Paul C

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Everything posted by Paul C

  1. If I were younger and fitter I'd make all the same mistakes all over again! There is another element to the current issue. Since the "return to normality" is indeterminate, do we take the risk to 1) get staff back, possibly to earn less than their 80% of OTE, 2) make huge upheaval changes to the business to accommodate remote selling alongside all the contactless/social distancing/H&S at work concerns, only to bleed cash at a slightly lower rate than now. What about 6 months time? If the lockdown goes on (and on....) you'll probably be glad you acted now, because those others have missed out on the experience. And what on earth will the market look like in 6 months time? I know the various bodies which set car values have indicated they'll not let prices freefall downwards but what if people just become accustomed to being at home, demand for cars (and availability of finance) slumps never to return and its simply impossible for all but a small(er) proportion of the industry to survive long term?
  2. (I know its a bit grim but) I've stared death in the face in my early 20s - I was seriously ill in hospital, but lived, and am still here at 47. I don't know how I'd cope with CV19 virus - I might brush it off, but I might die. I'm not going to stop it doing what makes life worth living, though (of course, within the relevant government guidelines, legislation and moral framework we all live in). I've had a bucket list before and I've finished it - I might add a few more things though.
  3. To clarify, this is for (home) delivery, not re-opening of car showrooms. This also means "click and collect" style transactions would not be allowed at the dealership which remains closed to the public. And also, crucially, the other measures such as social distancing at work, mitigation of transmission via extra cleaning of surfaces, self-isolation if you're sick (including household members and sick pay from day 1) are all in place. I don't know your personal circumstances but I suspect you are in the group which have been strongly advised to self-isolate (as distinct from social distancing) and I don't know if you have others/staff who can take on the roles.
  4. Presumably there is a fairly even spread through the year of when renewals fall. Maybe they've done the sums and realised its better for customer retention to "be good" and offer a part-refund because a number of people are realising they could get along quite well without the car (even if/when lockdown is lifted). I never thought I'd say it but I could do it (and at road tax £325/year......)
  5. There is a lesson opportunity there somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Maybe logistics/supply chain management in the digital world?
  6. Lawgistics said: ‘Selling online is considered running an organised distance selling scheme, so customers could have the right to cancel the contract for UP TO A YEAR after delivery if they are not advised of the right to cancel the contract. Car dealers can also be prosecuted by Trading Standards.’ When they say (I'm including Cazoo) "You have 7 days to try the car out"..........shouldn't that be "You have 14 days to try the car out"? If not, then does it expose them to the risk that someone might cancel up to a year, if the 7 days is prominent and even if the 14 day DSR figure is mentioned somewhere else in the small print?
  7. I'd happily buy cheap and expensive online - for the cheap, accepting that "price reflects condition". Its the middle ground I'm wary of. Its a shame the appraisals are so variable, if they were consistent it would give more confidence.
  8. Brilliant Freudian slip there!
  9. This is when a thorough description, tons of pics and a bunch of 5 star Google reviews is going to come into play. I think there will always be a proportion of buyers who want to see the car (and will either delay purchase or return the cars) but there is scope for secondhand as well as new - for the brave. The wider issue I think is that dealers simply aren't geared up for this, even without the additional considerations of sanitising, unfurloughing staff and the inevitable reduction in demand/deep recession looming. A tricky time to make money.
  10. A trend I've noticed is many are saying "we're waiting on government guidance". We're about 20th in the queue, behind other sectors such as.....the airline industry; pubs; restaurants........ schools, etc. Its almost worth taking a risk and preempting what the mid-term will be like, just like eg Cazoo have done.
  11. James a very similar poll was already started on the same topic:
  12. For me, that's the big factor (probably bigger than the amount of change needed to adapt to contactless/remote selling procedures). There's a couple of aspects 1) spend more time to get the right car for the right person 2) have a robust and effective returns process 3) more detail in the description (including faults and condition). A lot of it comes down to the photos, if you offer a portfolio of a ton of pics it shows there's an effort being made and nothing to hide. I think many punters will just wait it out though, rather than change car, especially heading for a deep recession.
  13. Thanks for posting the link, its interesting it refers back to the scientific advice.
  14. How does it relate to the OP? Specifically, the pertinent points are that's an auction, to private buyer, with an engineer's report. For the OP its fixed price, to 'trade,' no engineer's report. I suspect the engineer's report swung it in that case. (Or maybe I need to look at the details of SOGA! I'll stick to retail for now - and charge retail).
