Should dealers be selling - and crucially - delivering cars during lockdown?

[Casper 272]

17 minutes ago, awc1000 said:

dont think this type of stock will be on the radar for carzoo, 

one train of thought - for me this job is and always was about contacts, thinking like that can you imagine the circles in which the carzoo founder mix's in, probably the same circles as the owners of some of the fleet companys fleet users and certain u.k franchise directors, all manufacturers have late fleets that they disperse of on a regular basis, can you imagine the conversations these folks are having whilst socialising on each others yachts in the med?? it might already explain where carzoo are getting some of that nice late stock from.

I was just meaning arnold clark are retailing there own contract hire stuff now I just cant see who would one a 4 year old octavia with 150k at retail money and it was reserved after a few days .

what your saying was what i was sort of getting it that if you go to a fleet manager of a contract hire unit with an offer to buy x amount of units if you get first choice etc then they would look fair able on you

i was thinking that maybe if cazoo got 5 cars of the same model they would have to sit on them in comparison a multi dealer groups can place them between branches   Like a was saying with the peugeots for example although they could do the same with a year old fleet of astras or focus 

[New year revolutions...... 197]

1 hour ago, awc1000 said:

, can you imagine the conversations these folks are having whilst socialising on each others yachts in the med?? it might already explain where carzoo are getting some of that nice late stock from.

It's just under a year ago since I was looking at the yachts at monte carlo ,of course I tried to get on the lion heart but was refused admission so I went up to the castle and watched the changing of the white guards instead

53 minutes ago, Nick. said:

https://fleetworld.co.uk/restart-vehicle-deliveries-to-aid-covid-19-relief-effort-says-bvrla/

 

 

Start delivery of vehicles!!!

If you read the link of the link it is really appealing to recovery drivers

Having stopped doing that malarkey as a customer benefit many many years ago I can tell you doing that job jo public always want to get in the way

[Paul C 75]

2 hours ago, Nick. said:

https://fleetworld.co.uk/restart-vehicle-deliveries-to-aid-covid-19-relief-effort-says-bvrla/

 

 

Start delivery of vehicles!!!

Thanks for posting the link, its interesting it refers back to the scientific advice.

[Rory RSC 596]

5 hours ago, awc1000 said:

well its legal to sell and quite safe to do so if you are organised, the reality is if cazoo sell online then deliver on a wagon by 1 driver who has zero contact with the customer on delivery bar a phone call to say your car will arrive within the next hour please stay indoors and i will notify you when i have left your address - then that chaps is 100% safe and water tight, morals are another thing i guess...

there are two camps of thought here - i would suggest some of the against camp do not have the business model capable of operating during this crisis, its obviously harder for a single trader to operate in this climate who's model is still - meet greet, can we see the p/ex, i'll get it ready for you next week, you'll have to sign up for it here, we dont deliver, we have to explain the bolt on warranty here,  we are worried about distance selling, our client base is mostly cash customers etc etc.

like it or not chaps this game has moved on, with respect some are stuck in the dark ages, same old plan, rent a unit, buy all stock from auction, pay for everything else,just man the phone and moan about the costs.

take a look at cazoo - as of today, they have 2280 cars on the site, a search reveals about 1850 are aged between 2017 and 2020 and all sub 50k miles and the bulk of stock even lower - ALL or mostly ALL are still in manufacturers warranty hence they are not in the slightest worried about distance selling or warranty's, theyre not spending fortunes on prep either, i'm not blowing their trumpet because at the end of the day they are bad news for everyone else, but it has to be said the stock profile and quality of car for 2000 units is impressive.

this job forever changes just as you get used to it and yes its a total pain, but as usual chaps its a case of run with the new way of trading or get run over by it....good luck everyone and stay safe.

Absolutely.  And if your business hasn’t adapted and you can’t offer it then that’s the game. 
I set up online delivery last year for free next day nationwide, got a truck, did my videos etc and I can offer this second no problem as my cars are prepped and good to go. For some there’s good opportunity here. For others there isn’t but that’s the game and that’s business it ain’t all hugs, smiles and fair.

[have a word with the wife 299]

Had a think about this.

More bad publicity than good, any company allegedly this big  with half a brain would not stick there head above water right now and go against government advice and carry on trading, it will not help them one little bit, and as said before, people have long memories [ sports direct ? ] .

Realistically, answering the original question "Should dealers be selling - and crucially - delivering cars during lockdown?" who is actually buying cars right now other than key workers  nhs etc ? 

It strikes me as desperation.

[Nick. 1]

1 minute ago, have a word with the wife said:

Had a think about this.

More bad publicity than good, any company allegedly this big  with half a brain would not stick there head above water right now and go against government advice and carry on trading, it will not help them one little bit, and as said before, people have long memories [ sports direct ? ] .

Realistically, answering the original question "Should dealers be selling - and crucially - delivering cars during lockdown?" who is actually buying cars right now other than key workers  nhs etc ? 

It strikes me as desperation.

Transport secretary has said deliveries must go ahead to all customers.

[Casper 272]

6 minutes ago, Nick. said:

Transport secretary has said deliveries must go ahead to all customers.

Seen a house for sale advertised  the other day guy i know of was interested in and phoned to register an interest they said no views etc till after the lockdown and virus it now went to closing date no sure id want to buy a house without viewing it first same with a personal car i guess as  but maybe I'm just old school 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Casper

[Nick. 1]

17 minutes ago, Casper said:

Seen a house for sale advertised  the other day guy i know of was interested in and phoned to register an interest they said no views etc till after the lockdown and virus it now went to closing date no sure id want to buy a house without viewing it first same with a personal car i guess as  but maybe I'm just old school 

Maybe so but I ordered a car in January to be delivered 2 weeks ago now. Already took one for a test drive. Of course there is measures that could be put in place. Or is it a case of the vast majority of dealers from big groups dont want to go back to work because of the furlough payments. I can't wait to go back to work as I am missing out on around £200-£250 per week. I am not asking for anyone to put their health at risk but help others in a time of need.

Edited April 19, 2020 by Nick.

[have a word with the wife 299]

49 minutes ago, Nick. said:

Transport secretary has said deliveries must go ahead to all customers.

show me the link ?

[Nick. 1]

1 minute ago, have a word with the wife said:

show me the link ?

https://fleetworld.co.uk/restart-vehicle-deliveries-to-aid-covid-19-relief-effort-says-bvrla/

[have a word with the wife 299]

57 minutes ago, Nick. said:

8 minutes ago, Nick. said:

https://fleetworld.co.uk/restart-vehicle-deliveries-to-aid-covid-19-relief-effort-says-bvrla/

the link from the transport secertary, that link says to aid covid 19 relief effort, hardly the same ?

Edited April 19, 2020 by have a word with the wife

[Nick. 1]

14 minutes ago, have a word with the wife said:

 

“The Government has made it very clear that it wants ‘all supply chains’ to continue ‘to the greatest extent possible’ during the Covid-19 outbreak,” said BVRLA chief executive, Gerry Keaney.

“This includes vehicle logistics, and not just cars and vans that are being delivered to essential workers.”

He added: “By getting these vehicles moving, we are not only helping the Covid-19 response, we are also ensuring that businesses and individuals can pick-up where they left-off as soon as the lockdown ends.”

 

I have not seen the letter but I have been told from my lease company and a very large nationwide dealership that they have received the letter and should he implementing changes in the coming week.

[Rory RSC 596]

41 minutes ago, Nick. said:

“The Government has made it very clear that it wants ‘all supply chains’ to continue ‘to the greatest extent possible’ during the Covid-19 outbreak,” said BVRLA chief executive, Gerry Keaney.

“This includes vehicle logistics, and not just cars and vans that are being delivered to essential workers.”

He added: “By getting these vehicles moving, we are not only helping the Covid-19 response, we are also ensuring that businesses and individuals can pick-up where they left-off as soon as the lockdown ends.”

 

I have not seen the letter but I have been told from my lease company and a very large nationwide dealership that they have received the letter and should he implementing changes in the coming week.

Good news.    

If I sold T shirts online I could get DPD to pick up at my office / unit / warehouse.  They could deliver to customers.

 

Car is just a bigger purchase and as long as delivered contact free I will maintain we are doing no wrong or no harm. 

[have a word with the wife 299]

1 hour ago, Nick. said:

“The Government has made it very clear that it wants ‘all supply chains’ to continue ‘to the greatest extent possible’ during the Covid-19 outbreak,” said BVRLA chief executive, Gerry Keaney.

“This includes vehicle logistics, and not just cars and vans that are being delivered to essential workers.”

He added: “By getting these vehicles moving, we are not only helping the Covid-19 response, we are also ensuring that businesses and individuals can pick-up where they left-off as soon as the lockdown ends.”

 

I have not seen the letter but I have been told from my lease company and a very large nationwide dealership that they have received the letter and should he implementing changes in the coming week.

well, here is the letter = 

https://www.bvrla.co.uk/uploads/assets/bbd76789-3728-45b0-a675b500bb2bf66a/logisticsDfT-letter.pdf

please point out the bit=

 “This includes vehicle logistics, and not just cars and vans that are being delivered to essential workers.”

i must have missed it 

[Nick. 1]

Thanks for that

No idea where that came from then. As you can see I just copy and paste it from that link I posted. I stand corrected then. Cheers.

[have a word with the wife 299]

14 minutes ago, Nick. said:

Thanks for that

No idea where that came from then. As you can see I just copy and paste it from that link I posted. I stand corrected then. Cheers.

Not a problem at all, i understand your amongst thousands of others waiting for there car, i think bvrla  have added a bit 

This regulation, in law for the next 6 month now about closed business, is reviewed daily, could change some aspect of it even tomorrow ?

why not contact the dealer, and see if they can help ?

[Nick. 1]

Have contacted the dealer direct. Evanshalshaw but through a lease company online. They said they are having another meeting Monday or Tuesday to see what they can do, dealer principal told me that the manufacturer are starting to deliver straight from port?? As they have nowhere to store them. Dont know how much truth is in that. All I know is that I need my vehicle. I do appreciate the current situation and I know I am one of many but there has to be something done about it all.

[have a word with the wife 299]

7 minutes ago, Nick. said:

Have contacted the dealer direct. Evanshalshaw but through a lease company online. They said they are having another meeting Monday or Tuesday to see what they can do, dealer principal told me that the manufacturer are starting to deliver straight from port?? As they have nowhere to store them. Dont know how much truth is in that. All I know is that I need my vehicle. I do appreciate the current situation and I know I am one of many but there has to be something done about it all.

thanks, keep us up to date then please .

[TangoVictor32 90]

5 hours ago, Casper said:

Seen a house for sale advertised  the other day guy i know of was interested in and phoned to register an interest they said no views etc till after the lockdown and virus it now went to closing date no sure id want to buy a house without viewing it first same with a personal car i guess as  but maybe I'm just old school 

House auctions still going ahead. 

Then again alot of folk do buy at auction without viewings! 

[Casper 272]

15 minutes ago, TangoVictor32 said:

House auctions still going ahead. 

Then again alot of folk do buy at auction without viewings! 

Yeah i know some of the garages I've worked for in the past bought online I used to buy for a lot of garages and one guy asked me to do it for him due to crap appraisals scaled down last year . Only do it for around 3 or 4 friends now due to me trading my own stuff family commitments which is mainly caring for my dad who has various medical  conditions Copd dementia and Alzheimer's and helping do the same with a close family freind who ive know since i was primary school age  and another businesses im involved in not related to the motor trade ..

don't think me  personally would like to buy a house without viewing it first but as it said guess im old school or stuck in Dinosaur time . 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Casper

[BHM 994]

7 hours ago, Casper said:

don't think me  personally would like to buy a house without viewing it first but as it said guess im old school or stuck in Dinosaur time .

Never mind houses, although I do it I still don’t like buying cars online. That’s probably why I prefer a punter to see & drive the metal so there’s no ambiguity, although the businesses selling new or nearly new cars shouldn’t have much problem with ‘blind’ sales via the internet.

[metcars 397]

1 hour ago, BHM said:

Never mind houses, although I do it I still don’t like buying cars online. That’s probably why I prefer a punter to see & drive the metal so there’s no ambiguity, although the businesses selling new or nearly new cars shouldn’t have much problem with ‘blind’ sales via the internet.

It has to be down to the age of the cars though. There’s no way I’d ship my old bangers off into the distance sight unseen. My punters are very different to the ones buying nearly new stuff? 

[Contracts 68]

On the subject of distance selling it is a worry for us unless we already know the client.  

A couple of years ago we funded a California for a private client from a main dealer.  Turns out we were lucky the dealer would not trade us the car as there were a few faults that were fixed by the local Ferrari dealer but our client finally backed it for a full refund after a month due to a cosmetic problem.

On the subject of taking orders, we are on minimal staff and very few people are talking about changing their cars and even if we did get orders none of the dealers we use seem to be delivering.

When things do start to move again there will be a backlog of new cars to deliver, we even have one that was released by a dealer to their delivery company on the Monday of lock down, driver took it home to deliver next morning but stopped working!

 

[James Baggott 227]

21 hours ago, metcars said:

Hey James, does this website have the ability to do a poll? Even anonymously? Just to see what percentage of us are still trading? 

Yes it does... I'll set one up

[Paul C 75]

43 minutes ago, metcars said:

It has to be down to the age of the cars though. There’s no way I’d ship my old bangers off into the distance sight unseen. My punters are very different to the ones buying nearly new stuff? 

 

25 minutes ago, Contracts said:

On the subject of distance selling it is a worry for us unless we already know the client.

 

 

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.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Paul C