Small Manufacturer Franchised Dealers.
Discussion
nicanary said:
I think the existence of these smaller dealerships relies to some extent on the largesse of the large chains. If they don't see the place as a threat, they don't bother to arrange its demise.
In my home town there were franchised dealers who had to close down because the large chains held the manufacturers to ransom - we'll open a gin palace if you dump these guys. Not fair, but it's the real world.
I have my car serviced by the local Kia dealer. They used to be VW agents, then Honda, and in both cases they had to "give in" to a large chain. The main agent for my car phoned the other day to ask why I didn't use them for servicing. They had problems understanding why I didn't want to spend 1 hour travelling there, another travelling back, and then the reverse when I picked up the car - 4 hours of my day gone just to use their services which cost more than the Kia dealer, who are honest and reliable and have got to know me over the years. We have a mutual respect.
I live near what used to be the Craven Ford dealership on the outskirts of Darwen in Lancashire. That ceased to be a franchised Ford dealership when Blackburn's Ford dealer, that used to be on the outskirts of the town centre, moved to a new site a couple of junctions down the M65 along with a lot of other franchised dealers. It then became a Ford Focus specialist, then a general used car dealership and after standing empty for a while it's now a Nisa supermarket. In my home town there were franchised dealers who had to close down because the large chains held the manufacturers to ransom - we'll open a gin palace if you dump these guys. Not fair, but it's the real world.
I have my car serviced by the local Kia dealer. They used to be VW agents, then Honda, and in both cases they had to "give in" to a large chain. The main agent for my car phoned the other day to ask why I didn't use them for servicing. They had problems understanding why I didn't want to spend 1 hour travelling there, another travelling back, and then the reverse when I picked up the car - 4 hours of my day gone just to use their services which cost more than the Kia dealer, who are honest and reliable and have got to know me over the years. We have a mutual respect.
I don't know if it was the proximity of the other Ford dealer that specifically caused its demise but I imagine it had a lot to do with it.
Love these little dealerships, so many gone by the wayside now as described. Great shame.
One near me is Hill and Swift just outside Stone in Staffordshire on the A34. Not as small as some others but very small compared to most dealers these days.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Hill+%26+Swift...
They also have a tiny showroom in Stone that they just keep a couple of odd cars for sale in.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.9014024,-2.14703...
Martins VW in Andover springs to mind. I used to work there in the late 90s as a student and even then it was out of sync with how dealerships were going. It had previously been Audi and VW but VAG then decreed the two brands needed to be sold from separate buildings. We'd often nip over to the group's Audi dealership in Basingstoke to bring a demo car over for someone to try in Andover and a stock of Audi brochures were kept out the back if anyone asked.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2062497,-1.47419...
One near me is Hill and Swift just outside Stone in Staffordshire on the A34. Not as small as some others but very small compared to most dealers these days.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Hill+%26+Swift...
They also have a tiny showroom in Stone that they just keep a couple of odd cars for sale in.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.9014024,-2.14703...
Martins VW in Andover springs to mind. I used to work there in the late 90s as a student and even then it was out of sync with how dealerships were going. It had previously been Audi and VW but VAG then decreed the two brands needed to be sold from separate buildings. We'd often nip over to the group's Audi dealership in Basingstoke to bring a demo car over for someone to try in Andover and a stock of Audi brochures were kept out the back if anyone asked.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2062497,-1.47419...
Gibbyo said:
Porsche Kendal?
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.3323951,-2.73889...
Been there, done that https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.3323951,-2.73889...
Also in that part of the world is Lake District Audi in the small village of Lindale:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZWU3kCs7az32
There is also a similarly diminutive VW franchise a couple of hundred yards away:
https://goo.gl/maps/J4YndQULvqH2
We have several small family garages here on the Isle of Wight - in fact in one village there are no shops at all but one Ford dealer and one pub. The local Renault dealer is family owned and my friends father has worked there his entire working life and is going to retire soon. He served on the petrol pumps, in the workshop and for the most of that time in sales. He has sold generations of the same family new cars and has customers that have only ever bought a new car from him anually and have never been in another dealers showroom. Its a definition of true customer service that place.
Blakewater said:
How possible would it be now for a small, independent garage to get a manufacturer franchise, or is it realistically only the preserve of large chains to open new manufacturer franchised dealerships?
Depends on the Franchise, someone like subaru/mitsubishi/suzuki you'd be in with a chance.It's a silly place to put your money anyway as dealers won't be around much longer.
jamoor said:
It's a silly place to put your money anyway as dealers won't be around much longer.
Must be why our local JLR dealer is spending millions on new showrooms then.New Porsche, Tesla, Kia & VW showrooms along the A4 into London too in the past year.
What short term thinkers they must be!!!
talksthetorque said:
Used to pass this when I went the more entertaining way to Newcastle from Manchester.
Johnstone's Ford, Kirkby Stephen
I wonder if when a rare beast of a ford comes out, these get an allocation, say the first run of the v8 mustang, or the 500 ltd editions they did?
Only certain Ford dealers get to sell Mustangs, RS and Vignale models. Even my nearest Evans Halshaw dealer doesn't sell them, the nearest to me is Evans Halshaw in Preston or Bristol Street in Bolton. Johnstone's Ford, Kirkby Stephen
I wonder if when a rare beast of a ford comes out, these get an allocation, say the first run of the v8 mustang, or the 500 ltd editions they did?
