Super Cars v Used Cars: The Trade Off - BBC2 Wed 9pm

Atlantic Dawn

Spotted this, it's on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC2, might be of interest carwise, supercar seller swaps role with bog standard used car dealer...

Louis sells supercars to Britain's wealthiest car enthusiasts in London, while Darren deals in reliable runarounds in Bridgend, south Wales. In this documentary the two trade jobs, customers and bosses in a bid to meet or beat the other's targets and experience life at the other end of the car market. Darren is blown away by his new workplace and is overjoyed to be selling Ferraris, Jaguars and Alfa Romeos with eye-watering price tags, while Louis is thrown in at the deep end over a busy weekend and it becomes clear to boss Dave that his softly-softly approach is not cutting it and potential sales drift away.

http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dc9t99/supercars-vs-used-cars-the-trade-off

Atlantic Dawn

Bump, it's on tonight...

ofcork

Just watched the clip there could be interesting,big change from selling 100k motors to sub 10k!

PrettyBoy

Sounds interesting, thanks for the reminder!

Drummerboy08

Have it set to record, should be interesting..

I sell a mix of both - cars that could be over €100,000, to €10,000 run arounds so interested to see it documented like this!

Drummerboy08

Shifting that heavy stuff has to be a very slow burn compared to a 2 grand Fiesta.....Would have liked to seen the Welsh lad given more time, bet he'd have done well.

The guy who was selling the heavy stuff originally didn't inspire much confidence in me.

kooga

good show

colm_mcm

Missed the first half but was good enough.

Much preferred this
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/programme-information/the-dealership

ofcork

You really have to know your stuff with the high end motors,when he couldn't get the bonnet open on the Ferrari was tough.

colm_mcm

That pin code thing on the cars was mad

quadrifoglio verde

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Spotted this, it's on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC2, might be of interest carwise, supercar seller swaps role with bog standard used car dealer...

http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dc9t99/supercars-vs-used-cars-the-trade-off

I loved this intro, an Alfa is classed as a super car once again

AG918

Was worth a watch, interesting scenarios and both guys were likeable IMO. Would have been great to see the Welsh guy sell a Ferrari but I never expected him to. I visited the Joe Macari showroom around the time this show was filmed and the stock they have there is beyond belief. The California and an F430 were the only "normal" Ferrari's they had on display at the time IIRC - the majority of the cars in the showroom were valued at £500k+ each.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUy-eirNflA

Bpmull

colm_mcm wrote: »

That pin code thing on the cars was mad

I thought that was cool. Must of been fairly straightforward technology tough as it was fitted to a car worth no more than 2 to 3k maybe it's linked in to the immobiliser so it won't start once the code isn't entered. The dealer can probably change the code via his phone as the device probably has a SIM card.

colm_mcm

Immobiliser could be preset to change codes in series and he knows the series in advance?

He just texts a code every week IIRC

Desolation Of Smug

I liked both guys, the welsh lad I liked right off, the London chap I warmed to as the show progressed. Funnily enough, I reckon the London guy walked away with the most valuable experience - he learnt to value his family. Good show though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Comhrá

I missed this. Anyone have a link to the BBC player?

Desolation Of Smug

Mr Macari must be one minted chap. Jasus, the lifts in the workshop alone..

Sobanek

tippman1 wrote: »

I missed this. Anyone have a link to the BBC player?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04xstjm/super-cars-v-used-cars-the-trade-off

fricatus

I just happened upon this programme and really liked it. I'm interested in cars anyway, but it was almost more of a human-interest programme in the end.

I'd love the Welsh guy to have had more time - I'm sure he'd have sold something.

I felt quite angry seeing rich people buying cars purely for investment and making even more money out of it, while some poor divil and his wife, both with health problems, had to agonise about the price of two cars that differed by only £1,500 or so?

No problem with someone being rich and having a nice car, but a) they should drive the piggin' thing, and b) I don't like seeing anyone making loads of money for no effort, while others toil for little reward. It goes against my sense of fairness!

