how close are motor dealers from going under

magicass

i just wondering if any dealers used or new are in trouble due to the ressesion?

Stephen

Plenty have gone under already with more to come.

Owen

There were 4 this week, and I know of up to 5 that will be gone shortly. And not small Dealers either. There was a thread recently on this that had approx 6 garages gone, so add that to the 4 this week, that gives you 10. If the extra 5 go, that'll be 15. Nice eh?

niceirishfella

just wait till june onwards.............sadly.
I was gutted to hear about Winfield going, i used to give them a lot of parts business once upon a time.

peasant

just a reminder

Please don't speculate and throw names and rumours around on this thread.

Dealers are having a hard time as it is, we do not want to actively put them out of business by spreading false rumours.

Marcus.Aurelius

Why are they not selling their cars cheaper, if not at least to pay off the capital loans they took out to buy them in the first place?

This crap of going under out of sheer greed and letting the bank make the loss on their business is silly. (plcs are limited by the value of their shares and assets). For small dealerships it doesn't matter, the larger principal dealers have no excuse for not dropping their prices, think of all the assets they have tied up in expensive showrooms and decent servicing equipment!

keefg

niceirishfella wrote: »

just wait till june onwards.............sadly.

What's happening in June?

niceirishfella

keefg wrote: »

What's happening in June?

Nothing, but it'll be the last 2 qtrs of the year that will see the slowest sales, if any.

keefg

niceirishfella wrote: »

Nothing, but it'll be the last 2 qtrs of the year that will see the slowest sales, if any.

Ahh.....I thought there was another VRT or Tax change on the cards that I hadn't heard about.

Still........anything can happen

niceirishfella

keefg wrote: »

Still........anything can happen

with this Government, yes.:rolleyes:

Thumpette

I planned a day out looking at cars yesterday and had shortlisted 4 from 4 different garages to look at. While on the road I gave them a call to double check directions for them and make sure the cars were still in stock. One of the garages didnt answer, one told me he wasnt available then but said if I called back in the evening he would try to be available, one scoffed at me, gave no explanation, and just said I wouldnt be able to see the car at all that day and to call back the next day.

The 4th garage answered, gave directions and were polite and professional when I got there. I bought a car there.

I just dont understand how in this toughest of markets how car dealers can survive with that kind of atitude. The fact that still pretty much no garages open on a Sunday despite this probably being the day most people would most like to go looking is shocking. I really feel that if some garages take this climate as an opportunity to improve their service and be the one that stands out from the crowd, there is potential to flourish.

SV

Seen a local one in Carlow is after taking over 500k off their used stock, problem is they need to take another 500k off it to shift these cars.

Big reductions yeah, but not nearly enough.

helimachoptor

Thumpette wrote: »

I just dont understand how in this toughest of markets how car dealers can survive with that kind of atitude. The fact that still pretty much no garages open on a Sunday despite this probably being the day most people would most like to go looking is shocking. I really feel that if some garages take this climate as an opportunity to improve their service and be the one that stands out from the crowd, there is potential to flourish.

Apparently weekend buyers are not serious about buying a car.
You need to take a day off during the week to be considered a serious customer!

Drummerboy08

To answer your question about attitudes - during the good times, car sales was an easy money maker, and unfortunately it attracted alot of w*nkers to the business. The take it or leave it crowd. There are still some of these in the trade.

pred racer

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

To answer your question about attitudes - during the good times, car sales was an easy money maker, and unfortunately it attracted alot of w*nkers to the business. The take it or leave it crowd. There are still some of these in the trade.

Surely the bosses/owners of these garages would be laying down the law regarding this. I dunno how but stories like thumpette's need to be communicated to them. If they hear of enough incidences of "I bought the car off the people who treated me like a customer not an annoyance" something might change! Notice Thumpette doesn't even make any reference to the price, just that she(?) had done the research and bought off the people who seemed like they wanted to sell.

/begin rant. Something similar happened to me last year, went to see a car in mullingar (over an hours drive from me) car was not like the pic, every panel was scratched, there was moss growing on it and all 4 tyres were flat. It was blocked in despite me having talked to him during the week and ringing from Tullamore to say I was on the way over for a test drive. No apology, couldnt give a crap. When I got over being pissed off about that I asked if he had anything else in that price bracket to show me......he just said Nah! Stopped off in a citroen dealer on my way home and bought my current car, was treated like a customer and was shown anything I asked to see. I only spent 4.5k but im sure there are lots of cars out there for 4.5k they would love to shift /end rant

incase anyone is interested here is the car I went to look at. Strangely enough its not sold yet:rolleyes:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Citroen/Xantia/2.0-HDI-/200841190388497/advert

Drummerboy08

If the boss is a w*nker too, then he wont see that problem. He will assume his attitude and his staffs attitude is right, and that the customer must be wrong.