Jim AK said:
Must be why our local JLR dealer is spending millions on new showrooms then.
New Porsche, Tesla, Kia & VW showrooms along the A4 into London too in the past year.
What short term thinkers they must be!!!
The tesla ones aren't dealerships... Just think about that one for a second.New Porsche, Tesla, Kia & VW showrooms along the A4 into London too in the past year.
What short term thinkers they must be!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38538281
And this is what Ford have to say, driverless cars by 2021.
jamoor said:
The tesla ones aren't dealerships... Just think about that one for a second.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38538281
And this is what Ford have to say, driverless cars by 2021.
Tesla choose not to use the word `Dealership` & refer to them as `Stores` semantics imo, but ask someone who lives local to one, my sister lives within sight of the Chiswick `store` & if she was directing me to her house she would say `Turn left at the Car showroom` something I think 99.9% of people would say, local or not!http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38538281
And this is what Ford have to say, driverless cars by 2021.
Reminds me of when Mc Donalds sold their own brand of Cola. If you asked for a Coke with your Entrail Burger the spotty server would pompously say `Its Mc Donalds Cola`...... Does it f
king matter?Not sure why you think because a car is self drive people won`t want to look before they buy either.
Personally if I was buying something I was effectively only going to sit in as a transportation device I`d want to sit in all the ones in my price range to find the most comfortable. Exactly what I will be doing in the next few weeks to replace my current ICE daily.
Dealerships, Showrooms, stores, call them what you will, I do not believe they will disappear for many years & somehow I think the manufacturers & their franchisees are of the same opinion if the 3 or so miles of the M4/A4 I travel between Kew & Hammersmith are anything to go by
Jim AK said:
Tesla choose not to use the word `Dealership` & refer to them as `Stores` semantics imo, but ask someone who lives local to one, my sister lives within sight of the Chiswick `store` & if she was directing me to her house she would say `Turn left at the Car showroom` something I think 99.9% of people would say, local or not!
Reminds me of when Mc Donalds sold their own brand of Cola. If you asked for a Coke with your Entrail Burger the spotty server would pompously say `Its Mc Donalds Cola`...... Does it fking matter?
Not sure why you think because a car is self drive people won`t want to look before they buy either.
Personally if I was buying something I was effectively only going to sit in as a transportation device I`d want to sit in all the ones in my price range to find the most comfortable. Exactly what I will be doing in the next few weeks to replace my current ICE daily.
Dealerships, Showrooms, stores, call them what you will, I do not believe they will disappear for many years & somehow I think the manufacturers & their franchisees are of the same opinion if the 3 or so miles of the M4/A4 I travel between Kew & Hammersmith are anything to go by
The tesla ones aren't dealerships, they are owned and operated by the company.Reminds me of when Mc Donalds sold their own brand of Cola. If you asked for a Coke with your Entrail Burger the spotty server would pompously say `Its Mc Donalds Cola`...... Does it f
king matter?Not sure why you think because a car is self drive people won`t want to look before they buy either.
Personally if I was buying something I was effectively only going to sit in as a transportation device I`d want to sit in all the ones in my price range to find the most comfortable. Exactly what I will be doing in the next few weeks to replace my current ICE daily.
Dealerships, Showrooms, stores, call them what you will, I do not believe they will disappear for many years & somehow I think the manufacturers & their franchisees are of the same opinion if the 3 or so miles of the M4/A4 I travel between Kew & Hammersmith are anything to go by
It's quite possible that people will stop buying cars and just using a self driving "uber" to get around instead, making dealers redundant along with their service orientated business models, which will make them unprofitable.
jamoor said:
The tesla ones aren't dealerships, they are owned and operated by the company.
It's quite possible that people will stop buying cars and just using a self driving "uber" to get around instead, making dealers redundant along with their service orientated business models, which will make them unprofitable.
Not sure why you think the manufacturer owning the outlet is different to any other PLC owning them. They are there for prospective owners to look at the range available & provide service & maintenance etc, a Tesla is still going to require periodic maintenance like brake & lighting replacement, they will unfortunately get accident damage or have other failures like any car, they are not totally reliant on a `Geek` with a computer tablet!! It's quite possible that people will stop buying cars and just using a self driving "uber" to get around instead, making dealers redundant along with their service orientated business models, which will make them unprofitable.
Mercedes still own sites in the UK despite selling a large number here & around the world in the last year or so to a foreign company. Do you really think the investor did that just for a 5 year trading position?
I also do not think people will use `self drive uber` to get around all the time either. How would that work if someone wants to get from a remote location to work every day? The idea may have some traction in a large city, although even that would be difficult at peak times, but never in smaller towns & villages across the UK. People also like to be spontaneous or have a situation arise where they need to leave immediately so waiting is not convenient to them
As regard dealers becoming redundant or unprofitable, that is nonsense imo they will adapt to current & future markets as they & any other type of business always does.
I suggest you go read a few business pages to see the sums of money being secured by retail groups to fund long term expansion as I`m pretty sure none of them or their advisors have done it for the short term.
The sums involved are just way too high.
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