  15. Are buyers that stupid? (Okay, I know "a fool and their cash are easily parted"). Retail sale ==> retail price, and all the things that come with it (like px, test drive, prep, finance, return, warranty etc) Trade sale ==> trade price Sure there's a legitimate minority of the GP who are happy to buy on trade terms, but they'd go to an auction and stick their hand in the air. I am not convinced there are that many people who would accept trade terms but pay retail. I know there's a subset of 'benefits' still available such as better viewing of the car than at an auction, px. Were they offering test drives? I suspect, if ever a case got to court the "trade terms" would fail the duck test. I know others want sight of trade insurance policy or similar.
  16. BCA's online auctions are not accessible by the general public - you need a trade account (and prove credentials) to bid online. Thus, they legitimately don't need to comply with that aspect of SOGA.
  17. I am guessing a lot of car dealers would love if the situation were clarified one way or another. In the meantime, we have this split. As mentioned on another thread, the science behind this would suggest that the lockdown isn't going to last 6 weeks (3 weeks is old news now). The short term will look different to the mid-term, which will look different to the long term.
  18. Agree, going forward, new car supply is a big issue - for someone like yourself it will be, "interesting". I guess you don't have any significant infrastructure to hold stock?
  19. Broadly yes, especially new. Once you consider secondhand, then its still "yes" but with certain variations, it might be one operates in a particular market area subject to this variation.
  20. Interesting, thanks. In theory, the best franchised dealers (I'm thinking of secondhand/nearly new cars) SHOULD be able to trade upon their reputation, at least for an interim. In other words, the customer's worry is the element of condition or issues with a SH car, which is mopped up by a new car warranty. To a certain extent they do this already (put the warranty terms of a SH and new car side-by-side and they are much the same) however its clear that even the best, don't have a robust process, all you need to do is read FB or Google reviews and you can see there's cases where something has happened that should never have been allowed to. In practice, they all need to tighten up yet further. Of course, most people buy a car because they need to, but there is a proportion of the market which is a want, not a need. I predict we may see a permanent downturn and owners simply use their car less, keep it longer, etc. Of course eventually the wheels fall off and a want translates into a need. The market's somewhat due an adjustment anyway. Another aspect which may come more prominent is sourcing/supply. I shudder to suggest it because I believe, on balance, cars are in excess supply and its a demand-driven industry. But for certain areas (eg electric) supply does have an influence, the high-end SH will play upon this more and more, in a bid to try give the customer more confidence. With new car supply issues over the next 6-12 months this will become more of a differentiating factor.
  21. Good point! I've lost count, is it 4 times now, they've altered the relevant advice quite significantly? It sure has all the hallmarks of a scheme drawn up in a hurry.
  22. Ling has been a breath of fresh air/kick up the arse for this forum. She's right, a lot of websites for manufacturers are dull and predictable. A lot of aspects of the car industry are dull. For example, here is the choice of the colours you can buy a Golf GTE from Das Welt Auto, if you wanted to: The wacky website is a big departure from the normal and as such, does its job but I can't help thinking (at least with the high-end) that there is a lot of "play it safe", "don't rock the boat" caution in their marketing, showrooms and branding. Up until now, that kinda worked. However life isn't going to be the same, for a long time. The high-end dealers are going to get a shock, for a number of reasons 1) they need to translate all the fluff of having an attractive receptionist, free coffee, comfy seats, posh cars inside etc into an appealing remote-selling prospect - quick and 2) the higher up you go, the more the entire car dealer industry seems to be propped up by finance. Its a bit like an enormous game of Jenga. I predict we'll see some big companies go bust in the next year or two - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if one of the "big" manufacturers (like, BMW or FCA) went under too. People need to understand the science behind Covid-19 and infectious diseases. This lockdown isn't for 3 weeks, its 3-6 months. 3 weeks is (just about, with a lot of propping up by a government with a money tree) achievable to pause then unpause the industry. 3-6 months, and there will be a queue of about 20 industries wanting government support and the car industry will be one of many. Firms need to take a risk, NOW, by trying to predict what "the new normal" will be like for the next year or so and adapt quickly because there will be a bounce-back, of sorts. But it will massively shift to online. Miss out on that and your cashflow is going to go weak, no matter how good it is at the moment.
  23. Given the choice of being furloughed with last year's commission; or back selling cars over the internet/phone in a market which is about 5% of its normal size, there's a strong financial reason NOT to be "the first back". But then they may appreciate doing something irrespective of the money. Realistically, there's only three ways you can do it: 1) voluntary/by agreement amongst 2) length of service, 3) draw up a skills matrix and evaluate who would be best or most suitable.