Its like complaining to a manager about his staff's behaviour and he more or less says "sure what do you want me to do about it?" Ever happen to anyone before? And its not just the motor trade this is in.

But yeah, its not right, and hopefully is one of the things that this reccesion will change.

I dont know if you saw my thread about Alfa dealers last week? I couldnt get two different salesmen from two different dealers to call me back, and im in the trade! That customer ordered an Audi A5 instead, even tho he had his heart set on an Alfa Brera or GT. Sale lost for either dealer there eh.

pred racer

Yeah, I seen that thread, I just dont understand that sorta behaviour I know my purchase was only for 4.5k. Surely no dealer can afford the loss of a new car sale (even in good times) just coz some PFY wont pick up the phone!

ltdslipdiff

Wow its so easy to attack the motor dealers isn't it? Please spare a thought for me though, I'm a car sales exec, who's wife has just lost her job, we have two kids, a three year old and a 2 month old. How secure do you think my job is? Motor dealers haven't created the mess we find the country in. Who could have foreseen the chain of events that have left us in this state? There is great value in used cars at the moment. The majority of the cars in the forecourt that are "overpriced" are cars that we have given good p/ex values for to keep our local customers happy and in their new cars. I'm not saying that the boss here hasn't enjoyed a good last few years, but bare in mind the local employment he creates and the huge contribution to local supply and service industries that he provides. I could go on and on, but I need to sell cars so excuse me!

Drummerboy08

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

Wow its so easy to attack the motor dealers isn't it? Please spare a thought for me though, I'm a car sales exec, who's wife has just lost her job, we have two kids, a three year old and a 2 month old. How secure do you think my job is? Motor dealers haven't created the mess we find the country in. Who could have foreseen the chain of events that have left us in this state? There is great value in used cars at the moment. The majority of the cars in the forecourt that are "overpriced" are cars that we have given good p/ex values for to keep our local customers happy and in their new cars. I'm not saying that the boss here hasn't enjoyed a good last few years, but bare in mind the local employment he creates and the huge contribution to local supply and service industries that he provides. I could go on and on, but I need to sell cars so excuse me!

Hey buddy,

Welcome to the club! There's a few of us in here in the trade, myself included. But i do agree with the public perception of car sellers being tw*ts. At least alot of them. Im sure your not, but there are alot out there who are.

Oh, sorry to hear about your wife losing her job also. Its gonna be a tough year eh?

pred racer

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

Wow its so easy to attack the motor dealers isn't it? Please spare a thought for me though, I'm a car sales exec, who's wife has just lost her job, we have two kids, a three year old and a 2 month old. How secure do you think my job is? Motor dealers haven't created the mess we find the country in. Who could have foreseen the chain of events that have left us in this state? There is great value in used cars at the moment. The majority of the cars in the forecourt that are "overpriced" are cars that we have given good p/ex values for to keep our local customers happy and in their new cars. I'm not saying that the boss here hasn't enjoyed a good last few years, but bare in mind the local employment he creates and the huge contribution to local supply and service industries that he provides. I could go on and on, but I need to sell cars so excuse me!

I dont want to see anyone lose their job, But have a look around here and see the amount of people who have never been called back, been ignored, been insulted etc by sales people. And maybe at least some of it is your own fault (Not you personally, the industry)

ltdslipdiff

I can 100% tell you that not one member of the sales team here is a tw*t and I actually love coming in to work selling cars and seeing people drive away smiling. We have a great repeat customer base...and guess what...we sell french cars ha ha ! Its heads-down time and keep on trying! Thanks for the support !

ltdslipdiff

It will be a tough two years I'd say, but we'll get through it! We're ver-optimistic! With reagards to people not being called back and treated badly, that simply does not happen here. If I were rude to customer or messed anyone around I would be in the dole queue now, along with any other member of staff that acted the same. I'm not saying we're perfect,but we try very hard to deal with everyone. Of course we can't always reach a figure we're both happy with, but thats the name of the game! All are welcome, be it a three grand or thirty grand car !

pred racer

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

I can 100% tell you that not one member of the sales team here is a tw*t and I actually love coming in to work selling cars and seeing people drive away smiling. We have a great repeat customer base...and guess what...we sell french cars ha ha ! Its heads-down time and keep on trying! Thanks for the support !

where do you work(get a plug in mate!) I drive a c5 and i love it! A couple of good service stories from well regarded members here would be like money in the bank.;)
I dont know about oyhers but I'm quite loyal to places that treat me right!