Atlantic Dawn

Found it interesting, there was no quality of family life for the guy in London travelling 70 miles each way through London traffic and having to spend so long in the showroom. Then the guy going to Wales was right beside work but the £250 a week plus £30 commission per car would give no quality of life.

The Joe Macari place in London must have some overheads, the showroom is impressive but the service area was every bit as good with a huge amount of staff working on the cars.

PrettyBoy

Anyone else think the price of the Golf was stupidly high? 2002 base model, hubcaps, cloth interior, etc. - £2,500 (€3,200).

They paid £300 down + £50 a week for 1 year = £2,900 (€3,700). Not a good deal by any means.

Gone Drinking

I actually had to look away with cringe when the Welsh guy told the investment buyer that believe it or not there was actually space for 4 people in the classic Ferrari. He was told it was an investment buy!

I suppose it just showed how much he was used to dealing with the normal people sales.

Cool idea and a great show. Both guys were very likeable I thought.

Agricola

Good programme. Was hoping the Welsh lad would manage to offload one high end car before his time was up, he was a likeable fella. Unlike the owner of the place in Bridgend. What a fúcking nightmare to have to look at that face every morning and get paid a pittance for it.

Alun

ofcork wrote: »

You really have to know your stuff with the high end motors,when he couldn't get the bonnet open on the Ferrari was tough.

I can't find the bloody clip thingy on my own car's bonnet half the time either, so I sympathise!

ofcork

Still though if you are a guy spending north of 100k on a car you would expect the salesman to know the car inside out.

Bpmull

Did anyone else think the 30 pound commission per car was very low. Surly irish car salesmen would get more than that ?

Alun

I thought the guy from Macari had a bit of an advantage in the whole competition though as he said he'd worked in an 'ordinary' dealers before moving to his current job, so it wasn't such a culture shock for him as for the Welsh guy.

veetwin

Good programme but the Welsh guys lack of knowledge of his stock cost him. It appears he had advance notice of what customer would look at what car and he still could not answer some of the most basic questions and in once case struggled to open the bonnet which just looks incompetent.

The other guy didn't know much about cars either and was a pretty poor salesman who managed to sell cars eventually to customers who needed them. He also made some fairly odd life choices in moving 70 miles from London and then complaining about the length of his commute and what it was costing him in time and money.

11wingnut

Sobanek wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04xstjm/super-cars-v-used-cars-the-trade-off

HOW DO YOU VIEW IT DO YOU HAVE TO USE HIDEMYASS OR SIMALAR?

AMKC

Was very good I really enjoyed this. Some difference between what ordinary folk drive and what the super rich drive and can invest in. Was some fabulous looking cars in that showroom in London. Some workshop he has out the back too. I say them mechanics working on them cars must really love there jobs.

PrettyBoy

veetwin wrote: »

Good programme but the Welsh guys lack of knowledge of his stock cost him. It appears he had advance notice of what customer would look at what car and he still could not answer some of the most basic questions and in once case struggled to open the bonnet which just looks incompetent.

Opening the bonnet can sometimes be tricky when you haven't done it on that particular car before, regardless of whether it's a Ferrari or a Ford. When you're tasked with memorising so much information in a short period of time the most basic details can prove difficult to recall when you're put on the spot.

veetwin

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Opening the bonnet can sometimes be tricky when you haven't done it on that particular car before, regardless of whether it's a Ferrari or a Ford. When you're tasked with memorising so much information in a short period of time the most basic details can prove difficult to recall when you're put on the spot.

I agree but if I was tasked with selling a particular car I think I would have a go at opening boot, bonnet, glovebox etc for no other reason than to check what's there in case of any surprises or awkward questions. He seemed to lack basic awareness of what questions might be asked.

Hachiko

Id rather sell cars for 5k and get a decent life than work anywhere in London and settle down for the evening at 9pm....every day, let alone attempt to get property there.

Hachiko

fricatus wrote: »

I just happened upon this programme and really liked it. I'm interested in cars anyway, but it was almost more of a human-interest programme in the end.

