NEWS

CAR dealers are wasting the equivalent of £1450 per technician every year through wasting oil. Castrol Professional has released the shock sum, to highlight the huge amounts car dealers are missing out on. It is equivalent to 11 percent of total potential oil profits each year, and is occurring because dealers are failing to manage [...]

HAZARDOUS waste disposal in the specialist automotive area could be affected by a big fire. A big blaze recently struck the Solvents With Safety factory in Doncaster – 1 of only 2 specialist solvent disposal companies. This could affect car dealers whose aftersales trade heavily in solvents, particularly bodyshops and paint shops. Environmental legislation compliance [...]

PINEWOOD Pinnacle DMS is to launch a new computer feature that pinpoints on a map where customers are. The ‘Spend Mapping’ feature puts coloured pins on a map of the dealer’s territory. These come in four colours – corresponding to warranty, trade, retail and internal spends. It’s ideal, says Pinewood MD Neville Briggs, for refining [...]

SINCE launching the scheme a year ago, The Warranty Group has trained over 450 service plan-promoting ‘Champions’. They are helping some dealers score boosts in aftersales of up to 400 percent! The idea is to better integrate the promotion of service plans into the car sales process. Special techniques are taught as part of the [...]

HONDA has introduced a MUGEN performance tuning parts programme to 8 of its UK dealer network. The selected car dealers will sell official MUGEN tuning parts, accessories and merchandise. Colin Whittamore, from MUGEN Euro, said: ‘Although MUGEN has been in Japan for over 35 years, we are a relatively new company to the UK market, [...]

PORSCHE Autofarm is boosting its service department with a special while-you-wait service for shopaholic owners. A free supercar shuttle drives owners of cars receiving attention to and from the retail complex. This avoids customers having to wait at the dealer, and also takes the pressure off Autofarm to rush pitstops. It’s possible because Bicester Village [...]

SERVICE plan provider EmaC says car dealers should drop the ‘after’ in ‘aftersales’ to boost returns. By taking aftersales selling to core new and used car point-of-sale desks, returns can double, reckons the firm. ‘With around 40 percent of the lifetime value of any customer held in after-sales, it makes great commercial sense to un-tap [...]

VAUXHALL car dealers are debuting a new efficiency check ‘ecoFLEX’ service for all Vauxhall motors. Costing £99, the green service hones in on the aspects that affect fuel economy. It includes: •    Oil and filter change •    Fuel system clean •    Air con efficiency check •    Tyre pressure check •    Brake check Even better, if [...]

CAR dealers should use vehicle health checks to help drive business to under-pressure servicing departments. Pinewood MD Neville Briggs reckons they are set to play a key role in sustaining profits as the servicing downturn continues. It’s all about getting customers going into the dealership, he said. ‘They ensure that when a dealer sees the [...]

BLACK box recorders that permanently monitor car health could offer dealers a new way of customer contact. Telematics expert Trimble MRM has developed a black box health recorder that watches vehicle health and service condition – just like F1 teams do. This is already being used in many large car fleets but the firm says [...]

USED car buyers are returning to the market but also continuing to seek the protection of a longer warranty. The trend to choose longer and better warranties than before the recession has not abated, reveals RAC Warranty. This is despite a used car sales upturn showing market confidence in general is much better than it [...]

AFERSALES businesses are facing declining demand despite cars in use rising by 13 percent in 10 years. The value of the retail car service and repair market has fallen by 21 percent since 1999 This is despite franchises raising their labour rate by 36 percent over the Retail Price Index, and independents rising by 15 [...]

FORD says 15 percent of car owners admit to putting off car services – or even skip them completely – to save money. Younger drivers are the worst of all, adds the blue oval. Even worse, 1 in 5 UK drivers has no breakdown cover to cover them for any subsequent breakdowns – and for [...]

VAUXHALL aftersales departments may get a boost from the World Cup with a special sticker offer! The firm has developed a special set of England decals especially for the 3dr Corsa. Stretching from headlights all along the sides, they certainly stand out – and even come with matching door mirror caps. They cost £149 from [...]

CAR dealers are failing to calculate profits from warranties correctly which is costing them big returns. RAC Warranty reckons many dealers fail to realise the uplift in aftersales that warranties bring. By only analysing Point Of Sale profit potential, the importance of warranties is not being correctly emphasised during the sales process. RAC Warranty reckons [...]

PORSCHE specialist car dealer Dove House is looking for a Porsche service manager with big aspirations. The Rushden retailer is expanding into the aftersales arena, by building its own in-house workshop. This is being constructed right now – but the search for the right person to manage it continues. That’s because the final candidate will [...]

PORSCHE is embarking on a new strategy to bring greater personalisation to its cars and better profits for dealers. The firm has bought its high-line options scheme under an umbrella offer – Porsche Exclusive – and is using the super-special 911 Sport Classic to promote this refocus. Porsche Exclusive chief Boris Apenbrink explained to Car [...]

FORD is offering 1 owner the chance to win a full refurb for their car in an innovative prize worth £10k. The firm is promoting car dealers’ free 29-point Health Check deal with the launch of the prize that runs until 19 June. It will be drawn by Ford WRC driver Mikko Hirvonen. Ford cars [...]

TIGER Commerce has launched its free new iPhone App to help improve car dealers’ efficiency on the move. The new ‘mCommerce’ App promises to bring greater control to car dealers’ online parts and accessory businesses, giving them 24/7 control if so required. Through it, car dealers can access and respond to real-time data, for instant [...]

GOLDEN Garages inaugural winner Kinghams of Croydon says business is booming after winning the award. The SEAT car dealer reports the visit by Vicki Butler-Henderson has seen it quickly become ‘inundated’ with enquiries! Owner Keith Kingham said: ‘We were obviously thrilled to have won the award. It’s a great honour and a source of real [...]