer’s very own BMW X5 hijacked the car during a viewing.

‘I had actually withdrawn the X5 from sale the day before,’ said the dealer, who wishes to remain anonymous. ‘But this man phoned up about the car on Friday, and I took the car to a nearby hotel car park for him to view it.

‘The thief appeared to be completely legitimate, looking over the car with a fine tooth-comb for at least an hour before he stole it off me. He said he wanted to try out the air-con and jumped into the driving seat. Before I knew what had happened he had driven off.’

The dealer has been selling cars for more than 35 years, but admitted that a momentary lack of concentration resulted in the car being stolen.

‘I kept the keys on me for most of the viewing, but just before he stole it I left them in the ignition.

An exceptional year YORKSHIRE-based car retailer JCT600 has finished its 2010 trading year by posting its highest-ever turnover.

For the 12 months to December 31, 2010, the privately-owned company saw turnover rise from £498m to £615m, up 32 per cent from the previous year, while profit before tax also increased to £12.3m – the highest turnover in the firm’s 65-year history.

While total new car registrations for the brands it represents grew by only five per cent as an average across the UK, JCT600 increased new vehicle sales by more than 42 per cent. Its used car sales were also resilient, performing in line with the market.

The group now employs 1,350 staff at its 48 dealerships throughout Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and the North East.

Jack Tordoff, chairman of JCT600, said: ‘It has been another exceptional year.’

‘I had a lucky escape, though. The police later phoned me saying that they had found the thief’s phone at a nearby Honda dealer, and my name was in the phone. They wanted to know why.

‘That’s when I said I had been a victim too, and the police told me the thief had stabbed two sales people at the Honda dealer.’

To warn other dealers of his experiences, the dealer has issued some advice: ‘When customers now phone up wanting to book a viewing, I say that they need to email, fax, or bring with them a copy of both parts of their driving licence and a utility bill.

‘Independent dealers should learn from what happened to me. Never agree to meet a buyer somewhere other than your own forecourt. These people are canny – I’ve been in the business for more than 35 years and I was fooled.’

BUY-OUT

Friends seal deal TWO friends from Derbyshire have completed the buy-out of one of the East Midlands’ most prominent motor groups.

John Oldfield and Gary Siddall completed the deal to take ownership of the family-owned Beechdale Motor Group after the retirement of Les Waterfall, who founded the company along with Mike Wood in September 1982.

Oldfield, who was already a director and shareholder, now holds a majority stake in the company, with Siddall taking part ownership of the group, which is based in Derby.

WHEN DID YOU LAST SPEAK TO YOUR PAST CUSTOMERS?

Douglas Stafford can increase sales appointments and provide repeat selling opportunities by communicating with your past customers and getting them back into your showroom.

Your dealership will have huge untapped potential in the volume of data that represents past customers. By making full use of this valuable resource and talking to them on a regular basis, not only can additional sales be generated, I\[ SL]LSZ VM J\Z[VTLY ZH[PZMHJ[PVU ^PSS IL ZPNUPĂ„JHU[S` PTWYV]LK As the majority of the costs for this initiative are performance related, it will provide your dealership with a much needed, cost effective, additional resource, leaving your sales team with more time to actually sell cars. *VU[HJ[ +V\NSHZ :[HMMVYK [VKH` [V Ă„UK V\[ TVYL HIV\[ OV^ `V\Y I\ZPULZZ can increase its sales opportunities. Call Madelaine on 0800 783 1913 or email: madelainecook@douglasstafford.com

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dashboard.

Around the world Dealer news from somewhere other than here

Toyota and Nissan set to forecast losses bit.ly/forecastlosses

NASSAU

A NASSAU car dealer is bracing himself for the worst as he faces a ‘total elimination’ of his Honda stock. The dealer, who sells new Hondas and Chevrolets, could expect 50 per cent of his sales to disappear due to not having enough Honda-branded vehicles. Honda’s production has been down heavily since the Japanese earthquake, with production lines closed for weeks.

COPENHAGEN

DETROIT

General Motors is expected to take over the number one slot in the world’s largest car manufacturer table this year. Due to the recent Japanese earthquake and a repetition of major safety recalls, it is expected Toyota will lose its place at the top of the charts. If correct, the US media are saying this is a ‘remarkable comeback’ for a firm that was declared bankrupt in 2009.

BELARUS

CAR dealers in Belarus are expecting a flurry of customers to their showrooms with the introduction of part exchanges. In the past, high VAT rates in the country have dissuaded dealers from taking part exchanges. However, from the beginning of May, sales taxes from used cars are now taken from the difference ‘between its price and realisation’.

INDIA

NISSAN has partnered the electric mobility operator ChoosEV to encourage the Danish public to buy electric vehicles. Under the partnership, buyers of the 100 per cent electric Nissan Leaf – on sale in the country later this year – will be able to sign up for a ‘mobility package’ which includes a home inspection by a qualified electrician, a ChoosEV electric charger and access to public charging points.

INDIAN car maker Tata has reported that sales of its Nano microcar increased in April. Since the ‘world’s cheapest car’ went on sale in India in 2009, the microcar has received complaints of prices rising and safety concerns. Customers have even complained of their cars catching fire. But April 2011 saw sales rise by 184 per cent over April 2010.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 21

dashboard.

my first sale

Nigel Cook

Douglas Stafford chief executive learnt a vital lesson early on

I

remember my first sale clearly. I was a trainee salesman and it was a very quiet Saturday afternoon. To pass the A chat with time we were playing football with an unlikelya softball that we used to boot around in the looking group showroom when we had nothing else to do. of customers Our game was interrupted when a battered old paid off for Ford Transit van pulled up outside.

Nigel Cook, This thing was worth about 10 shillings and right was have a chat with was covered in rust with bits hanging off it all them. Turns out that was over the place. It wouldn’t have looked out of a good idea – for me at least. place in a scrapyard. All of a sudden the rear This rabble starting poking around the brand doors flung open and out popped 10 scruffy kids new Cortina Ghia Estate we had parked in pride and their parents. of place in the middle of the showroom.

Now the experienced salesmen knew instantly Before I could even start talking to them about by looking out of the showroom window that the excellent build quality and stylish looks, the this bunch were not going to buy a car. These father figure of the bunch said he’d have it. more experienced colleagues were good at this No quibbles on price, no haggling (which I was kind of instant judgment – and it always baffled quite surprised by), he just said he wanted it and me how they did it! So they all went back to that he’d be back to get it in two days. kicking the football around.

Car_dealer_mag_142X190_Autoguard:Layout 1 24/3/11 09:46 Page 1 Of course, no-one believed me but, as Being a trainee I thought the least I could do

promised, back they came – complete with their environmentallyunfriendly Transit van and a bag of cash.

They didn’t bother with cheques, or bank accounts for that matter, they just handed over a wad of notes, took the keys, all piled in and went on their merry way.

The episode taught me very early on in my career that you should never pre-judge!

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Team Lotus buys sportscar maker Caterham bit.ly/lotuscaterham

Auto Trader attacked Users across the world denied access to website

C

ar buyers around the world have been unable to access the Auto Trader site since it was attacked on April 18.

AutoTrader.co.uk suffered a ‘third party attack’ which resulted in the site being prevented from operating normally.

Angry traders have flooded our website with comments slating the way it has been handled.

And weeks after the attack we were still receiving messages from dealers across the world who use the site to buy stock moaning that it was still unavailable for them.

Dealers from as far afield as New Zealand and the Caribbean were experiencing problems and at the time we went to press the story was consistently the most heavily viewed on our site with hits from across the globe.

We contacted Auto Trader for a response and it issued the following statement: ‘All services were up and running on AutoTrader.co.uk from April 19 following the incident on April 18.

‘Initially it was necessary for us to implement a blanket ban on all non-UK traffic to ensure business as usual for the majority of our users.

Over the course of the week we progressively brought online the more significant overseas locations that our site is used from – predominantly Europe and North America.

‘We have continued to open the site up to more overseas traffic since then and we hope to have full global access restored to the site by the weekend.

‘We value our non-UK based customers as well

as our UK customer base and are working to restore service on a global basis as quickly as possible.

‘However, international access may be blocked again if we receive further malicious activity from countries outside the UK.’ It’s not the first time Autotrader. co.uk has been the subject of malicious attacks. In September of last year, we reported that dealers using the site were receiving ‘phishing’ emails from conmen. Dealers were emailed saying they had received an offer for one of their cars and asked to log in to the site. The conmen would then harvest dealers’ account details. But, in this latest round of attacks, Autotrader.co.uk was adamant that there was no evidence of customer data being lost. The news overshadowed Auto Trader’s other announcement that the site now receives more than one billion page impressions a month.

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DASHBOARD.

It’s showtime!

Standing out on the internet can be difficult. Video could help you attract attention and boost your business. James Batchelor reports

w

ith the internet constantly changing, it is hard for dealers to make themselves stand out from the competition online.

However, there is one way they can do it – by using video.

Often a dealer’s website is the first port of call for future customers. Video helps differentiate dealers. It allows potential customers to enjoy a virtual experience – viewing a vehicle as they would in your showroom.

This is just what Autos On Show offers. As reported in Issue 34 of Car Dealer, managing director Adam Price and his team provide dealers and the automotive industry with a videostreaming solution designed to enhance car dealers’ websites and increase sales.

With their bespoke software, dealers can not only integrate videos of their stock seamlessly onto their websites, but they can make videos and upload them quickly and easily too.

Traditionally, the Autos On Show software could only be used effectively if dealers installed a turntable – thereby meaning their car would spin while being filmed by an HD camera, simplifying the video upload process. However, the company realises it can be difficult for dealers to invest in a turntable, so their software has been updated so it works just as easily without one too.

‘All you need is an HD camera,’ says Price.

‘Simply walk about the vehicle, zooming in on any features you think are important to the customer and the Autos On Show software will do the rest. You can even have a salesman talking while walking around the vehicle to give it even more of a personal touch.

‘The Autos On Show software will take a video file, automatically recognise the number plate from the video, and upload it straight onto the Autos On Show servers then display it on your website. It couldn’t be easier.’

This is great news for dealers without a turntable as they can now take advantage of the benefits of the Autos On Show software.

The innovative product has been available to dealers for less than a year, but many have already seen the results.

‘In fact, Autos On Show customers have already found that visitors stay on their websites longer to view more vehicles and the number of valuable enquiries has increased, resulting in sales 26 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

INSIGHT

Not convinced? Try our video channel One early adopter of the Autos On Show software was ourselves! We recognised the benefits it could bring to our website and launched Car Dealer TV channel late last year.

You’ve probably noticed that we’re quite obsessed with making videos. You might also have noticed that we don’t take videos of cars on turntables, either. However, this just proves the flexibility of the Autos On Show software, for the straightforward and slick upload process is the same.

Our videos are quickly and easily uploaded to our TV channel meaning that CarDealerMagazine.co.uk users get access to the very latest videos – all thanks to Autos On Show.

increasing by as much as 20 per cent,’ says Price.

In line with the product going from strength to strength and the number of dealers using the software increasing, Price and his team have been developing the software so it is constantly at the forefront of technology. ‘We have been working really hard to keep adding new features,’ says Price, ‘making the process even easier.’

Although it can be used without a turntable, many dealers will choose to invest in one.

Price adds: ‘All the dealer needs to do is drive the vehicle onto the turntable and press go on the software. We’ve developed the solution so that the lighting and camera will automatically turn on and the turntable will turn to the starting position. Once in place, the camera will start to record and the turntable will start the full 360degree spin.

‘This will ensure smooth, consistent results when displaying your vehicles online.’

Sounds impressive doesn’t it? But Price and his team have been working on some even more startling features. Along with the ‘just press go’ feature, the software now includes bespoke capture software which takes photos and a video of the car’s interior, built-in number plate

recognition – which reduces the risk of human error – and there’s also the option of collecting the vehicle’s data and details. When the vehicle spin is completed, the software will automatically send the external and internal video and photos up to the firm’s global delivery network. ’We have successfully partnered with a number of large automotive website developers who have already integrated us into their software,’ explains Price. ‘This means that as soon as the videos and photographs have been sent to the Autos On Show servers, they are available to be displayed within your website. So by the time the next vehicle drives onto the turntable, the first car is already being sold online.’

Autos On Show’s software also includes ‘iSafe Technology’ which allows videos to be viewed on iPhones and iPads.

The price of this software must be expensive, though? ‘Absolutely not,’ says Price.

‘It costs dealers from £1.15 per car, but naturally this depends on the number of vehicles a dealer has got.’

Existing dealers who use the ‘old’ software will have their system automatically updated with the new features. The new upgrades are part of Price’s aims to keep his offering constantly in step with the internet’s constant progression.

‘I expect that within the next 12 months video will be an integral part of selling and viewing cars online,’ he says. ‘Our aim is to be market leaders in the industry, and our software provides the only end-to-end online video streaming solution available on the market – we do everything so dealers don’t have to.

‘We provide dealers with a necessary competitive edge that entices customers to their dealership. Video will become as essential as a photograph to help display vehicles. We’re proud to be at the forefront of that change.’

The best news, however, is that dealers with or without a turntable can take advantage of these features, ultimately leading to more sales.

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

Google offers car dealers top advice bit.ly/GoogleTopTips

‘‘

I expect that within the next 12 months, video will be an integral part of selling and viewing cars online

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 27

helpdesk.

Join Car Dealer Club by visiting CarDealerClub.com Members get free legal advice worth £199 for a £25 annual subscription

Ask Lucy Car Dealer Club lawyer Lucy Bonham Carter answers dealers’ legal questions. Join for £25 a year to get advice like this when you need it

Q

We purchased a car from a private seller. The seller knew it was registered as finance-clear as they included the search in their ad. We checked it out with the market-leading vehicle-checking company and it also came up finance-clear so we bought the car for cash and sold it on a few days later for a small profit. Now we have been contacted by a finance house who state that there is outstanding finance on the car. They claim that we owe them the full value of the amount outstanding on the car which is £3,000 more than we got for it, as well as legal costs and interest.

They admit that they have not detailed their interest in the car with either of the main vehicle check companies. What is the legal position?

GY, Newmarket

A

There is no requirement for a lender to register their interest in a vehicle with HPI. So when a motor trader undertakes a check, they are gaining business intelligence – but unlike for the general public the dealer is not provided with an inbuilt guarantee against loss. The two main registers HPI and Experian (the only ones worth using) can only be as good as the information provided to them and they are not at fault. Vehicle checks are now at the very centre of Due Diligence under the Consumer Protection Regulations and it is ridiculous that

This Nissan is a nightmare Q. We sold a new Nissan Micra almost three years ago and there have been consistent and frequent problems with the car which we (and Nissan) have had difficulty in fully diagnosing and rectifying. The car is coming up to the end of the warranty period and the customer is nervous about further problems developing.

What is the best solution?

MM, Bournemouth A. If the car has problems which cannot be resolved then the best option is probably to retain the customer by selling them a new one at a good price. If the problems are long and ongoing you may well get some contribution to the deal from the manufacturer.

ADVICE

Trouble with a trade-in Q. We took a trade-in which was four years old and looked in good condition. However in the process of shipping it from one site to another for pre-prep just after purchase, the car developed major engine problems. We have been told by a local repairer that they had examined the car and had advised that there were major issues with the car which needed fixing but the seller had not bothered and it was patched up and ‘punted’ to us. I appreciate that ‘buyer beware’ applies to any trade-in but are there any means we can use in future to protect us in this situation, either by writing down the value of the car if the problem develops or unwinding the purchase?

PG, Abingdon A. This is a growing problem. One of the benefits of Car Dealer Club is that it not

a lender can be grossly negligent in failing to register their interest in a vehicle and then seek that others should indemnify them against the consequences of their action. The allegation will be that you ‘wrongfully converted’ the car and

only gives you access to legal advice when something goes wrong, we also offer access to a library of documents which can protect dealers from many legal problems before they happen. One of the documents is a ‘contract to purchase’ which outlines the terms under which you buy any car or take a trade-in. If it is signed by both parties it can be enforced by the courts.

It will make any owner of a rogue vehicle think twice before selling it to you.

assuming that you were an innocent party then the claim is limited to the amount you received for the vehicle. Check your trader insurance to see if it covers you for ‘wrongful conversion’. If yours does not then you need to get in touch with us.

Is this really wear and tear?

Q. We sold a car with a three-month warranty and faults have developed within the warranty period which relate to the clutch and/or dual mass flywheel. The warranty company said first of all that this was a ‘wear and tear’ issue – possible for a clutch I would have thought but not for a dual mass flywheel. Now they are saying they won’t pay out because it is a pre-existing fault. The customer is seeking to get me to pay for the repairs under the Sale of Goods Act.

LJ, Peterborough A. If you are offering a warranty (and particularly if you are selling one) then it makes sense to sell six months of cover so it covers the first six

months after sale when you are at greatest risk of a claim under the Sale of Goods Act. Few warranties kick in immediately after sale so as to exclude pre-existing faults (or ones not disclosed to the warranty company) but most warranties will not regard faults which develop after the initial qualifying period as pre-existing. I agree with you that after three months a clutch might (just) be regarded as ‘wear and tear’ depending on the age and price of the vehicle but a DMF failure is not a wear and tear issue. If the warranty company holds out, get in another warranty provider, bring in an automotive engineer to check the vehicle and use your Car Dealer Club membership to get us to mediate.

Who is Lucy Bonham Carter?

She 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. To get advice like this (worth £199) join Car Dealer Club for just £25 per year. Sign up at CarDealerClub.com 28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Your advert said this car had air con but it hasn’t.

I want you to pay for it to be retro fitted. What are you going to do about it?

My head gasket has gone on the car you sold me after just a year – I want my money back.

What are you going to do about it?

The car you sold me has been clocked. I want compensation for the money I’ve spent on insurance and my money back. What are you going to do about it?

You sold me this car and I’ve found out it’s had an accident repaired. It’s not worth as much as you said it was. What are you going to do about it?

The clutch has gone on my new car. I’ve only had it eight months.

You should pay for the repairs. What are you going to do about it?

PROBLEMS?

Let us help you solve them. Car Dealer Club members get free legal advice worth £199, access to exclusive discounts and a copy of this excellent magazine every month for an annual subscription of just £25 CAR DEALER CLUB SUBSCRIPTION FORM Your Name: .........................................................................................................................................................................

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dashboard.

To fill out the Car Dealer Power survey simply visit CarDealerPower.com

Last chance to have your say!

Go to CarDealerPower.com and give honest feedback

T

ime is running out to have your say as to who you think are the best firms to work with in the motor industry.

Our Car Dealer Power survey runs until May 28 meaning there’s only days left for you to rate what your manufacturer is like to work with and what you think of the motor trade suppliers you do business with.

Last year your opinions really mattered – so much so they shook up the motor industry. You responded in your droves, meaning we could rate manufacturers and suppliers as accurately and fairly as possible.

This year the competition is going to be stiffer than ever. Nissan is sure to be doing as much as it can to retain its title of best manufacturer, while Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Honda will be fighting to haul themselves off the bottom of the 2011 survey.