SV

Can't beat French cars.




sorry for going OT :P

ltdslipdiff

I'd prefer to remain anonymous ha-ha.Something else people don't realise about the whole motor-trade slow down, as our used forecourt prices tumble, unfortunately so too does the customer trade-in ! So people think thats its just the cars in stock here that are suffering, but its their pride and joy too that is dropping in value!

Drummerboy08

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

I'd prefer to remain anonymous ha-ha.Something else people don't realise about the whole motor-trade slow down, as our used forecourt prices tumble, unfortunately so too does the customer trade-in ! So people think thats its just the cars in stock here that are suffering, but its their pride and joy too that is dropping in value!

I would agree with that alright. For some reason that part doesnt get thru to people.

pred racer

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I would agree with that alright. For some reason that part doesnt get thru to people.

too true... But if stories on here are to be believed (god forbid:D) then the right attitude can go a long way to fix that.....

pred racer

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

I'd prefer to remain anonymous ha-ha.Something else people don't realise about the whole motor-trade slow down, as our used forecourt prices tumble, unfortunately so too does the customer trade-in ! So people think thats its just the cars in stock here that are suffering, but its their pride and joy too that is dropping in value!

I know that there are stupid customers out there (where is darragh29 when you need him ) Mostly the dealers who get the flak here are the ones whos forecourt prices havent tumbled, but who are offering the low trade ins, and telling people who come in with low offers to start off the haggling to fcuk off.

@ltdslipdiff and drummerboy hope ye manage to struggle through, Ill still need another car next year when Ive driven my poor c5 into the ground:pac:

Hellrazer

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

I'd prefer to remain anonymous ha-ha.Something else people don't realise about the whole motor-trade slow down, as our used forecourt prices tumble, unfortunately so too does the customer trade-in ! So people think thats its just the cars in stock here that are suffering, but its their pride and joy too that is dropping in value!

Agreed.The sheer amount of people who arrive here expecting their car to be worth what they assumeits worth is ridiculous.

They really dont realise that if used car prices are falling then their trade in value is falling aswell.And then all you hear is moaning about rip off motor dealer prices.

The dealers who are going to survive this recession are the ones who just make enough to pay their wages,rents and maybe make a small profit instead of trying to keep making the huge profits that they were making by ripping people off in the last few years.

Drummerboy08

Hellrazer wrote: »

Agreed.The sheer amount of people who arrive here expecting their car to be worth what they assumeits worth is ridiculous.

They really dont realise that if used car prices are falling then their trade in value is falling aswell.And then all you hear is moaning about rip off motor dealer prices.

The dealers who are going to survive this recession are the ones who just make enough to pay their wages,rents and maybe make a small profit instead of trying to keep making the huge profits that they were making by ripping people off in the last few years.

+1. I think you hit the nail on the head there with all the points you made. A small profit is better than no profit. Its the guys who are very smart with how they operate their business who will survive. Look after your staff and customers and they will return the favour.

With the value of cars, i think there was a thread here yesterday about someone who thought their 14 year old Honda Civic Saloon was worth 3-4k. Maybe a bit more because the badges were gold...:rolleyes: Its that kind of madness that doesnt do anyone favours. Some one comes on here ranting and raving saying stuff like " i went to a dealer today and he offered me an absurd price on my fantastic car. Its only got 70k miles you know", and go on to recommend people to stay away from that dealer. But what they dont mention is the car, or the figures involved.

But i do understand that there are also dealers out there who will offer a crazy price on a car, expecting that price to be taken against a car thats possibly over priced. Both sides have to cut that particular option out.

BillyGoatGruff

Thumpette wrote: »

I just dont understand how in this toughest of markets how car dealers can survive with that kind of atitude. The fact that still pretty much no garages open on a Sunday despite this probably being the day most people would most like to go looking is shocking. I really feel that if some garages take this climate as an opportunity to improve their service and be the one that stands out from the crowd, there is potential to flourish.

Shhh! Hope the boss doesn't see this. I'm on a 6 day week as it is.*



*still glad to have a job though

MarkN

Plenty of nice people in car sales too though.

