HKQAC

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Posts posted by HKQAC

  1. Posted

    3 minutes ago, David Horgan said:

    New stalk will fix that wont it .

    Not a refund as it doesn't leave the car unsafe or unusable either , just a minor fault especially on an 8 year old car .

    More like buyers remorse that one . Made sure they haven't up plugged something or swapped it , been done before . 

    It's buttons on the steering wheel, and we've replaced those as well as brake sensors disconnected the battery and reconnected it, and nothing so far.

    You can get retro fitting cruise control kits, do you think I'm within my right to just offer to do that for them?

     

  2. Posted

    2 minutes ago, tradex said:

    Was it working before it went out?

    Check back on your PDI, if it was working then the fault was not present at point of sale. If, it was never working there is no come back. 

     

    Unfortunately I've never included cruise control on our pdi sheet, who's pdi's do you use? 

     

  3. Posted

    So we have a Kuga sold 3 weeks ago, that the customer came back and reported to us the cruise control doesn't work.  

    We've had it back attempted to fix it, but no avail.  As you can imagine the customer has quoted all his rights under the sun and wants a refund.

    I am usually of the opinion when we cant fix a mechanical fault with a car, unfortunately we just have to have it back, fix it and go on with it again.

    Which is what we will do in this situation.

     

    However I feel like cruise control on an 8 year old car not working, shouldn't warrant a full refund. 

    Wondering how anyone else would approach it?

     

  4. Posted · Edited by HKQAC

    Just interested if anybody charges admin fee's here?

     

    Its becoming increasingly popular, and if anybody does charge an admin fee how do you answer the inevitable "what's that for?"

  5. Posted

    34 minutes ago, James01 said:

    If they really kick up a fuss then you can always show them the spec disclaimer at the bottom of every auto trader advert.

    Job done. 

    That's interesting didn't see that on Autotrader.

     

    22 minutes ago, Nick M.K. said:

    This is very important! 

    You didn't advertise Bluetooth, they didn't ask specifically and CRA states that a car needs to be fit for a SPECIFIC purpose. If they had said "We want Bluetooth" and you had written or said "Yes it has Bluetooth" you are in breach of CRA. In this case however it is not your responsibility. 

    I would offer to fit a system for them if they agree to split the cost with me as a pre-Christmas gesture of goodwill. Around £100 should get the job done, £50 each it's hardly the end of the world and certainly not the end of this deal. 

    This is my thinking, however you know what customers are like.  "well you've got a picture saying Bluetooth" So I've sympathised with him, and I'll send him an email formulating the key points.  I think we are in a grey area, and likely we're both to blame but fingers crossed he'll settle for a parrot kit.

    If he wants anymore than that, I think just refund.  Sometimes these customers aren't worth the stress, just find another who's not such a nightmare to deal with.

    11 minutes ago, Stalker said:

    How do you know it’s not the customer that is either thick and can’t pair it properly or even if their phone is incompatible? 

    This is what I was thinking initially, but VW looked it up and definitely doesn't have it.

  7. Posted

    Yes definitely moving forward we're going to have to pair our phones to test it before advertising, a bit of a pain but better than this. 

    40 minutes ago, Nick M.K. said:

    1) In your advertising does it say by you that it HAS Bluetooth?

    2) In your talks with your customer did they ask and did you TELL them that it had Bluetooth?

    3) If both above are YERS buy a Parrot Bluetooth kit from ECP for around £90, it's a much better kit that the one supplied with some Polos from the factory!

    *both above are YES

    They never even asked if it had Bluetooth, but you cant blame them for assuming the same as I do when it says on the screen!  

    That's probably the best scenario, aftermarket kit or refund.

    Thanks guys

  8. Posted

    We've sold a Polo a few weeks back, advertised with a picture of "Bluetooth- audio source on". 

    Now the customer is claiming it does not actually have Bluetooth, although it says this on the screen.  

    Called VW and it actually doesn't have Bluetooth!  I don't know if anybody else has found this, but how infuriating for there to be a Bluetooth on button on an LED screen that does nothing.

     

    Either way, the customer has expressed its "not fit for purpose" :rolleyes: 

    Customer wants us to sort it out.

    What would be your approach to the situation?  VW want £275 +VAT to fit Bluetooth to the car.  

    I suppose purchasing a £15 Bluetooth kit from Amazon is out the question... :D

    I can understand the customers point of view, however how are second hand car dealers suppose to guarantee specifications on another companies second hand product? 

  9. Posted

    We've sold a Polo a few weeks back, advertised with a picture of "Bluetooth- audio source on". 

    Now the customer is claiming it does not actually have Bluetooth, although it says this on the screen.  

    Called VW and it actually doesn't have Bluetooth!  I don't know if anybody else has found this, but how infuriating for there to be a Bluetooth on button on an LED screen that does nothing.

     

    Either way, the customer has expressed its "not fit for purpose" :rolleyes: 

    Customer wants us to sort it out.

    What would be your approach to the situation?  VW want £275 +VAT to fit Bluetooth to the car.  

