Car Dealer Power

CarDealer.

Issue 28 | July 2010

CarDealer Power The best manufacturers

the best suppliers

e bl la I ai HP av y gh nl u O hro t

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Inside p43 Part 1 Car Dealer Power

Empowering dealers

We reveal the top 27 manufacturers in this year’s Car Dealer Power survey.

How did your marque compare against the competition?

p50 Third place

The results...

W

e asked for your opinions and you gave them to us with both barrels! And here are the results – the winner and losers of our first ever Car Dealer Power survey.

On the following 15 pages you’ll find out which are the best and worst manufacturers to represent in the UK – according to you, the dealers that represent them. Hundreds of you logged on to our website to register your opinion over the last three months with an equal amount sending in surveys in the post.

And the results were completely honest, unbiased and in some cases damning. Because Car Dealer Power is 100 per cent confidential, you saw it as an opportunity to register your opinion without fear of reprisals – and that’s led to some interesting feedback.

We’ve been crunching the numbers for weeks and can now reveal the winners. However, you may be wondering why not all manufacturers are featured – that’s because we set a minimum sample size of 10 responses for each manufacturer before we included their results. We felt 10 was a fair enough size to get an accurate picture of what it’s like to represent a maker.

To work out the results, we took a medium average score for each one of the categories we asked you to rate your manufacturers on and then converted this overall score to a percentage.

Whereas Part One of the survey is all about the manufacturers, Part Two is the motor trade suppliers’ chance to shine – that starts on page 54. But for now, sit back, relax and delve into the results – they make interesting reading…

Editor

Which car maker made it into bronze medal position in 2010?

p51 Second place So near, yet so far. We name the second best car manufacturer in the business

p52 Car Dealer Power Winner This is, the big one. We reveal the car maker that makes its dealers the happiest and most satisfied in the UK. Is it a surprise? You tell us...

Part 2 The Suppliers Who helps your business to run like a well-oiled machine? We reveal the UK’s most popular and effective suppliers

p55 Warranties p55 Web Design p55 Online Advertising p55 Finance p56 Lubricants p56 Recruitment p56 Provenance Checks p56 Used Car Valuations p57 Auctions p57 Lead Generation p57 Technology

Why isn’t my manufacturer listed?

The following manufacturers were excluded from the survey because they didn’t receive a minimum sample size for inclusion. The reasons for this are varied – we know of at least one manufacturer that specifically asked its dealers not to fill in our survey. Why? We’re not sure. Other makers don’t have 10 dealers in the UK. Those excluded were: Abarth, Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Daihatsu, Infiniti, Lotus, Mini, Perodua, Smart, Ssangyong, Subaru.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

Empowering dealers

27 Fiat OVERALL SCORE

Faultless

29%

26 Alfa Romeo OVERALL SCORE

31%

It’s second from bottom for Fiat’s sister firm and with the franchises run from the same HQ, that’s not a surprise. The marque’s dealers slated finance offers, forward planning, stock and bonuses and only rated the other categories as Average. ‘It takes too long to get paid bonuses – it’s just too complex,’ said one disgruntled dealer.

25 Chrysler 35%

It’s been a tough 12 months for Chrysler, but dealers are concerned about their future under Fiat ownership. One respondent slated the maker as ‘completely out of touch with reality’ and it scored Poor or Average results in all but two categories. Dealers did like warranty and aftersales support, rating these Good, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.

24 Honda OVERALL SCORE

36%

A surprise lowly position for the Japanese firm, especially considering rivals like Toyota scored so well. Dealers said offers were ‘unimaginative’, slated product launches and said too much was ‘riding on volume targets’.

Warranty offers did score an Excellent rating, but four Poor and four Average scores were very disappointing.