We’ve already heard news from industry insiders that manufacturers and suppliers are taking the Car Dealer Power 2011 survey very seriously. This time

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around makers have been pushing the survey out to their dealer networks to maximise their chances of doing well.

But why should you fill it in? Well, because it’s the only survey that puts YOU in the driving seat, that’s why. And it’s 100 per cent confidential too, so your views and opinions can be as honest as you want them to be.

All you need to do is visit CarDealerPower.com and tick the virtual boxes and comment where you feel you have to. Don’t worry though – we will never ask your name or company or brand you represent.

Your views will be used by us purely to aggregate the scores, and will not be passed onto anyone.

The contenders for the prestigious Car Dealer Power gongs will all be invited to a sparkling awards night and dinner at the top of Portmouth’s Spinnaker Tower on July 20.

With breathtaking views stretching for miles along the south coast, the venue will be the perfect place to reward the manufacturers and suppliers that you enjoy doing business with.

Go to CarDealerPower.com now to avoid missing out on having your voice heard.

Car Dealer Power contenders will be invited to our awards being held up here

Truly Exceptional When so much is the same, you can search a long time to find the exceptional.

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All this, plus consistently competitive rates and a track record for success. It’s pure gold.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 31

FINANCE. CONGESTION

Exempt from the charge AUTOMOTIVE Finance & Leasing has collated a list of more than 200 cars which qualify for a 100 per cent discount from the London congestion charge, under the greener vehicle discount scheme.

A total of 215 cars make up the list and range from the Audi A1, through to the Toyota Prius, and up to the Tesla Roadster.

The contract hire and leasing provider published the list in response to demand from city clients who required a run-down of eligible cars.

AFL director Paul Fagan said: ‘For drivers on a budget, the Smart ForTwo Coupe can be leased for just over £150 per month. At the other end of the spectrum is the £90,000 Tesla Roadster which can be leased for £1518.33 per month.’

FIGURES

Fewer deals in February THE latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association, the trade body for the motor finance industry, revealed that consumers buying cars on finance fell by 14 per cent in February compared to the same month last year.

Business investment in new fleet vehicles was also down, falling 16 per cent, and used car sales on finance were flat in February compared to the same month last year.

Commenting on the motor finance figures, Paul Harrison, head of motor finance, said: ‘January was an unexpectedly strong month for car finance sales.

‘February is traditionally a slower month for dealerships.’

A record-breaking start to the year puts Bridford on course

Specialist finance firm’s tailor-made packages are proving popular

s

ales of prestige cars increased to record levels in quarter one for Bridford Financial Solutions.

The specialist finance firm secured £4.4m of finance in March and £10.2m for the first quarter of 2011, comfortably beating last year’s respective £3.83m and £7.2m.

Some £675k was underwritten on the last day of the month, including a rare 1996/97 Ferrari F50 costing £405k and a Rolls Royce Ghost at £249k.

The Yorkshire-based firm also provided funds for three more Ferrari

458 Italias – taking its total to 14 – which are now retailing at more than £220k despite a list price of £169,545.

Owner of Bridford Financial Solutions, Tim Marlow, said: ‘We predicted 2011 would see us reach the £40m mark due to our competitive rates and all-round service offerings and we are well on course for this after a very successful first three months of the year.

‘More and more franchised and independent dealerships are appreciating how we

‘‘

can complement their work and help them sell cars, while high-net-worth individuals are also taking advantage.

‘We have a client base that includes professional sports people, company directors and Lottery winners who realise the best way to fund luxury cars is through our unique tailormade packages. With a new wave of highperformance cars due for release such as the Lamborghini Aventador, the Ferrari FF and the new Bentley Continental, we predict our business will grow further still.’

We are well on course after a very successful first three months of the year.

Shortage of new vehicles may help dealers as 2011 progresses THE average car dealer reported a £6k loss for February, ASE’s latest retail profitability statistics reveal.

The company says that while the results seem poor, the results were ‘broadly in line with 2010 despite the lack of scrappage sales’.

It was also revealed that many dealers across the UK pre-registered a large number of vehicles to hit target.

‘We would normally be very concerned over the dealers’ ability to successfully retail these vehicles,’ said the firm. ‘However they may well be

helped in 2011 by a shortage of new vehicles as a result of plant closures following on from the Japanese tsunami.’

ASE urged dealers to concentrate on expenses as a percentage of gross profit and overhead absorption.

Valuing Service – Valuing You! First Response Finance is the first choice for the UK’s small to medium sized dealer market.

32 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

..in association with

DEAL FINDER

Latest finance deals on family hatchbacks Focus FORD is desperate to continue the success the Focus has had in the UK, hence an allnew model for 2011.

Ford is running a finance deal at the moment involving the 1.6-litre Zetec model which comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, front fog lamps and the firm’s Quickclear heated windscreen.

It’s available with a 4.9 per cent APR deal. A deposit of £3,282.16 is required from the customer, which is then followed by 24 monthly payments of £269.

Mileage per annum is limited to 9,000

with 7.20p per mile charge if this is exceeded. An optional final payment of £7,793 is required if the customer wants to keep the car, meaning the final price is £17,541.16.

Along with the zero per cent APR, no deposit needs to be put down, meaning that the customer needs to shell out £467.22 per month for 36 months to get their hands on the Megane.

Bravo IF you think the Megane is a relatively unusual sight on the UK’s roads, spare a thought for the Bravo.

Despite some extremely attractive looks and a range of strong engines, Fiat has never really hit it big with the Bravo – which is a shame.

It’s little surprise the Bravo is available on finance. Fiat is currently running the 1.6-litre Multijet Dynamic Eco on a finance deal, and the car comes with 16-inch alloys, Bluetooth and USB, and steering wheel-mounted audio controls as standard.

time is money

How would you answer?

H

Megane ARGUABLY less desirable than its bigbottomed predecessor, the Megane these days is more about being functional with a whiff of style about it.

Along with many other models in the Renault range, the Megane has been treated to a very decent finance offer to tempt a greater number of customers into the French motor.

The five-door hatchback in Dynamique TomTom trim with the 1.6-litre petrol engine is the car with a zero per cent APR deal and, along with TomTom sat-nav, comes with 16-inch alloys, auto headlights and windscreen wipers.

Such

As with the Megane, the Bravo is also available with zero per cent APR and requires no customer deposit.

However, the contract lasts for 50 months at a cost of £354 per month.

ow would you react if someone asked the killer question: ‘If I could show you a way of increasing your car sales by 20 to 25 per cent over the next three to six months … would you be interested?’

The three standard responses I get are: ‘yes’; ‘no’ (unbelievable that anyone would say no but some do) and ‘how are you going to do that?’

I’d immediately stop talking to anyone daft enough to say ‘no’ to this question, make my excuses and leave as quickly as possible.

These car dealers have no ambition beyond getting through the day whilst achieving nothing extraordinary.

I’m pretty sure that they aren’t reading this magazine and no-one will ever convince them that change can be good for business.

Those that say ‘yes’ are motivated to hear more and appear to be open and willing to look at new ideas that will improve their business.

The rest reveal themselves to be the faction who will only join up ‘if it’s not too difficult’ or ‘if it’s not hard work’ or ‘if it doesn’t cost me anything’.

Some of these may come around with a bit more effort but unfortunately most will not want to invest the time and I’ll feel sorry for them because they almost recognise the business benefits that are available to organisations that take up the offer of free independent help now and then.

Unfortunately this might mean that they will almost have a successful future and they will almost be able to adapt to change and may almost manage to improve the performance of their business over the next three to six months.

As always, feel free to call us anytime for simple, honest and impartial advice.

‘I’d stop talking to anyone daft enough to say ‘‘no’’ to this question.’

Who is Jonathan Such?

Such is regional sales manager for First Response Finance. You can contact him on 07917 781608 or email jons@frfl.co.uk

Tel: 0844 8730819 Web: www.frfl.co.uk CarDealerMag.co.uk | 33

big mike.

All Big Mike’s columns are on our website. Enjoy here bit.ly/bigmike

Surely it’s the type of owner, not how many that should count?

I

have on my lot at the moment a very nice, and extremely good value (even if I do say so myself), example of the convertible BMW Z3, 95,000 miles, a full service history from an independent sports car specialist and in generally good condition.

The car is a 1999 T-reg, so is just shy of its 12th birthday, but being a BMW it’s also exceptionally solid, looks really smart and drives superbly. For this future classic, I’m asking a not unreasonable £2,750. So I was utterly gobsmacked the other day when a potential punter phoned up, and then came to view. I showed him the log book, and he went into a complete rant at me.

‘You never told me it had five previous owners when I called up,’ he fumed. ‘I’ve wasted my time, fuel and energy coming over here for a car that’s not worth anything at all. I can’t believe you’ve got the cheek to ask that much for it!’

I thought he was about to blob me one on the nose, but luckily Fluffy, my friendly Rottweiler, took umbrage at his arm-flailing gesticulations and started bouncing around the lot, at which point the punter took flight, back to the safety of his British Racing Green MGF, which he’d no doubt bought from a real-ale loving beardie-weirdie bore who’d owned it from new…

I’ve come across all sorts in this trade before, but never a rant like that. These days, cars change hands all the time and five owners for a 12-year-old vehicle is not uncommon.

Indeed, I sold the Z3 to the previous two myself, and they were so fond of the personal, friendly, Fluffy-free service they’d received from Big Mike’s Motors that both of them came back for other cars – one chopped it in for a Volvo T5 estate when he accidentally got his girlfriend up the duff, and the other had a 3-Series Coupe off me as she wanted something more weatherproof.

These are the reasons why people change cars after owning them for a relatively short amount of time, and sports cars, by their very nature, tend to be a little nomadic. Often bought with the heart rather than the head, a lot of people will buy one just to see if they like it, then find they barely use it and sell it again.

Why the number of owners on the V5 shouldn’t bother anyone, unless of course there have been about nine in the past year, which suggests an unsolveable fault with the

Big

mike Our man on the inside spills the beans on the car business...

car, is beyond me. If the car is in good nick and has been well-serviced, as has the Z3, then these things should be immaterial. Both the owners who had the car from me had kept its service record up-to-date using the same garage, as both were the kind of people who knew that by looking after their car it was less likely to let them down. Surely, then, the type of owner is more important than the number?

Yet I also have a little VW Polo on my lot, which is a genuine one-owner car. I doubt it’ll be around for long, as despite being 10 years old, little VWs are in demand, and they’re tough little cars. I picked it up in the auction because I knew a one-owner Polo would be easy to sell, and I got it for a song because it was shabby as hell – the clutch was slipping, both front and rear bumpers had chunks missing out of them and the passenger side door mirror was held in place with the mechanic’s best mate – half a roll of gaffer tape.

‘I’ve come across all sorts in this trade before, but never a rant like that.’

It cost me about £400 to put it all right, at trade prices, yet I reckon I still have at least £500 profit in it because of its one owner provenance. That is, of course, providing the buyer doesn’t read too deeply into the service history.

If they do, they’ll find that the previous owner, Mabel, had paid her local VW dealer to fit five new clutches to the car in her decade of ownership. They’ll also find a receipt for a new driver’s door and body repairs to the side panel, along with a top-end engine rebuild despite the fact the car has only covered 37,000 miles. Mabel, clearly, had bought the Polo because she knew VWs were tough...

Yet a low-mileage X-reg Polo with one lady owner from new will not be a difficult tin to push, despite the fact I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole – unless the receipt’s gone missing, I know it’s still on its original gearbox, and I dread to think what Mabel has done to that! Besides which, it looks like I’ll be stuck with the Z3.

After all, I shouldn’t have the cheek to try selling it, should I?

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.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

forecourt.

Michael Cole

The refreshed Picanto represents a new direction for Kia. The managing director of Kia Motors UK tells James Batchelor why he has high hopes for the car.

The new Picanto is impressive – you must be pleased.

We are very excited about the new Picanto. Not only because we feel it is a strong product in the A-segment, but the previous Picanto has been very good for us. We were mindful when we stepped up to the new car that there had to be improvements with the quality and design, and the reaction so far has been very encouraging and bodes well. We’re looking to continue our success in this segment.

Is the Picanto an important car for your dealer network?

It will be, yes. Because it is largely a retail car, it is important, and our network realises this. The Picanto became very popular under scrappage and has continued to do well post-scrappage, so we think it will continue to be an important car for our dealers. I don’t overplay the Picanto’s importance for our dealers though – the all-new Rio is arguably more important, because for years we have been under-represented in the B-segment, so that is the really important car.

But, having said that, if the new five-door Picanto maintains the sales of the previous five-door Picanto, that would not be a bad result, and with the three-door we will be looking at a different type of customer. We should therefore be able to move our volumes forward.

Why a three-door and why is it coming later?

The three-door Picanto coming after the five-door is purely production time. It comes pretty quickly after the five-door, but the three-door’s production date is about two months away. When it comes, it will allow us to target a market that we have never been able to with the previous Picanto.

Yes, let’s keep continuing to provide a five-door car – especially as we have an eight per cent market share with it – but the three-door will generate new interest – the threedoor will mostly target conquest customers. It will appeal to a younger, more masculine group, which will be new for us. Arguably, the previous Picanto appealed more to women – the three-door will be more wide reaching.

‘‘

We’ve had Sportage, now Picanto, Rio and Optima – are you pleased with them?

Very much so. It’s funny – 36 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

last year we had the same number of new products launched, but the Sportage stole the limelight, taking people’s eyes off the Venga and the Sorento. The Sportage really caught the imagination of conquest customers and attracted them to the brand, and it’s the car that defines ‘new Kia’. The Picanto, Rio and Optima lead on from this.

It will appeal to a younger, more masculine group, which will be new for us.

Why is there no diesel engine for the Picanto?

To be honest, in the A-segment, it just isn’t something that we see to be necessary. It is a market that is largely retail, and the premium which comes with diesel is difficult for customers to justify. Providing you have got petrol engines with good CO2 levels and fuel economy, there is no justification for diesel.

The previous Picanto was a scrappage winner. Will the new Picanto continue to be

a success without scrappage?

The previous Picanto actually became a stronger car because of scrappage, so the brand is in a different and better place than it was. It wasn’t all down to scrappage. That gave us a turbo-boost but Kia was always destined to become a growing brand. I’m confident the new Picanto will continue to be a success because I think it will move us onto the next level.

Sales are down this year for Kia. What is your reaction to this?

They are down due to scrappage. Our nonscrappage sales are actually up, and our market share is up. If you look at the trend of nonscrappage sales in the retail market, it has grown every year – our share of this market last year was 3.1 per cent, it was 2.2. per cent in 2009, and in 2008 we managed 1.7 per cent – and year to date we are running at 3.3 per cent, so we are growing all the time. In the first three months of last year we sold more than10,000 new scrappage cars, but there is none of this in our figures for 2011.

That shows how much we are growing in the core retail market.

themanual INTERIOR

SPORTY

Dash is made from strong, good-to-touch plastics. ‘Tiger nose’ even features on the steering wheel.

Three-door model will arrive later boasting a different look from the b-pillar backwards.

LOOKS

Kia’s family ‘tiger nose’ has appeared on larger models and looks great on the firm’s smallest model.

Kia Picanto Along with the latest Rio and Optima, the new Picanto aims to shape Kia’s future. James Batchelor investigates.

What is it?

This is the all-new version of Kia’s city car with a body penned by Peter Schreyer incorporating the now familiar ‘tiger’ family face, sharp creases down the flanks, vertical lights at the rear, and a quality cabin. The previous Picanto was not only a sales winner in the UK – it sold more than 300,000 units in Europe. A much sportier-looking three-door comes out later this year.

What’s the spec like?

What do the press think of it?

In the UK we’ll get three trim levels – namely 1, 2, and 3. Prices kick off at £7,995 for the 1, with buyers getting electric front windows, a tiltable steering wheel, twin airbags, body-coloured bumpers and door handles, and an MP3-compatible radio. The 3 tops the range and comes in at £11,195.

Car Magazine found the Picanto to be ‘a very accomplished car, one that looks good and is fun to drive’. The magazine added that ‘we’d far sooner take the 1.25-litre car with a very basic specification than a three-cylinder model with a few toys’. Autocar thought the Picanto was ‘great’ and at £7,995 ‘there’s a whiff of a bargain about it’.

What’s under the bonnet?

What’s it like to drive?

What do we think of it?

Two diminutive ‘Kappa’ petrol engines. Kicking off the range is a three-cylinder 1.0-litre unit with 68bhp which is perfect for town work but makes for slow and noisy progress on faster roads. Long-distance driving customers would be better suited to the four-cylinder 1.2-litre, as it features 84bhp. The unit makes for quite relaxing cruising while still being more than zippy enough in the city.

All in all, we found it a very pleasant car to drive. The car is based on the Hyundai i10 platform, but gone is the i10’s chuckable handling. In its place is a chassis weighted more to the comfort side, which is no bad thing. A slick gearbox features but the steering is just a little too electrically assisted.

None of this is likely to matter too much to the Picanto’s traditional female market though.

We rate this car highly. Gone are the slightly gawky looks of the old model and in comes a car that looks striking and very sharp. Kia design chief Schreyer calls the front end ‘pit bull-like.’ It’s a very convincing package with only a tight boot disappointing – although it is bigger than the outgoing Picanto. The threedoor model will aim for new buyers – we’re looking forward to it.

the knowledge Model: Kia Picanto Price: £11,195 (tested), range from £7,995 Engine: 1.2-litre, petrol Power: 84bhp, 121Nm Max speed: 107mph 0-60mph: 11.4s MPG: 60.9 Emissions: 105g/km Residual values (three years): TBA

target buyers: Retail buyers mostly. The new five-door Picanto aims to cater for traditional, female market, while the three-door will suit younger buyers.

the rivals: Hyundai i10, Citroen C1, Suzuki Alto.

Key Selling Points: 1. Bold, aggressive design.

2. Good proportions – the Picanto does not look ‘top heavy’ like a Hyundai i10.

3. Very economical.

Deal Clincher: Impressive car comes with Kia’s seven-year warranty – all for £7,995.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 37

forecourt.

Jochen Goller

An increased number of engine types in the Mini reflects the expanding range of models available. The director of Mini UK talks to James Batchelor.

Why has it taken so long for a diesel engine to appear in the Cooper S? It’s taken so long because we were looking closely at the potential demand for a diesel-engined Cooper S. As we are now developing the range – the Countryman last year and in autumn we will have the Mini Coupe – we needed to develop our engine range. When you only have two or three models, you would only offer six engines – the take-up rate is pretty low per engine. But next year we will have six models so we needed more engines.

Are you aiming for retail and corporate buyers with the Cooper SD range?

Yes, we developed the sports diesel range because of the growing importance of the corporate sector. Now, with a sporty diesel engine in it, the Countryman is an attractive proposition for the corporate market. Mini was always historically a retail brand as this was very much related to the bodytypes we were offering – three doors as apposed to five. The Countryman Cooper SD will fulfil our wish to be present in the corporate sector.

Do you think you’ve missed an opportunity by not launching an electric Mini?