    I suppose purchasing a £15 Bluetooth kit from Amazon is out the question... :D

    I can understand the customers point of view, however how are second hand car dealers suppose to guarantee specifications on another companies second hand product? 

  10. Posted

    I seen this old thread and thought I'd add my thoughts, hopefully it helps!

    1. the warranty company I've using for the past year now give you all the admin support, booklets claims line etc. for free.  

    I believe they get there money out of it by selling your old customers there own guarantee's, which hasn't caused any issue's for me before.  (PM for the sales guys details)

    2. personally I don't bother with card payments, I do bank transfers, but pay zone I've heard are quite good.

    3. If you're just starting out, get your foundations right first.  you should be selling sub 3k motors starting out, and you might sell 1 out of 50 on finance at that price range (from my experience being there myself)  now I'm doing mainly 5-8k motors the finance deals are at least 4 or 5 a month, so more like 1 out of 5 sales are on finance.  If you're doing those cars you need to get premises and get on board with close brothers motor finance 100% IMO.

     

    The take away point is don't worry about card payments and finance.  Sort the warranties out and protect yourself with the admin side of things that they take care of for free. 

    Hope that helps mate, pm for details or any other Q's :)

     

  11. Posted · Edited by HKQAC

    Sold a VW Golf around a month ago, and I've received a text message that goes along the lines...

    Customer: "Hi, i have discovered the car has a limiter on it, i can only assume has been set on the car externally as there is no function in the cabin to limit speed, it is at 90MPH which fortunately does not intrude on day to day driving but makes me very uncomfortable to think that it has been tampered with.  I would of course like your garage to remedy this, what would you suggest?"

    I later replied "Hi, i can't imagine why the car would have a speed limiter on it, and I wouldn't say that having one constitutes saying it has been tampered with?  Never the less if you would like to get some peace of mind, you can book it in with the garage we use, to have them look into this for you.  You can call them on .......... "  

    Customer: "thankyou for the offer, will they be able to rectify it as well as check it?"

     

    He seems like a nice enough guy, however he is clearly expecting me to pay for this to be sorted.

    100% if I can help a customer I will, however, I don't want to open a can of worms here, and how far do you go for these customers? And as strange as it is having a speed limiter... is it my duty as the car dealer to pay for the car to be unlimited to beyond 90mph?? 

    I would of thought thats beyond my duties... if so how would you handle this situation?  

     

     

  12. Posted

    17 minutes ago, EPV said:

    But it’s a business? AT is a business, not a public service we are “forced” to use. You either pay what AT want and utilise their business to the max, or you don’t. I wonder if 50% of your customers refused to buy cars from you until you reduced your prices by 20% how you would react?  You’d probably just sell cars to the other 50% and cultivate new customers? 

    So how it’s this different? 

    You're right no one is forced to use AT.  If you read my original post, I said "It wouldn't surprise me if on a busy month at least 20% of my spaces online aren't in use, either with a car thats already sold or even a space that I just don't use."  I think this is the same for others, and you have to consider do ALL of your cars have to be advetised 24/7 on AT?  More and more dealers are rotating stock.  

    And your point is different because Im not saying Autotrader should hand it out for reduced prices as nice as that would be.  Just the price increases don't seem warranted, there not selling me any more cars and i don't think the average time to sell a car has gone down (As far as I'm aware).  Your point would be the same if we all got together and boycotted AT in an effort to reduce there prices.

    3 minutes ago, tradex said:

    I don't think it should a surprise that AT charge different rates for different dealers, even if they are high volume, it's quite usual business practice, just one of the those things you would rather not know I guess?

     

    Definitely agree it should be cheaper for people who advertise more, economies of scale is important. 

  13. Posted

    1 hour ago, EPV said:

    You could just cancel your contract with AT? 

    Yes you could do, but I think you're missing the point.  For dealers that rely on Autotrader but aren't happy with the price rise, we should consider collectively reducing packages to reduce our bill.  

    I think by putting the point to AT that we are willing to do this we could make a difference.  

    I'm not saying its right, but its probably something I will do going forward.  But if others would rather moan and do anything about it that's their choice!

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    On 3/22/2018 at 8:48 AM, Arthur thicken said:

    We have 2 sites one on a main road and one on a trading estate, they both have 60 used cars, they are both authorised repairer status with manufacturers, one does ok off Autotrader, they both do about the same with motors. I’ve cancelled AT for one and cancelled Motors for the other. Both sites are long established and have advertised with both for years. We’ve cancelled motors for the main road site and AT for the other. I’ve put a challenge to both AT and Motors, measure sales for three months and compare the results against numbers sold historically, I believe we can then gauge the value for both, Motors are keen and up for it, no reply yet from Autotrader. I’m doing it anyway as on the non main road site we’ve only sold 10 this month with only 2 from AT at a cost of £1600 per month. The price of AT was going up in April and it made me think what have I got to lose, I really believe people do multiple searches and often forget which site they saw the car on. This is not an attempt to beat up Autotrader or Motors it’s purely an exercise to see how many we sell at each site with only making one change. I know last years not this year but it’s the only transparent way of gagueing value for money. If I get negative feedback I won’t bother posting the results, if you’re genuinely interest I’ll post the results monthly. Good luck to all in these tough times.  Arthur Thicken, driving the prices down.....

