GreenGiant

Thanks to the 8th Wonder of the World that is Sky+, i've managed to avoid being bombarded by any ads on commercial tv for years. It's quite amazing how much of your life you can avoid wasting. Managed to see the X-Factor final (2 hour programme) in 37 minutes. I know it's still 37 minutes I wasted, but it's a start...

Afaik, both are all rebranded WBAC stock. Best condition stock is UKCG and klunkers are branded CCTS. But i could be wrong... it did happen....once...

Gate being locked. Horse already gone.

Yeah, had many a situation like that over the years. We've all had the punters who will put a small deposit on one at your place and then troll round to the oppo's site and do the same there, decide overnight which one they prefer and then, the next day, a flood in the loft, sudden unexpected redundancy, or a very sick relative will appear on the scene and your car can no longer be afforded... "sorry 'bout that, but we need the money..." It's difficult but, fwiw, this is how we do it: Firstly, deposit is a minimum £500. If that is no problem, this lets you know immediately the level of commitment is high. Secondly, if they ask if it is refundable, this also lets you know immediately the level of commitment, but not in such a good way. We ask why they would need it to be refunded and suggest that, if they can think of ANY reason why they wouldn't wish to proceed, then don't put down a deposit in the first place. Thirdly, the "can I put a holding deposit on it and let you know Monday?" is always, ALWAYS answered with a no and an explanation that, if someone comes in before then and puts their flexible friend on the desk wanting to buy the same car, I'm going to take their money. If I tell them they can't buy it because there's already a deposit on it and you then tell me you don't want it either, I've lost the sale twice. So you either buy the car now (£500 dep) or take your chance and come back Monday. I don't think I've ever lost a sale because of this.

That's the first place I looked and was surprised there was no link there.

...and maybe a more obvious link to this forum from the top of the magazine home page might mean more than a couple of dozen of us can find it? That box at the top looks like an ad which, let's face it, we all ignore.

As long as we all have proper contingencies in the accounts to cover the compensation claims, there's nowt to worry about!

From the news today: The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a £28 million fine to Lloyds Banking Group for incentives schemes which drove staff to hit targets rather than consider customers fairly. Who'd have thunk it, eh? Couldn't happen to us though, could it?

To advertise, even trade-to-trade, pre-reg or 'supported' new cars is to admit that they even exist. And that would never do. Because all new car 'registrations' are real sales to real end users. Aren't they? If they aren't then the Sale of New Cars Order comes into play.

Maybe somebody needs to instigate a Trading Standards investigation? It would be interesting to see how the BCA/wenickanycar.com relationship might be viewed in law, particularly in reference to the SOGA as you guys have discussed. You'd have thought that BCA's legal team would have had that base covered, but who knows..?

Speaking of Vauxhalls... I remember waaaaaay back in the late 80's the 'Club' special edition Nova, Astra and Cavalier. Solid white with yellow and black striped seats and door trims. Shocking. Looked like a bad trip to the seaside, in every sense.

Whoa! Never saw that one coming, did we?!

Just been reading an article here that might make uncomfortable reading for some. I had a similar conversation with an insurance industry bigwig recently confirming that, once the first successful claim goes in (and it's when, not if...) there's an extreme likelihood of a total sh*tstorm following on very quickly. And you know how the Daily Mail loves a sh*tstorm. I know of at least one dealer group whose policy has been to 'bundle' GAP into ALL new car finance deals by tweaking the GFV/payment period etc to disguise its inclusion, and I suspect they are not alone. Be warned people, this is not going away.

The difficulty is also that, no matter what each different website rep tells you, your customers will look on AT whilst searching for cars. I know that I can send my sales data to each other website and they will tell me what enquiry came specifically from them, but they can't tell me that the enquiry came EXCLUSIVELY from their site - and I wouldn't believe them if they did. IMHO as it stands, AT is WAAAAAY too expensive, but there is no credible alternative. Yet.

You're right, Gavin. Had Exchange & Mart reps in yesterday, telling about how they're the new greatest thing and would guarantee us more enquiries and prove it works etc etc It's never ending they can't all be right. We spend a truckload with Autotrader and we sell cars because anyone looking to buy a car will look there. I'm certainly not changing just because a sales rep tells me I should, I'll stick with what works. ...For now... as you may have a point, Jim. I just don't think I'm brave enough to take the leap yet. Besides, I learned many, many years ago that you don't advertise in the Dandy, if all your potential customers read the Beano.