Along with the BMW 1 Series ActiveE, the Mini E was always intended to be a pilot project to help us develop the BMW i – a BMW sub-brand producing EVs launches in 2013 – and the Mini E has allowed us to understand consumers’ behaviours regarding electric vehicles. EVs are a big investment – if we’re going to do it, we want to do it right and we believe we will with BMW i.

Mini dealerships have very much their own ‘look’. Will there be more standalone dealerships in the future?

We always knew that Mini was a different brand from BMW so it had to be separated from BMW – the feelings and emotions are different.

But the current programme needs to be updated a little, so 30 dealerships are being refurbished this year, but our brand look won’t be much different – it would be crazy to walk away from a look we have established. Currently, we have 147 dealers and I think we are well placed with the dealers we have got, so for us it is about improving facilities not adding more dealers.

‘‘

There seems to be a lot of special-edition Minis available. Do you think there are too many?

We’ve actually limited the number of special editions. If you look at the history of Mini, BMC, BL and Rover all produced hundreds of special editions, so I don’t think we are doing too much.

In fact, I believe it’s the opposite because while Mini is great at offering customisation, some customers just want a Mini which has everything chosen for them. These cars also have excellent residual values.

Retro style will eventually fall out of fashion. What will be the future for Mini when that happens?

Well, I believe we launched the Mini at the right time in 2001, and this has shown to be the case.

But you’re right, retro will fall out of fashion, but we’re prepared for this. New Mini has always been about evolution, not revolution, so we will adapt it to suit future trends. Think of the Mini as a Porsche 911 – small revisions of an old design but always fashionable.

Due to Mini competing in the WRC this year, can dealers expect more sales?

Rallying is like Formula One – it is more about brand positioning than getting direct sales from it. Mini in rallying is about history and returning the name to rallying, and about making the brand more masculine. But, naturally, when you raise awareness, there is going to be more of pull towards the brand by customers over and above interest you would normally expect. And a greater awareness and passion for the brand by customers could mean dealers seeing more customers in their showrooms. But this is not the main intention.

We know how large Mini is – how seriously are you looking at a smaller Mini?

It’s important for us to remember that the original Mini equalled one model. Now Mini is a brand and has several models, and customers have to understand this. However, at the moment, we have an empty space. The Rocketman concept – shown at Geneva and measuring 3.4 metres – has developed a lot interest from the public both at Geneva and on the internet, and we are seriously investigating the possibility of introducing a minier Mini.

Think of the Mini as a Porsche 911 – small revisions of an old design.

38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

themanual SPEC

LOOKS

Quality and charming dash with supportive leather sports seats, and option of Mini Connectivity

There’s no doubt that the Cooper SD looks the part.

Mesh grille, bonnet air-take and twin exhausts are all poached from the Cooper S

HANDLING

Direct and immediate handling of petrol brother remains, but with added 305Nm of torque

Mini Cooper SD BMW has placed a 2.0-litre engine in its Cooper S range to make the SD, but is it any good?

What is it?

It’s a BMW 2.0-litre diesel engine installed into the Cooper S range of Minis – from hatch to Countryman.

The Cooper SD has the highest amount of torque on tap in the model range. Its 305Nm of torque even beats the range-topping JCW’s torque figure. Eighteen per cent of Minis sold are diesels – the SD aims to improve this. We’re concentrating here on the predicted best seller – the hatch.

What’s under the bonnet?

A 2.0-litre engine closely related to the unit fitted in the BMW 118d. That means a hatchback which gets to 60mph in 8.1 seconds and manages 134mph while returning a remarkable MPG figure of 65.7. As you would expect with all that torque, low-down grunt is plentiful. But the diesel gruff sounds strange in a car that has the look and feel of the petrol Cooper S.

What’s the spec like?

What do the press think of it?

The Cooper SD hatch retails at £18,750 and comes as standard with the same equipment as the Cooper S. That includes 16-inch alloys, air-con, sports front seats and a choice of white, black or body-coloured roof. But Mini dealers know that few buyers will be buying the standard car.

The range of personalisation is vast – and extremely costly.

Autocar believes that the SD’s £740 premium over the S is ‘not bad’ and said that the car makes the most ‘economical sense’. The magazine also said that ‘it put a smile’ on their faces.

MSN Cars were just as complimentary, saying that if customers want a ‘swift, economical, quality hot hatch with brilliant handling, that’s genuinely different, they must check out the Mini Cooper SD’.

What’s it like to drive?

The great thing about the Cooper SD is that along with its appearance, it also handles like the Cooper S. We’re concentrating on the hatch here and the petrol cousin’s direct and highly capable handling remains, with superb steering wheel feel and natty gearbox. Optional 17-inch alloys afford more grip and aid mid-corner grip, and the 305Nm of torque only adds to the great driving sensation.

What do we think of it?

The idea of a ‘D’ badge tagged on to the legendary Cooper S name at first seems terrible. But the Cooper SD’s startling performance and even more alarming MPG figures will make customers see a diesel-engined Cooper S differently. Probably the closest rival in terms of performance is the Seat Ibiza FR TDI, but the Mini’s premium feel makes the car extra special.

the knowledge Model: Mini Cooper SD hatchback Price: Range from £18,750 Engine: 2.0-litre, diesel Power: 143bhp, 305Nm Max speed: 134mph 0-60mph: 7.9s MPG: 65.7 Emissions: 114/km Residual values (three years): 45 per cent

target buyers: The Cooper S buyer who wants more economy.

the rivals: Alfa Romeo MiTO JTDm, Citroen DS3 HDi.

Key Selling Points: 1. Apart from tell-tale badges, the SD looks no different from petrol Cooper S sibling.

2. A great-looking interior with charm and detail.

3. Despite having 305Nm which is capable of 134mph, a combined MPG figure of 65.7 is achieved.

Deal Clincher: The Cooper SD is cheaper than Cooper S in the long-run.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 39

forecourt. the knowledge Model: Suzuki Kizashi Sport Price: ÂŁ24,000 (est) Engine: 2.4-litre, petrol Power: 176bhp, 230Nm Max speed: 134mph 0-60mph: 7.6s MPG: 35.8 Emissions: 183g/km Residual values (three years): On sale November.

target buyers:

Buyers who want an unconventional D-segment car, and Suzuki fans.

the rivals: Subaru Impreza 2.0-litre RC, Skoda Octavia 4x4

Key Selling Points:

1. Well-proportioned family saloon.

2. Packed full of equipment.

3. Four-wheel drive makes for a fine handling car.

Deal Clincher: A quirky car with exclusivity.

$'9(57 QHZ ORRN 35,17 LQGG

40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Suzuki Kizashi

Suzuki is dipping its toe in the D-segment with the Kizashi. James Batchelor has driven it.

What is it?

This is Suzukiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt to break into the D-segment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing it with a car limited to 500 units packed full of equipment normally reserved as extras on other makersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cars.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it like to drive?

That 2.4-litre lump is pretty unexceptional and needs to be driven hard to get the best from it.

But the ride is pretty good and it feels quite sure-footed.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s under the bonnet?

What do the press think of it?

The 500 units coming to the UK this winter will be the Sport model with a 176bhp 2.4-litre unit mated to a four-wheel drive system with CVT transmission.

Car Magazine felt the Kizashi is an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;accomplished, if extravagant, allrounderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; while the Sunday Times felt it â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;could have the last laughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; if it snows this year.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the spec like?

What do we think of it?

Because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only one model, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impressive. The spec sheet is vast.

Suzuki are trying their hardest to impress â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the Kizashi does just that. It looks good too.

themanual

Audi A7

the knowledge

Audi has decided to take on the Mercedes CLS with its stunning A7. James Batchelor investigates.

What is it?

Numerically it might sit between A6 and A8 saloons, but the A7 is a four-door coupe. Like the A5, the A7 is called a Sportback and mixes fourseats with coupe lines.

What’s it like to drive?

We drove the 3.0-litre TDI quattro and, with rapid kick-down and 500Nm of torque, the A7 is a fast traveller. But it’s a big car and feels like it too.

Model: Audi A7 3.0-litre TDI SE quattro Price: £63,335 (as tested) Engine: 3.0-litre, diesel Power: 242bhp, 500Nm Max speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 6.1s MPG: 47.1 Emissions: 158g/km Residual values (three years): 39 per cent

target buyers:

Customers who want a coupe-looking car with four seats.

What’s under the bonnet?

What do the press think of it?

Two petrol V6s – a 201bhp 2.8-litre FSI and a 296bhp 3.0-litre TFSI – and a V6 diesel available with a choice of 201bhp or the quattro-only 242bhp.

The Daily Telepgraph said the A7 is ‘charming, sophisticated and damn good looking.’ While Auto Express described it as ‘very impressive’.

the rivals:

What’s the spec like?

What do we think of it?

Prices start at £43,760 but can rise to more than £94k! The ‘base’ SE car comes with climate control, leather, heated and electric memory seats, and 18-inch alloys.

We’re struggling to believe that, apart from the R8, this is the first properly good-looking Audi for years. It’s fast too, but rear passengers will be a little cramped.

1. Arguably the best looking four-door coupe on the market.

2. Sumptuous, near-silent cabin.

3. Fast, effortless progress.

Mercedes-Benz CLS, BMW 5 Series GT.

Key Selling Points:

Deal Clincher: Quite possibly the bestlooking Audi for years.

Unlock your potential

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

FEATURE.

Legends FORD RS

Ford’s RS brand is one steeped in history, motorsport and sales success. Car Dealer tells the story and drives four legendary models

Focus RS Mk2 Price: £24,995 Engine: 2.5-litre, turbo Power: 301bhp, 439Nm Max speed: 163mph 0-60mph: 5.7s

Escort RS Cosworth

Price: £15,590 Engine: 2.0-litre, turbo Power: 227bhp, 298Nm Max speed: 150mph 0-60mph: 4.8s

42 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Words: James Batchelor & James Baggott | Pictures: Dean Smith

T

hat famous German firm may lay claim to having invented the fast and affordable performance car for the masses, but those in the know realise it’s at Ford and the RS brand where the story really began.

In its 100-year history in the UK, Ford has produced some of the country’s most dependable cars, from Anglias to Mondeos, but at the same time it has managed to produce some truly iconic performance machines too.

Ford was one of the early adopters when it came to using the power of motorsport to shift cars, realising nothing captures the public’s imagination better than producing family cars with racing pedigree. That fascination led to the

creation of a niche brand in fast and affordable family cars – the Rallye Sport badge was born.

The story started more than 40 years ago thanks to a Ford PR executive named Walter Hayes. Flushed with the success of convincing Ford to pay out £100k to Keith Duckworth to create the now-legendary Cosworth DFV Formula One engine in 1965, he set about persuading Ford to establish a special department within Ford of Europe. Its purpose would be to support Ford’s motorsport interests and, more importantly for our story, create sporting versions of ‘normal’ Fords. It was hoped success in motorsport would equate to customers in showrooms.

In 1970 Ford rubber-stamped the plan and

Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) was set-up with a staff of 250. By February of that year, AVO had built the very first RS – an Escort RS 1600 – and the department then went on to create some of the most iconic Fords in the firm’s history. Within time there were RS versions of most of Ford’s models. To celebrate those two iconic letters, Car Dealer visited Ford’s Technical Centre at Dunton, Essex, to try out four legendary RS models – the Sierra and Escort RS Cosworths, and a MK1 and MK2 Focus RS. We’ve also spoken to some of the dealers responsible for shifting some of those fast Fords over the years about just what makes that badge so special.

Focus RS Mk1

Price: £19,995 Engine: 212bhp, 320Nm Power: 2.0-litre, turbo Max speed: 144mph 0-60mph: 5.9s

Sierra RS Cosworth

Price: £15,590 Engine: 2.0-litre, turbo Power: 204bhp, 376Nm Max speed: 150mph 0-60mph: 6.2s

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

FEATURE.

Sierra RS Cosworth Price: £15,590 | On sale: 1986 | UK sales: 5,542

R

ace on Sunday, sell on Monday – it’s long been the mantra of car companies across the world and an excuse for many manufacturer MDs to indulge their passion for motorsport.

The idea is a simple one: Prove to the masses on race tracks around the globe that your cars are capable of beating the best and hopefully it’ll equate to sales in showrooms. Interestingly that wasn’t how it worked with the Cosworth brand.

Well, not at the outset any way.

The idea for the Sierra RS Cosworth – or Cossie, as it has affectionately become known – was to create a car capable of competing in Group A touring car racing. Ford was struggling on the track and bosses knew a rethink was needed – and so the Cossie was born.

Homologation rules dictated that a road car was required so Ford top brass quizzed its dealer network to find out what sort of appetite there would be for a high-performance model. Dealers were initially cagey and estimated just 1,500 would find homes. That was bad news for Ford as it had to build and sell 5,000 to compete.

Fortunately, dealers had underestimated the draw of that iconic whale tail – customers lapped them up and more than 6,000 were produced, including a special edition RS500.

It helped that it was utterly potent on the road. Under the bonnet was a four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged unit, produced by Cosworth. Rumour has it the tuners tied Ford into an order for 15,000 engines, despite the Blue Oval only needing 5,000. It’s believed that was one of the main reasons further Cosworths were 44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

eventually developed.

The rear-wheel-drive 204bhp Sierra was capable of hitting 150mph and could rocket past 60mph in 6.2 seconds. A standing quarter mile took just 15.5 seconds. It was these supercar-crushing performance statistics that stole the Cossie a place in performance car fans’ hearts. Combined with success on the racetrack, buyers lapped them up – and dealers loved them too. Selling a Porsche rival alongside mundane motorway rep mobiles made Fords cool and the maker’s still basking in the limelight today.

So what’s it like to drive the Cossie now? Well, if we’re honest – utterly intoxicating. Out of all the cars gathered here it was the Sierra that rocked our world the most.

‘‘

Sublime steering, planted grip and performance that still shocks make this one of the all-time greats. What we liked about it the most was the fact it feels so simple and honest.

In today’s world the interior is basic and no thrills, while those Recaro seats still grip you firmly in place.

Behind the wheel you feel so connected to the whole car as it hunkers down and tries to penetrate the horizon that it’s simply addictive to drive.

The Sierra RS Cosworth might not have been the first RS model, but it was certainly one of the best. The fact it feels just as good to drive today is a credit to how utterly brilliant the original was back when it exploded on to the scene some 26 years ago.

So what’s it like to drive the Cossie now? If we’re honest – utterly intoxicating.

T

he early 90s brought with them massive mobile phones, M People and John Major – but for petrol-mad performance car fans there was only one new arrival worth noting: The birth of the Escort RS Cosworth. Like its Cossie forefathers, the Escort version was born out of motorsport necessity, but there’s little doubt Ford’s bean counters will have crunched the sums as to what it could do for dealers’ bottom lines too.

It wasn’t the blacktop that Ford had in mind for this Cosworth, though. Competition for the Escort would be fought in the dirt and dust of rally stages across the world. Conceived by Ford Motorsport in Essex, the Escort was a hybrid, but not one of the tree-hugging kind. Here, Ford engineers took the engine and underpinnings from the Sierra and grafted an Escort shell on to it to create a Frankenstein car creation of monumental success.

The original 2.0-litre lump remained, albeit with some hefty tweaks. A larger turbocharger was bolted on, engine management tweaked and the four-wheel drive system of later Sierra Cosworths carried over. Power was now up to 227bhp which helped the Escort hit 60mph in 4.8 seconds and crack a top speed of 150mph. The standing quarter mile took 14.9 seconds. Those stats were easily enough to scare the likes of Ferrari and Porsche owners of the time.

However, it was its styling that secured the Escort Cosworth a place on the bedroom walls of teenagers the world over. That huge whale tail was a delete option on later models, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a Cossie without one. Flared

arches weren’t just for show either, they were in place to shroud the Escort’s bulging mechanicals, while the vents on the bonnet and flanks really were there to aid cooling.

Its popularity was helped by success on the world rally stages. The Escort RS Cosworth twice won the Monte Carlo rally (1994 and 1996) as well as adding a host of other silverware to the Blue Oval’s by-now bulging trophy cabinet. Even fourtimes world champion Tommi Makinen cut his teeth behind the wheel of an Escort RS Cosworth, taking his maiden event victory in one in Finland before departing for Mitsubishi.

Eventually it was new noise regulations from Brussels (where else?) that killed off the Cosworth. Ford decided to can it instead of modifying the car to meet the new rules in 1996.

It lived on competing on rally stages until 1999 when it was replaced by the Focus WRC. This is Ford Heritage’s lurid yellow example and it feels a little tired these days. That’s not to

say it disappointed as many warned it would.

Driving one of your heroes is always dangerous, but although it wasn’t quite as special as the Sierra, getting behind the wheel of the Escort was still an event.

This model was treated to a stage one engine conversion which increased power to 280bhp and was one of Ford’s original development cars, but despite that tweak it still doesn’t feel as quick as the Sierra. Turbo lag is noticeable, but spool that Garrett unit up and the Cosworth makes an incredible sound as it sucks in air.

The steering feels loose and the gearbox a little sloppy, but grip is still hugely impressive in the bends. However, what really marks this car out is the sense of occasion driving around with that huge double spoiler dominating your rear-view mirror gives. It made all of us a little bit giddy with excitement – and that’s exactly what cars like this should do.

Escort RS Cosworth

Price: £25,590 | On sale: 1992 | UK sales: 7,145 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

FEATURE.

Focus RS MK1

On sale: 2002 | Price: £19,995 | UK sales: 4,501

F

ord began the Noughties not moving forwards but by looking backwards. After a wait of six years, the RS name made a welcome return – but this time the moniker returned on the new Focus.

Like its predecessor, the Focus RS origins were of the competition variety, born on the plains of the safari rally and in the muddy forests of Wales.

It was famously the wheels of choice for the late Colin McRae, and in so doing, the Martiniliveried Focus WRC car quickly became the pin-up for fans in the early 2000s.

Though it never won the sacred World Rally Championship, the Focus WRC amassed a loyal following. So much so that fast Ford fans called for the RS name to be revived. Ford replied with the Focus RS in 2002. It was launched on October 1, lacking just one thing – a Cosworth badge.

Like its rally brother, the Focus RS was quite subdued compared to its predecessors. Whale tails, bloated bodywork and loud colours were oh so last century. Instead it came in just one shade – Imperial Blue – which was less loud but nevertheless just as resonant to a Ford fan, and it sported purposeful bumpers and a subtle spoiler.

However, there was nothing subtle about the interior – lashings of bright blue leather and alcantara, RS embroidered Sparco bucket seats, aluminum frippery and carbon fibre

‘‘

covered the transmission tunnel.

Performance was far from restrained either.

Some 70 per cent of parts were new compared to the humdrum family Focus, and it was fettled by Ford Team RS and Tickford. Under the otherwise standard-looking bonnet was Ford’s trusted 2.0litre Zetec unit, but with a Garrett turbocharger bolted on for good measure.

That meant a scintillating 212bhp could be unleashed through the Focus’s front wheels, and with a diff from Quaife, the Focus RS could reach 60mph in just under six seconds and onwards to a top speed of 144mph.