44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Good

Average

✔ ✔

Warranty offers Aftersales support

✔

Supply of cars

✔

Forward planning

✔

Stock levels

✔ ✔

Requirements made on you Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

Average

✔ ✔ ✔

Warranty offers Aftersales support Supply of cars

✔ ✔

Forward planning Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

Average

✔ ✔

Warranty offers Aftersales support

✔

Supply of cars

✔

Forward planning

✔

Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

Average

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars Forward planning Stock levels Requirements made on you

Return on investment

Poor

✔

Finance offers

Bonus structure

Poor

✔

Finance offers

Aftersales support

Poor

✔

Finance offers

Warranty offers

Poor

✔

Finance offers

A disastrous result for the Italian firm with dealers damning in their feedback. ‘It’s a dictatorship not a partnership,’ said one respondent with another adding: ‘They demand top brand requirements when really they’re a budget maker.’ With Fiat scoring Poor in five categories and average in the rest, it seems there’s some repair work to be done here.

OVERALL SCORE

Excellent

✔ ✔

Empowering dealers

23 Mitsubishi 38%

OVERALL SCORE

A rather disappointing set of results for the Japanese marque. Dealers were most unhappy with Mitsubishi’s bonus structure and forward planning – panning both with Poor scores.

It wasn’t much better elsewhere with six categories only scoring Average marks. Only the maker’s warranty offers received a Good rating from the network.

22 Suzuki OVERALL SCORE

44%

Dealers’ biggest bugbear was the supply of cars and stock levels with one respondent saying the situation was ‘beyond a joke’. The manufacturer also scored only Average marks for return on investment, bonus structure, finance schemes and forward planning. But it wasn’t all bad news: Suzuki did pick up one Excellent and two Good scores too.

21 VW OVERALL SCORE

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔

Aftersales support Supply of cars

✔

Forward planning

✔ ✔

Stock levels Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

48%

Finance was a let down for Vauxhall with dealers demanding a better PCP product to help them get ‘a better take up on finance’. Stock levels were described as being ‘up and down’ which explains the Average score here, while bonuses and return on investment were also panned. It wasn’t all bad news though with Good scores in four categories.

Average

✔

Warranty offers

✔

Aftersales support

✔

Supply of cars

✔

Forward planning

✔

Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Excellent

Good

Average

✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars

✔

Forward planning

✔

Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

Supply of cars Forward planning Stock levels Requirements made on you Bonus structure Return on investment

Average

Poor

✔

Finance offers

Aftersales support

Poor

✔

Aftersales support

Warranty offers

Poor

✔

Finance offers

Warranty offers

20 Vauxhall

Poor

✔

Warranty offers

Finance offers

45%

Average

✔

Finance offers

Faultless

Dealers were not happy about supply and stock levels with many blaming the scrappage scheme. ‘They dropped an almighty clanger in the last 12 months and didn’t order enough cars to meet demand,’ said one dealer. The bonus structure was slated as was manufacturer demands. Only under warranties was an Excellent rating received.

OVERALL SCORE

Faultless

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

Empowering dealers Faultless

19 SEAT OVERALL SCORE

53%

18 Renault

56%

The French firm has been on a rollercoaster ride in terms of volume in the last year, so this score is impressive. Dealers love the firm’s finance offers and were pleased with warranties, aftersales, supply, forward planning and bonuses.

Requirements and return on investment weren’t rated quite as highly though. ‘We enjoy working for Renault,’ praised one respondent.

17 Proton OVERALL SCORE

59%

The overall picture for Proton is a rosy one.

Return on investment and requirements made by the manufacturer notched up Excellent scores, showing it’s not a hard task setting up a Proton dealership. Five other categories received Good scores with only finance deals and bonus structure letting the manufacturer down with Average feedback.

16 Ford OVERALL SCORE

46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Warranty offers Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning

✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Faultless

60%

Excellent

Good

Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning

✔ ✔

Stock levels Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Stock levels Requirements made on you Bonus structure Return on investment

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Warranty offers

Forward planning

Average

✔

Finance offers

Supply of cars

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Warranty offers

Aftersales support

Average

✔

Finance offers

Warranty offers

Poor

✔

Requirements made on you

Finance offers

Average

✔

Stock levels

Faultless

Ford’s huge network of dealers enjoyed a bumper year in 2009 with the scrappage scheme bringing customers flooding into showrooms. Feedback flat-lined across the board with Good scores in all categories showing retailers are satisfied overall. ‘Supply during the scrappage scheme wasn’t great, but it did improve,’ said one dealer.

