Bauer Millett closes down..........
Discussion
The main reason does appear to be pricing:
The buildings situation was an odd one. They had at least three different services/spares building out of the centre, just off the A56 and in that time they watched BMW MINI, VW, Honda and Vauxhall all open showrooms on the A56. I wonder why they kept the expensive city centre showroom that wasn't selling cars.
Also a pity for them (and us) that Alfa offer a joke range of cars. (No 5 door Mito, no convertable Mito, no convertable Guilietta, no 159 replacement, no Brera replcement, no 166 replacement, no GTA models...)
PistonheadRob said:
Rang up for a quote for my partners Alfa mito 1.3jtdm last year for the 2nd service and they wanted £450 for it, .... serviced at an independent garage using genuine parts and castrol correct spec oil for £130 all in and the service book stamped ... if it was up to say up to £250 we would have had it done to retain the full dealer history for resale value/out of warranty goodwill claims etc. But at that difference it was pure greed.
Nickyboy said:
This is the key, we all know their £70k+ Corvettes can be bought stateside for a mere £37k or so even by factoring in importing it and paying all the associated fees/taxes etc you're still saving nearly £20k. There's plenty of specialists in the country now who will not only do all the work for you but will take care of the SVA and servicing without the need for huge showroom and dozens of staff. A place near me has a small unit with 3 staff and will happily import whatever car you like.
Why were they so far off the mark on servicing and sales? With the Corvettes it makes you wonder who was pocketing the extra £20K - manufacturer or dealer? If the extra was less say £5K they might have had some sales.The buildings situation was an odd one. They had at least three different services/spares building out of the centre, just off the A56 and in that time they watched BMW MINI, VW, Honda and Vauxhall all open showrooms on the A56. I wonder why they kept the expensive city centre showroom that wasn't selling cars.
Also a pity for them (and us) that Alfa offer a joke range of cars. (No 5 door Mito, no convertable Mito, no convertable Guilietta, no 159 replacement, no Brera replcement, no 166 replacement, no GTA models...)
Blown2CV said:
as a franchised dealer you are at the mercy of the manufacturer. They set the standards required to have a franchise, and they can change them whenever they wish. They only get more stringent over time. If you have multiple franchises, you are very exposed. The mfrs are probably even on at them to buy the standard desks, chairs, fixtures and fittings... it's an expensive game to play. If you run an unusual business model involving lots of oddball individual imports then you will find it hard to keep a consistent cashflow, and that's in addition to the franchise business. I think they just tried to do too much, in an age where you can no longer just say "yea i am a fiat dealer now", and that's all you need to do. As far as I know when they lost Alfa, they decided to just stick with the imports business... not sure it was the right move.
Might have been bulls
t, but I was talking to a salesman in an exclusive Audi showroom near me, and he said the manufacturer sometimes sends plain clothed "inspectors" to check up on the state of the plush showroom, and even if there is one single light bulb out it is seriously frowned upon.swerni said:
berlintaxi said:
bencollins said:
Shyte logo, typeface, graphics cant have helped.
Yeah, 'cause that's what we all base our decision to use a dealer on.
What a load of old b
ks. :
vikingaero said:
swerni said:
berlintaxi said:
bencollins said:
Shyte logo, typeface, graphics cant have helped.
Yeah, 'cause that's what we all base our decision to use a dealer on.What a load of old b
ks. :
TA14 said:
The main reason does appear to be pricing:
The buildings situation was an odd one. They had at least three different services/spares building out of the centre, just off the A56 and in that time they watched BMW MINI, VW, Honda and Vauxhall all open showrooms on the A56. I wonder why they kept the expensive city centre showroom that wasn't selling cars.
Also a pity for them (and us) that Alfa offer a joke range of cars. (No 5 door Mito, no convertable Mito, no convertable Guilietta, no 159 replacement, no Brera replcement, no 166 replacement, no GTA models...)