Our test was carried out in Focus RS number 0001 no less – and it still feels brilliant today. Like its predecessors, the dash remains the same as the standard car, but that doesn’t matter as your thoughts quickly turn to how much grip the car musters. The 2.0-litre engine does its best to hurl you out of bends and scare you with mighty levels of grip. It’s only when the turbocharger kicks in that you feel a tad petrified as the torque steer tries to wrench the wheel from your hands.

Ford asked five pounds short of £20k for this car in 2002. Some 4,501 found homes before the maker blew the final whistle on December 1, 2003. It might have only been around for a short period, but there’s no doubt the impact the car had was great.

70 per cent of parts were new compared to the humdrum family Focus

46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Focus RS MK2

On sale: 2009 | Price: £24,995 | UK sales: 4,136

S

ix years after the demise of the Mk1, Ford had another crack of the whip in 2009 with the Mk2. Like its ancestors, it had a strong hereditary line to motorsport. Ford’s team, headed by former rally driver Malcolm Wilson, had great success with the Focus in 2006 and 2007 winning the WRC manufacturer’s crown twice in a row with Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen. Fans again wanted a road-going version to celebrate.

Ford knew that it had to produce another RS. With 40 years of history behind them, those two letters were crying out to be stuck on the bootlid of another Ford hatchback, not to mention the legacy left by the old Focus RS. That car, though mightily exciting, was a little too geared towards the most hardcore of fast Ford fans. The Mk1 might have appeared to be subtle, but it was a hair-raising concoction that threw all but the most paired down elements of practicality and useability out of the window.

This time around the Mk2 was going to be the best RS ever. Led by Jost Capito, the top man in the RS division, Ford’s boffins set about making the fastest and loudest RS ever made – but it also had to be practical and comfortable too. It had to appeal to both young RS fans, who had grown up on the back seat of a Sierra Cossie, and their fathers who’d driven RS models ‘back in the day’.

Not before long, Ford took disguised Focus RS mules to the God of all circuits, the Nurburgring, for extensive testing. Ring times of below eight minutes 30 seconds were quoted in magazines, and pictures of a mad Focus three-wheeling its way around the Carousel appeared on every Ford

forum this side of Essex.

And then Ford stole, quite literally, the limelight at the 2008 British Motor Show with a metallic lime green Focus RS, but it remained tight-lipped about the car’s performance.

A year later we got the finished product – a 301bhp, 163mph rally car in disguise that owed all of its ability to a clever suspension system.

Called RevoKnuckle, it not only became the motoring press’ favourite word, but it made a good job of curing the Focus RS Mk1’s inherent torque steer problems.

We bagged a drive in one of the earliestregistered RS press cars Ford has. Finished in Performance Blue, it looks as mad and aggressive as the Escort Cosworth. With an imposing spoiler, twin exhaust pipes and gaping grille, the Mk2 is arguably a return to form for the RS brand.

While the Mk2 might look like a traditional RS, it feels unique. Push on past 4,500rpm and the engine spools up, giving a noise of quite outrageous intensity. Flick the car into a bend and the grip available is seemingly endless – we’re not really sure what RevoKnuckle does, but it seems to work.

It’s how refined the Mk2 that really amazes.

Decent plastics and excellent sound insulation means the Mk2 is perfect for blasting along B-roads or cruising at 70mph on the M1. Sadly it didn’t last long as by early 2010 Ford ended production. That wasn’t before it got its swansong.

Ford created the 345bhp RS500 version as a run-out model and that sold out before it even arrived in showrooms. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next...

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

FEATURE.

The RS Specialists

Two Ford retailers explain why performance brand has always been a darling of dealers

w

ith more than 40 years of selling RS models for Haynes Ford, you would think Neil Treserden’s favourite would be one of the more unusual ones. ‘No, it’s actually the Escort RS Cosworth,’ he says. ‘A lot of the RSs were just Escorts or Fiestas with a bigger engine and some extra fancy bits. But the styling of the RS Cosworth was just so unique it made it a different model, somehow.’

Haynes Ford, based in Maidstone, was given the nod to sell RS models (not every dealer could originally) because of its motorsport associations.

‘Haynes Ford was involved with RSs – selling them and competing in them from the word go,’ explains Treserden. ‘I used to sell them, and Keith Fowler used to (and still does) build them for competition. Haynes was very well known for its motorsport, building and sponsoring cars for the likes of John Taylor and Trevor Hopkins – Taylor actually won the 1973 European Rallycross Championship in a Haynes RS.’ Naturally, when Ford launched the first-ever RSbranded car in 1970, the company and its dealers were concerned whether the performance name was going to be popular. To be an RS retailer, dealers had to go through a rigorous screening process in order to be fit enough to sell the cars.

These days, though, having specialist dealers selling your performance products might seem very novel, but Ford was doing it 40 years ago.

While any salesman in those few RS-appointed dealers was able to sell RS-branded products, an RS customer was normally directed to the RS specialist. Treserden was one of those.

‘My sales manager made me the RS specialist sales person which was fantastic. I remember back in the RS 1600i days, my manager said that if I sold six of them he would give me one as a demonstrator. I actually sold seven but he went back on his word! That caused a bit of a ruction, but I eventually got my RS demonstrator.

‘We could all sell RS,’ continues Treserden, ‘but my colleagues usually passed an RS customer on to me because I had the knowledge. When dealing with an RS customer, you had to know

about products inside out. You couldn’t say any old rubbish to them, because they usually knew more than you, so it was very involved.’

That’s not to mention ‘involved’ test drives either. ‘I remember a customer who wanted a test drive of the 150mph Sierra RS Cosworth. So I took him out for a drive and it all seemed pretty normal until we got to the motorway. The customer started to put his foot down, shouting “I’m not going to buy this car until you can prove to me it does 150mph”. He didn’t seem to care about other road users and it got to the point where I had to tell him to slow down – I actually had to get quite nasty so he’d take me seriously.’

‘‘

One customer said he wouldn’t buy the Sierra Cosworth until I proved it could do 150mph.

That customer didn’t buy the Sierra, but he was an exception. Most buyers knew RSs could do double the motorway speed limit and didn’t need to try it – and that’s still the case today.

‘The type of person who bought the most recent Focus RS was still the same type of buyer from the early days. When an RS customer came in the showroom, they either wanted one or not – there was no convincing on my part,’ added Treserden.

No convincing meant customers were prepared to pay for the RS ownership experience. ‘It was such a strong product we rarely moved on the price marked on the screen. But as time wore on with RS products facing more competition from rival manufacturers, we had to be a little bit more flexible in the price. Only a little though – for most RS customers, only an RS would do and they were prepared to pay for it.’

One customer who was prepared to have an RS under any circumstances was a chap calling

from Japan. ‘I vividly recall this Japanese man who phoned me up one day,’ says Tim Hill, a director of Hills Ford. ‘He was so desperate to have an Escort RS Cosworth he paid for the car over the phone – even reciting his credit card details.’

Back in those days, Hill was part of Brooklyn Ford – a Ford dealer famous for selling RS products and for campaigning RSs in the motorsport arena.

‘From 1983 to the early 1990s, we used to run RSs in touring car racing and in rallying,’ says Hill. ‘We competed in the British Touring Car Championship with an Escort RS1600i and a Sierra Cosworth RS500, and in rallying we used a Sierra Cosworth – in fact we were the first to rally that car.’

Brooklyn Ford became an RS dealer in the 1980s – arguably the golden era of the brand.

‘RS was a great product, really advanced for its day. I actually sold more than 50 to Japan, America, and one or two to Kenya, exporting the car and providing them with a parts service,’ added Hill.

Like Treserden, Hill is an enthusiast for a certain RS too. ‘My favourite RS would have to be the Escort Cosworth. It was the car that we sold the most of and it reminds me of the golden days really.’

He likes them so much that he has an Escort Cossie, as well as a Focus RS Mk1 and Mk2, himself.

‘It’s the development in technology which amazes me,’ says Hill. ‘You expect this between the Escort and the Focus RS Mk2 – but not between the Focus RS Mk1 and 2.’

It’s this love of RS Fords which has made Hill such an expert in selling them. ‘I actually got a lot of deals due to other RS dealerships not showing enough enthusiasm for the product.

The RS customer was very specific in what they wanted, and even though there was no internet in those days, they would know everything about the cars.

‘Customers expected the sales person to be as knowledgeable and passionate about RSs as they were. We were – we raced them, we rallied them, and we loved them, so we got a lot of business because of that. For us, selling RS was a hobby, not a business.’ [CD]

See our video of the legendary RS Fords by typing bit.ly/FordLegends into a web browser CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

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FEATURE.

Special report

Five of our favourite rally inspired legends We all love a good rally – but it’s the cars the sport’s inspired that we really crave

T

he exciting world of rally hasn’t just been responsible for keeping fans on the edge of their seats – it has also spawned some great cars for the road too. Homologation rules meant car manufacturers had to produce a set number of road-going versions of their rally cars for them to be allowed to compete. This was supposed to keep competing cars production-based, but in reality spawned all sorts of monsters.

What’s more many makers have often celebrated their success in the sport by producing special editions too. Here are our picks for the best ever rally-inspired legends.

Metro 6R4 It might have been based on one of the most boring cars of all time, but the Metro 6R4 shared only its name with the production equivalent.

Created to compete in the short-lived Group B category, only 200 ‘Clubman’ versions and a handful of ‘International’ models were made for homologation purposes. The former cost £40k and produced 250bhp from a 3.0-litre V6 engine and were as mad as the stats suggest!

Audi quattro Without rally we’d never have heard Gene Hunt utter his famous ‘Fire up the quattro’ line. The model was the first to take advantage of fourwheel drive in the sport and it won a series of titles because of it. The road-going version arrived in 1980 and featured a turbo-charged 2.1-litre, five pot powerplant. It produced 197bhp and helped the car hit 60mph in 7.1 seconds.

Mini Cooper Few people realise the original Mini Cooper was the result of homologation for rallying.

Motorsport car builder John Cooper had spotted the Mini’s potential for competition and

persuaded BMC bosses to build 1,000 to allow racing in Group 2 rallies. The Cooper featured a 997cc engine with twin carbs, 55bhp and front disc brakes and debuted in 1961. However it was the victories in the Monte Carlo rallies of the 60s for the Cooper S that everyone remembers.

Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz The GT-Four was built specifically to homologate Toyota’s most successful rally car ever – but there’s one edition of the GT-Four that’s

‘‘

remembered by fans above all others. The Carlos Sainz version (code name ST 185) was produced to mark that driver’s victory in the WRC Driver’s Championship in 1992. It had four-wheel drive, a 200bhp turbo-charged engine and looked as good as the rally winning car. It was limited to 5,000 – 3,000 of which came to Europe.

It was supposed to keep cars productionbased, but in reality spawned monsters.

Subaru Impreza RB5 If it wasn’t for success in rallying, the Subaru Impreza arguably would never have gathered the cult following it has done over the years. The maker has released a number of limited edition specials, but our favourite has to be the RB5. Built to mark the return of British driver Richard Burns to the team in car number 5 in 1999, the maker produced 444 examples. It had 237bhp, 350Nm of torque, but most importantly looked superb in its ‘steel blue’ paintwork. [CD] CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

FEATURE.

911 for 2011

Timewasters: Don’t you just love ’em?

The story so far of our quest to turn £0 into a Porsche 911 iN aid of BEN

I

f you see James Batchelor can you kick him for me.

Thanks. He was the man behind last month’s 911 for 2011 update and looking back over the copy I can see why we’re in the state we’re in now.

‘Unusually for us, things are going quite smoothly,’ were the fateful words our young hack started his update with. Which explains the month of despair I’ve just had to contend with.

As you’ve probably guessed, we haven’t had the best of luck. The giant, tart’s lipstick-red Citroen is still littering my drive and the wife is starting to get the hump. With the car, not me. Well actually me, because the car is still there.

We listed the car for sale on Auto Trader and started it at £10,495 (on Citroen’s advice, I hasten to add).

After a week of staring at a nonringing phone we lowered the price to £10,250. Again, the only phone call we got was from Auto Trader trying to flog me an extension to the ad. As this is a family magazine I won’t repeat what I wanted to say to him. Instead I did the polite thing and pretended I’d lost phone reception and hung up.

With a week left of the advert online I decided to lower the price further to £9,995. Thankfully that did the trick. The first caller was looking for a taxi and dropped by for a test drive. Thing is, he didn’t really want a test drive at all. He poked and prodded the poor Picasso for about 40 minutes asking questions a four-year-old would think stupid.

‘So that’s the gearstick, yeah?’

Was just one of the ridiculous sentences that escaped from this man’s mouth.

‘That’s the radio, yeah? Does it play CDs.’ I refrained from answering with

‘‘

Bought for... £0 Sold for... £250

Bought for... £0 Sold for... £790.03

We like our Citroen but just wish it hadn’t stuck around so long

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

We can’t decide what to do next with our sticky Citroen: Sell it or trade it... a remark about him struggling to get a tape into the slot, but instead replied with an affirmative. To say taxi-wannabe man was getting on my nerves would be an understatement.

After an hour of inane drivel he finally got around to talking money. I told him it had just been reduced from £10.5k to £10k so we wouldn’t be able to go down much more.

‘Well, I’ve seen one for £9k, would you take that?’ he asked. ‘£9k?’ I replied. ‘That really is quite a bargain you’ve found – I suggest you go and buy that one.’

Proceedings ended there.

Timewaster number two started off a bit more promising.

He turned up in a tired Seat Alhambra and talked about his kids having enough room in the back, he fiddled with the seats, marvelled at the fridge,

The giant, tart’s lipstick red Citroen is still littering my drive and the wife is starting to get the hump.

loved the fact it had cruise control and was flabbergasted at the cubby holes on top of the dash.

In fact, it was going so swimmingly I didn’t mind the fact we’d been chatting for just over an hour when he decided he wanted to take it for a spin. Some 45 minutes of copious jerky gear changes (possibly his fault, possibly the car’s), some ridiculous shuffle steering and three nearmisses, we arrived back at my place.

He jumped out, shouted ‘thanks very much’ and hot-footed it to his car. The fact I’d just lost two hours of my life I’d never get back with a man who’d make Mr Bean look sane was slowly starting to sink in so I shouted after him: ‘Aren’t you going to make me an offer?’

‘I’ll be in touch,’ he shouted out of a cracked window as he drove past in his Seat. As most of you know, that’s timewaster for ‘sucker’…

Now the Auto Trader advert has run out we’ve got a few options. One is to advertise it again, but the more I think about it the more a trade deal for some easier-to-shift options looks more attractive. Find out what we decide to do next month. [CD]

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

All bought for... £500 All sold for... £2,720

Bought for... £6,000 Sold for... £8,250

Bought for... £8,110 Sold for... £?

In the pot... £860 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

FEATURE.

Cashing In Finance calculators are easy to come by, but not all of them are as sophisticated as Codeweavers’ latest development, reports James Baggott

T

here are few companies in the motor industry that have got the guts to admit they haven’t always got things right. But software development firm Codeweavers is the first to admit that over the past 12 months it hasn’t lived up to the expectations of some of its customers.

‘We’ve lost a couple of big clients over the last 12 months – and that is something that I really can’t live with,’ explains MD Roland Schaack. ‘But we’d be the first to admit we haven’t lived up to the expectations of some clients and that’s why we’re working twice as hard to change that.’

It takes a company confident in their products to admit that they’ve let some clients down in the past, but Schaack and his team, which includes Car Dealer columnist and commercial director Martin Hill, have some very interesting developments up their sleeves for dealers this year – and it’s time for them to shout about it.

‘We’re not about “vapourware”,’ explains Schaack. ‘By that I mean we’re not about promising our dealer clients software that we can’t deliver. We want to get our products to market right first time and if that takes 12 or 18 months then so be it. It’s about quality – and I pride myself, and everything we do, on the quality of our products.’

He’s referring to a hectic 18 months of development which has seen the Codeweavers team completely rewrite its famous online finance calculators, that dealers up and down the country have been successfully using for years, to make them even better.

Schaack and Hill give me a live demonstration of the new software – and I have to admit it’s

54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

rather impressive indeed.

‘We were the first with finance calculators on dealer websites and now we’ve innovated it again,’ explains Schaack. ‘Now we’ve changed the way customers can search for cars on dealers’ websites.

It’s about affordability, not just make and model.’

Customers can now input a variety of details into the search facility including their deposit, term they’d like the finance over, annual mileage plus their preferred minimum and maximum monthly payments. This then searches dealers’ databases of cars in fractions of a second to return live finance quotes on cars depending on their budget.

‘The difference here,’ adds Hill, ‘is it’s about showing the customer what they can afford. Let’s say they were originally looking for a Ford Fiesta, but because of the better residual values on a Mini they could actually afford one of those instead – the customer will be pleasantly surprised, and much more likely to be attracted to dealer finance.’

Dealers embed a link on their website and Codeweavers hosts the Payment Search page with the dealership’s branding on it. Funding comes from a variety of lenders – big names like Black Horse, Santander, Close, Carlyle and many brokers are just a few that are supported by the system.

And it’s you that dictates which funders are used for which cars.

‘The system is totally configurable by the dealer,’ adds Schaack. ‘For example, if the dealer only wants to offer PCP quotes on his BMW stock from Alphera then we can ensure that the only quotes the customer gets back are those. Or if the dealer wants to set certain parameters, such as how much

‘‘

We’re not about promising our clients software that we can’t deliver.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

FEATURE. Roland Schaack, back far right, with some of the Codeweavers team

commission they’d like to make on every deal, we can ensure that is met too.’

If the customer is happy with the quote, they can simply email it to themselves by clicking a button, print it off and then bring it into your showroom. And because the quotes are live – there are no cached quotes here – it means the deal the customer sees is what they get. And what’s more, with the emailed quotes you know exactly how well the Payment Search facility is working for you.

So how much does this all cost? Well, here’s the good news – if you’re a Codeweavers client, absolutely nothing. It comes as part of the suite of services that the firm is constantly developing to ensure its dealers are happy.

‘We want to add value to our dealer partners,’ said Hill. ‘And that means we’ll drive finance business into their showrooms with innovative solutions like this. You can get a budget finance calculator for your website elsewhere but the parameters can’t be driven by the customer – and that can put some people off.

‘We’ve come up with an interactive way of replicating what your business manager would do in the showroom online. Your business manager is there to ensure you make the most out of every deal – they do that by placing the right customer with the right finance package with the right funder. With Payment Search, dealers can be confident that is happening on their website when their business manager has gone home for the day.’

And if anyone should know the importance of business managers it’s Schaack and Hill – both held those very positions at different Holdcroft dealerships. Schaack went on to become group F&I manager and then held the same position for Pendragon. He joined Virgin Cars in 2000 where he set up the finance side of the business but was then made redundant when he’d done just that. It was after that setback that he delved into IT and soon afterwards joined Jigsaw Finance.

It was at Jigsaw where he developed the first online finance calculator for PCP and it saw the broker’s PCP business rocket from £50,000 a month to more than £2m.

It was then the firm realised it was on to a real winner.

‘‘

‘We proved it worked with Jigsaw,’ he said.

‘In 2002 we formed Codeweavers and started pushing it out to dealers and we’ve gone on from there.’