Good

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Finance offers

The Spanish firm received a mix bag of feedback with dealers generally happy. ‘We enjoy the SEAT brand and make money,’ said one respondent. Dealers liked the product range and forward planning, but stock levels and return on investment were given Average scores. However, six Good scores in key areas is something to be proud of.

OVERALL SCORE

Excellent

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Average

Poor

Empowering dealers

15 Citroen OVERALL SCORE

61%

The French firm’s retailers just love the marque’s tempting finance offers that help drive customers onto their forecourts. They were described as ‘very competitive’. Good scores were achieved in five categories, including product planning, where one dealer said: ‘We receive wall planners to execute the best possible launch for cars.’

14 Peugeot OVERALL SCORE

62%

Forward planning is Peugeot’s biggest strength with dealers pleased that they’re kept informed of up-coming model launches and offers. ‘We’re kept abreast of what’s going on all the time,’ praised one dealer. The manufacturer scored Good marks in all other categories with bonus structures described as ‘well established and easy to understand’.

13 Audi OVERALL SCORE

Warranty offers

12 Saab

Supply of cars Forward planning Stock levels Requirements made on you

Return on investment

Faultless

Aftersales support Supply of cars

Good

Requirements made on you Bonus structure Return on investment

Excellent

Good

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars

✔ ✔

Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Excellent

Good

Average

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning

✔

Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

Return on investment

Average

✔

Aftersales support

Bonus structure

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Stock levels

Warranty offers

Average

✔

Forward planning

Forward planning

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Warranty offers

Finance offers

It’s been a truly tumultuous year for Saab, but a new owner has finally been found and dealers are positive about what lies ahead.

‘Things will improve now we’re not controlled

by GM,’ suggested one dealer. Respondents were very happy with finance offers, warranties and the bonus structure with only stock levels letting the manufatcurer down.

Excellent

Finance offers

Warranty offers

Average

✔ ✔

Bonus structure

Faultless

65%

Good

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Aftersales support

Finance offers

64%

Excellent

✔ ✔

Finance offers

Faultless

The first faultless scores are notched up by Audi, with forward planning and warranty support getting the very best recommendations. The firm’s retailers aren’t too happy about strict requirements laid down from the top and long lead times were said to be ‘a bit disappointing’.

That said, Audi still scored Excellent feedback in five other categories.

OVERALL SCORE

Faultless

✔ ✔ CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

Empowering dealers

11 Hyundai 66%

OVERALL SCORE

What a year it’s been for Hyundai! The marque’s gone from small fry to big fish and it’s all thanks to scrappage. Excellent scores were notched up for the maker’s bonus scheme, aftersales and warranty support, with Good feedback in five other categories. Only finance offers let it down with dealers wanting ‘more variety’ and some good PCP deals.

10 Skoda

It claims to be the manufacturer of ‘happy drivers’, but what about its dealers? Well, considering the marque’s in the top 10, things aren’t going too badly! Its retailers love the firm’s finance offers, aftersales support and ability to think ahead rating all these as Excellent. And Skoda notches up six Good overall scores in the remaining categories.

9 Lexus

8 Mazda OVERALL SCORE

69%

Keen finance offers were described as ‘first class’ and forward planning was lauded as ‘above reproach’. One respondent said: ‘We are always kept up to date with new products very early on.’ Dealers said the requirements set by Mazda were ‘realistic and not overlyfussy’ and it scored Good results in six other categories.

48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Forward planning Stock levels Requirements made on you

✔

Bonus structure

✔

Return on investment

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Stock levels Requirements made on you Bonus structure Return on investment

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔ ✔

Warranty offers Aftersales support

✔ ✔

Supply of cars Forward planning

✔

Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Warranty offers Aftersales support Supply of cars

✔ ✔

Stock levels

Return on investment

Poor

✔

Forward planning

Bonus structure

Average

✔

Supply of cars

Requirements made on you

Poor

✔

Aftersales support

Forward planning

Average

✔

Warranty offers

Finance offers

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars

Finance offers

Being at the forefront of hybrid technology is important for the luxury manufacturer’s dealers.

