Dealers Busy

[Dave Hedgehog]

Are dealers normally busy this time of year with the new plate only a few weeks away?

Dealership i was in yesterday afternoon was like a ghost town

[vaud]

Given the lead times on new vehicles, unless you are buying from stock (and you aren’t on holiday) why would they be busy now?

The whole annual new plate concept was done away with to balance the industry a bit. I used to play the “who can spot the new issue plate on release day” but that has also gone away.

Certainly for used cars I think people buy on spec and condition, not the plate date (at least not worried about which of the two dates within a year)?

[LuS1fer]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Dealership i was in yesterday afternoon was like a ghost town

Maybe ran out of Specials

[Dave Hedgehog]

vaud said:

Given the lead times on new vehicles, unless you are buying from stock (and you aren t on holiday) why would they be busy now?

The whole annual new plate concept was done away with to balance the industry a bit. I used to play the who can spot the new issue plate on release day but that has also gone away.

Certainly for used cars I think people buy on spec and condition, not the plate date (at least not worried about which of the two dates within a year)?

ahh, it certainly used to be a big deal, but i just worked out its been 11 years!!!! since i bought a car from a main dealer since the Tesla was done online ...

When i picked the AMG up on plate change day they had a couple hundred cars going out that weekend

[Sebring440]

LuS1fer said:

Maybe ran out of Specials

Laughing at your own, umm....joke...?

[snuffy]

vaud said:

Certainly for used cars I think people buy on spec and condition, not the plate date (at least not worried about which of the two dates within a year)?

I bought a used car about a month ago, the spec was what a look at (model, trim level, colour), with the addition that it was no more than 3 years old. So in that respect, the plate did not matter (apart from the age of course).

[vaud]

snuffy said:

I bought a used car about a month ago, the spec was what a look at (model, trim level, colour), with the addition that it was no more than 3 years old. So in that respect, the plate did not matter (apart from the age of course).

Me too. I wanted after a certain model year for features. Didn’t care which year.

If I was ordering new then it wouldn’t be from stock and would have been many months ago to get the latest plate.

[Trevor555]

Went into a VW main dealer yesterday, and P'boro's Big Motoring World.

The VW dealer was very quiet.

Bmw was pretty busy.

[Sheepshanks]

Trevor555 said:

Went into a VW main dealer yesterday, and P'boro's Big Motoring World.

The VW dealer was very quiet.

Bmw was pretty busy.

Our local BMW dealer (Chester) has been busy every time I ve wandered in - hoards of people throwing orders at salespeople.

Took wife s Karoq for service earlier this month - picked it up early afterwards and showroom was deserted. They said they d been manic for months but it had suddenly gone quiet.

Now would be a good time to be ordering if wanting car for Sept 1st - I think that’s the peak registration month now.

[LuS1fer]

Sebring440 said:

LuS1fer said:

Maybe ran out of Specials

Laughing at your own, umm....joke...?

Ghost town was a song by The Specials for the young people here.

[macron]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Are dealers normally busy this time of year with the new plate only a few weeks away?

Dealership i was in yesterday afternoon was like a ghost town

School holidays, plenty of people away, are you pleased you had time and space to yourself or worried about something?

[Dave Hedgehog]

macron said:

School holidays, plenty of people away, are you pleased you had time and space to yourself or worried about something?

concerned maybe it was a sign the economy is tanking

i follow a couple of auto trade youtube channels and the american car market has tanked, audi have 18 months of stock of most cars

[AddyT.]

Dave Hedgehog said:

macron said:

School holidays, plenty of people away, are you pleased you had time and space to yourself or worried about something?

concerned maybe it was a sign the economy is tanking

i follow a couple of auto trade youtube channels and the american car market has tanked, audi have 18 months of stock of most cars

I think Audi are really struggling to shift some of their cars. I spoke to the dealer last month when getting shot of my SQ5 and he was pushing the new Q5 understandably. Cant say I have seen one of them on the road anywhere and they don’t look great and are hugely expensive. Similar with the new A5…think I’ve seen two. The previous A4/5 and Q5 are everywhere. Very telling I think.

[Matty_]

Been following all things Lotus for the last 6 months, and while Exiges have slowed the last couple of months (mainly early ones) theres absolutely no shortage of people spunking 50k+ on the 350/380/410, or the Evoras. Emira's still selling reasonably well too.

That corner of the market (2nd car/weekend) is usually the first to show signs....does go against what's being reported on the news, but I'm no economist so no idea what it all means. I'm in the market for something silly, so I've been waiting for things to quieten down but it seemingly isn't.

[Rob 131 Sport]

Sheepshanks said:

Trevor555 said:

Went into a VW main dealer yesterday, and P'boro's Big Motoring World.

The VW dealer was very quiet.

Bmw was pretty busy.

Our local BMW dealer (Chester) has been busy every time I ve wandered in - hoards of people throwing orders at salespeople.

Took wife s Karoq for service earlier this month - picked it up early afterwards and showroom was deserted. They said they d been manic for months but it had suddenly gone quiet.

Now would be a good time to be ordering if wanting car for Sept 1st - I think that s the peak registration month now.

People from Chester like BMW’s and it’s a good dealership, which might explain why it’s busy.

[snuffy]

Rob 131 Sport said:

People from Chester like BMW s and it s a good dealership, which might explain why it s busy.

I find it somewhat amusing that Porsche Chester is actually in Ellesmere Port.

[mac96]

snuffy said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

People from Chester like BMW s and it s a good dealership, which might explain why it s busy.

I find it somewhat amusing that Porsche Chester is actually in Ellesmere Port.

True, but carefully located so you don't actually have to see Ellesmere Port on your way to collect your new Porsche!

[Rob 131 Sport]

mac96 said:

snuffy said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

People from Chester like BMW s and it s a good dealership, which might explain why it s busy.

I find it somewhat amusing that Porsche Chester is actually in Ellesmere Port.

True, but carefully located so you don't actually have to see Ellesmere Port on your way to collect your new Porsche!

Whilst I would love a new 911, it’s bit really in my league. What’s wrong with Ellesmere Port.

[Pit Pony]

Rob 131 Sport said:

Whilst I would love a new 911, it s bit really in my league. What s wrong with Ellesmere Port.

Nothing.

[Rompy]

I wonder how much the governments s***show of the new EV grant is responsible for dealers with tumbleweed. Two weeks after the announcement and radio silence from the government with clarity of how it’s going to be applied, in terms of orders for cars that have already been placed, or even which cars are eligible. A more complicated system would be impossible to imagine.

With nothing expected for a least another couple of weeks, would you buy an EV at the moment?

Ironically, the makes that are unlikely to get the grant are offering equivalent reductions today. The only thing that the EV grant has achieved so far is the make the wrong cars (in terms of manufacturing footprint) more attractive. You couldn’t make it up, but then again with this lot in charge anything is possible.