After leaving Holdcroft, Hill went the other route into the finance world. He worked for GE for nine years where he specialised in training and FSA integration. He did a stint as MD for ITC Compliance and then moved to Codeweavers where he’s put his compliance training to good use for dealers with the recent CCD changes that have sent shockwaves through the industry.

‘We’re constantly checking our partner dealer websites to ensure they’re CCD compliant,’ says Hill. ‘If dealers get CCD wrong they might lose their licence – it’s as simple as that. And if they’re reliant on finance for profits then that could be disastrous.

I’ll gladly help any dealer and advise them of what they need to do to ensure their online offering complies with the regulations.’

HELP It’s that helping hand ethos which runs through the company that has led Codeweavers to invest in ways it can help de-mystify the world of dealer finance. ‘Many customers don’t understand high street loans, let alone car finance,’

We drive finance business into showrooms with innovative solutions.

56 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Suite of services What does Codeweavers offer?

Codeweavers customers get a whole bundle of software to help them make their businesses work more efficiently online. These include: Finance calculator Motor Insurance search Payment search, including email leads Videos to explain finance products Help with compliance issues Constant testing Reviews with your team And all from £48 per month.

said Schaack. ‘That’s why we came up with the idea of providing videos to help explain how the different aspects of dealer finance works.’

Schaack shows me a video of the firm’s explanation of PCP and it’s an extremely highquality production. The firm has invested thousands of pounds into the very best production equipment as well as a new head of video production to make them.

‘The idea is dealers can use our videos on their site to explain to customers why they might want to chose PCP over HP, a lease deal over high street lending,’ says Hill. ‘These videos are free to our customers and can even be branded to their company.

We’re new. We’re Chinese. We’re different.

Why? Because we aim to make it as easy for customers to buy our cars as it will be straightforward for our dealers to sell them.

If you are looking for a no-nonsense, low cost and potentially lucrative franchise which sees dealers at the heart of its business, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re sure you’ll see the difference!

To find out more, please contact Paul Hegarty on 07721 399965 or email phegarty@greatwallmotor.co.uk

The best warranty programme on the market?

Beware, happy customers may follow!

I have spent the majority of my working life talking to car dealers of all shapes and sizes, and their aspirations and concerns are always centred on the same few questions. How can I increase my profitability? Where will the new generation of customers come from? Which warranty provider will help my business the most? How do I reduce costs? What can I do to increase workshop absorption? Who will help me to retain more customers for the future? How can I introduce an effective and relevant marketing strategy? There is no one off fix for any of those questions and they all need to be reviewed on a regular basis.

That’s why the new and innovative protection programme from WMS called Safe and Sound can provide answers for all of these questions. There is an opportunity for you to become part of a network of specialist dealerships who can offer their customers the highest level of customer care and protection, increase profits and workshop activity, reach millions more customers through high level targeted media and endorsement from a trusted and recognised celebrity.

The Safe and Sound programme has been put together as a result of customer and dealer requirements from our research over the years. If we can tick the boxes for the main prerequisites for the discerning car buyer, including safety, value, authenticity and protection then we are half way there. If we can help to attract more customers to your dealership, provide a warranty that covers wear and tear and rescue and recovery, deliver quality dealer development and increase retention, advertise to millions of potential customers via website, Radio and Television with a highly visual endorsement by Sir Stirling Moss then we are already there. We won’t just look after your customers we will even help you to attract more. We have invested a considerable sum in the development of this programme and you can become one of a few Safe and Sound dealers if you are prepared to invest 15 minutes of your time to hear more about this fantastic opportunity.

To be a part of this new generation of dealership network and learn more about it, please call me Eric Stone, on 07789 682502.

Left to right - Eric Stone, Safe&Sound Business Development Director with Brand Endorsee Sir Stirling Moss OBE.

sales@safeandsound.co.uk www.safeandsound.co.uk

The WMS Group, Thame House, Thame Road, Haddenham, Bucks, HP17 8HU

Tel: 0800 197 0321

FEATURE.

‘‘

With us it’s about quality. You won’t get our payment search facility anywhere else. It brings a whole new way for customers to browse for cars while generating leads for dealers.

‘‘

‘We like to think of it as a way of dealers putting their very best salesman or business manager in front of their customers every single time. The videos explain consistently and simply how each part of dealer finance works and we’ve even got one that tells customers why they should be using dealer finance over the high street banks.’

Video production is something Codeweavers is moving into. The firm is already working with a London Volvo site to produce a corporate welcome for its website and hopes to introduce the service to many more.

And it’s not just the big dealer groups like Marshall Motor Group, Perrys, Jardine and Carshop that utilise Codeweavers’ services but manufacturers too. The company is providing calculation services for BMW, Mini, Citroen and will be moving into Europe soon.

It works with all the major website builders – and, even if it doesn’t currently work with yours, it can. ‘If a dealer’s web partner can’t integrate our services we’ll lend a developer so they can at no cost,’ said Hill. ‘We’re never going to start building websites for dealers – that’s not what we’re about – we’re about building relationships with those that already do and helping them integrate our services into their dealer clients’ websites.’

Some of you will remember Codeweavers as being part of the Jigsaw company but last year the two firms parted company completely. Codeweavers has even moved into a new countryside, renovated barn office to give its developers the best environment in which to work – and ensure the

separation from Jigsaw is obvious.

‘We’re now completely independent and that has opened the doors for us to work with even more finance brokers and lenders,’ explains Schaack. ‘It was a problem before, so we moved to address that.

Jigsaw is still a client of ours and always will be, but we’re now totally separate companies.’

With two new entrants recently entering the finance calculator market, we asked Codeweavers what really marks them out. Hill explains: ‘With us it’s about quality: Quality of product; quality of service. You won’t get our payment search facility anywhere else and it brings a whole new way for customers to browse for cars while generating leads for dealers.

‘We focus on the detail too. Whether that’s compliance or just ensuring things work properly, working with Codeweavers will mean you’re looked after. We’ve learnt from our mistakes and invested heavily in client services and development teams to ensure our partners are properly looked after.’

So again it comes back around to the issue of price – surely a service like this is going to cost dealers thousands of pounds? ‘Not so,’ says Hill. ‘There have been claims that software companies like us charge dealers thousands every month – that’s simply not true. Our services start from as little as £48 per month and our average dealer customer pays only £250 a month. For the services dealers get and the leads they generate, it more than pays for itself.’ [CD] For more information call 0800 021 0888 or visit Codeweavers.net

Insurance The untapped opportunity?

One of the most common obstacles that stops a customer signing up for a car there and then is insurance – or the fear of what it will cost.

It lets customers access insurance quotes for all the cars on your site simply by inputting a few basic, personal details into a system built right into your website. Once they’ve done that, every car will display an insurance quote right next to the finance one.

It uses a panel of 13 insurers through broker Lloyd Latchford to return the best prices for your web visitor. Okay, so that’s not as many as Go Compare or Confused.com, but it’s not about that, as Martin Hill explains.

‘This is about taking away that stumbling block of insurance from upsetting the deal,’ he says. ‘We know customers might say they have to go away and get an idea of how much insurance will cost them before they’re willing to sign up and some dealers may never see them again. Well, this lets the dealer say, “hang on it will cost you about X” and hopefully help them seal the deal.’

If customers do go on to buy the insurance you’ll receive a commission cheque in the post as a thank you. Many dealers are already using the service and even manufacturers too.

‘It’s great for data capture,’ adds Hill. ‘Dealers can see all the information the customer puts into the insurance quote so they can use that for marketing if they fancy at a later date.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

Don’t let your prospects slip through the net!

Manheim Lead Management Britain’s Favourite Sales Lead Management System � � � � �

Delivering for over 1,500 UK franchised dealers Transforming the traditional sales process Ensuring your customer data pool works harder for you Netting better leads to increase profitability Improving sales performance management

Simple, intuitive and logical interface.

Call 0844 818 8160

www.manheimleadmanagement.co.uk ManheimRetailServices

@manheimretail

focus on.

lead generation What’s inside?

Welcome T

he way dealers sell cars has changed hugely over the last few years. There you were happy with advertising in the local paper – even branching out to specialist magazines and publications once in a while.

For most of the time, Joe Public was happy too. He knew where to find you. But then along came the internet and Joe’s expectations rose. Now he expects his dealer to be able to offer all of their stock online with attractive pictures and official data of the car, the ability to phone you and expect to get followed-up, and even to chat to you on social media and live online.

So the art of lead generation has perhaps never been so important.

Spending money on putting those leads out there is one thing, but knowing how successful they’re doing, how visible they are, and knowing if it was worth spending money on, is crucial data dealers need to know.

That’s not to mention the importance of managing those leads.

What do you do if a customer phones your dealership asking for a silver, 04-reg Fiesta Ghia and you don’t have one in stock. Do you say, ‘Sorry, we don’t have it luv,’ or do you say, ‘We sell a lot of those, but we don’t currently have one. When I do get one, I will let you know straightaway.’

It’s probably the latter. It’s not just enquires, though. Once you’ve spent all of your marketing budget on generating leads, the last thing you need is for one of your sloppy new sales execs to lose it for you.

By investing in training, this can be avoided.

How do you go about doing this? Well, by using companies and products that specialise in helping you make more money by using lead generation and lead management effectively.

That’s why Car Dealer has been chatting to some of the best providers of these services, to help you make more money. Here’s what they’ve got to offer...

Manheim

How embracing multimedia platforms can expand your sales

P62

Motors.co.uk

P65 The magic formula for creating the perfect car advert

AutoExposure

P67

VoiceSafe

P69

Douglas Stafford

P70

Dealerweb

P71

Contact Advantage

P73

Tips and advice to maximise the potential of your website

Making the most of telephone sales leads

How to track down lost leads and translate them into sales

Why a good enquiry management system is essential

The secrets of tracking down and keeping great sales leads

Askaprice.com

P75

How manually qualified leads can boost your sales

James Batchelor Staff writer CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61

focus on.

lead generation manheim

Focus on the details W: manheimretailservices.co.uk T: 01625 300304

w

ith consumers using the internet to find and purchase their next car more and more, the way dealers generate leads online is more important than ever. That’s not to mention how important it is for dealers to manage those leads.

But, how do you do this? As Europe’s largest provider of solutions specifically tailored to the art of lead generation and management, Manheim Retail Services knows what it is talking about. Its solutions are known to improve footfall, drive sales and, perhaps more importantly, get customers to keep coming back.

‘Once your customers arrive at a dealer’s website, they want to be engaged, interested and informed,’ says Manheim Retail Services’ sales director Neil Packham. ‘Through a combination of creativity and usability, websites can be intuitive and visually stimulating, with easy navigation to guide customers to the information they want.

Getting this balance right will increase the prospect

of a passing visitor becoming a potential customer, generating more pre-qualified sales leads.’

The websites that are the most effective are the ones that involve and showcase professional photography. A set of quality imagery ranging from shots of the outside of the car, interior shots through to images showing the car’s wheels can drive sales. Meanwhile, in dealerships, easily available high quality point of sale material to give to customers as something to take away, can really improve the likelihood of customers returning to the showroom floor.

It’s about getting the basics right. Some of Manheim’s tips are very straightforward, but they are known to work. ‘Simply having a really good looking and informative website is not good enough these days,’ explains Packham. ‘The site needs to be easy to use and optimised to achieve high rankings within all major search engines.

Today, more than 90 per cent of consumers are using the internet to research their next vehicle

purchase. To ensure that consumers find a dealer’s website, rather than the competition, it is essential that a dealer’s site appears in the most prominent positions on all the major search engines such as Google and Yahoo.’

Appearing higher up the first page of Google, for example, can be made by optimising a website for search engines optimisation. A well-designed and structured website helps this, but the most effective tip is to keep it updated often. Regular updates will help a dealer’s website appear high up the search results but, with a template-based site, dealers may find it more difficult to update as regularly as with a bespoke website.

‘However, there are a number of simple and low cost actions that dealers can take to help improve the chance of their site appearing high up in the searches on all the major search engines,’ says Packham.

Firstly, keywords describing a dealer’s site need to be defined. For example, around 10 words that best

‘‘

Dealers should build links using web directories, blogs, reviews and other linking methods.

Embrace social sharing such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

‘‘

62 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

describe the area the dealer trades in and the stock they deal should be selected. ‘Try to put yourself into the mind of the customer – what would they be searching for to find you?’ says Packham.

Secondly, dealers should also be making the most of free tools. Google Analytics tools provide insightful data about your site and what you are doing to help your rankings.

Choosing a good domain name is Packham’s third top tip. Dealers should be using keywords because search engines will recognise what their site is about and will rank it appropriately.

Fourthly, for SEO, dealers should be including keywords relevant to their business in the titles on each page of their website, especially the homepage. Writing keyword-rich content will allow search engines to find out what the dealer’s website is about which, in turn, will support a high page rating.

‘Lastly,’ says Packham, ‘spread the word!

Dealers should build links using web directories, blogs, reviews and other linking methods.

Embrace social sharing such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

‘Following these simple tips will have your website climbing the search engine ranks, and combined with other techniques, will ensure a top ranking position,’ says Packham.

These tips are all fine for generating leads, but what about managing them? Manheim’s lead management system is the solution – formerly known as eGoodManners, the Manheim system is widely used and trusted by many franchised dealers and dealer groups across the country.

‘Dealers recommend it because it works,’ explains Packham. ‘Our software solution comfortably fits beside the marketing of used car stock, as it systematically organises and manages sales leads generated by new and existing customer enquiries.

‘By capturing all the essential customer information from the initial contact and with a built-in customer enquiry form to retain information such as present car, vehicle of interest and their change cycle, the system automatically ensures that all potential customers are followed up effectively, increasing test drive ratios, and ultimately sales.’

Manheim’s Lead Management builds the best finance deals, too. Called ‘Deal Stacker’, the system allows dealers to work out the figures based on their budget, while the call recording

telephony feature gives dealers the technology to monitor the telephone effectiveness of their staff.

‘However, these steps and technologies are just the foundations for lead generation,’ adds Packham. ‘There is so much more to come.

The use of new technologies and channels of communication will deliver advanced marketing tools to get dealers’ showrooms in front of prospective customers.’

Mobile marketing and social media marketing are the logical next steps to tap into a market that wants readily available information 24/7. ‘Dealer websites optimised for mobile use make sure the mobile

experience is a positive one. Mobile is the most widely used technology; consumers are searching online, reading the news and social networking.

‘Social media is online word-of-mouth, giving consumers a place to voice their opinions which counts when it comes to purchasing cars. Research has shown that 54 per cent of consumers in the UK look for user-generated content on dealer and brand websites.

‘But you have to be in it to win it and those dealers that are early to adopt these new communications channels and technologies are the ones that have already started reaping the benefits.’ > CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63

You want to sell a second-hand car At Motors.co.uk we’re doing all we can to help you sell your cars – like reaching 1.6 million* people with your stock every month and freezing our advertising prices until 2012.

And you want your to ring with enquiries. Well, with Motors.co.uk being promoted in the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Metro and over 200 regional newspapers, as well as online with Parkers, Honest John, Desperate Seller and Teletext Cars, you’re sure to get some interest.

To advertise your stock, call us on 0845 265 6000, or email sales@motors.co.uk

Your search ends here. *comScore Jan 11

focus on.

lead generation motors.co.uk

Get the basics right W: Motors.co.uk T: 0845 265 6000

T

hese days, there’s a multitude of different ways dealers can advertise and market their stock to generate those precious leads everyone craves.

From the good old free ads section in the local paper, to the infinite possibilities with that thing called the internet – there’s not one way of selling cars any more.

‘The internet has grown inexorably over the last few years, and will continue to grow at an impressive rate,’ says Phill Jones, Motors.co.uk’s commercial director.

Now is the time for dealers to embrace the internet as fearlessly as possible – and one way of doing this is by using advertising portals on the internet.

‘The advantage of an advertising portal is that it has a mixture of stock on there, so users are going on there because they want to see different types of cars,’ explains Jones. ‘There’s no denying that there is a market and a need for a dealer’s own individual website, but a portal exists because people want choice and this is exactly what

portals offer. A portal can also generate enormous economies of scale, by taking the money from dealers and investing that in marketing.’

Advertising portals like Motors.co.uk couldn’t be simpler to use. Not only is the website incredibly fetching for customers to look at and search on, but the portal can increase dealers’ sales significantly. But it’s the way you use it which makes the difference.

Jones says: ‘The simple rules for dealers are make sure you have photos of your stock. The biggest reason for poor response of a car is no photo, and the second biggest reason is a poor quality photo.

‘There’s simple things dealers can do to take a good photo. Park the car in front of something pretty; take it on a sunny day; and take a photo of the interior and of the tyres. Dealers should be taking as many photos as they can in the time available to them – nine to 10 high-res images is a good average.

Jones’ second piece of advice is pricing: ‘Dealers should be using portals in the same way consumers are doing by making sure their stock is priced properly. Dealers should not only be using CAP and Glass’s valuations, but also comparing their stock with other dealers both locally and nationally.’

As with most things, there’s always another side to the coin. It’s not all only the practice of capturing leads that dealers should be concentrating on, but knowing where the leads have come from is just as important.

‘If dealers don’t know where the leads are coming from, then dealers are spending blindly on marketing and that is a waste,’ says Jones.

‘We feel that dealers should have a mix – this can be different portals, the dealer’s own website, Google Ads, and local press.

‘But dealers need to know where their leads have come from and the great thing about portals is that they show the number of phone calls, and the number of

Tips to make a good advert • Photos Good quality images, and plenty of them – 10 is a good average.

• Price Check both valuation guides and other dealers to get the best estimate.

• Data Upload data about the vehicle – for example CAP data. If you’re a specialist dealer, it is worth adding on the car’s extras and options to the advert.

• Text Ads shouldn’t be ‘sales-y’ – it puts buyers off. Simple descriptions including the car’s data means customers won’t feel as though they are trying to be ‘sold’ the car.

clicks, and emails their stock has had.’

Motors.co.uk’s software will report back to the dealer on how many times their cars appeared in search listings, how many times it has been looked at, how many times a customer has printed the details, and how many times a customer has called. And the advantage of this?

‘The dealer then knows how much they spent on advertising – “I got this number of phone calls, and each call was worth this much to me”,’ says Jones.

However, one of the best tips Jones can give to dealers is call tracking software. ‘There’s many products – including ours – available where a dealer buys a bank of telephone numbers and then they place each number on a different form of advertising. The software will then automatically aggregate how many phone calls each number received.

‘Investing in marketing is the right thing to do. More and more customers are becoming savvy – they do their research and they know exactly want they want to buy when they enter a dealership. Customers are more confident and it makes the buying process more likely to happen, and by investing in marketing, customers will come to your showroom just to touch the car and perhaps buy it.’ >

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65

Your one-stop shop for digital marketing solutions

To boost your dealershipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online presence

0845 265 6000

call or email enquiries@autoexposure.co.uk

focus on.

lead generation AutoExposure

Spreading the word W: autoexposure.co.uk T: 0845 265 6000

w

ith most leads being generated online these days it’s easy to get confused about where you should spend your money. Portals, social media, SEO, video – it can all cost cash, but are you focussing on the basics?