I'd love the Welsh guy to have had more time - I'm sure he'd have sold something.

I felt quite angry seeing rich people buying cars purely for investment and making even more money out of it, while some poor divil and his wife, both with health problems, had to agonise about the price of two cars that differed by only £1,500 or so?

No problem with someone being rich and having a nice car, but a) they should drive the piggin' thing, and b) I don't like seeing anyone making loads of money for no effort, while others toil for little reward. It goes against my sense of fairness!

the rich in London are in their own little world.

I agree with you tho.

Hachiko

Bpmull wrote: »

Did anyone else think the 30 pound commission per car was very low. Surly irish car salesmen would get more than that ?

salary in wales is bad, indeed average salary across the whole of the uk is pretty crap, unlike house prices salary have not risen in ......years....and years

dr.fuzzenstein

11wingnut wrote: »

HOW DO YOU VIEW IT DO YOU HAVE TO USE HIDEMYASS OR SIMALAR?

It won't work with caps lock on

Mc Love

It was a great show, was almost convinced welsh lad would sell a car but his sales pitch was too focused on how he sold the low value cars. In the whole scheme of things, the lad in Wales is better off in his job.

Silvera

I really enjoyed the show - it's part of a 'Super Rich' series on BBC each night this week at 9pm.

Joe Macari's showroom is unreal - the workshop likewise! The Welsh guy did come across as very likeable from the start, but the London guy also become a bit more likeable as the show progressed. I agree about the garage owner/boss in Wales - what a sourpuss to work for! But credit to him for coming up with the 'pin-code / pay as you drive' idea! Will it catch on elsewhere?? I wonder does he have it patented?!:D

I sold cars back in the mid-1990's and agree that you can be caught out now-and-again when selling a vehicle as regards opening a bonnet, etc. However, the Welsh guy had advance notice of the customer arriving and should have done his homework - even 10 mins going over the car / paperwork would have changed his situation a lot. It would have been great to see him close a sale and get his large commission.

Overall a great documentary. More please bbc/itv/ch4 (rte/tv3/utv?)!!

JoeA3

I thought it was a good show too, but as Colm mentioned in his post above, the 3-parter on Channel 4 last year was even better. It might be up on the Channel 4 "player" for any of you that didn't see it, well worth a watch.

Agricola

veetwin wrote: »

The other guy didn't know much about cars either and was a pretty poor salesman who managed to sell cars eventually to customers who needed them.

To be fair to the Welsh guy, it's easier to sell a clapped out Citroen for relatively small money when the person buying it NEEDS it and isnt interested in being impressed. They just want to know its reliable, maybe economical and definitely affordable. Many of these millionaires floating around looking at supercars are turned on by the badge and the prestige, they want to be buttered up with sales patter and like to hear a flood of numbers even though it's all double dutch or irrelevant to a lot of them. They also can go pretty much anywhere in the world for the car they want. If he had picked up the schmoozing aspect of the job that quickly, Macari should probably have hired him!

colm_mcm

I can't believe he was trying to sell a citroen c2 to a family (a family who needed a reliable car, but that's another story)

Just watched it there now.

The welsh chap that got sent to the big shot dealership - He was hardly ever gonna sell anything within a week, was he? I wouldn't have expected someone in that circumstance to sell within a week of starting. Considering it's effectively like doing a Junior Cert (absorbing a load of information and splurging it out when someone asks random questions).

I'd say, given another week, he'd have made a sale.

colm_mcm

JoeA3 wrote: »

I thought it was a good show too, but as Colm mentioned in his post above, the 3-parter on Channel 4 last year was even better. It might be up on the Channel 4 "player" for any of you that didn't see it, well worth a watch.

Still there

Watched this. Also watched the 3 part Dealership show. Found both to be quite enjoyable.
Are there any similar shows out there worth taking a look at, that anyone could recommend?

Cheers

Yamanoto

Repeated tonight on BBC2 Norn Iron at 23:55 (half hour earlier on some regional variants).