When I bought my Z06, I was originally looking for one in the US. Then Mitch got one in. I did the maths and the difference in price was so small, it wasn't worth the extra hassle and wait. PistonheadRob said:
Rang up for a quote for my partners Alfa mito 1.3jtdm last year for the 2nd service and they wanted £450 for it, .... serviced at an independent garage using genuine parts and castrol correct spec oil for £130 all in and the service book stamped ... if it was up to say up to £250 we would have had it done to retain the full dealer history for resale value/out of warranty goodwill claims etc. But at that difference it was pure greed.
Nickyboy said:
This is the key, we all know their £70k+ Corvettes can be bought stateside for a mere £37k or so even by factoring in importing it and paying all the associated fees/taxes etc you're still saving nearly £20k. There's plenty of specialists in the country now who will not only do all the work for you but will take care of the SVA and servicing without the need for huge showroom and dozens of staff. A place near me has a small unit with 3 staff and will happily import whatever car you like.
Why were they so far off the mark on servicing and sales? With the Corvettes it makes you wonder who was pocketing the extra £20K - manufacturer or dealer? If the extra was less say £5K they might have had some sales.The buildings situation was an odd one. They had at least three different services/spares building out of the centre, just off the A56 and in that time they watched BMW MINI, VW, Honda and Vauxhall all open showrooms on the A56. I wonder why they kept the expensive city centre showroom that wasn't selling cars.
Also a pity for them (and us) that Alfa offer a joke range of cars. (No 5 door Mito, no convertable Mito, no convertable Guilietta, no 159 replacement, no Brera replcement, no 166 replacement, no GTA models...)
Yes they weren't the cheapest around but those making claims of the huge savings from buying from the US are mistaken. Firstly an official euro spec car is not a base US car, so stop comparing them to each other. Then factor in the shipping, handling, insurance, duty on all that, Vat on all of that, then getting it on the road over here and it is far from being 20k cheaper.
sounds like a shame, I never used them personally but did manage to haggle a discount on servicing from my Alfa dealer after I used their service pricing offers (they had just added Alfa) on the phone with my existing dealer. Definitely agree the pitiful Alfa range hasn't helped, Whitequay and SGT which were my locals have now either gone or ditched the franchise.
Wacky Racer said:
Blown2CV said:
as a franchised dealer you are at the mercy of the manufacturer. They set the standards required to have a franchise, and they can change them whenever they wish. They only get more stringent over time. If you have multiple franchises, you are very exposed. The mfrs are probably even on at them to buy the standard desks, chairs, fixtures and fittings... it's an expensive game to play. If you run an unusual business model involving lots of oddball individual imports then you will find it hard to keep a consistent cashflow, and that's in addition to the franchise business. I think they just tried to do too much, in an age where you can no longer just say "yea i am a fiat dealer now", and that's all you need to do. As far as I know when they lost Alfa, they decided to just stick with the imports business... not sure it was the right move.
Might have been bullst, but I was talking to a salesman in an exclusive Audi showroom near me, and he said the manufacturer sometimes sends plain clothed "inspectors" to check up on the state of the plush showroom, and even if there is one single light bulb out it is seriously frowned upon.berlintaxi said:
vikingaero said:
swerni said:
berlintaxi said:
bencollins said:
Shyte logo, typeface, graphics cant have helped.
Yeah, 'cause that's what we all base our decision to use a dealer on.What a load of old b
ks. :
The new car market - especially at the premium end - is fickle like that, and for every hardcore petrolhead like us who'd order their £70K specialist car from a hole in the wall if that means they'd get the car they wanted there will be a hundred 'aspirational buyers' who want the glitz and slickness of their local friendly OPC/Audi/AM dealer.
900T-R said:
berlintaxi said:
vikingaero said:
swerni said:
berlintaxi said:
bencollins said:
Shyte logo, typeface, graphics cant have helped.
Yeah, 'cause that's what we all base our decision to use a dealer on.What a load of old b
ks. :
The new car market - especially at the premium end - is fickle like that, and for every hardcore petrolhead like us who'd order their £70K specialist car from a hole in the wall if that means they'd get the car they wanted there will be a hundred 'aspirational buyers' who want the glitz and slickness of their local friendly OPC/Audi/AM dealer.