‘We’re seen to be green, which is good for the future,’ said one. Excellent results for warranty and aftersales support as well as bonus structure and return on investment are great achievements. And it scored Good results in four other categories too.

Average

✔ ✔

Aftersales support

Faultless

68%

Good

✔

Warranty offers

Finance offers

67%

Excellent

Finance offers

Faultless

OVERALL SCORE

OVERALL SCORE

Faultless

✔ ✔ ✔

Average

Poor

Empowering dealers

7 Volvo OVERALL SCORE

Faultless

70%

6 Porsche 71%

The sports car manufacturer just misses out on a place in the top spot, but it’s still an impressive performance for the marque. It notched up Excellent ratings for supply and stock levels of cars, forward planning, bonus scheme and return on investment, with Good ratings in three other categories. Only finance offers let it down with an Average score.

5 Mercedes OVERALL SCORE

72%

The luxury car maker muscles its way into the top five with an impressive set of results. With four Excellent and five Good average scores, it seems the manufacturer’s retailers are a happy bunch. A good range of finance offers and decent levels of support for warranties and aftersales helped land the German firm Excellent marks here.

4 Jaguar OVERALL SCORE

Aftersales support

Forward planning Stock levels Requirements made on you Bonus structure

Faultless

With a product range as impressive as the Jaguar line up, it’s no wonder the manufacturer’s network is happy! Although slow supply of the new XJ has irked some dealers, the overall picture is positive. Seven Excellent ratings is a superb achievement with dealers particularly happy with attractive finance offers that are ‘well advertised’.

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔

Warranty offers Aftersales support

✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars Forward planning Stock levels

✔

Requirements made on you

✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Faultless

Excellent

Warranty offers Aftersales support

Average

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Stock levels Requirements made on you Bonus structure Return on investment

Excellent

Good

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Poor

✔

Forward planning

Requirements made on you

Average

✔

Supply of cars

Stock levels

Good

✔ ✔ ✔

Finance offers

Forward planning

Poor

✔

Finance offers

Aftersales support

Average

✔

Return on investment

Warranty offers

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Supply of cars

Finance offers

Average

✔ ✔

Warranty offers

Faultless

75%

Good

✔

Finance offers

Warranty offers and aftersales support were given Excellent ratings, but more than one respondent said they’d like to see five-year cover offered soon. Retailers were delighted with the return on investment they get and the manufacturer scored Good ratings in six other categories. ‘Overall the support we get is excellent,’ said one dealer.

OVERALL SCORE

Excellent

✔ CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

Empowering dealers

3

Toyota

Taking a place on the podium is a truly remarkable achievement for a manufacturer that’s been embroiled in such a difficult period. However it seems the way the maker handled the recall issues in the UK that’s curried favour with its dealer network.

‘There’s no doubt the recall period was very tough,’ explained one respondent. ‘Being all over the news for a bad thing is not good for anyone. But we received regular updates from Toyota, parts were shipped out to us quickly and customers went away happy – and it was also a chance to chat to them about new cars.

I wouldn’t say it worked completely in our favour, but it was close.’

Another dealer added: ‘The handling of the recall programme was typically Toyota GB: Well handled and executed.’ This explains the Excellent scores for warranties and aftersales as well as in an impressive five other categories.

Finance was singled out for the ‘competitive rates’ and ‘excellent PCP deals’. While the support from head office was even praised as the ‘best management I have ever worked for’. Only stock levels and bonus structures received a less than Excellent score, but both still notched up Good ratings.

50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Finance was singled out for the ‘competitive rates’ and ‘excellent PCP deals’. Support from head office was praised as the ‘best management I have ever worked for’.

