petrol head 46 Posted April 11 Have merc stopped the agency model. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 702 Posted April 12 Don’t understand the ‘agency model ‘and it doesn’t benefit dealers.It reminds me ( probably not you guys ) of the distant past when new car dealerships held an ‘agency’ rather than a ‘franchise ‘and if they didn’t like something being imposed on them ,they would just tell the manufacturer to find someone else to sell their cars ! I saw it happen once,I was buying stock from a family owned main dealer who had added Datsun ( years later called Nissan ) .The worst model was a 180B Coupe which was a camel and didn’t sell and on this day a transporter pulled up unannounced delivering about 8 of these Coupes .The boss went ballistic and got on the phone and told the then Datsun importer to the UK where to go !……..You couldn’t do that today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's me 615 Posted April 14 On 4/12/2024 at 9:25 PM, trade vet said: .The worst model was a 180B Coupe which was a camel and didn’t sell boss man took the hump 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 702 Posted April 15 On 4/14/2024 at 3:30 PM, It's me said: boss man took the hump He definitely did ! Do you remember the early Datsun Cherry’s and Sunny’s .They were cheap to buy,plentiful and brilliant sellers although the wings and sills rotted like hell and needed bodging !………..past glories. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's me 615 Posted April 16 11 hours ago, trade vet said: He definitely did ! Do you remember the early Datsun Cherry’s and Sunny’s .They were cheap to buy,plentiful and brilliant sellers although the wings and sills rotted like hell and needed bodging !………..past glories. Datsun 100a Now they were bad We got one tested one Saturday morning and it passed, the tester had been to a party the night before We got I back and realised it wasn't his finest hour as the inner wings weren't attached to the chassis rails We spent 2 days welding it up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 702 Posted April 16 2 hours ago, It's me said: Datsun 100a Now they were bad We got one tested one Saturday morning and it passed, the tester had been to a party the night before We got I back and realised it wasn't his finest hour as the inner wings weren't attached to the chassis rails We spent 2 days welding it up That would be right but mechanically it would have been good.You probably paid £100 for it ! About 25 years ago in a restaurant in Spain I got talking to guy who said he had been the financial director for Datsun UK from day one. They sold thousands of 100A Cherry’s and this guy insisted that the total cost of new car warranty claims on the Cherry in one particular year amounted to under £1000 ? A friend of mine only sold Cherry’s ,he had a small paint shop and having bought them for under £200 he then bodged them ( or resurrected them ) during the day and doorstepped them in the evenings for about £500. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's me 615 Posted April 16 (edited) 8 hours ago, trade vet said: That would be right but mechanically it would have been good.You probably paid £100 for it ! About 25 years ago in a restaurant in Spain I got talking to guy who said he had been the financial director for Datsun UK from day one. They sold thousands of 100A Cherry’s and this guy insisted that the total cost of new car warranty claims on the Cherry in one particular year amounted to under £1000 ? A friend of mine only sold Cherry’s ,he had a small paint shop and having bought them for under £200 he then bodged them ( or resurrected them ) during the day and doorstepped them in the evenings for about £500. Yes bought them repaired and welded them and if needed gave them a blow with sadolin with white spirit added, to be fair it was easier buying ford's Vauxhall and bl though as there were more dogs available in the line up Friday night at morley We traded from a lovely old mill, not Edited April 16 by It's me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petrol head 46 Posted April 17 Im loving the Datsun stories and it must have been much more fun back in the day. However have merc given up on the agency model? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 702 Posted April 18 16 hours ago, petrol head said: Im loving the Datsun stories and it must have been much more fun back in the day. However have merc given up on the agency model? Apologies PH for us ‘oldies ‘ hijacking your topic ‘. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's me 615 Posted April 19 On 4/18/2024 at 11:16 AM, trade vet said: Apologies PH for us ‘oldies ‘ hijacking your topic ‘. Got to say we used the Mercedes truck place at Stanningley Leeds these last 5 years, what a fantastic place, they had anything and everything in stock offered proper trade discounts and the service puts most other dealers to shame Couldn't even get a discount from the Peugeot and Vauxhall place, joke Say it again I'm glad I'm out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
