umesh

On my door step ( Few hundred yards) , thought worth sharing !! https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/jailed-car-trader-scammed-customers-1033078

Thank you kindly EPV #Appreciated

Friend of mine used to use pub car park across the road from his business, land lord was OK with the arrangements but cars got clamped 'no tax' !

I was under the impression everyone paid the same to some degree! i.e. 20 car package is the same for everyone ? Also been told numerous times ( but have no proof) that Franchise dealers pay less than the Independents ?

Mark, You've got to have a website , essential. Many Options and all worth considering depending on what you want. as already mentioned Cardealer5, Click Dealer and even Starkwood offer a starter option ! By using one of these they all have Reg Number look up and feeds to various portals which will make life easy for you. If you want any further help just shout! 01782 822 700 umesh@autochange.co.uk Umesh

Very intereted to see the results, as you rightly say sometimes customers do multiple searches and never remember which site they saw the cars on. ! Keep us posted, cheers Umesh

Welcome and hope it all goes well ! Most of us on here are willing to help and support. Umesh

Agree with RH Likewise have MOT bay, i.e a bulb is a failure as whilst testing they are not allowed do any repairs regardless of how small , once tested replace bulb and pass. It's just the rules! As already mentioned under trays, think pretty much every tester notes this , simple protection, the child seat is also a genuine example of how it should be done. VOSA do carry out random checks so why risk a black mark , just do the job right.

Every Month Philip Nothard conducts a 'dealer survey' on the state of the market, this gives some indication of what's happening all over the country, always a great insight. Would be great if everyone could spare couple of minutes to do this months survey please I have last survey results but it won't allow me to post these ? if you want the full report pdf -please drop me an email and I'll sent it on to you umesh@theimda.co.uk cheers Umesh

Just posted this in the IMDA , Officially price increase on 1st April , Letters /emails in the post, not got mine but I asked yesterday. Approx cost rise is £4.50/5.00 per car -per month ! Nice .. Just think 436776 cars showing this morning .. say 350,000 are dealers cars at £4.50 per car ..you do the sums !! £££££ Finance Calculator is chargeable from 1st April ( As I've previously mentioned it has NOT generated any deals for me since September 2016 !! ) but if you read all their posts/blurb its the best thing since sliced bread. As you've probably guessed it, IF you don't pay for the finance calc and customers search by monthly payments your CARS WILL NOT SHOW ( Just like PX Tool didn't ) as it can't work the payments without the chargeable calculator, the option they are offering is to have a FREE One but it's from ZUTO ! ( told them I'll be having Zuto but many of my images , now we have 100 will be saying finance ONLY Through ourselves and not Zuto, which they say it's up to me if that's what I wish to do!! Cost of their calculator for my stock circa £70 per month. Now the good bit .. The stock display will be better and the profile page for each dealer will also be better ! ( So they say!) AND How's about this for a 'U' Turn, FREE, Yes FREE Feed export to anyone from dealer portal. ( I said there is only one reason for this, they have lost so much business to the likes of Click dealer etc because of charging for stock feeds that they are trying to gain business back with AT websites, I also said they are also seeing which dealer feeds to where , why would ANY Dealer want to give them that information? Their argument - we're helping dealers !)

Jimbo, In all reality 30 days issues you should sort yourself and not expect warranty company to sort, their argument would be the car should not have some these issues in such a short time after delivery if the car was inspected/prepared correctly prior to sale. It also depends on how you want to build your business going forward, I don't know what price range/vehicles you sell, however my philosophy has always been to look after the customer and build a business, if you look after them from day one, sort out issues the chances are they will return / refer others to you. If you try to simply pass them on to the warranty company, some of these items i.e oil leak' type' will not be covered anyway and the customer will think the warranty isn't worth the paper its written on and still come shouting back to you.

If they require a car, a free courtesy loan car is always available. Keeps customers happy #RavingFans

All main dealers doing ' health checks ' to up sell, some video's I've seen are good but as said some really should not be posted /sent to customers.

This may be a contributor " Sold 1782 cars this week a record for the company and closing on on 6000 delivered for the month" Saw this on LinkedIn posted by their sales manager Burnley branch

I think in this case with Robins and Day the main issue I see reading the article, the clutch went within a very short time had they done the 'right thing' and replaced the clutch, keep the customer happy this situation I feel would not have arisen, the fact that the dealer dug their heels in the customer then looked more into the car/history and decided they found a way to claim. The headlines do not portray the real issues ..yet again journalists sensationalising the situation! It is a sad fact that ambulance chasers, PPI claim culture are jumping on the band wagon, only making our job difficult. Majority of the customers are happy with their purchases regardless of hire car or not.

Had one a few years ago with same issue ( Working fine when the customer picked it up but had a 7 year old son who loved pulling at things !!! ) ended up sending it into the Audi dealer think it costs circa £350/400 !

Dan, I've posted this on the Autotrader Forum to cast your net a bit further ... Hope you get some good content! Umesh

It is 1 VW It was owned by Ian Skelly Audi - VW Many years ago , also used to own AUD 1 ( Those who don't know the name Ian Skelly was a massive /successful dealer started in Scotland,also had dealerships in Liverpool, Manchester)

Talk to Jem @ Aston Scott Insurance - motortrade Insurance specialist. jememirali@astonscott.com or mobile 07850 322 592 Feel free to mentioned my name- hopefully he can help. umesh

As 2017 comes to a close (NOT Until 31st I hasten to add) what had been challenging and what do you as the biggest challenges for 2018? Getting the right stock at the right price to have a sensible return on investment, customer expectations, and return on investment with advertising platforms are the main ones and year on year it’s the same ones but with more issues. So what other challenges do you think we face as Independent Dealers in 2018 and what do you think that you’ll do different in 2018 that will ‘make the difference’ to you/your business. Umesh

Sytner has acquired The Car People, its second used car supermarket group takeover within 12 months. The UK’s largest franchised dealer group has now established a car supermarket division with almost £500m annual turnover, in which The Car People and CarShop will operate separately, under divisional managing director Jonathan Dunkley, formerly Car Shop’s chief executive. Jonathan Allbones, The Car People’s sales and marketing director, becomes its operations director under Sytner’s new structure, while Kirk O’Callaghan is operations director for CarShop. Both report to Dunkley, who in turn reports to Sytner chief executive Darren Edwards. Edwards told AM the acquisition was in line with Sytner’s plans to diversify into used car operations as it sees good growth opportunities ahead in the UK’s used car market. Prior to the latest takeover, Edwards had already given Dunkley a remit to identify new areas where the division could establish more car supermarkets, and it has bought two suitable properties in line with this ambition. The Car People has four dealerships in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cheshire and Lancashire, while CarShop currently has five at Cardiff, Swindon, Northampton, Doncaster and Norwich. Edwards said there are no plans to merge the two businesses under one trading brand, as each is its own established, successful brand and culture and loyal customer bases, and each has its own back-of-house processes and sources of stock. Sytner’s franchised businesses also operate under several different brands, including Graypaul, Guy Salmon and Sytner. He added: “CarShop has been really successful. We’ve been delighted with the levels of profitability and professionalism of that business, so we started to research what else was around. Since the early days of Sytner when we grew, our strategy was to acquire businesses that were in good locations, well run and represent the right brands, and we’ve stood firm with that to build a business with nearly 150 franchises.” He said Sytner was looking for more used car businesses that are high quality after buying CarShop, and The Car People, which turns over £225m annually, came to its notice. “It’s another fantastic business, with amazing locations, first class housekeeping and excellent management principles. It’s a different business to CarShop, but similar in many ways in terms of operator model, fixed price sales, no haggle, and a very transparent buying process and great website,” said Edwards. Dunkley said The Car People business will add approximately 18,000 used car sales per year to the division and described the acquisition as "game changing". He added: “The CarShop team and I are excited to be joining forces with The Car People who are a fantastic team with a great business that operates under a similar model to our own. “There will no doubt be many opportunities to share best practice between both organisations over time.” The deal is expected to be completed in Q1 2018. Prior to Sytner’s acquisitions, Car Shop and The Car People were the UK’s fourth and fifth largest used car dealers by turnover. Sytner is the UK operation of US-based Penske Automotive Group, chaired by Roger Penske. Interesting acquisition, To be honest when Sytner bought Carshop I did wonder who would be next ? - so which one after The Car People ? Thoughts on this?