One person I dealt with for years and someone more recently both contacted me during the week to say hello after what happened, not to sell a car mind.

If anything, I think now should be the time that the decent old school guys are left as the dealers have fooked the good time lads out the door at this stage.

I wish anyone still there the best of luck anyway, you can't be held responsible for things, even if your employer can or not.

ltdslipdiff

Re: Sunday openings !!

The main reason for garages not opening Sundays at present is the fact that the main Finance Bodies (Banks etc) are not open to approve finance deals for people.

Also, given that since starting to sell cars, I am working from 8 in the morning untill 6:30 in the evening, it is nice to know I can plan one family day i.e. Sunday to get to know my kids that are asleep when I leave a t 7:30 in the morning and going to bed at 7 when I'm coming home. At present Saturday is a full day and I have a day off mid-week while the rest of the world is working.

Do I hear violins???

ltdslipdiff

@ Thumpette - do you work Sundays or 50+ Hour weeks?

I do agree however that it is the dealer that does that bit extra that will flourish !

helimachoptor

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

Re: Sunday openings !!

The main reason for garages not opening Sundays at present is the fact that the main Finance Bodies (Banks etc) are not open to approve finance deals for people.

Also, given that since starting to sell cars, I am working from 8 in the morning untill 6:30 in the evening, it is nice to know I can plan one family day i.e. Sunday to get to know my kids that are asleep when I leave a t 7:30 in the morning and going to bed at 7 when I'm coming home. At present Saturday is a full day and I have a day off mid-week while the rest of the world is working.

Do I hear violins???

Sorry but your in a service industry, I may have plans on Saturday and can't make it between 10-3. For me Sunday would be the best time for a garage to open. I'm sure there are other people that could open the garage.

-Chris-

There was a lenghty thread here recently debating Sunday opening - let's not start it all over again...


Edit: Found it - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055460297

ltdslipdiff

helimachoptor wrote: »

Sorry but your in a service industry, I may have plans on Saturday and can't make it between 10-3. For me Sunday would be the best time for a garage to open. I'm sure there are other people that could open the garage.

We open from 9:00 - 5:00 on Saturdays (and like very other working day we work through lunch to suit you the customer!) and will gladly hang-on any day during the week after hours to meet you. We will also drive the car you're looking at to your house for you, and will offer over-night test-drives and have been doing this for years now.

I dare you to ask the mechanics to come work Saturdays or Sundays!??

Sales staff open and close the premises, cover the service desk and man the phones over lunch.

All our cars are on the forecourt, ready for sale with prices displayed, anyone can come in and walk around on a Sunday, I will leave if I have to work Sundays too. (That might be a bit extreme admittedly)

I would not say I'm in the service industry. Retail more like.

ltdslipdiff

Just spotted that previous thread...apologies for repeating for repeating:D

helimachoptor

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

We open from 9:00 - 5:00 on Saturdays (and like very other working day we work through lunch to suit you the customer!) and will gladly hang-on any day during the week after hours to meet you. We will also drive the car you're looking at to your house for you, and will offer over-night test-drives and have been doing this for years now.

I dare you to ask the mechanics to come work Saturdays or Sundays!??

Sales staff open and close the premises, cover the service desk and man the phones over lunch.

All our cars are on the forecourt, ready for sale with prices displayed, anyone can come in and walk around on a Sunday, I will leave if I have to work Sundays too. (That might be a bit extreme admittedly)

I would not say I'm in the service industry. Retail more like.

If they are your opening hours I applaud you, I went looking at some cars the last couple of Saturdays and all the places I called were open at then but we might close @ 2/3.

The guy that does my work does work saturdays and some sundays (some nixers and some official work)

I can look at a car on the web I want to drive it on a Sunday! When was the last time you seen dunnes/tesco, spar, four star pizza, closed on a Sunday and they are retail.

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

@ Thumpette - do you work Sundays or 50+ Hour weeks?

I do agree however that it is the dealer that does that bit extra that will flourish !

Just in relation to this, I worked weekends for 7 years while in school and college, I know its a pain. At the moment I don't work Sundays but mainly because I try to keep my weekends free, I'm in work at half 7 every morning, lunch most days consists of walking to Spar and eating at my desk, usually leave work at 6. Our network centre is open 24*7*365 as its serving our customers.

bazz26

Hellrazer wrote: »

Agreed.The sheer amount of people who arrive here expecting their car to be worth what they assumeits worth is ridiculous.