‘A dealer’s website is of paramount importance, and the strapline of AutoExposure “your showroom online” shows this,’ says AutoExposure’s sales manager Robert SudworthJones. ‘In this digital age, a dealer’s website is the only window a lot of dealers have got into the digital world. A dealer’s website is their shop window for customers and is how they are perceived in terms of their choice of stock and the way their business is presented.’

Within the last few years, the opportunities for dealers to maximise their online presence with their own websites has grown hugely.

‘There was a time when manufacturers had a hang-up about what their dealers’ websites looked like, but now dealers can be a little bit more independent,’ explains Sudworth-Jones.

‘Manufacturers don’t dictate so much to their dealers anymore, allowing dealers to put their own mark and their own message on their sites. The scope to build a website with more interaction with features such as customer management tools, the ability to put photos and adverts, and integrate it with social media is huge.’

This is what AutoExposure can do for dealers.

It can build a website for a dealer that has all the features consumers expect from dealers these days. Its sites come with search engine

optimisation, a content management system allowing dealers to update their site whenever they like, a tracked phone number, and independent web stats. AutoExposure can also link your site up with Facebook, transform photos of your stock, and add finance tools.

We asked Sudworth-Jones on the best tips to generate the most number of leads from their website. ‘Dealers should be getting into free tools like Google Analytics because it shows the customer experience – what they were looking at and for how long for.’

Dealers need to understand search engine optimisation too. ‘Investigate Google Places – this is key,’ says Sudworth-Jones. ‘For example, if you are a used car dealer in Bristol, make sure you are known for being a dealer selling used cars in Bristol, not for being known just as a used car dealer in the UK – you will get lost in search engines, otherwise.

‘If a dealer has been established for 50 years, this should be part of their keywords on search engines. It’s all about making your dealership unique on SEO – this will drive people to your site.’

Surely this takes a lot of time? It does, admits Sudworth-Jones, but it’s worth it. He adds: ‘Dealers should be spending as much time as they can on their site. Even if it’s a case of tweaking it, uploading a few images and offers. This will keep the site looking fresh and enjoyable for a customer to use.’

Dealers should also be spending around 40 per cent of their marketing mix on their websites, believes Sudworth-Jones.

Tips to improve your online service • Your website is your shop window online – so invest time in keeping it looking fresh and appealing. Do this by changing pictures and special offers in banners.

• Use free tools like Google Analytics to understand what your customers are looking at and for how long for.

• Investigate Google Places – be known as a dealer in YOUR area, not in the UK. • Use social media and your own email database professionally. Communicate special offers to customers, and direct them back to your website.

‘Dealers should be spending as much time and money on their websites as they would on any other form of marketing. I think dealers should be spending no less than 40 per cent of their marketing budgets on their website.’

And those two words crop up again: social media. ‘We are finding that more and more of our customers are asking for social media integration on their websites – and we can easily provide this. Also, more dealers are setting up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts by themselves, because they realise that it is important.

‘Think of a Facebook page as another website – another showroom for your brand,’ he explains.

But some dealers are doing this badly, says Sudworth-Jones. Like any other form of marketing, dealers need to invest time and effort into it. The wrong use of language can ruin a Facebook page – keep it professional. ‘We interviewed 1,000 people and 37 per cent said they used social media as part of their car buying process – this is a captive audience that dealers should be talking to.’

And for that extra something to make a dealer’s website really impressive? ‘It’s called Walk on Video,’ says Sudworth-Jones. ‘On the homepage of your website, a presenter can walk out of the screen and then talk to the user explaining the site. This is excellent because it makes the customer feel as though they are unique to a dealer’s site.’ > CarDealerMag.co.uk | 67

The phone is your friend Make the most of your business telephone communication by using VoiceSafe, our intelligent call-recording product. VoiceSafe provides you with powerful tools to understand and optimise business performance.

Monitor your sales teams and receptionists to improve their performance and enhance their training.

To find out how VoiceSafe can deliver significant improvements to your business, call us on 0845 124 5100 or email enquiries@c-a-solutions.co.uk

VoiceSafe Intelligent Call Recording

Maximise your business performance with Closeit â&#x201E;˘

Reception Manager

Our powerful CRM system, Closeit, optimises sales effectiveness and helps you to build valuable relationships with customers. The tools provide immediate insights into your dealership, producing reports that are easy to use and understand.

To find out how Closeit can deliver significant improvements to your business, call us on 0845 124 5100 or email enquiries@c-a-solutions.co.uk

focus on.

lead generation voicesafe

Calling the shots W: voicesafe.co.uk T: 0845 124 5100

w

‘‘

70 per cent of sales come from telephone calls, which is exactly why you must handle them properly. They can be anything from a wiper blade sale to a new car.

‘‘

ith the internet being so significant in selling cars these days, it’s very easy to overlook the importance of the good old telephone. Dealers should remember that not all customers have access to the web, and a lot of them do not want to enquire about a car by sending an email. But just as it’s easy to generate leads on the phone it’s just as easy to lose them…

‘Phone calls are very important for dealers in terms of leads,’ says Mark Hampson, commercial director for Complete Automotive Solutions. ‘70 per cent of sales come from telephone calls, which is exactly why you must handle them properly.

They can be anything from a wiper blade sale to a new car. We see too many examples of customers phoning on a telephone number asking whether the car is in stock and the dealer says no, and that is the end of the conversation.’

Not being able to give the customer the right information on the telephone is a big mistake and must be avoided. When you have spent a great deal of money on advertising and getting those leads in, the last thing you need is for one of your sales executives to lose it.

This is how VoiceSafe can help. It is a telephone recording system which allows dealers to monitor and act upon telephone enquiries. Calls to the dealership are recorded, allowing the manager to listen to them at anytime, and then ensure their staff are serving the customer in a satisfactory way. But, more importantly, with VoiceSafe, the manager knows what deals are currently being negotiated.

‘Let me give you an example,’ says Hampson. ‘As soon as a call or lead comes into the dealership, the receptionist emails the call directly to a sales manager so that they make sure that a sales executive deals with it as quickly as possible, and as effectively as possible. So the manger can listen in on both the original enquiry and the sales executive dealing with the enquiry.’

VoiceSafe has a track history of helping dealerships ‘tally up’ their figures, too. ‘We’ve helped many dealerships where they were losing money before they started to use this software,’ says Hampson. ‘Recently we had conversations with a major dealer group to look at the enquires made coming into the business and calls going out of the dealership.

‘They found that the number of cars sold didn’t relate to the number of enquires or outbound prospective calls that should have been made, and that the calls which were made weren’t effective,’ Hampson says.

This is only one example of how VoiceSafe can pay for itself. By knowing the number of cars you have sold and the ones you could have sold, will put you in a much better position.

That’s not to mention the staff being ‘healthier’ either. Call it the ‘big brother’ effect, but dealer principals have told VoiceSafe that since using their system, their salesmen do their job better when they know that their calls are being recorded and monitored.

But, surely the big brother treatment could offend sales executives? ‘Well, the way I always put it across,’ says Hampson, ‘is, rather than using VoiceSafe as a managing tool, open it up to all

dealership staff. The beauty of the VoiceSafe system is that it can be opened up to all staff so they can see how they are performing and up their game, and it is then perceived as a tool to help with their jobs.’

VoiceSafe can also be an effective dispute-solving tool. Ever found a customer saying you promised something which you remember you didn’t? Due to VoiceSafe recording calls, the system can be used to clarify a deal and avoid unpleasant disputes. By doing this, you will have both happy customers and a healthy bank balance. > CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

focus on.

Finance douglas stafford

Find lost buyers W: douglasstafford.co.uk T: 02392 830 011 / 0800 783 1913

B

ack in the old days, once a customer had walked out of your showroom, they had probably disappeared forever. But it needn’t be like that any more. Now there are systems available that can prevent this.

One such provider is the performance improvement experts Douglas Stafford. The firm offers a scheme that helps dealerships reconnect with hot prospects who didn’t actually buy.

The company’s Lost Leads Initiative helps dealerships ensure that every sales opportunity is followed-up effectively and, although the emphasis of the scheme is focused on trying to re-initiate a sale, it also provides an analysis of the reasons why a customer didn’t buy – a vital tool in helping to close a sale next time.

A typical dealership may get about 40-50 potential customer enquiries each week, but figures suggest that just onein-four people will make a purchase – so finding out the reasons why the other 75 per cent didn’t buy is crucial to increasing sales.

It might have been down

70 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

to vehicle price or part exchange valuation or it could have been because of the experience the potential customer had at the dealership.

Knowing the reason gives dealerships a way of reopening negotiations or at least having the chance to get it right next time.

‘Dealerships have all the best intentions when it comes to following up on lost sales,’ says Douglas Stafford’s contact centre manager Madelaine Cook.

‘After all, they’ve invested time with a customer and it makes sense to follow them up.

‘Our experienced customer service advisors will contact a dealership’s lost sale customers and try and get them back into the showroom. We

find out why they didn’t purchase and if they are still in the market.

‘Our advisors will find out what the customer would like the dealership to do to get them to come back and look at the vehicle again. This could, for example, be something like giving them a better deal on a new vehicle or a higher price for their part exchange.

‘Obviously we’ll do our best to get customers back into the dealership in order to increase sales, but there’s also an important customer services improvement element to this initiative. So if we contact someone who went into a dealership last week, didn’t buy and then ended up buying somewhere else then we would try and find out why that was.’

The firm will ask questions like how customers felt about the level of service they received, if they were offered a test drive, were they followed up, what were the reasons for them not buying and have they purchased elsewhere and, if so, why?

‘At the very least, we will find out some vital information so that a dealership’s management team can adapt its sales processes to give them a better chance of increasing sales,’ says Cook.

‘So much information can be gained from this type of lost sale analysis and, of course, there is a high likelihood that it will result in customers returning to buy – and if they do, sales staff will be equipped by us with the sort of information they need to know in order to be able to close the sale.’

The majority of the charges for Douglas Stafford’s initiative are performance related so it provides dealerships with a much needed, cost effective, extra resource to increase sales.

The scheme complements the company’s hugely successful Showroom Appointment Initiative, which is producing excellent results for the dealerships currently participating and bringing in one sale for every four appointments made by Douglas Stafford’s contact centre team.

dealerweb

Question time?

W: dealerweb.8tech.co.uk T: 0845 003 0088

R

esearch shows that while dealers spend significant budget on sales and marketing campaigns to drive more opportunities through the showroom door, many dealers fail to take maximum advantage of the opportunity that each lead presents. Why? Because they do not have an effective enquiry management system in place.

If this is you, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not alone. Dealerweb estimates that up to 70 per cent of sales leads are wasted, with one of the most common mistakes made by dealers being not adopting an effective enquiry management system, and in particular, ensuring that telephone and web enquiries are recorded and followed up appropriately.

Dealers spend considerable amounts of money

on advertising and websites, therefore they need to know whether this is driving additional leads and whether these leads are being converted into sales. Without an effective enquiry management system, a dealer cannot quantify sales process and marketing effectiveness.

This is how Dealerweb can help. Once a lead has been generated, their effective enquiry management system measures KPIs within the sales process, ensuring that every opportunity is being maximised, while ensuring sales process weaknesses are identified and acted upon.

The system also monitors and manages sales executivesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance. After all, if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t measure it, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fix it.

One dealer who has seen the benefits of using

Dealerweb is Hyundai Manchester.

Dealer principal Nathan Harrop-Davies has been using the system for two years: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dealerweb enables us to keep in regular contact with the customer and keep an electronic record of everything we have said and done by using the useful marketing element of the software including letters and texts. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The reporting side is very easy to use and enables us to drill down comprehensively to find out a wealth of information within a few clicks. All round this system provides all the information needed to run a successful and busy sales department and is a great tool for marketing and follow ups. No sales department should be without Dealerweb.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; >

WorkshopPro

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All the information is already there.

We just know where it is.

Experience the Contact Advantage effect.

Knowledge really is power and with Contact Advantage’s range of proven Dealer Showroom Management software modules, you’ll have the ability to know what your customers want, where they are and what’s more, how to reach them.

It’s these valuable insights that help companies become more competitive, more efficient and ultimately more profitable.

Many leading automotive dealer groups and manufacturers are already benefiting from our tried and tested software systems, all with the reassuring backing of our industry leading 24 hour support facility.

We help them maximise their marketing and create more efficient and motivated sales teams. In addition, our stock management and financial modules are also designed to improve and enhance efficiencies and profitability.

And now with the launch of our new 7.0 version, the potential benefits to your company are now even greater.

So if you want to be the company you know you can be, find out how at www.contact-advantage.com or call Steve Russell now on 08452 262650.

www.contact-advantage.com

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focus on.

lead generation contact advantage

Leading by example W: contact-advantage.com T: 08452 262650

T

he process of generating leads is one thing, but managing them is quite another. Losing a lead is quite possibly one of the easiest mistakes a dealer can make. Helpfully, though, there is one company that can assist.

Contact Advantage is a specialist in the art of lead management. Established 10 years ago, the company’s CA:Automotive management tool was launched in 2003 and has become one of the best.

‘It was our customers, impressed with our service, who really spread the message by word of mouth for us,’ says Contact Advantage’s managing director Derek McGowan. ‘We came into the industry in 2003 realising there was a market in electronic showroom tools, and along with e-Goodmanners, we were one of the earliest companies to encourage dealers to change from a paper-based system to an electronic one.’

So what do does Contact Advantage specialise

in? ‘Everything concerning lead capture and management,’ says McGowan. ‘From telephone calls, to enquires through dealers’ websites, it’s all about driving the follow-up process.

CA:Automotive helps dealers to contact customers in the most professional and effective manner, improving sales performances by ensuring prospects are identified, and ultimately helping dealer’s bottom lines.’

The system is also automated and can show dealers the next step in the sales process. For example, if a customer has booked a test drive, the system will automatically send out a text message to the customer reminding them of the booking.

‘Having automation in the system makes sense,’ says McGowan, ‘because you only need one of your sales people to forget, and then that customer is unhappy. Automatic features prevent this from happening. With the current system we have tried our hardest to ensure that at every level of customer interaction is driven to completion.’

CA:Automotive is especially good at translating manufacturer deals. Often a manufacturer throws in a free tank of fuel to a new car or a zero per cent finance deal, but keeping track of these offers can be hard.

But the beauty of Contact Advantage’s system is how flexible it is. Its system and products can be tailor-made to suit any size or scale of dealership.

‘We supply our system to one dealership which has two members of staff, right to up to dealer groups such as Listers.’

Contact Advanatge has always been at the forefront of new technology. This year will see the seventh evolution of the system. ‘With Version 7.0 we have worked hard on making the system look good. We have always been told our system is easy to use – which is great – but it looks too simple. So this year we have made the system look more attractive while still keeping the simple functionality,’ says McGowan.

‘The system also improves on the ability to catch customer information as quickly as possible – we’re introducing QR codes so dealers can now use a silent salesman which is all about customers taking information about cars home with them. The QR code is linked to the dealer’s website thereby improving lead generation.

‘Version 7.0 will also see our system being compatible on tablet PCs and any smartphone.

This is providing the customer with real-time information – sales people can even bring up the car order form on their table PC while they are out on the test drive, press print, and it’s there waiting on the salesperson’s desk when they return from the test drive.’

With Version 7.0, McGowan and his team plan to sign more manufacturers up to use it. Nissan and Suzuki already appreciate the benefits CA:Automotive bring to their dealership networks. ‘We also plan to increase our share of the independent and franchise dealership networks – we are focused on helping dealers,’ added McGowan. >

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 73

focus on.

lead generation askaprice

Picking a winner W: askaprice.com T: 0844 445 7862 e know customers are searching for their cars online – the tricky part for dealers is bringing those online shoppers onto forecourts. Fortunately there is one company which can help – Askaprice.com.

Launched almost 10 years ago, Askaprice.com understands the need for high quality, manually qualified leads. Thousands of car buyers arrive at the consumer facing automotive website every day, but only then does the hard work begin.

‘Every lead generated by Askaprice.com is manually qualified over the telephone by a member of the qualification team. This ensures only genuine car buyers are distributed to dealerships,’ says Askaprice.com’s head of sales Adam Leys. But why are Askaprice.com leads a higher quality than competitors?

For one, they’re thorough and detailed. A fully qualified Askaprice.com lead will include relevant information about the car buyer, the vehicle they are looking to purchase and the preferred method of payment. The result of the extensive factchecking process is an average conversion rate for partners in excess of 10 per cent.

‘We speak to every lead before distributing them to our partners. Our fully qualified lead documents break down all the information a dealer will need to meet a

customer’s exact specifications,’ says Leys. ‘What’s more, if a lead is returned because it doesn’t meet the exact criteria within four hours of being sent, Askaprice.com’s quality promise means a replacement lead is offered free of charge.’

Full account management is included in the service, allowing partners to specify exactly what leads they would like delivered to them. To do this Askaprice.com uses a targeted approach for its partners. If a partner wants leads from a certain area, based on a vehicle, manufacturer, purchase type or even model, Askaprice.com can provide this for them.

The benefits of using bespoke leads are obvious.

Leys adds: ‘More and more people are researching their next car purchase online. We can identify which customers want to buy a car immediately, and distribute the leads based on exact criteria specified by our partners.

‘We provide a content based platform that delivers genuine car buyers to dealerships for the lowest possible cost. Using our manually qualified leads brings genuine customers into showrooms,’ explains Leys.

However, once the leads are sent out, Askaprice. com has systems in place to ensure dealerships have all the information needed to deliver the very best customer service.

‘‘

Every lead generated

by Askaprice.com is manually qualified over the telephone by a member of the qualification team.

This ensures only genuine car buyers are distributed to dealerships.

‘‘

w

Once the leads are sent to the dealership, Askaprice.com’s LeadTracker software automatically shows the time and date that every lead is contacted in relation to when the lead was generated, as well as the length of calls.

All calls are recorded, helping dealers understand how their sales teams deal with the leads. This allows dealers to cut wastage, improve the efficiency of a sales team, and above all else, increase sales.

Askaprice.com’s experience of generating leads online means it can provide dealerships with test drive and brochure leads as well as the chance to advertise to tens of thousands of customers visiting the website via banner advertising.

High quality leads result in sales. Askaprice. com provides a service that focuses only on these high quality leads by using a unique manual qualification system and as a result, dealerships can expect a steady flow of genuine car buyers. [CD] CarDealerMag.co.uk | 75

Datafile CONTENTS.

Right click 77 Auctions 78 Net Gains 79 The Statistics 80 SMMT sales figures 81

Suppliers guide 82 Trader directory 84 Shares 86 Jobs 88 Sub-Prime Time 90

Advice n Data n Analysis n Facts n Figures n Comment

Motoring.co.uk’s new look New partners sign up as sales portal’s success continues to bloom

T

his year has started well for Motoring.co.uk. In February the company unveiled its brand-new website boasting new functionality including three channels – a buying channel, a research channel, and a valuation data channel – an intuitive search facility allowing visitors to search for new cars by body shape, engine size, MPG and more, and a new four-car comparison tool which can save and send users’ shortlist to friends on Facebook. In short, the guys have been working hard.