Currently we have 20 live suppliers with exclusive deals for IMDA members and another 20 awaiting to go live on the hub, to name a few Click Dealer Carsnip Tootle WMS Warranty Group CitNow Fleet Auction Group G Forces Total circa

The list of suppliers / partners are all on the www.theimdahub.co.uk , This is changing and updated on a very regular basis as new suppliers/partners come on board. All the approved members have full access to this information. Joining is simple process from www.theimda.co.uk [ Should dealers wish to join] Hope that helps

Superlease pleasure to answer : Just some of the benefits What are the benefits of joining The IMDA ? Full Access to use the Trade only IMDA Forum which over the years has be an invaluable tool for sharing industry knowledge & best practice between dealers. Legal Advice through Lawdata (Legal experts in the Automotive field) with a dedicated Legal Helpline. Full Access to The IMDA Hub- Industry Information & learning Hub with relevant news & views. Choose from a wide range of Exclusive IMDA Offers from various handpicked Approved Suppliers. Daily updated blogs from Industry Experts sharing their views & news. Get your Voice heard as we lobby Corporations & Government on your behalf. Support with FCA Compliance, GDPR, HR & Employment Law at the end of the phone. Benefits that will help you run your business more efficiently either by cutting costs or adding value and time to your already busy schedule, THE Place for all your resource. Hope these help to give you an indication of what the Association is about ? Umesh

I started the post on the IMDA as genuinely believe this is the way forward for the Independent dealers, together with like-minded colleagues we started the association, we all believe the Independent sector needs a voice, support and help not only to survive but to grow and reinvest. A pipe dream some may say-maybe, we’ll see! I’ve met on this forum many dealers who have become friends over the years, we’ve helped each other, I get many calls – emails dealers asking for advice which I am more than pleased to help anyone in any way from my experience, knowledge or a simple chat. The Association is not for everyone but we truly believe without the Independent’s having a voice WE the independent dealers will suffer long term, we are getting squeezed from every angle. From the beginning of talking as a founding group we canvassed through our landing page asking fellow dealers and suppliers if they agreed with what we were proposing, to sign up with expressions of interest to join just such an association. At official launch we reached just under 700 expressions of interest from dealers and suppliers alike. Whilst initially we launched with memberships fees for both dealers and suppliers alike it was quickly apparent that the higher than expected number of suppliers that joined immediately pushed up our finances to such an extent that we were able to allow dealer membership for Free until January 2019. Other donations and fee’s also boosted the bank balance. The early success with suppliers joining is now being seen with high amounts of like-minded dealers signing up to join the IMDA. All these early adopters both dealers and suppliers will start to benefit from joining straight away. The association is like nothing else with innovated products and services never seen before in an association. We are now seeing lots of those 700 expressions turning into memberships. Regarding the Car Dealer Forum comments it was apparent that no constructive ground was going to be possible rather only negative energy was in evidence. Jim Reid and David Bilsborough both offered their numbers for contact including myself. So far no calls have been forthcoming. Given the nature of this we would welcome you to pick up the phone to Jim, David or myself but failing this please visit the www.theimda.co.uk for all details about the association. We are not at liberty to discuss anything more within this forum regarding the association rather we are letting dealers and suppliers rate us as an association by joining or not. We are pleased to report that hundreds have and are doing just this and applying to join. Finally I would say you all know who I am and who all the founders are, we have nothing to hide and are fully transparent, we are all individuals and we all have our opinions but some of the comments on this forum are very personal, why? We don’t have a magic wand but we’re doing something which has never been done in this industry ‘ An Independent Motor Dealers Association ‘ if’s it’s something you believe you’d like to join that’s great, if it’s not for you that is fine too. It is your choice. Thanks for your time Umesh Feel free to call me 01782 822 700 or umesh@autochange.co.uk