    After reading this thread I'm fuming with the amount of money i've been spending on Autotrader in comparison.  I cant believe that some people are happy to pay these big bills.  So well done for taking a stand Arthur and I hope it works out, keep us informed!

    Exactly as others have been saying is we need to make a point to AT that we won't put up with it, and we need to do so without impacting sales.  

    Hopefully I haven't lost you all here but surely the thing to do so that everyone can contribute to standing up to AT, is that collectively we all commit to reducing our packages by 10, 15, 20% as an example.  If you can make the most of your forecourt and keep all of those spaces full with cars that are actually up for sale and not sold, in theory it shouldn't impact your business dramatically?

    It wouldn't surprise me if on a busy month at least 20% of my spaces online aren't in use, either with a car thats already sold or even a space that I just don't use. 

    For ease of numbers: 100 dealers paying £2500 a month commit to reduce there package by 20%.  

    Total before: £250k a month to AT

    Total after 20% reduction: £200k a month

    AT losing out on 50K a month as a rough average.  These are conservative numbers and I'm sure we could get alot more dealers involved than that.

    Best case scenario they reduce our packages.  Worst case scenario a lot of us will see if we really need to advertise ALL our cars on AT.

     

    Depending on feedback, I'll be happy to make an online petition to see how many people would be willing to put there name down to reduce there AT package slightly, then I'll forward to Autotrader!

    Thanks

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    On 3/22/2018 at 4:40 PM, Mark101 said:

    Clearly, this is one of this forums favourite subjects - AT (sorry).

    When I key in the VRM and mileage, I get a rough guide price.  Is that based on everything currently advertised with AT or CAP or Glass's or whole of Market and how realistic would you say it is?

    My cars are all advertised above the AT valuation, why do I do that?

    All get PDI, Full MOT (even if there is 10 months left), valet, warranty, service (irrespective of when it was last done) and any paint defects addressed and although not VAT registered yet, I am still factoring my VAT margin because I do not want to get used to being able to "pocket" and extra few hundred quid in a deal for when it inevitably is forced upon me - This doesn't come cheaply.  I trade from home and rather than have swarms of people picking over one because it is cheap, I want 1 person (hopefully the first) to appreciate the extra value that few hundred quid buys you and walk away happy.

    Having said that, even when I had the pitch, I would rarely be allowed a chip beyond £100 or so because I knew that the right person would be along eventually.

    One example (my only one on AT at the moment) https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803184688829?logcode=visc&fromSA=true

     

    I'd leave the warranty, just try to up sell it after.  and background isn't great, but the pics of the car are really nice, interior wise as well.  Plus decent enough camera.  Alot of positives, but price isnt one of them.  It doesnt look like you'll be making alot of money on this one (IMO).  You'd make more money on an old banger!

    Also just to point out margin is calculated including buyers fee's in the purchase price so you won't pay that much VAT.

    And you'll probably be better off being VAT registered if you spend that much on prep, you'll only claim it back.

  17. Posted

    On 3/22/2018 at 9:11 PM, Grantlfc81 said:

    All of my photos are regiment and I would deffo not have muddy puddles in my photos.

    https://www.autotrader.co.uk/services/car-dealers/uk/east-of-england/essex/billericay/village-cars-billericay-billericay-dpp-10012523

     

    we are internet based only so it’s important customers judge our cars on our presentation. We are improving with every car.

     

    Don't mean to divert, but how do you get the background with logo, number etc.

  22. Posted

    Carzana are very good, £2.50 a check i think at the moment.  They'll tell you where the car was last advertised to as well, ideal for finding out spec and whether it was sold for spares and repairs.

    Customer p/x'd an SLK in the other day, gave her £5k, which was a fair price for it, and she bought it for £11750 3 1/2 years ago with 5k less mileage according to Carzana. 

    That's got to sting!

  23. Posted

    Completely agree, difficult to get the cars that need a bit of TLC for sensible money as well!  Have a look on Tootle, its where private sellers sell directly to dealers, sometimes i'll find a good one on there.

    Hope that helps! 

  24. Posted

    Hi Guys,

    Wondered if i could get some feedback if any of you have tried motors.co.uk or know of people that have tried it.  

    I negotiated a free two week trial, but they want me to commit to there 3 month contract for 25 cars for £225 +VAT a month.

    Worth it?

    Cheers

  25. Posted

    Thanks for the feedback, unfortunately i dont have an indoor showroom.  The cars in the background are actually ours, but i wouldn't know how to show that through our pictures to be honest!

    Not sure how i would tackle lighting without having an indoor showroom unless anybody has any suggestions, or examples of how they combat it?

    Also i think my pictures are consistent in that they are all in the same sequence and format, is that what you mean?  

    Sounds like the banner looks tacky, shall i just get rid?  Or is there a better alternative?

    cheers guys