In April the website announced a new partnership with What Car? Magazine. The partnership will see a new section created on Motoring.co.uk in the coming weeks which will allow WhatCar.com’s reviews to be featured with thousands of offers from dealers and manufacturers who already work with Motoring.co.uk.

Meanwhile, revenue is up by more than 20 per cent and the new site is attracting more than 700,000 unique visitors. That figure even beats Motoring.co.uk’s own target of a respectable 450,000 unique visitors a month, and exceeds Auto Trader’s new car site traffic of 600,000.

Motoring.co.uk is now generating more than 1,500 car valuations per day. Its consumer automotive database is growing at more than 50,000 records per month and now consists of 700,000 opted in users, and is forecast to treble in the coming months.

With the business doing so well, Car Dealer grabbed the chance to speak to co-founder and sales director Chris Green.

Why the redesign?

Our aim is to be the number one destination for new cars serving the consumer, the dealer and the 76 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

manufacturer. Motoring.co.uk is now much more new car focused with a new research section allowing consumers to use comparison tools as well as being able to value their car in our new valuation channel.

What were the major changes?

Mainly they were to enhance tools on the site for the consumer to use, making us much more interactive and allowing us to capture much more automotive data. This is resulting in very powerful lead generation for all our dealer and manufacturer partners.

Dealers are crying out for alternatives to the mainstream portals, what makes your’s different?

That’s a good question. Well, we were the first, without doubt, to implement a complete pay on results service. This means you can advertise your new and used cars for free and only pay for a result – whether it be a click through to your own website, or for an actual qualified lead meaning you can measure your return-on-investment completely. We also do not allow broker advertising on our new car searches making us a trusted site for consumers and a trusted dealer partner.

You’ve just signed a big deal with

What Car – how will that benefit dealers?

There is potentially a lot more to this partnership and dealers and manufacturers should watch this space. But, initially, Motoring.co.uk will be powering the new What Car? website and its new car search along with nearly new cars as well.

This means that any franchised dealers that advertise new cars, pre-registered cars, offers or nearly new cars (cars up to 12 months old or 10,000 miles) on Motoring.co.uk will also be listed on the What Car? website at no extra cost and will still be complete pay on results.

What makes you a compelling proposition for dealers to use now?

• Pay on results • No Brokers • What Car? partnership • 700,000 opted in users • And we care!

RIGHT CLICK.

..in association with GForces

Twitter ye not?

It’s time you did!

GForces’ Tim Smith says consumers are the driving force behind social commerce and car dealers have much to gain

H

ave you ever seen iPhone users trying to use a Blackberry? No? Well, that may be because – a) it’s forbidden; b) it resembles something quite similar to a three-year- old trying to solve Rubik’s cube; and c) Apple has brainwashed them into only being able to use their products.

Joking aside, it can sometimes be difficult to use new tools and technologies. However, when it comes to social media and using the internet, it is becoming second nature. Dealers are finally getting the hang of Twitter and Facebook, managing their profiles and learning how to advertise through these. With the basics grasped, a new trend is emerging: the ability to make money through these social networks, known in the industry as social commerce.

Predictions are being made that more business will be done on Facebook than Amazon over the next five years and 10 to 15 per cent of total consumer spending in developed countries may go through sites such as Facebook. A growing number of money-saving sites are springing up all over the internet with sales and slashed prices being their primary focus.

Sites such as Voucher Cloud, Groupon and

Car Dealer sold a Mazda MX-5 using the power of Twitter... now dealers are doing the same

LivingSocial, to name but a few, are all targeting the growing audience of discount shoppers.

Other companies are using Facebook as a direct sales channel to sell their wares. For example, Mazda managed to move 100 Mazda MX-5s in under two weeks through Facebook Deals.

Even this magazine managed to sell one of its charity 911 for 2011 cars via Twitter in a matter of minutes!

We live in an era of ‘lowest price’ consumerism.

Consumers won’t buy a product unless they feel they’ve got a great deal on it. In addition, they expect a reward for spreading the word. One of the fastest growing online companies, Groupon, is the market leader in coupon marketing, bringing sellers and buyers together to provide cut-price products and services. Demand is fuelled by email and social websites like Twitter and Facebook so the huge take-up of this channel is unsurprising. Customers are encouraged to share offers with their friends and are rewarded with £6 for every recommended friend that purchases an offer.

However, the UK automotive market has been largely untested in this instance. Groupon has

mostly been used to sell discounts on services, MOTs and valeting products. Dealers are seeing an increase of more than 70 per cent when offering these deals at a discounted rate.

Peoples Cars Liverpool ran a deal for a 54-point service including cabin and oil filter change for £49 instead of £135. It sold 537 vouchers.

However, despite this new-found ability and interest, dealers are not managing the influx of new customers effectively and the small print can confuse customers. For smaller dealers, tapping your offer to a minimum of vouchers and offering deals on ‘labour-less’ incentives will prove more cost-effective for your business.

Discount shopping in today’s high-inflation/ reduced-income environment means customers are looking for ways to make money stretch further, and are searching online for bargains.

With this growing demand for discount shopping, it’s important dealers have an infrastructure in place to deal with this higher volume of business. This is the one instance where consumers drive the technology and dealers should be jumping onboard this growing trend.

‘Consumers won’t buy a product unless they’ve got a great deal on it’

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auctions.

Free checks for Porsches bit.ly/PorscheChecks

Henstock

auction stations

Can older cars provide a route to retail success?

T

here are some worrying signs in the wider used car market at the minute.

Much of this stems from a lack of consumer confidence in the retail sector, which manifests itself in the used car wholesale markets.

The overall economic picture remains gloomy and consumers are being careful and pragmatic with their purchasing decisions. This impacts on demand in the used car arena. There’s little to suggest that there are going to be any large spikes in retail demand between now and the autumn.

However, anecdotal feedback from our dealer customers suggests that the budget sector remains relatively buoyant, with the sub-£3,000 price bracket providing steady demand at retail. With plentiful supplies of ‘older, good-value’ cars about, is it time to look at the retail stock profile and reflect that availability a little more?

Older, cheaper cars can attract younger buyers – who might come back when they have more to spend – and second car buyers, maybe looking for a reliable family runabout.

It could mean a more complete forecourt offering that actually reflects the expectations of the local marketplace. Of course, presenting older cars for retail needs to be sympathetically done, so they do not dilute the existing brand values.

It might be appropriate to corral them together in a ‘cheap ‘n’ cheerful’ section, or have a ‘bargain of the week’ front and centre.

Whatever works the best... certainly it may be worth differentiating between the ‘cheapies’ and the regular, premium stock of younger used cars.

Of course, this isn’t rocket science and dealers have been nibbling away at the volumes of older cars traditionally sold privately for a number of years.

By keeping the price competitive and the churn high on these older cars, this could prove to be a useful extension to the existing business.

And in this ‘cost-cutting’ economy, surely any opportunities are worth exploring.

‘Consumers are being careful and pragmatic with their purchasing decisions.’

Who is Simon Henstock?

Simon is UK network operations director for BCA. Visit british-car-auctions.co.uk or call 0845 600 6644.

78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Online channel easier to use and busier too Figures for the first quarter of 2011 show more than 450,000 bids were made using Live Online

B

CA has released details of impressive sales volumes for its Live Online sales channel for the first quarter of 2011.

In that period, 477,000 bids were made on Live Online – an 18 per cent increase year-on-year and 28,500 vehicles were sold using online bidders – a 9.2 per cent increase year-on-year.

The lowest-priced vehicle sold online by BCA in the first three months of the year was a Suzuki Swift, for just £125.

But, proving that online isn’t a barrier to higher-value vehicle sales, a Rolls Royce Phantom (below) sold online for £112k at the beginning of the year with nine other

Charity boost FORMER fleet cars flowed through Aston Barclay’s new auction centre, raising money for charity.

The newly-created twin-laned auction rooms are separated by sound-proofed glazing, designed to allow car buyers to effectively follow two sales simultaneously.

The proceeds from the sale were shared equally between BEN and Essex’s Farleigh Hospice.

Nigel Williams, commercial manager for BEN, said: ‘BEN is very pleased to be a beneficiary of the charity car auction held by Aston Barclay.’

vehicles going for more than £70k each.

Nearly 2,000 commercial vehicles were also sold to online bidders in quarter one – more than double the number sold in the same period in 2010. The results are partly because a new version of Live Online, launched in quarter one of 2011, makes the system easier to use.

A multitude of other improvements have also been added, including automatically updating sale information on the catalogue page and improved vehicle information display in the sale window.

BCA’s remarketing director D’Vidis Jacobs said: ‘In 2010 we saw online sales in the remarketing sector gain real traction to become an integral part of the sales programme for most volume sellers at BCA. And this trend has continued in the first three months of 2011.

‘The immense flexibility of our online channels means our customers can sell and buy used vehicles 24/7, 365 days a year, without incurring travelling costs or missing out on good deals because they couldn’t get to an auction in person.

‘Online is set to continue to grow in importance for stock acquisition, helping retail dealers maximise profit from their used vehicle business.’

Out of reach maybe, but still our favourite supercar THE Aston Martin DB9 has been voted Britain’s favourite supercar in a survey commissioned by Manheim Auctions.

The DB9 finished first, with the Audi R8 and Bugatti Veyron taking second and third places.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was fourth, followed by the Mercedes SLS AMG. But while the DB9 is the most coveted of all the supercars, it’s out of reach of most drivers with prices starting from a whopping £122,445 for a brand new one.

‘Synonymous with speed, style and glamour and already slipping into the ‘‘iconic’’ status, it’s little wonder it’s been voted favourite,’ said Craig Mailey, marketing director, Manheim Auctions.

NET GAINS.

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Power of instant feedback is now in your buyers’ hands

ing ces t e we rien ng t s er expe agi m sto t bad y dam u C ou ver ab be can

Martin Hill’s Net Gains column has a new, bigger home and this month he’s talking social chatter

L

ast month I read a book where the author spoke of being in an electrical store where a customer used his Facebook status to request recommendations on a Nintendo Wii game. He got feedback in real time, and used it to decide what to buy.

Similarly, one cosmetics company, disillusioned with the standard ‘focus group’ approach, asked their Twitter followers for feedback on a new range. The feedback received was not only faster than focus groups, but it was of a higher quality.

A recent survey (Spring 2010) found that 30 per cent of customers said that their buying decisions had been affected by social media, while six per cent admitted to being influenced by a friend’s Facebook status. By the time you read this, I am sure these figures will probably be even higher.

The thing is, people listen more closely to people that they care about than people they don’t know. They also talk with passion about things they feel strongly about – so if you receive bad service and food in a restaurant and they don’t put things right when you complain, then you can do something about it.

You could, for instance, register a lousy but honest review of the restaurant experience online, and tweet your followers to give the place a wide berth (which is exactly what my colleague

did when it recently happened to him). The power that the consumer has in this regard can be even more staggering when you consider that many of them have their smartphone with them at the time they wish to comment or listen, so the feedback can be virtually instantaneous.

I mention this in the context of the lead generation theme that is running through this issue. Too many businesses concentrate on attempting to generate leads through their website, only to have the hard work dashed because the lead isn’t followed up in a timely or efficient manner, or because an attempt has been made too early to turn the ‘web’ customer into a ‘showroom’ customer by trying to force a customer into a ‘showroom’ process.

Poor experiences such as these can lead to recommendations and postings to friends and colleagues to avoid dealing with a particular business. Collectively, these voices can have a tangible effect. I have found several websites

dedicated to criticising the customer experience at a particular dealership – including one site that ironically was ranked higher in Google than the dealer site it was referring to. Do you think any prospective customer would ignore the collective customer voice when it is in such close proximity to the dealer site? I don’t.

Remember that active and passive referrals can be made through social media platforms.

It is possible to achieve quick feedback on your advertising and marketing, as your engaging campaigns will get discussed and passed on, while the others are slated. Just be aware that these platforms for customers exist, and they can have a real effect on your business.

Who is Martin Hill?

Martin is commercial director at Codeweavers. Learn more about how he can help you at Codeweavers.net or call 0800 021 0888.

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DATA FILE.

Thestatistics Used Cars n Top 10 Searches n SMMT Sales Data

The most searched-for cars LAst month on..

Netcars.com 1 Ford Focus 2 Volkswagen Golf 3 Audi A3 4 Ford Fiesta 5 BMW 3 Series 6 Audi A4 7 Vauxhall Astra 8 Audi A1 9 Ford Mondeo 10 Land Rover Discovery

Motoring.co.uk 1 Ford Focus 2 Vauxhall Corsa 3 Ford Fiesta 4 Toyota Yaris 5 Volkswagen Golf 6 Skoda Yeti 7 Vauxhall Astra 8 BMW 3 Series 9 Jaguar XF 10 Mazda 2

ContractHireAndLeasing.com 1 Volkswagen Golf 2 Ford Focus 3 Audi A3 4 Ford Fiesta 5 Audi A5 6 Mercedes-Benz C Class 7 Audi A4 8 Vauxhall Astra 9 BMW 3 Series 10 Mercedes-Benz E Class 80 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Sales slump for 10th month in a row A

pril new car registrations fell 7.4 per cent. The SMMT says 137,746 units found homes – but it was the 10th successive decline in volumes.

Registrations over the first four months of 2011 were down 8.5 per cent to 696,082 units, representing a decline of 64,259 units on 2010.

During the same period in 2010, more than 100,000 were registered under the scrappage scheme.

The SMMT says the market continues to move in line with their forecasts set out in January – the April market being within 1.5 per cent of the predicted level.

The market is expected to recover in 2012 back above two million units. But the SMMT warns of buyer uncertainty and lack of confidence from possible shortterm supply constraints caused by the earthquake in Japan.

‘New car registrations in April demonstrated continued stability in the marketplace, with demand

...but SMMT predicts registrations could pick up in second half of the year remaining lower than in 2010, although slightly ahead of industry expectations,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. ‘The coming months will remain challenging, but we do expect to see a return to growth in the second half of the year.’

Sue Robinson, director of the RMI, added: ‘The April market has performed relatively well during a period that has seen a lot of disruption with a number of factors slowing the market.

‘There have been a number of bank holidays which resulted in slow

‘‘

showroom traffic, although when consumers visited they did tend to buy. There has also been a knock on affect on supply after the disaster in Japan and there are still signs of a lack of consumer confidence. That said, the results show that despite the conditions people are still out there visiting showrooms.’

The Fiesta was again the top selling car overall in the month and year-todate. Registrations of small cars have generally fallen, though, reflecting the demise of scrappage.

There have been a number of bank holidays which resulted in quiet showrooms.

Why buyers will be steering clear of older electric cars ELECTRIC cars now on sale could lose two thirds of their value when they reach the second-hand market.

At five years old, EVs could fetch just ten per cent of their new price, says ACF Finance.

The cost of replacing the electric batteries around the car’s eighth birthday – which could cost the owner up to £8,000 – is the reason for the depreciation, believes

the firm. The company says that many customers are likely to steer clear of buying electric models more than a couple of years old. Leyton Cooper, ACF’s group buying manager, believes that the widespread usage of electric cars will depend on a flourishing second-hand market.

But this will only be seen, he says, when manufacturers solve battery issues.

Familiar faces top April sales chart

THE Ford Fiesta retained its position as number one best-seller in Aprilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monthly sales and is still the best-selling car this year.

More than 6,700 Fiestas were sold in April. The VW Golf was second with 4,973 units, while the top three was rounded off by the Vauxhall

Astra with 4,900 cars sold.

The Vauxhall Corsa closely followed with 4,888 cars, while the Focus slipped to fifth selling 4,843 units in the month.

In sixth was the Volkswagen Polo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; more than 4,500 cars were shifted by dealers in April, while in

SMMT sales data April/year to date

seventh was the Vauxhall Insignia with 3,912.

The Nissan Qashqai rose to eighth with 3,738 cars sold, followed by the BMW 3 Series selling 3,133 cars.

Unusually, the Volkswagen Passat rounded off the top 10 list with 2,720 cars sold in April.

LEXUS APRIL 86.46%

Subaru APRIL -40.36% Figures supplied by SMMT

April 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 Maserati Mazda Mercedes-Benz MG MINI Mitsubishi Nissan Perodua Peugeot Porsche Proton Renault Saab SEAT Skoda smart Ssangyong Subaru Suzuki Toyota Vauxhall Volkswagen Volvo Other British Other Imports Total

2011

108 1,313 100 9,318 111 8,014 0 1,071 18 4,225 0 0 0 0 2,941 18,411 2,853 0 4,612 45 516 150 3,641 1,712 785 37 32 1,589 5,610 11 2,335 738 7,010 51 5,853 485 54 4,730 489 2,536 3,482 354 2 133 1,118 4,582 18,306 15,807.00 2,302.00 92.00 64 137,746

% market share

0.08 0.95 0.07 6.76 0.08 5.82 0.00 0.78 0.01 3.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.14 13.37 2.07 0.00 3.35 0.03 0.37 0.11 2.64 1.24 0.57 0.03 0.02 1.15 4.07 0.01 1.70 0.54 5.09 0.04 4.25 0.35 0.04 3.43 0.36 1.84 2.53 0.26 0.00 0.10 0.81 3.33 13.29 11.48 1.67 0.07 0.05

Year to date (YTD) 2010

% market share

2011 % Change

135 584 65 8,693 90 6,886 0 1,222 128 5,093 1 11 0 100 4,020 19,216 4,089 0 4,510 11 1,235 107 5,228 2,409 421 51 46 2,753 5,227 47 2,869 773 5,782 85 8,221 541 59 6,750 243 2,835 3,593 586 19 223 1,163 5,701 18,418 14,825.00 3,568.00 94.00 67 148,793

0.09 0.39 0.04 5.84 0.06 4.63 0.00 0.82 0.09 3.42 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.07 2.70 12.91 2.75 0.00 3.03 0.01 0.83 0.07 3.51 1.62 0.28 0.03 0.03 1.85 3.51 0.03 1.93 0.52 3.89 0.06 5.53 0.36 0.04 4.54 0.16 1.91 2.41 0.39 0.01 0.15 0.78 3.83 12.38 9.96 2.40 0.06 0.05

-20.00 124.83 53.85 7.19 23.33 16.38 0.00 -12.36 -85.94 -17.04 -100.00 -100.00 0.00 -100.00 -26.84 -4.19 -30.23 0.00 2.26 309.09 -58.22 40.19 -30.36 -28.93 86.46 -27.45 -30.43 -42.28 7.33 -76.60 -18.61 -4.53 21.24 -40.00 -28.80 -10.35 -8.47 -29.93 101.23 -10.55 -3.09 -39.59 -89.47 -40.36 -3.87 -19.63 -0.61 6.62 -35.48 -2.13 -4.48 -7.42

509 4,461 417 42,139 364 38,304 0 4,834 217 24,771 0 2 0 0 15,281 98,439 19,880 0 21,955 138 4,550 609 18,311 14,976 3,061 170 141 12,041 28,242 29 14,441 4,312 32,016 204 34,344 1,839 211 25,121 2,867 13,007 14,654 1,843 9 1,139 7,975 28,278 85,007 62,486.00 11,743.00 409.00 336 696,082

%market share

0.07 0.64 0.06 6.05 0.05 5.50 0.00 0.69 0.03 3.56 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.20 14.14 2.86 0.00 3.15 0.02 0.65 0.09 2.63 2.15 0.44 0.02 0.02 1.73 4.06 0.00 2.07 0.62 4.60 0.03 4.93 0.26 0.03 3.61 0.41 1.87 2.11 0.26 0.00 0.16 1.15 4.06 12.21 8.98 1.69 0.06 0.05

2010

%market share % Change

523 2,546 374 38,678 372 31,723 20 5,563 526 25,768 2 111 2 320 20,453 113,334 24,159 1 30,030 30 5,596 925 25,901 16,245 2,528 158 141 17,586 25,264 129 13,896 3,965 28,413 334 41,421 2,037 329 37,071 1,613 12,417 14,775 2,820 152 1,600 8,432 34,519 85,490 66,133.00 15,275.00 382.00 259 760,341

0.07 0.33 0.05 5.09 0.05 4.17 0.00 0.73 0.07 3.39 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.04 2.69 14.91 3.18 0.00 3.95 0.00 0.74 0.12 3.41 2.14 0.33 0.02 0.02 2.31 3.32 0.02 1.83 0.52 3.74 0.04 5.45 0.27 0.04 4.88 0.21 1.63 1.94 0.37 0.02 0.21 1.11 4.54 11.24 8.70 2.01 0.05 0.03

-2.68 75.22 11.50 8.95 -2.15 20.75 -100.00 -13.10 -58.75 -3.87 -100.00 -98.20 -100.00 -100.00 -25.29 -13.14 -17.71 -100.00 -26.89 360.00 -18.69 -34.16 -29.30 -7.81 21.08 7.59 0.00 -31.53 11.79 -77.52 3.92 8.75 12.68 -38.92 -17.09 -9.72 -35.87 -32.24 77.74 4.75 -0.82 -34.65 -94.08 -28.81 -5.42 -18.08 -0.56 -5.51 -23.12 7.07 29.73 -8.45

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 81

data file.