OVERALL SCORE Faultless Finance offers Warranty offers Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning

Excellent

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Stock levels Requirements made on you

✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Good

✔

76% Average

Poor

Empowering dealers

2

Kia

OVERALL SCORE

You don’t have to delve deep into the figures to work out there were two key aspects that helped Kia secure the Runner Up spot: Scrappage and that incredible seven-year warranty. The manufacturer picked up Faultless scores in this survey for warranties and dealers said it has worked wonders as a marketing tool.

‘It’s the best in the industry and there are no doubts that it’s helping to sell cars,’ said one respondent. Another added: ‘The seven-year warranty certainly appears to be all it’s cracked

Faultless

Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning

Excellent

Poor

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

Average

Dealers said their return on investment with Kia was Excellent and, despite high volumes through the scrappage scheme, supply has been kept relatively in check.

✔

Stock levels Requirements made on you

Good

✔

Finance offers Warranty offers

up to be and being the only maker to offer it means we’re attracting customers from other brands.’

Dealers said their return on investment with Kia was Excellent and, despite high volumes through the scrappage scheme, supply has been kept relatively in check. Finance offers, aftersales support and requirements laid down by head office also received Excellent scores.

‘The scrappage scheme was superb, but now the focus really is on whether we can retain those margins,’ said another dealer.

78%

✔

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

Empowering dealers

1

Nissan

Faultless

✔

Finance offers Warranty offers Aftersales support

N

issan wins our Car Dealer Power by an absolute landslide. Scoring an incredible six Faultless average scores is an amazing achievement and one that will have MD Paul Willcox smiling from ear to ear.

This is an exciting time for the brand with a varied and interesting product range that includes some truly great cars like the 370Z Roadster and new Qashqai seen here. And there are some innovative models on the way too – later this year the compact 4x4 Juke will hit dealers, already likely to be a huge hit, and then next year the first relatively affordable and practical electric car, the Leaf, arrives. And that’s all before we even mention the halo car, the GT-R, which offers stunning performance at a bargain price compared to rivals.

‘Nissan has a great product range,’ said one dealer. ‘The Pixo was a good addition to the range, the Note continues to sell well and the Qashqai is just a dream. Buyers love it and that’s because we can offer good deals on it and, at the end of the day, it’s a great car.’

The manufacturer picked up Faultless scores for warranties, aftersales, supply of

52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Supply of cars

cars, forward planning, stock levels and the requirements laid down by head office. And Forward planning the remaining three categories – finance offers, Stock levels bonus structure and return on investment – were all classed as Excellent.

Requirements made on you ‘Nissan coped with the recession very well, Bonus structure taking steps to destock when needed, but supply of cars has still been good,’ added Return on investment another dealer. ‘The finance offers are always well structured, the field team are excellent and I find new model launches are well planned and organised.’

And what was also clear was that the manufacturer’s retailers are even more positive about the future. ‘Nissan are improving all the time and building a very strong marque with great new products for the future. The Leaf is exciting and the level of interest we’ve had in the Juke has been staggering – I just wish they’d get on and launch it. We could sell loads of them now!’

So Nissan takes a very well-deserved and hardearned top spot in the inaugural Car Dealer Power survey as voted for by you: The dealers that represent them.

Excellent

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Good

Average

P

Empowering dealers

OVERALL SCORE

91%

Faultless

Aftersales support Supply of cars Forward planning Stock levels Requirements made on you

Good

Average

Poor

✔

Finance offers Warranty offers

Excellent

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Bonus structure Return on investment

✔

Poor

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Warranties

Empowering dealers

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Web Design

The suppliers N

ot all of you are franchised dealers – many of you make up the vital network of the UK used car trade and Part Two of Car Dealer Power was your chance to have a say.

Here, we asked both the independent dealers among you, and the franchised agents that filled in part one, to tell us about the suppliers you use and how they perform.

The companies you do business with on a daily basis can make a huge difference to how your business runs – and how successful you are. Find a decent web provider and you’ll get countless vital leads from your website, pick a decent lubricants supplier and you can add thousands to your bottom line in the workshop.

Car Dealer Power is about celebrating the very best in this motor trade supplier arena – as voted for by you, the very dealers that keep these firms in business. A win here is a vote of confidence, from their customers, and the very best seal of approval they’re every likely to get.