They really dont realise that if used car prices are falling then their trade in value is falling aswell.And then all you hear is moaning about rip off motor dealer prices.

The thing is that alot of used cars on garage forecourts seem to be that bit more impervious to the current conditions than Joe Public's trade in.

ltdslipdiff

helimachoptor wrote: »

I can look at a car on the web I want to drive it on a Sunday! When was the last time you seen dunnes/tesco, spar, four star pizza, closed on a Sunday and they are retail.



Just in relation to this, I worked weekends for 7 years while in school and college, I know its a pain. At the moment I don't work Sundays but mainly because I try to keep my weekends free, I'm in work at half 7 every morning, lunch most days consists of walking to Spar and eating at my desk, usually leave work at 6. Our network centre is open 24*7*365 as its serving our customers.

If we did open Sundays, then we would be in the Tesco/Spar league wouldn't we? Don't forget, you're not spending 12 or 15 quid in the showroom, its alot more. Surely this would justify you taking an hour or two out of work to come view and drive? Again, it echoes back to the Banking Institutions not opening Sunday (and the Insurance companies too for that matter), where and how would you get the money to pay for the car? There is a bit of give and take involved ! Opening Sundays would have far reaching effects, ask Hibernian and AIB to have their staff work full day Sundays....don't forget that if we are to be put under the same umbrella as Retail, we would have to get paid time and a half for Sundays, ask anyone working in the Motor Trade, your basic is not even enough to cover your weekly shopping, do you think my boss is going to pay me overtime for working Sundays? No way !

In relation to the weekend working, I too did this while in school and college, the difference now is I have a wife and two children to look after also and would like a social life too !

helimachoptor

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

If we did open Sundays, then we would be in the Tesco/Spar league wouldn't we? Don't forget, you're not spending 12 or 15 quid in the showroom, its alot more. Surely this would justify you taking an hour or two out of work to come view and drive? Again, it echoes back to the Banking Institutions not opening Sunday (and the Insurance companies too for that matter), where and how would you get the money to pay for the car? There is a bit of give and take involved ! Opening Sundays would have far reaching effects, ask Hibernian and AIB to have their staff work full day Sundays....don't forget that if we are to be put under the same umbrella as Retail, we would have to get paid time and a half for Sundays, ask anyone working in the Motor Trade, your basic is not even enough to cover your weekly shopping, do you think my boss is going to pay me overtime for working Sundays? No way !

In relation to the weekend working, I too did this while in school and college, the difference now is I have a wife and two children to look after also and would like a social life too !

A year or two ago I would say yes, in these economic conditions people dont want to be doing anything thats going to go against them if the axe man comes swinging. And its the exact reason that people could be spending 12/15K that you should be open on a Sunday! Most people would have finance arranged unless they go through the dealers HP schemes.

Well if you were open sundays and you started selling cars, he might!

If i can ask, back in the good old days what was your most profitable day of the week? as in what day you would have sold the most cars?

I'm not saying you shouldnt but I am saying that if things are quiet during the week why doesnt your garage try and open sundays too.

ltdslipdiff

We were open last Sunday for our Sale, and have opened a couple during the Year for model launches etc, lets face it, most people are off Sundays, and its a day for driving around with the family, and if you happen to notice a dealership open, you might pop in for a look around, maybe a price on your car, or just maybe to get out of the car for a few minutes to escape the wife and crying kids.

I'm not saying we didn't sell anything on the Sundays, but on a sliding scale (we advertised heavily for the Sunday opening locally) it just didn't pay to have all the sales and reception staff here. The most common request on a saturday still remains to be - "are service or parts open today?" I'm only at this game 4 years so I don't know was I ever selling in the good times, I think the wave was just breaking when I changed career. It is of course down to the dealer principal whether we ultimately end up working Sundays, it probably works in Dublin with the higher footfall, but down here it just doesn't justify the outlay. Plus the boss hates giving us the extra day off for working the 10-5 on Sunday....

ltdslipdiff

helimachoptor wrote: »

If i can ask, back in the good old days what was your most profitable day of the week? as in what day you would have sold the most cars?

Saturday tends to be the busiest, but really any day can surprise you !

On the HP side, we can offer very good rates at the moment, but again, if someone is in on a Sunday and wants to buy a car on Finance, we can't get approval in place on the Sunday anyway........