Always been the case though, even before t'interweb. We find that most walk-ins on Sundays are just going the long route around trying to find out a value for their old klunker. It wastes our time, their time and doesn't achieve anything usually, especially as We-Nick-any-Car.com have already told them its priceless. Even with phone enquiries it is usually a spurious 'I'm interested in your car, but before we come over, can you give us an idea....etc' It gets a bit demoralising sometimes knowing that you're dealing with Alma* (as we call 'em) but you have to go thru the motions of explaining that it ain't as cut & dried as they think and there is a variety of different valuations dependent upon Trade/Wholesale/Auction/Private/Retail and which would they like? I've also found asking them a question in return highlights the difficulty: "I've got a 3 bedroomed house in Sometown, how much is that worth?" Once they realise the variables involved they either soften up and appreciate the difficulty or, more usually, think I'm trying to be awkward and try someone else. Either way, it's probably a win/win for all of us. *Alma That's Alma Chismer As in: Alma Chismer car worth?

Or maybe some retailers have grasped that a hashtag means absolutely nothing to 95% of the population and there's no point trying to confuse the message by using phrases their customers don't understand. It's all very well you switched-on dudes being up to speed with the latest social media trends, but if I asked the vast majority of our customers what they would do with a hashtag, I suspect the most popular response would be "smoke it". Fundamental Rule of Retailing: Don't Use Jargon

Yeah, but that only looks after vehicles with insurance claims against them. It's no surprise that the PNC is waaaay to complicated; that's what happens when you just keep bolting on 'upgrades' year after year to ancient systems (sound familiar guys?) rather than to start again with a clean slate and new technology. I just think there must be another way of helping to find 'wanted' vehicles. separate from the PNC. Maybe an opportunity for someone?

You were lucky, Umesh. Ordinarily, you would find out that all those 'extras' were in fact standard equipment and you'd paid well over the odds. I do wonder why you didn't get the spec checked until after you owned it though? You don't list Russian Roulette as one of your hobbies! It is a minefield and there's no sign of it getting any easier. eg How are we going to value the new breed of hybrids in 3 or 4 years? What effect will the battery condition and replacement costs have? What will battery replacement costs be? Let's face it, the manufacturers don't give a toss about how we are going to value their cars several years down the line. They just want the new ones shifted..

Will it though? On the face of it it's not any more than any reputable dealer would offer anyway. If the Main Dealers are looking to compete, they'll have to do it on price as well as all this fluffy stuff (HPi & mileage check? Is that a radical new USP? Really?). And the more goodies they throw at their sales opportunities, the more the costs go up, so the more they have to mark up the stock, or the lower the retained margins. So, it's dearer cars and therefore less enquiries, or competitively-priced cars with manufacturer-backed 'extras' making less profit. And let's not ignore the fact that these 'special' warranties are freely available from Car Care Plan etc at a lower cost than the manufacturer charges... after all, they want to make a chunk out of each one. Just think it's a bit of spin to make it sound like it's more than it is.

We WERE in, but we hid behind the sofa 'til you went away.

...nope... lost me there too....

Grumpy Old Git here... Translation of all or any of the above would be appreciated please.

Nah.. It's my fault. Sold too many!

Internet doubter? Quite the opposite; more of an early-adopter I'd say. On board since the mid-nineties. I know it's here to stay (for now), and that isn't what I see the problem as. It's the complete paradigm shift towards total reliance upon it that worries me. Like all technologies, it's here today, gone tomorrow. How will the facespace junkies get their fix then? We do agree about some things though: the yoof of today are absolutely tomorrow's customers. Not sure where their income is going to be generated to enable them to buy cars off you, but I digress. Nevertheless, that alone is not a sufficiently strong argument to prove how positive social media is. (and any day now, I'll stick my fax machine in the same pile as the VHS recorder, floppy disks and Ronco Buttoneer!) I'm happy dealing with today's customers. Today. And they couldn't care less what I had for breakfast or if my cat looks like Winston Churchill. And I have no inclination to tell them. Even in 140 characters or less.