LINGsCARS

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Posts posted by LINGsCARS

  2. Posted

    Just now, awc1000 said:

    regards the contempt, i was referring to the various other posts you made - the customer advise on keeping clear of franchise dealers and advising on brokerage as a better option, granted some are bad but not all, ling you may be an honest broker, but in the 38 years i have been in this trade i have rarely met a straight one, most brokers are lier's parasites and have low morals, i could write a list of their bad habits which would make most people considering using a broker run a mile.

    Ah, right. THAT contempt. Now I understand.

  4. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    15 minutes ago, metcars said:

    I don't think I could sell a punter a 10yr old Ford focus and have them wait 3 months to pick it up? Or maybe I could? I can guarantee they'd want to chip me come handover?

    Hang on,

    First, your 10 year old Focus will have probably dropped to bits by then, agreed...

    Second, Umesh is selling his old cars for delivery after lockdown, why not mutter at him?

     

    UMESH1.jpg

    *** note, I applaud Umesh selling online by video, showing some spirit in this adversity, everyone could be doing that?

  5. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    14 minutes ago, awc1000 said:

    good for you, i just hope the industry you show so much contempt for yet rely on for supply still exists when this crisis ends...

    out of interest - how much lead time did you quote for delivery? and where can i buy the type of crystal ball that you are using?

    Merc is 19th June delivery, Trok is 20th August.

    Why am I showing contempt? I am selling cars, supporting the industry. Doing what i should be doing. How is that contempt? I'm supporting my suppliers and my customers.

    Don't need a crystal ball, ...just plain balls will do. And a "get on with it" attitude.

  7. Posted

    My 2-pennethworth (someone asked me this stuff privately, so I thought I would post it) is that everyone has cars. But there is only one *YOU*.

    So, you need to present online or FB or wherever.

    Do what other people don't do... buy yourself an edge.

    It's worth to spend a few quid on great photos from (say) a wedding photographer, build up a real album of them to use. I'd say photos are the thing most people screw up on. Explain you need photos that *pop*. Make sure they are full HD (or bigger). Splash £1000 for a full portfolio of great photos, In all shapes and sizes.

    I would really say, just be YOU. Try not to be deliberately funny, but give your opinions. Don't be shy. Consider the photos need to be well lit/bright primary colour clothing, doing stuff like sweeping the floor etc (not stood there like an idiot). Polishing cars, doing stuff. Jump starting. Use props. throw things, use action. Look at the camera. Use emotion, shout, get angry. All those make great photos. Don't be a grinning idiot in a suit.

    Give as much personal info as you can, be brave, then people will make up their minds whether they will trust you. Don't be anonymous. Don't pretend to be a big co if you aren't. Always say *I*, not *WE*. Always.

    Then, start to make movies, watch that interview with JB and Carwow yesterday, just make loads of short 15 sec to 1 min movies. Someone will like them. Make sure they are full HD, and GET THE SOUND GOOD.

    None of this costs much, but £500 on photos is a really good investment, no one else will do that.

    Use animated gifs... like these ones, here is me and Adrian.

    Make sure you POP online, don't have to be stupid, you just need to have more oooomph than the rest :) Keep it personal.

    The trick is, you need stuff people will pass to other people and say "worth looking at this". Easy.

    Ling

     

    ani1.gif

    ani6.gif

    • Like 1

  10. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    6 minutes ago, DCS01 said:

    So making money might be a bit tough at the current time lol

    I'm afraid that will come true for you. 

    Best will in the world, you need to get a grip. I'd say that to anyone.

    At the very least, get a £15/hr fruit picking job, that is equivalent to the max furlough amount (£2500/mth). You'll soon build capital if you live frugally.

    No doubt someone will come along and be kinder/sympathise more, soon.

  11. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    2 minutes ago, DCS01 said:

    I am using the time productively, setting up relevant trade accounts, re activating my old Facebook account (deal with the devil) to change for the business.

    When this starts to blow over I will be ready to go.

    I hate to be cruel, but that is not "productively". That stuff is 10 minutes of clicking. Busy-work. "Productively" is producing - Ie making money. 

    Show me the facebook account.

  12. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    DCS01: Selling cars is perfectly fine. There are no "banned" occupations. It's just how you do it.

    There are lots of jobs out there, on another thread I showed fruit-picking.

    You're trying to find reasons NOT to do stuff... look at it the other way and get on with it.

    8 minutes ago, DCS01 said:

    So this is the thing I don’t get.  I am now technically unemployed as the job I was moving to cancelled the contract and my current employer being on of the big player  plcs have refused to keep me on and furlough me.

    So my plan for a while has been to open up at my dads place. Seems like now is that time when this starts to settle.

    Now I am still in the mind set that morally and going by government guidance to be selling cars even remotely is not the right thing to do. However to just make sure we have enough money coming in (I am lucky the wife is still earning) I am currently applying for delivery driver jobs for the likes of Hermes/Uber/Iceland. I get that Iceland would be considered a key service but delivering something someone has brought on Amazon? It’s a fine line...

    Everyone here is good online... I mean you're all communicating effectively on this forum, eh? The miserable ones are often the most prolific.

    What I'm astonished at is that so few of you are prepared to use your real name, or say who you are. Why on earth not? Why does (most) everyone think hiding their identity is a GOOD thing? Do you wear bags over your heads in real-life?

  14. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    2 minutes ago, Paul C said:

    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.

    Well, with all the factories having closed for a month, and the parts suppliers too, and all the pipeline delays, surely the new cars can only get scarcer this year? So prices may harden.

    I mean look at Golfs. a big seller. This happens just on change over Golf 7-8. I've still got G Mk7 orders in... unsure where the cars are? Surely the builds will be cancelled? Surely, there will only be 8's being built now? It's all up in the air.