On the positive side we have sold close on 50 used cars for the month which isn't bad given the climate...

helimachoptor

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

Saturday tends to be the busiest, but really any day can surprise you !

On the HP side, we can offer very good rates at the moment, but again, if someone is in on a Sunday and wants to buy a car on Finance, we can't get approval in place on the Sunday anyway........

On the positive side we have sold close on 50 used cars for the month which isn't bad given the climate...

Can you PM me your garage name?
I'm actually looking for a car..

worded

Thumpette wrote: »

I planned a day out looking at cars yesterday and had shortlisted 4 from 4 different garages to look at. While on the road I gave them a call to double check directions for them and make sure the cars were still in stock. One of the garages didnt answer, one told me he wasnt available then but said if I called back in the evening he would try to be available, one scoffed at me, gave no explanation, and just said I wouldnt be able to see the car at all that day and to call back the next day.

The 4th garage answered, gave directions and were polite and professional when I got there. I bought a car there.

I just dont understand how in this toughest of markets how car dealers can survive with that kind of atitude. The fact that still pretty much no garages open on a Sunday despite this probably being the day most people would most like to go looking is shocking. I really feel that if some garages take this climate as an opportunity to improve their service and be the one that stands out from the crowd, there is potential to flourish.

opening hours are stupid alright. early close sat as well + closed sun.
they should close mon + open late thurs/sat imo.

anthony4335

The seems to be quite a few people in the trade on this. In my experience over the last 12 years of buying cars, I have mostly had bad experiences with dealers when going to look for a car. I don't test drive a car unless I am buying, and generally know what I want before I go to buy and test drive to be sure if the car is right for me. The last time I went to buy (from a dealer), I had 3 dealers take down my number with one telling me that he is getting in a car the following day that was exactly what I wanted and they would give me a call. I am still waiting for the call back 3 years later. Not to mention the several garages I walked out of after spending 30 minutes waiting for a sales guy when I was told some one would be with me shortly. However not all bad experiences, the last guy was a gent, when I bought the car and paid the money ,he made if feel like I was spending 16K, and not like I had just farted.
I think that sunday opening would be a great idea, however the amount of test pilots would be crazy. Some trade in hear was giving out about working sundays and 50+ hour weeks, I worked sundays for 10 years ,and know a lot of people who often work 50 hour weeks and more without extra pay, and it is expected as they have dead lines.

Run_to_da_hills

What would happen if all the main dealers of a particular brand went bust? I could see it become a hassle to get parts and services.

badabinbadaboom

I think the servicing and repair side of things is going to be hit aswell, with things getting tight I'd assume alot of people will pick up the spanners themselves to save the ridicuolus labour costs.
(I dont mind if the work is done by a someone who's gotten his trade but why should I pay the same rate when an apprentice has done the work for less than minimum wage?)

mgadget

Mayne the car sales reps on site could clear that one up, I'd imagine its due to the credit companys and banks having that day off limiting the opportunity to actually close a deal and instead having your staff spend a frustrating day with mostly daytrippers and tyre-kickers and not be in a position to sell to an interested buyer.

Everyone is criticising the dealers at this time, fair enough with regard to used cars but not all the manufacturers are playing ball and discounting cars here yet, whereas it is widespread in the UK.
My gripe is with them, won't be buying a VW or a Honda until they bring in 0% finance. €2000 off a list price is nice but I still won't be buying.
I would guess that VW or Honda won't be selling me a car unless hell freezes over.

Thumpette wrote: »

...


I just dont understand how in this toughest of markets how car dealers can survive with that kind of atitude. The fact that still pretty much no garages open on a Sunday despite this probably being the day most people would most like to go looking is shocking. I really feel that if some garages take this climate as an opportunity to improve their service and be the one that stands out from the crowd, there is potential to flourish.

Plug

badabinbadaboom wrote: »

I think the servicing and repair side of things is going to be hit aswell, with things getting tight I'd assume alot of people will pick up the spanners themselves to save the ridicuolus labour costs.
(I dont mind if the work is done by a someone who's gotten his trade but why should I pay the same rate when an apprentice has done the work for less than minimum wage?)

I don't know about that point.
Is whats going to happen is people are keeping there cars now, not buying one like every 2 years. The second hand market seems busier than last year, so more second hand cars theres going to be more trouble with them.
Some people are going to do the work themselves but most won't bother. I can see the labour costs coming down, it will have to.
We seem to be very busy lately, I serviced a little over 20 cars during the week and did other jobs too + PDI's. Parts are also very busy.