To work out the winners in Part Two we weren’t just looking for the suppliers that were used the most, but were looking for those that kept their dealer customers the happiest too, so overall market share didn’t guarantee first place.

Instead we worked out the average score of each supplier and weighted it in favour of the companies that managed to record a consistently high score even when the number of responses increased.

For example, a company that managed to score an average Good result with 50 responses scored more points than one that scored Faultless with 10 responses. Like Part One, to keep things fair we only included companies in the final stages that managed to record 10 responses.

So, here they are, the best motor trade suppliers to do business with as voted for by YOU, the Car Dealer readers!

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Online Advertising

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Finance

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Lubricants

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Recruitment

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Provenance Checks

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Used Car Valuations

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Auctions

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Lead Generation

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Technology

WINNERS: A winner’s logo for marketing material is available. Please contact Car Dealer on 023 9252 2434 for more information.

54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Empowering dealers

CarDealer Power

CarDealer Power

Warranties

Web Design

Winner 2010

Winner 2010

Winner Car Care Plan Runner up AA Warranty

Winner GForces Runner up Codeweavers

Testament to a good firm in Car Dealer Power is its ability to keep customers happy even when it’s used by lots of you – and Car Care Plan manages that. Not only do more of you use the warranty provider than anybody else, but you consistently rated its customer service and products highly. ‘What I like most about Car Care Plan is that it is easy to get an answer on claims – staff are always available and happy to help,’ praised one respondent. AA Warranty was the second most popular provider and also managed to keep its average score up, but fell just shy of our overall winner.

This category was one of the hardest fought in Car Dealer Power. However, it was serial Eward winners GForces that claimed the inaugural gong. The firm specialises in stunning looking sites which are not only user friendly, but generate their dealers leads. One respondent said: ‘GForces are good for companies that want to get someone to sort it all and not worry about it – they produce good looking and effective websites.’ Codeweavers narrowly missed out with many rating their service as ‘Excellent’, but it was GForces’ impressive overall score that secured them the title.

CarDealer Power

CarDealer Power

Online Advertising

Finance

Winner 2010

Winner 2010

Winner Auto Trader Runner up eBay Motors

Winner Black Horse Runner up Santander

By far and away the most used advertising portal by Car Dealer Power respondents, Auto Trader also top scored in the satisfaction stakes. The advertising powerhouse was praised for the responses it generated for dealers and was consistently rated as ‘Good’. What’s more it was used by more than double of you than its nearest competitor with some dealers adding the site was the best way to accurately value cars. ‘I find trade cars sell very well and our more general stock always finds a buyer on Auto Trader,’ said one respondent. eBay Motors came second with praise for its affordable pricing, but it was Auto Trader that comfortably took first place.

With finance playing such a vital part in your profit margins, it was little surprise this category received the most responses of all. It’s clear the market is dominated by Black Horse and Spanish bank Santander, which snapped up GE Money in 2008 and with it a huge slice of the car dealer market. But it was Black Horse that sealed victory in Car Dealer Power. The firm is not only used by more dealers, but also scored an average ‘Excellent’ response overall – an incredible achievement. ‘The service is second to none and we find applications are dealt with extremely swiftly,’ said one happy respondent.

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Empowering dealers

CarDealer Power

CarDealer Power

Lubricants

Recruitment

Winner 2010

Winner 2010

Winner Castrol Runner up Mobil 1

Winner JGA Runner up Perfect Placement

We all know selling top-up packs as part of a service can make a big difference to your bank balance – but which firm offers the best service?

Well, according to you, that’s Castrol. You gave the lubricants firm a resounding thumbs up, praising its products, supply and support. ‘The pricing is good and the delivery efficient – that’s all that matters to us,’ said one respondent. Mobil 1 came a very close runner up with you rating its products and services as ‘Excellent’ overall, but it was Castrol’s impressive overall average score that secured it first place.

Finding the right staff for your dealership can be an unenviable task – that’s why many of you turn to recruitment agencies to do the hard work for you.