Alex Goy

all torque

Do you know which eco car suits which driver?

O

ur roads are full of all sorts of cars. Big ones, small ones, sports ones, fast, slow – you name it, they’re there. But over the past decade we’ve seen a new breed of car seep into the mainstream – the eco car.

They’ve been selling well, but the way they’re sold is going to have to change. Lest the consumer is angered.

You see, there are loads of types of eco car. Each is suited to a specific environment and driving style – sadly no one manufacturer makes one that suits everyone’s needs. Well, not yet anyway.

Consumers all drive differently. Some hit the motorway hard, others potter about town, some want something for a blat around the villages and some use their cars for sporadic drives anywhere. So which is for them? You have to ask. Because a customer saying ‘I want an eco car’ is going to have one of two ideas in their heads: Prius or Leaf. And the likelihood is – they don’t want/need either.

If he’s a motorway man the Leaf is out of the question because it’ll run out of charge before he gets home; the Prius makes little sense too – the hybrid system is smart in town, but not on the M1.

So they’d need something Volvo DRIVe or Skoda Greenline II-y. Small diesel with big torque and plenty of comfort. No compromise needed there, either (unless it’s a Fabia. They’re a bit too small. 89g/km though).

If your driver prefers to stick to town, then the Prius/ Leaf make sense. The Leaf is cheap to run, easy to drive and has plenty of space. But costs £31k, which is a little dear for a car with the interior of a fridge. The Prius (or an Auris Hybrid/any of the Lexus offerings) makes decent sense for them, because you can run on full ‘leccy mode in town, which is free. And therefore good.

What about our mixed driver? Fun AND eco? Tricky.

The Honda CR-Z would fit in there, but it’s neither fun nor overly eco because it runs the wrong hybrid set-up.

So point him in the direction of a Lotus Elise. The 1.6-litre model is (comparatively) eco-friendly. And it’s brilliant fun. The roads are changing, but dealers have to be ready to find a car that suits the driver. Buyers are looking out for their wallet more than trees, but they need the right tool to be frugal...

‘The Leaf costs £31k, which is a little dear for a car with the interior of a fridge.’

Who is Alex Goy?

He‘s a motoring journalist with a lot to say. He also produces a brilliant podcast. Check it out by typing bit.ly/alexgoy into a browser 82 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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We like it and it’s bound to be a hit with buyers. We were always told the new Focus would be more driver orientated than the outgoing model and that’s rung true. Some existing Focus owners will find the reduced cabin space a hurdle, and you’d be well advised to steer them towards the more suitable C-MAX. But the overall package will appeal to the masses.

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There’s no doubt that Vauxhall is doing its best to spark some new life into the Antara. The changes underneath and the two new diesel engines are generally successful but giving the car a new grille and ‘aerodynamic-enhancing styling’ isn’t enough to make buyers recognise it’s a new model. Sadly the Antara is unremarkable and its sister car – the Chevrolet Captiva – is a better package for lifestyle family buyers.

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Prices exclude VAT. Adverts are invoiced after it has been included in the magazine. 12-month bookings are payable up front.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 83

data file.

James Litton trader tales

Pricing them cheap to get buyers’ attention. Again...

I

like to think of myself as something of a pioneer. Back in 2001 I was the sales manager for a start-up Saab dealer.

Saab had a very sharp used car manager who awoke me to the possibilities of flogging used cars on the internet. He had developed a basic Excel spreadsheet which imported data from Saab’s used car management system and it allowed you to monitor your prices for similar vehicles against other dealers in the network. ‘If I were you,’ he said. ‘I would be £100 cheaper than your nearest rival and you will get incremental business.’

So that is precisely what I did. In my first two years before I left for BMW we had it away. There were very few people embracing the technology in this fashion, instead preferring to opt for what appeared to be a more lucrative and a less price sensitive local market. The benefit I had was I worked for a sizeable group in a middling brand so I was lucky to have a powerful chequebook at my disposal. Saab was a brand (probably still is to some degree) where sellers are happy to get a bid on late plate cars so I was able to buy effectively and still maintain my budgeted margin.

However, like all good things it came to an end. I left for BMW and there I found a group of similarly plugged-in operators who were exercising a similar strategy. Gradually more and more people saw this process as the route for success which naturally undermined the whole concept as prices were forced down in an attempt to control the market. I modified my approach and instead focused my purchases on very odd cars.

Life is nothing if not cyclical and I can see a return to those good old fashioned values. Customers are now wary of buying a car just because it is the cheapest, having travelled long distances only to find a car that has been mis-described. The price of fuel means customers are less likely to drive 100 miles to be disappointed.

Dealers are equally wary of distance selling regulations so they too find the lure of being cheap for the sake of it not as strong as it once was.

‘In my first two years we had it away. There were very few people embracing technology.’

Traderdire Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo

Aston Martin

Sturgess Alfa Romeo

Benfield Alfa Romeo

Aston Martin

Aston Martin

Audi

Audi

HWM Aston Martin

Wimbledon Carriage Company Limited

Walton & Epsom Audi

John Crisp 07885 211872

Mark Loughnane 01932 220404 07739 519306

BMW

BMW

Bentley

Williams Rochdale

Vines Group

Harwoods

Bentley

Chrysler

Daihatsu

Jack Barclay Bentley

Horsham Car Centre

Alan Nicholas 07703199478 alan@horshamcarcentre.co.uk Best buyer for all late Chrysler/ Jeep

Stephen Barnard 0208 504 0017

Daihatsu

Ferrari

Ferrari

Proven Daihatsu

HR Owen Ferrari Nick Carey

Scott Allen 0116 275 8800 scottallen@ sturgesscars.co.uk n Buying used Alfa Romeos up to five years old

Paul Spires paul.spires@hwm.co.uk 01932 240611 07850 326755

Craig Fenlon 01706 717700 07808 092110

Derek Bennett 020 7629 7444 07713 887 88

Keith Pattison 01428 652554 07771 547406

Dax Pearce dax.pearce@Benfield motorgroup.com Alfa stock wanted up to 40,000 miles. n Call for immediate bid. 07501 257220 or 0191 211 2200

Dominic McConnon 07776 246905 dominic.mcconnon@ vinesguildford.bmw-net.co.uk n Buying used BMWs up to five years old

Mangoletsi (Holdings) Limited Fraser info@mangoletsi.com 01565 722899

Simon Elkin 01798 877211 07803 088711

Woodford Motor Co Ltd

Monza – Ferrari

nick.carey@hrowen.co.uk 07824 362229

Andrew Ludlow ferraribuyer@ntlworld.com 07889 305 053

Ferrari

Fiat

Fiat

Maranello Ferrari

Glyn Hopkin Ltd

Sturgess Fiat

John Dutton 07817 019 456

Glyn Hopkin 07730 711889

Ian Callis 0116 254 1717 icallis@sturgess cars.co.uk n Buying used Fiats up to five years olds

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.

84 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

To have your details included here log on to CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/trader-directory.htm

ectory

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

Ford

Ford

Ford

Honda

Honda

Benfield

Benfield Alfa Romeo

Lifestyle Ford

Honda

Thames Honda Group

Honda

Hyundai

Hyundai

Jaguar

Jaguar

Holdcroft Honda

Bushey Heath Hyundai

Hatfield Hyundai

Sturgess Jaguar

Charles Hurst Jaguar

Jeep

Kia

Kia

Lexus

Land Rover

Horsham Car Centre

Tower Hill Garage

Chapelhouse Kia

Lexus Twickenham

Sturgess Land Rover

Des Sammon des.sammon@benfield-ford. co.uk 07831 828024

Luke Regan / Chris Thursfield 07971 543884 07813 737 921

Alan Nicholas 07703199478 alan@horshamcarcentre.co.uk Best buyer for all late Chrysler/ Jeep

Dax Pearce dax.pearce@Benfield motorgroup.com Alfa stock wanted up to 40,000 miles. n Call for immediate bid. 07501 257220 or 0191 211 2200

Jon O’Donoghue 0208 420 5100 07976 177 959

Lee Gilmour 01923 263700 07768 367085

Richard Walker 07748 177889

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

Andy / Neil 01925 570800 07891 531129 07825 311 297

Brayley Honda Mark Corr 07812 342 635

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

Dave Cooper / Steve Gurr 07831 704134 07921 408983

Jerome Chandiram 0208 845 3551

Stewart Begg 0208 938 1300 07534 927 821

Chris Allen chrisallen@sturgess jaguar.co.uk 0116 282 6969 n Buying used Land Rovers up to five years old

Land Rover

mini test: Hyundai i10

Lotus

Maserati

Beadles Land Rover

Car dealer says HHHHH

Murray Motor Company

Meridien Modena

Greg Wilcox g.wilcox@beadles-landrover. co.uk 07740 717209

We love it. It’s great to drive, well-built, holds its value well, and is keenly priced.

What’s not to like?

Graeme Robertson 0131 200 8888 07765 252745

Warren Butt 02380 283404 07860 530703

Price: £8,195, tested in Issue 37

Maserati

Mazda

Mini

Mitsubishi

Nissan

HR Owen

Lifestyle Mazda

Vines Group

North City Autos (Chingford)

Nissan

Ed Tyrrell 020 8524 8855 07736 610285 n Interested in low mileage FSH vehicles

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

General

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

Mark Spowage 01293 845045 07974 770020

Dominic McConnon Buying used MINIs up to 5 years old 07776 246905 dominic.mcconnon @vinesguildford.bmw-net.co.uk

Toyota

Volvo

General

General

Currie Motors Toyota

Sturgess Volvo

Sol Cars

Barry Freedman

Dave Cooper / Steve Gurr 07831 704134 07921 408983

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

There’s also a more comprehensive list of traders on the website, updated throughout the month

Tim Hancock 07973722243 timfoxhancock@btopen world.com n Wanting part exchanges of all types up to 4k

01753 543105 07836 338694 barry.freedman@virgin.net n Trade buyer of PX vehicles anything up to £8k

Philip Wight Motor Co

Philip Wight 01923 220000 phil@click4cars.co.uk Sensible buyer of hatch and estates up to £4k please.

Prices for six month listings: £29.99 On Website Or £39.99 for Magazine & Website.

Payments can be made online via credit or debit card. Or send your cheque made payable to Blackball Media Ltd to Car Dealer, 2a Church Road, Gosport, Hants PO12 2LB. Your details will appear in the next issue.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 85

SHARES.

..in association with ASE-global.com

Market looking busier now Talk of bids for Lookers has injected momentum into motor retail shares after a quiet start to 2011

T

he start to 2011 had looked like a quiet one for the listed motor retail shares as the market waited to see the impact of lower new vehicle sales volumes on profitability and how effective each business had been with their diversification efforts over recent years.

This all changed at the end of April with the rumours, which were ultimately confirmed, of a bid for Lookers. The initial rumours were of three interested parties, with two private equity bidders competing against Inchcape. The board then confirmed it had rejected a ‘highly speculative informal offer’ which was subsequently confirmed as coming from Jack Petchey’s Trefick investment vehicle (which already owns 17 per cent of the business) alongside two private equity investors. They have requested access to information in order to confirm a cash offer

made, however the board has declined to provide this. I would be surprised if this was followed with a rival bid from Inchcape. Given the scale of both businesses it is unlikely that it would be welcomed by the companies’ manufacturer partners and Inchcape has been concentrating on expansion within emerging markets.

The bid price was not confirmed, however if the rumour mill is to be believed, then it was at around 90p. This valuation represents a premium of more than 30 per cent above the current share price and is more than double the trading price prior to the rumours surfacing. As a result of this movement the Lookers share price has now recovered to a level above the heights reached during March and is within touching distance of its 52 week high which was attained in January this year. While it is highly unlikely that the bid will be successful it has provided a jolt to the market and re-ignited interest within the sector.

The other significant mover during April was Cambria which received a 25 per cent boost on the back of a set of good half-year numbers. In addition to declaring positive trading results, the announcement also emphasised the low goodwill value being retained on the balance sheet (£0.3m)

and the practical halving of the company’s net debt position. This, in addition to the negotiation of a new revolving credit facility, is likely to see Cambria hit the acquisition trail in the near future.

There was limited news among the other listed motor retailers, with associated minimal movements in their share prices. It is likely that there could well be some significant movements among the listed motor retailers as we go through 2011 however.

The Lookers bid confirms what I have been saying for a number of months in that a number of the shares appear significantly undervalued.

This is particularly the case with the propertyrich operators as the recovery from recession continues. Once the retailers prove to the market that they can prosper in spite of the lower level of new vehicle sales, share prices look ready to pick up with private equity investors circling to pick up any bargains.

Who is Mike Jones?

He‘s executive chairman of ASE Global. If you want to talk to him about his column call 0161 493 1930

Client Relationship Director Basic Salary £50,000 plus bonus, JHY HUK ILULÄ[Z 6;, WH

Douglas Stafford works with over 50% of the UK’s Motor Manufacturers and in the past 21 years has become an Automotive Industry leader in the provision of performance improvement initiatives through Mystery Shopping, Market Research, Client Contact Centre activities and Performance Coaching. With a head VMÄJL [LHT VM V]LY ^VYRPUN MYVT its headquarters in Portsmouth, plus a national network of researchers, it has ILJVTL H ZWLJPHSPZ[ PU P[Z ÄLSK

7YVÄSL! Douglas Stafford is looking for a highly motivated individual with experience at a senior level with strong leadership skills, innovative thinking and an ability to apply past experience to client management. The company is looking for someone with a great level of attention to detail who will be able to deliver a high

86 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

level of customer service and who ideally comes from an automotive background.

Strong communication skills, credibility and a natural presence when presenting at corporate Senior Management and Director levels is required, along with computer literacy.

;OL 9VSL! You will manage a team of

Account Managers and Project Managers who look after a portfolio of Corporate Client accounts. Your main duties will be to proactively develop Client accounts, implement innovative strategies and ensure that Douglas Stafford is delivering a high level of customer service. You and your team will be vital in helping our Clients apply the information we provide to improve their business performance.

You will attend meetings with Clients and present results, ideas and initiatives

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This role provides a great opportunity for advancement and to work with a well established and rapidly expanding JVTWHU` H[ V\Y 7VY[ZTV\[O /LHK 6MÄJL You will be a key member of the Senior Management Team working directly with the Chief Executive and other company Directors in this senior position.

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data fiLe.

I

When the going gets tough, sell the right sort of sizzle

n the 1940s, Elmer Wheeler made a handsome living advising US businesses: ‘Don’t sell the sausage, sell the sizzle!’

Elmer knew that the secret to successful selling is that you don’t sell the sausage itself because it’s talking about the smell and taste of the sausage that gets people hungry, ie, sell the benefits, not the features.

As the ‘benefits’ the consumer desires change over time, the ‘sizzle’ also needs to evolve. Sometimes the change is rapid and obvious, and sometimes it’s fairly slow and not that easy to spot. I was wondering: Are you starting to see the effects of George Osborne’s fiscal austerity measures?

Have you considered what this means to you in terms of selling?

Or to put it another way, does the ‘sizzle’ need changing and are you adapting accordingly?

For me there are quite a few signs that consumers’ thinking is evolving and they are changing their mind-sets and behaviours.

The percentage of cars failing their MOTs is increasing rapidly because people are putting off car repairs and not replacing bald tyres until they really have to. Car insurance call centres are quiet because customers are living with the effects of the small accidents that they used to claim for to avoid having to stump up the excess and to ensure that their no-claims bonus is maintained.

There’s been an extreme drop in business levels in outof-town shopping malls as drivers leave their cars at home.

This goes hand-in-hand with the sudden increase in the number of people paying for their petrol in ‘roundpound’ cash amounts (such as a £20 note) instead of

Don

Brough sub-prime time

filling up their tanks: this has jumped to one-in-three from one-in-five.

Counter-intuitively perhaps, consumers aren’t necessarily trading down as the austerity measures start to squeeze as there appears to be a move towards quality products with a ‘buy well buy once’ mentality.

Reliability and longevity of use are also becoming drivers of the buying decision.

It’s clear to me that people are making sure they’re not overspending and getting value out of what they do buy. This is a key driver of this market and therefore an opportunity for those who wish to consider it as such.

‘People are making sure they’re not over spending and getting value out of what they do buy.’

For example, with soaring energy prices, sales of energyefficient goods and products are increasing rapidly as their manufacturers promote the on going cash-saving benefits of their products.

With interest rates set to rise this year, placing an additional burden on the consumer, selling cars isn’t going to be any easier. But if you’re selling the aspects of the car which relate to reliability, running cost savings, longevity and flexibility of use, I think you’ll be selling the right sort of sizzle for this market, and you might want to ensure your bangers match up to the sizzle you’re selling.

Sorry about the pun; I couldn’t resist it.

Who is Don Brough?

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

Coming next month

If there’s something you think we should be covering get in touch. Our details are on page three 90 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

MANUAL

Audi RS3 road tested

SPECIAL Making your workshop pay

MANUAL

Peugeot’s new 308 on the road

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