    And Golf is usually No1 UK seller.

  15. Posted

    1 minute ago, Highlinev8 said:

    Theres plenty of used stock out there but the trade sellers are in a period of indecision re pricing so not much stock is selling. 

    Things were not helped by the majority of Cap Clean prices going up in value on the 1st of April. Realistically sales managers need to be looking at Cap and projecting future values to at least six months time if they want to sell to the trade today.

    Yeah well most VEDs went up on 1st April too, that bloody 1st reg fee... so we've all had a price hike, maybe that VED rise pushed used cars up in Cap?

  16. Posted

    20 minutes ago, Paul C said:

     

    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.

    Do you think cars are oversupply? I find the opposite with new cars, lead times can be 6-months, and God knows what will happen now post-virus. If I find physical cars, it's like Christmas :)

    With used cars, don't companies like WBAC and Cazzoo just suck supply?

     

    ===========

     

    Another reasonable day today sales-wise (considering), with 2 x new Tigs. ... (this would have been a crappy day pre-virus). My average is 1.5 creeping up to 2/cars a day, this month. There is still much demand out there, a point made by CarWoW. Many people want new cars. Not many places are dealing with them.

  17. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    51 minutes ago, Paul C said:

    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:

    image.png.7e97a60ca8cbe1ae9e08de2af6f8fb63.png

     

    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.

    I would say the translation into online RELATIONSHIPS with customers is a big thing, now.

    For used car dealers (seem the majority on this forum) they should watch the CARWOW interview and take notes. It's about communication with customers away from face to face. Don't get left behind, give customers a reason to smile, and they will buy.

    For Franchised dealers, hmmm, they are really constrained by "brand", or even worse... trying to manage multiple brands. They have to be brave, I think. The boldest will win. Once they move online, they lose their precious geographical USP. They are already forced to use manufacturer names (eg Mercedes Doncaster or such). They may as well be in an anonymous shed in Corby, to serve the UK. For a while, few people will want to do face to face. Especially the older cash rich ones.

    I foresee them trying to overcome blandness with a massive SEO spend, forcing the PPC up. Or they rely on referrals from manufacturer portals, which further subjugates their identity.

    If I were them, I'd develop a very attractive (big tits springs to mind, frankly) live-video streaming meet and greet crew. That sends female customers to an attractive young man, and vice versa with male customers, and also caters for the gay community. To be blunt you have to ATTRACT custom and HOLD attention while some relationship develops (15 mins sounds good). So these attractive people need intelligent, funny personalities and be able to string some not-duhhhh sentences together.

    Who dares, wins.

     

  18. Posted · Edited by LINGsCARS

    Seems an ideal opportunity to weed out any staff you don't want to keep.

    You could choose based on sex, colour, religion, ability, body odour... anything goes really. May be ideal for misogynist or racist employers. You might get away with retaining people on just 80% of their previous salary? Or weaker terms? Or force less hours? Who knows... 

    Or does the employee get to question it? I mean, will you end up in a tribunal because you didn't offer a fair and transparent process in demonstrating who you take off furlough first? Do you need to fully document your rationale?

    Or will the Government force furlough to end across the board (so you will be forced into a broad decision concerning all staff)? Or will they claim back furlough from the company, for people who get bulletted? Like a clawback.

    God knows at the moment.

    Pragmatically, I agree... you would go with the strongest workers and protect the most sensible number of jobs. But mass redundancies or not taking backs... may play very badly on public media. Cash is king though, you can only do what you can do.

  20. Posted

    3 minutes ago, Halfpenny said:

    If Ling is not furloughed then there is no reason she should not work from home. She processes orders and passes them on to dealers/leasing co's and the delivery issues are owned by them. However I wouldn't think delivery of a brand new car poses much of a health risk. It should be easy to sanitise touch points and the cars are only driven on and off a transporter. There is a risk of additional accidents through transporters being on the road but the chances must be very small. We are allowing the likes of Amazon to continue to ship vast quantities of non-essential goods and that must overall present a vastly greater risk than the very small number of new car deliveries that are going on.

    In terms of Lings marketing - well lease brokering in a very competitive industry (although all roads seem to lead back to a handful of big leasing co's). I suspect almost all leasing customers have decided what vehicle/spec they want and then trawl the internet for the cheapest deal. Anything that increases a broker's web traffic has got to be good - and Ling has gone down the 'wild and whacky' route to grab attention. After that its a case of being price-competitive and then, as with any brokering business, providing good service (which basically boils down to prompt and accurate processing and responses to customer orders/queries).

    As a used car dealer I think that Ling's activities are so dissimilar to mine as to be irrelevant to me. The only impact is that she is facilitating the financing of new cars which I guess is good for me because it boosts the supply of used cars.  As for her 'whacky' marketing strategy, well I guess I could go down the 'Crazy John's Used Cars' route and adopt a 'Howling Mad Murdoch' persona, but IMHO that's the kind of stuff that plays much better with the yanks rather than the rather dour customers that we get.

    Good analysis. :)

  24. Posted

    I would say to customers: Go through a broker when negotiating with a new car dealer, if you can. Because it avoids the "dealer experience" where a customer gets played and spit-roasted, and puts you in a much stronger position. Get everything in writing (EVERYTHING) because dealers can be known to occasionally lie (that's code for nearly 100% of the time), and make everything explicit, not ambiguous.

    I deal with dozens of new car dealers every day, and wouldn't dream of doing anything verbally - it always needs to be in writing. All those emails and written notes form part of a contract which protects you. Anything that contains the word "try", will mean the exact opposite. Add 3-weeks to any date that is promised.