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I think it is a warning. A lot of main dealers are struggling, despite their hefty labour rates. I know a lot of people here moan about excessive labour rates, but the costs involved in running these places are huge. All the extra taxes are beginning to bite, and as Oldman says, a lot of people are starting to realise running nice new fancy smart motors is all a bit of a game.
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That is what I thought. Interestingly this morning I received a gift from renault of a rather fetching dayglo yellow safety cape (sized to fit a yeti I think) with an invitation to test drive any of their MPVs and enter a competition. Afraid too late for renault in this part of the world.
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I think a few years ago some of the smart young marketing wonks at 'headquarters' decided that dealers needed to be in huge glass-and-chrome palaces. The upshot being that smaller franchises were given the boot and these horrible big showrooms set up on American-style edge of town retail parks. This happened with our local VW agent a year or two back. Now I have to drive further to get parts and when you get there there's a load of 'suits' mincing about with pieces of paper. The place must cost a fortune to run because its about 50-feet high and all glass walled - imagine the heat loss at this time of the year.
Obviously they try to recoup some of these costs by loading it on to their labour costs. But there is only so much people will stand. Company car drivers aren't bothered by this of course, but private buyers will stay away.
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spot on i paid £125 for a £25 item today in the glass and chrome because my factor couldnt supply ...........guess what car i aint going to buy to retail in future
\"a little man in a big world/\"
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What I don't get is that they have these glass & chrome places in France and Germany too - and they can hardly be cheaper places to operate in than the UK.
Yet you can apparently take your BMW or Merc over there and get it serviced considerably cheaper than in the UK. How can that be?
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What I don't get is that they have these glass & chrome places in France and Germany too - and they can hardly be cheaper places to operate in than the UK. Yet you can apparently take your BMW or Merc over there and get it serviced considerably cheaper than in the UK. How can that be?
Ah, yes, you're right. As we all know that's due to higher taxes in Europe and higher social costs, you see. Oh, hang on, that's the wrong way round isn't it? UK is supposed to be the low-cost flexible labour paradigm for Europe? Oh, well....
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What I don't get is that they have these glass & chrome places in France and Germany too - and they can hardly be cheaper places to operate in than the UK. Yet you can apparently take your BMW or Merc over there and get it serviced considerably cheaper than in the UK. How can that be?
Some countries in Europe have legislation that protects dealers from the demands of the manuafacturer (dominant-party protection) so they don't always have to build a glass palace. If they do decide to build one then often the land is cheaper than it is in the UK.
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It is a warning of whats to come,from large main dealer groups to small independant 'back street dealers'.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to earn a decent living in most parts of the motor trade today.
In my part of the world what used to be busy,thriving used car outlets have closed down and been replaced with 'trendy apartments'on a very regular basis,some of these sites had been there for many years and used to sell for very large amounts of money,now the business is worthless and the land is only wanted for building.
Lots of small retail outfits are really in trouble,its a changing world,but look around you,car dealers,Post Offices,local shops,petrol stations closed and the next big culling will be Pubs.
My local Renault outlet is now a Lidl supermarket,probably thats an improvement.
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I shall be interested to see what happens to my nearest Peugeot dealers. The Northwich one moved across town to one of the 'palaces' described above, selling their old pitch in what has always been a largely residential area. They seem to be surviving. The one in Widnes enlarged their plot (it used to be Leyland until the 80s) and are now also a modernised 'palace'. I occasionally use them for parts, but have never been offered a part-ex deal there worth comparison with anywhere else (funnily enough one of the salesmen there sold me a 205 when he worked for a Rover dealer just down the road). So I await developments.
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We used to have two local Renault dealerships but both were on very small sites, with very small showrooms and cramped customeer parking, and were the exact opposite of what you would have expected of a major European car manufacturer. Renault is now on a multi marque site in Derby, which includes Fiat and Nissan, but it is still a small showroom and nothing like the new sites which are selling Ford and VAG cars, which are of the glass palace type.
In addition, the site which includes the Renault dealership, has changed hands a lot in the last ten years. I thought the UK was about to move away from franchised dealerships anyway.
One thing is for sure, with labour rates as they are at franchised dealers, most people who own their own cars will have little interest in using them for basic servicing.
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In Kempston Beds the local Citroen was pulled down and is going become a Lidl or an Aldi and in Milton Keynes a Renault dealership has become Lexus!
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My impression is that Renault will keep 'friendly' small dealerships longer than some other marques - we got wife's Clio in Rochdale 3 years ago from one such. They could display 12 cars with difficulty. There was another in Northwich until a few years ago - now a block of trendy flats.
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Given the current situation with Pendragon, Lookers, over Reg Vardy it looks like somebody thinks there is still good money to be made in the UK motor trade.
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Certainly it is the BIG groups, that are more active - but more into the finace areas, as far as they are concerned, for profitability, rather than selling vehicles & establishing a GENUINE customer/dealer 'frindship'.
Certainly nothing like HJ & Growler report, from the East.
Maybe I did do the right thing, selling our site (housing) a couple or so years back!
It'd probably be too off topic - but are there ANY B'roomers, in an industry/business, that is booming/doing well, rather than 'ticking over', or worse?
If you let us know what it is & maybe, what sort of vehicles, you run,or are looking to replace your fleet with, to accomodate current trends, in your cashflow, would 'keep it motoring'.With Mods OK.of course!!
VB
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didn't the Northwich one have a "reputation" though?
John
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I think the continental mechanics receive less pay than British ones and the continentals don't put up with inflated prices, thats why its cheaper to get a service over there.
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..guess whatcar i aint going to buy to retail in future
All right then, just give us a clue!
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