But who should you ask for help the next time you need new bodies? Well, according to Car Dealer Power respondents that should be John Gibson Associates, more commonly known as JGA. The recruiters were used by a large number of our respondents with one saying they ‘never failed to find the right person every time’. Perfect Placement also scored highly with dealers praising their ‘Excellent’ service, but they were beaten into second place by JGA’s impressive all-round results.

CarDealer Power

CarDealer Power

Provenance Checks

Used Car Valuations

Winner 2010

Winner 2010

Winner HPI Runner up Experian

Winner CAP Runner up Glass’s Guide

With just two main providers in the provenance check arena both HPI and Experian have to work very hard to keep their dealers happy – and the Car Dealer Power results prove that. The numbers of dealers using each was nearly identical, but HPI edged into first place with an average ‘Excellent’ result.

Dealers loved the speed of checks, their accuracy and most of all the free seven-day Driveaway Insurance product. ‘Being able to offer customers free insurance so they can drive their car away immediately is marketing gold,’ praised one dealer.

SURELY the price of a car is the price of a car, right? Wrong. With all manners of factors effecting the price of the part exchanges you take in to the cars you’re retailing, getting it wrong can be a disaster. And it’s CAP that Car Dealer Power dealers trust more than any other to give them the right figures. It was a two-horse fight between the two biggest names in the pricing business, but CAP’s overall ‘Excellent’ rating by dealers, which was teetering on ‘Faultess’, secured the win. ‘It’s very difficult to value cars at the moment, but I find CAP usually gets it right,’ praised one happy customer.

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Empowering dealers

CarDealer Power

CarDealer Power

Auctions

Lead Generation

Winner 2010

Winner 2010

Winner BCA Runner up Manheim

Winner Autotrade-mail.com Runner up MFL-direct.co.uk

With new car sales likely to take a dip this year thanks to the end of scrappage, used cars are playing a vital role in dealers’ profitability. Whether its sourcing that stock or shifting part-exchanges, British Car Auctions is the choice for Car Dealer Power respondents. Decent coverage of the UK, good conversion rates and an impressive portfolio of retailers using BCA’s services were all singled out for praise. In close second place was Manheim, but it was BCA that takes top spot with one dealer saying: ‘Not only do I always find a bargain at BCA, but even the tea is good.’ High praise indeed.

A simple idea that does what it set out to do extremely effectively – that’s what you said about our Lead Generation category winner, Autotrade-mail. com. The trade-only website has 4,500 subscribers and helps put those buyers and sellers together to shift cars is real time. Many deals are completed on the site in seconds and the fact the firm has to turn away 30 per cent of applicants proves it’s a company that’s got its customers’ interests at heart. ‘We can’t fault Autotrade-mail – their professionalism and customer service is second to none,’ said one dealer.

CarDealer Power

Winner 2010 Technology

Winner Manheim Retail Marketing Runner up Kalamazoo-Reynolds Market leader and rated ‘Excellent’ by the majority of respondents is Manheim Retail Marketing (fomerly Portfolio) which wins the Technology category. The multi-armed outfit offers dealers a huge number of services, but it’s the firm’s dealer management tools that won it this gong. ‘Keeping a track on what’s going on in my dealership is just easier thanks to them,’ said one respondent. And on average you rated the firm’s service as ‘Excellent’.

Kalamazoo-Reynolds secured runner up spot with an overall ‘Good’ score.

Empowering dealers

And finally...

We know running a dealership takes up a lot time so the fact so many of you took the time to fill in the Car Dealer Power survey means a lot – thank you! But we know there was the carrot of a few prizes to help you put pen to paper, and don’t worry we haven’t forgotten about them.

Up for grabs were three days in an Aston Martin DB9 courtesy of AstonEperience.co.uk worth £1,400, a bundle of goodies from Halfords worth £600, a voucher for a race day from Motorsport Vision and a Jenson Button canvas from CarsInPrint.co.uk. We’ll be picking the winners of these prizes in the next few weeks and contacting the lucky chosen few – so stand by your phones.

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