umesh 336 Posted February 6, 2015 Where is the motortrade / dealership going? Just wondering what thoughts everyone had on the future of retailing new & used cars. I was watching Alex Polizzi last week explaining to a couple who were running a kids fun cresh / cafe business and how if they didn't keep up with the changes and what customers wanted their business would end up like Blockbuster ! BUST! as they hadn't changed with the times with the introduction of Netflix , on demand movies etc. Any thoughts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Baggott 227 Posted February 8, 2015 People want to buy online. The sooner we can do this easy and simply the better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Max Branning 149 Posted February 8, 2015 Things will get tougher over the next few years i think, Roadside pitches will become a thing of the past as more and more traders operate from home or from cheap units on industrial estates driving down the retail prices of cars, this is especially at the £5k and under bracket. It will become a case of having to do massive volume to make it worthwhile. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreenGiant 287 Posted February 9, 2015 People want to buy online. The sooner we can do this easy and simply the better. I think you forgot the word 'some' from the beginning. Anyway, the majority of Motor Traders do not want to buy part exchanges online. Besides, we are talking about Used cars, not TV's or shoes or cases of nasty wine or 45 minutes on a bouncy castle. The fundamental difference is that ALL of our products are different from all of the others. So they need to be seen to be compared properly. And that's before you consider the Distance Selling Regulations and how that impacts us, too. And Max, the more you reduce the Overheads and start competing on price, the less money you make, the more you have to cut costs to keep afloat, the more you have to sell so you'll need more staff de da, de da, de da. Shortcut to the Bankruptcy court. Good luck with that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
umesh 336 Posted February 9, 2015 It is difficult to try and sell used cars on line , although I now do full walk around Video of All my cars , there is something about touch, feel smell.! The videos do work very well for me - have definitely sold cars to many customers from further afield and local , they all say " we know you have nothing to hide as you're walking / talking us through the whole car " and the guarantee I give that Full refund of their deposit should the car not be as described gives them confidence to at least reserve the car. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Max Branning 149 Posted February 9, 2015 Green giant - Why are you wishing me luck? this is not how we intend to operate, i am answering the original question with how i think motor trading will go in the future. And you have kind of backed it up with your response it is a bad situation when motor trading is done on the cheap ie from home or a cheap industrial units flogging them cheap online...it brings down the retail prices across the board leading to worthless margins. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreenGiant 287 Posted February 9, 2015 I didn't mean you, specifically Max, so sorry if it looked like that. I was aiming it at those who may consider it as the way forward. And I think they're going to need a lot more than a bit of luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelerdealer1 91 Posted February 10, 2015 This is a very interesting topic, and I have to say it's the million dollar question as the one who cracks it will make a packet. As others have said online only will never work with used cars, ask Tesco and jamjar! My opinion is that car giant has this cracked , a slick and up to date website, most of the cars you see online will be there when you turn up And when you turn up you can touch feel and smell many many different makes and models of used cars all under one site, you can't beat that Then you simply queue up take a test drive, queue up and pay, and go home For me this is the future, and us little guys won't have much hope if many car Giants open up like asdas and tescos, why this hasn't happened I don't know, but when it finally does the small independents will be few and far between Also most of the big branded car dealers in America sell their used px cars direct to the public, this is harder to do in the uk due to space, but again this might also be the future, imagine a sytner online auction which the public have access to! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's me 615 Posted February 10, 2015 i would just like to add i resemble this remark as it cuts down the tyre kickers one gets when running an open pitch,the satnav was the best thing invented as far as im concerned as you no longer need expensive roadside plots Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Max Branning 149 Posted February 10, 2015 S & B - You no longer need expensive roadside pitches i agree my response was to umesh asking how the motor trade will go in the future. My opinion is more and more traders will operate from home or cheap units as it is now very easy to be a trader on the internet. This will lead to retail prices dropping as roadside pitches will not be able to compete on price and lets face it most buyers are driven by price, it is easy now to do a 50 mile radius search of every car available in the trade and price compare, i know of several so called traders operating close to me who are selling cars at not much more than i would expect to pay for them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelerdealer1 91 Posted February 10, 2015 One thing though max those cheaper cars are generally crap or dodgy and badly prepped, that's if they are even prepped at all, they get the buyers but not the customers we are chasing, it's a different model to us 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparky 274 Posted February 11, 2015 One thing though max those cheaper cars are generally crap or dodgy and badly prepped, that's if they are even prepped at all, they get the buyers but not the customers we are chasing, it's a different model to us Absolutely, it's like comparing your local cheap sunday cavery with a proper sunday lunch that may cost a couple of quid more bit is edible and tasty. There is a market for both, thankfully it's not all about price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelerdealer1 91 Posted February 11, 2015 I think quality still have a place over price in our business, but for sure when your on the AT app searching price low to high these cheaper shitters dominate the first page, it's annoying Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's me 615 Posted February 11, 2015 you can prep your cars till the cows come home but most customers are still totally price driven first,the good thing is most look at the rubbish first then realise they need to spend more,however i find that these big pitches with lots of cars neither pre mechanically check their cars or even make sure they start on the button even though they are advertised as ready to roll so lots of sales can be made by offering genuine ready to drive away stuff that you know yourself will not be back tomorrow with a list and a moan,this is why i keep low stocks but everything is proper ready Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
umesh 336 Posted February 11, 2015 Preparation, display , marketing it correctly has to be right ! as said i'm told too many times by potential customers who have seen a car much cheaper , driven to see it only to be a wasted journey ! There are still many customers who want a proper car and pay the money AND want to be treated as a valuable customer. The guys who think they can buy a car add small profit but not prepare it correctly , thinking the car will sell because its cheap are disillusioned .. how many times do we all see cars on trade systems i.e. ATM - Overage - but needs £XXX spending ! guess what - Majority of the time had it been professionally prepared, marketed correctly it would have sold and not become an overage / unsalable problem ! Well thats my thoughts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelerdealer1 91 Posted February 11, 2015 But don't you think ATM now has real price problem? Cars for sale on their are well above what we need on a decent margin and we all know it, you put a px car to clear quickly on ATM and you will get low balled on the phone and emails for days, it worser then Ebay or gumtree sometimes I guess this reflects the sorts of traders who are now a majority on ATM I also experienced a first on ATM when a trader agreed a price with me for a nice low miles Volvo I had on there only to turn up and try haggle me to half price! You can say it was worser then selling on eBay to a wideboy, these wideboys are now ATM members so beware Anyway rant over Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ken 10 Posted February 12, 2015 But don't you think ATM now has real price problem? Cars for sale on their are well above what we need on a decent margin and we all know it, you put a px car to clear quickly on ATM and you will get low balled on the phone and emails for days, it worser then Ebay or gumtree sometimes I guess this reflects the sorts of traders who are now a majority on ATM I also experienced a first on ATM when a trader agreed a price with me for a nice low miles Volvo I had on there only to turn up and try haggle me to half price! You can say it was worser then selling on eBay to a wideboy, these wideboys are now ATM members so beware Anyway rant over We got stung many times on ATM. All though it's part of our package with autotrader, we no longer use it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelerdealer1 91 Posted February 12, 2015 I'm really not surprised Ken, ATM used to be a formidable tool, I remember when we first signed up many moons ago, I was just chuffed with it, but from last year the decline has been a sharp one, but as they say good things don't last forever Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreenGiant 287 Posted February 13, 2015 Anything to do with them now being owned by AutoTrader and chucked in as part of a 'package' (ie charged for, but the cost hidden) to everyone, irrespective? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelerdealer1 91 Posted February 14, 2015 Nail on the head GG 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James Baggott 227 Posted February 15, 2015 Then guys there's something very interesting coming that you'll love. We've been given the exclusive on it. More soon... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