People seem to have the impression it was some run down garage operating from the railway arches, it certainly never felt like that in my experience, as for AM dealers, Wilmslow always looks like a car jumble sale whenever I pass it.
In better times they had been Ranked number 1 UK dealer by Alfa Romeo ( 2011 )
" Ranked number one in the country for customer satisfaction, Bauer Millett is the place to go to buy Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Cadillac, Corvette and Chevrolet Camero cars in Manchester "
" In Alfa Romeo's ongoing national survey of its entire dealer network the dealership achieved a maximum possible score for the month of April which propelled them to the top of the rankings from their previous position of second place "
" Ranked number one in the country for customer satisfaction, Bauer Millett is the place to go to buy Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Cadillac, Corvette and Chevrolet Camero cars in Manchester "
" In Alfa Romeo's ongoing national survey of its entire dealer network the dealership achieved a maximum possible score for the month of April which propelled them to the top of the rankings from their previous position of second place "
berlintaxi said:
I assume you never visited Bauer Millet?
Sadly not. 
Fair enough, from the picture the newspaper was using it did look a bit quaint/old style urban (which I personally prefer to the faceless glass palace style of premises, but then I'm not a high net worth individual... ). Hello, I am new to the Piston Heads Forum and this is my first post.
I've just heard about the closing of Bauer Millett and was preparing to have my 2006 Hummer H3 shipped over there (I am based in Guernsey and am having an electrical problem that requires the GM proprietary Hummer software to resolve) for some servicing and possible sale.
I am wondering if any forum members here know of an alternative dealership that handles Hummer H3 Sales and Service?
Thanks in advance, your help would be much appreciated.
I've just heard about the closing of Bauer Millett and was preparing to have my 2006 Hummer H3 shipped over there (I am based in Guernsey and am having an electrical problem that requires the GM proprietary Hummer software to resolve) for some servicing and possible sale.
I am wondering if any forum members here know of an alternative dealership that handles Hummer H3 Sales and Service?
Thanks in advance, your help would be much appreciated.
AlexAnderson said:
Hello, I am new to the Piston Heads Forum and this is my first post.
I've just heard about the closing of Bauer Millett and was preparing to have my 2006 Hummer H3 shipped over there (I am based in Guernsey and am having an electrical problem that requires the GM proprietary Hummer software to resolve) for some servicing and possible sale.
I am wondering if any forum members here know of an alternative dealership that handles Hummer H3 Sales and Service?
Thanks in advance, your help would be much appreciated.
maybe contact the manufacturer?I've just heard about the closing of Bauer Millett and was preparing to have my 2006 Hummer H3 shipped over there (I am based in Guernsey and am having an electrical problem that requires the GM proprietary Hummer software to resolve) for some servicing and possible sale.
I am wondering if any forum members here know of an alternative dealership that handles Hummer H3 Sales and Service?
Thanks in advance, your help would be much appreciated.
really sad to see bauer millett go but things seemed to go bad for them since millennium . when there was a surge in sales in US vehicles and independents with low overheads were opening up all over the country BM lost the niche they had.
Lawrence Millett seemed to run the business like a hobby rather than business and they were always pricey with their stock. But Mitch much more sensible with how he bought stock - not paying in old Rolls royces that would sit in stock for ages
surely they owned the Albion st. premises as they were using it just for storage in the mids 00's ?? so were not paying steep rent ?
its a pity to think that BM would probably survive if located in South / london
Lawrence Millett seemed to run the business like a hobby rather than business and they were always pricey with their stock. But Mitch much more sensible with how he bought stock - not paying in old Rolls royces that would sit in stock for ages
surely they owned the Albion st. premises as they were using it just for storage in the mids 00's ?? so were not paying steep rent ?
its a pity to think that BM would probably survive if located in South / london
Wacky Racer said:
Lawrence Millett was a typical old school car dealer and was a real character, wish there were more of his type around.
problem with the above is that as much as characters are interesting, nearly everyone would rather buy from someone businesslike, professional, reliable than a 'character'. I am not saying Lawrence was unprofessional, I have no idea, but people tend to value other things above an unusual personality. Gassing Station | Yank Motors | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff