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12 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:

Local reputation counts for SFA, price is everything to the vast majority of customers. 

 

They know the cost of everything but, the value of nothing. 

 

12 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:

Local reputation counts for SFA, price is everything to the vast majority of customers. 

 

They know the cost of everything but, the value of nothing. 

Really? Once again I have learned something, not. Reduce my prices .No Sell a car for what the customer demands No. So pleased we don't have your customer experience fella, Thankfully our customers appreciate the value of well prepared cars and good service for which they are happily willing to pay.  

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On 5/17/2021 at 11:54 AM, Rory RSC said:

Never a  truer word. 

local rep is now reviews, as a small business ( compared to cazoo etc) offering all the services they do but by being better than them, prepping better, making it an easier and more pleasant experience and generating the reviews off the back of that are the 2021 local reputation.

 

20 hours ago, BHM said:

I don’t either. Most of them are bullshitting cnuts.

 

+1.

On ‘run of the mill’ family hatchback-type stock I often think I’d be better off selling a fucking heap of shit with 4 months MOT, ropey tyres, worn brakes & overdue a service than prepping it & having a higher price. Add a few hundred quid to the price of a Focus & you can kill it stone dead. Funnily enough I’ve just sold a properly prepared DS4 today - the buyers were a really nice couple who appreciated the car. However the many punters who’ve contacted me over the last month have been horrible, bottom-dollar, last price, scum.

Its a case of positioning yourself in a busy market (cheap, middle, 'Rolls Royce") then being authentic and having the complete package if you choose the RR end, to justify the higher price you may charge. Its getting more and more difficult (especially since the rapid acceleration to online effectively puts a vanilla coating on everything), and its easy to slip from RR to middle. A minority of dealers can & do achieve that "RR" level of service though, hats off to them.

Edited by Paul C

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On 5/17/2021 at 9:43 PM, TRADE SURVIVOR said:

I defer to your greater knowledge of my customer base I learn something every day despite being in the motor trade since I was washing cars at 13 years of age I'm now in late 60's so thank you for your advice. My support of trade Vet's post was to endorse the importance of a good local reputation, solely online is some years away yet . Your council is valued however, I think on balance we shall carry on with our current business model. During this last lockdown as a small independent we sold 150 cars all online and compliant with distance selling rules. Since 5 weeks back we have had excellent footfall onsite and sold plenty of cars thank you, my last three sales onsite were today so I'm as good as those last sales and looking forward to test drives booked by physical and online customers tomorrow and completion of more sales. Thankfully our workshop is busy with loyal and many new recommended customers who are happy to pay for good honest service.    

https://news.sky.com/story/used-car-marketplace-cinch-secures-1bn-funding-boost-in-expansion-race-12311970

 

still want to disagree?

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47 minutes ago, Bmx Bandits said:

Sounds like a bubble fueled on cheap money and greed to me

Agree. I believe the regulatory bodies will (eventually) catch up and more tightly regulate SPACs, thus rendering this type of flotation/valuation impossible. It smells like a pyramid scheme.

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22 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:

I sincerely hope my pension company aren't ploughing money into any of these vendors. 

 It’s now reported that BCA subsidiary Cinch have borrowed £1 billion to expand into Europe ? They have only been trading a few months.Any of us trying to borrow £100k from a bank and you need to sign a personal guarantee and show 2 years trading accounts.It might all end in tears,the prep and the subcontract warranty claims could kill them.Also if the likes of Lloyds ( Autolease ,Lex ,Black Horse etc  ) decide to follow suit and have a go,that might cock things up for them.

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41 minutes ago, trade vet said:

 It’s now reported that BCA subsidiary Cinch have borrowed £1 billion to expand into Europe ? They have only been trading a few months.Any of us trying to borrow £100k from a bank and you need to sign a personal guarantee and show 2 years trading accounts.It might all end in tears,the prep and the subcontract warranty claims could kill them.Also if the likes of Lloyds ( Autolease ,Lex ,Black Horse etc  ) decide to follow suit and have a go,that might cock things up for them.

Seems insane to me...

I spend a lot of time reading the financial press, investor reports and analysis etc etc.  What is clear is that at the moment there is a great deal of money floating around looking for a home. Excessive money supply. A lot of poor investment decisions are being made and it will all end it tears again. Today's US Treasury 10-year yield is 1.63%, a year ago it was 0.68% - that indicates an expectation of significant inflation on the way and increasing bank base rates....  things could get ugly.

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Question: just how do I get my blower fixed when I've bought my car online a few weeks previously? 

How are these guys handling both small and major car off road non runner issues? 

 

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Answer: probably like most other internet businesses (in my experience of small items I’ve had problems with that means ignoring calls & emails, eventually blaming Covid & just generally being fucked about either by the supplier or by their courier who hasn’t made any attempt whatsoever to deliver).

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3 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:

Question: just how do I get my blower fixed when I've bought my car online a few weeks previously? 

How are these guys handling both small and major car off road non runner issues? 

 

if its young enough, go to the main dealer and manufacturer warranty takes care of it. If its older, the warranty that was provided with the car covers it. No warranty? I'd imagine the customer is then reminded they declined the offer of a 12 month warranty at £xxx, so they are on their own.

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Recently a regular called in to the pitch with his just delivered Merc from Cacinch or whatever to have a quick check over.It was a good one and the price was right.However the rear foot wells were flooded because the delivery truck driver had failed to notice the back windows had been left open.Our guy told him that the carpet would have to come out to dry it out properly.So he phoned the supplier and they directed him to a local Bosche garage.The supplier told the garage they would only pay to have the carpets dried out in place.So the punter asked for a refund and got one..So the cost of collecting it might have exceeded the cost of drying the carpet.

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The online sellers will probably bend over backwards at this stage to build reputation and retention those good online review's which are for anyone selling used cars in today's world essential. Perhaps they build in breakdown cover, not sure but we will be looking into their offerings closely going forward in order to react as far as we can. If there is an occasion whereby a customer local to us has an issue and the car purchased from cazawhatever under the supplier warranty is brought to us, we shall have a special labour rate to quote and it will not be cheap!    

  • Thanks 1

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19 hours ago, trade vet said:

Recently a regular called in to the pitch with his just delivered Merc from Cacinch or whatever to have a quick check over.It was a good one and the price was right.However the rear foot wells were flooded because the delivery truck driver had failed to notice the back windows had been left open.Our guy told him that the carpet would have to come out to dry it out properly.So he phoned the supplier and they directed him to a local Bosche garage.The supplier told the garage they would only pay to have the carpets dried out in place.So the punter asked for a refund and got one..So the cost of collecting it might have exceeded the cost of drying the carpet.

Interesting, sort of cutting off noses thing. :D

On 5/22/2021 at 9:08 AM, BHM said:

Answer: probably like most other internet businesses (in my experience of small items I’ve had problems with that means ignoring calls & emails, eventually blaming Covid & just generally being fucked about either by the supplier or by their courier who hasn’t made any attempt whatsoever to deliver).

Unfortunately this is so very true:D

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