Cazoo

[old'uns]

So it appears you can browse cars at the showrooms but online only

https://www.cazoo.co.uk/customer-centres/

[Nickp82]

The cost base for Cazoo must be absolutely massive, I wonder how many units they need to be shifting to make it work.

[SlowDarren]

Amex has a £250 off offer with these.

Surprising that you can use Amex to buy a car but there you go.

[spreadsheet monkey]

SlowDarren said:

Amex has a £250 off offer with these.

Surprising that you can use Amex to buy a car but there you go.

That’s a decent incentive if you’ve got a chunky credit card limit and pay it off straight away. Take the £250, and earn air miles as well (assuming they can be spent in 2021).

OMG CAZOO MUST BE IN TROUBLE IF THEY’RE OFFERING DISCOUNTS THROUGH THE BACK DOOR yada yada yada

[Lozw86]

They’re in the process of refurbishing a large site in Southampton too, formerly Imperial Cars

[spreadsheet monkey]

Lozw86 said:

They’re in the process of refurbishing a large site in Southampton too, formerly Imperial Cars

Cazoo bought all of Imperial’s operations earlier this year. They wanted the used car stock as well as the retail sites.

https://www.cazoo.co.uk/press/cazoo-acquires-imper...

[Sheepshanks]

Now they've acquired Drover: https://www.cazoo.co.uk/press/cazoo-to-acquire-uks...

[JBourne2Drive]

Interesting. Didn’t someone in this thread call it earlier with Cazoo buying out the competition and gradually turning into a services based cash flow house (my paraphrasing). This will be the launchpad for it.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Oof.

"Online dealer Cazoo has revealed it sold nearly 10,000 cars in the first quarter of 2021 – but only made £143 per unit...
For comparison, Vertu Motors make £1,467 and Pendragon make £1,200 per used car they sell."

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/cazoos-fil...

Interesting to see just how much the big dealer groups are making on every car they sell...

[krisdelta]

Is that higher costs or lower selling price like-for-like though? £1.5m profit isn't to be sniffed at for a quarter.

[J1990]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Oof.

"Online dealer Cazoo has revealed it sold nearly 10,000 cars in the first quarter of 2021 – but only made £143 per unit...
For comparison, Vertu Motors make £1,467 and Pendragon make £1,200 per used car they sell."

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/cazoos-fil...

Interesting to see just how much the big dealer groups are making on every car they sell...

To be fair, they've created jobs, they've provided an option for complete online purchasingof a vehicle, robust returns and warranty policies and still managed to turn a 7 figure profit. I'm a big fan of the concept and glad it's proven profitable.

[Toaster Pilot]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Oof.

"Online dealer Cazoo has revealed it sold nearly 10,000 cars in the first quarter of 2021 – but only made £143 per unit...
For comparison, Vertu Motors make £1,467 and Pendragon make £1,200 per used car they sell."

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/cazoos-fil...

Interesting to see just how much the big dealer groups are making on every car they sell...

There’s got to be more to that than meets the eye - the big dealer groups might have more margin across each bonnet but can they really be 10x as *profitable* with all of their overheads?

[spreadsheet monkey]

J1990 said:

To be fair, they've created jobs, they've provided an option for complete online purchasing of a vehicle, robust returns and warranty policies and still managed to turn a 7 figure profit. I'm a big fan of the concept and glad it's proven profitable.

I'm with you. Given that they're a young startup business, trying to get a foothold in a very competitive market, and have spent a ton of money of TV advertising and sports sponsorships (cricket, horse racing and two Premier League football teams), I'm impressed they're even in the black.

Obviously a source like cardealermagazine.com is going to be on the side of traditional bricks and mortar dealers, and will be spinning this as negative news - "only £143 per car".

[Chrishum]

spreadsheet monkey said:

J1990 said:

To be fair, they've created jobs, they've provided an option for complete online purchasing of a vehicle, robust returns and warranty policies and still managed to turn a 7 figure profit. I'm a big fan of the concept and glad it's proven profitable.

I'm with you. Given that they're a young startup business, trying to get a foothold in a very competitive market, and have spent a ton of money of TV advertising and sports sponsorships (cricket, horse racing and two Premier League football teams), I'm impressed they're even in the black.

Obviously a source like cardealermagazine.com is going to be on the side of traditional bricks and mortar dealers, and will be spinning this as negative news - "only £143 per car".

I’d imagine their business model has legs too. The theatrical dance of negotiations in traditional sales is tiresome, being offered products that are profitable but ultimately not great value in many cases, the pretence of a better deal from the manager etc is something a lot of people aren’t comfortable with (especially younger buyers who are often more comfortable with faceless transactions).

The ease with which people can decline the extras no doubt hits margins. But probably draws repeat buyers into the business. I suspect Cinch will do well with their monthly paid care package too because a lot of people are terrified their car throws them a bill and they rarely budget for even routine stuff.

[anonymous-user]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Oof.

"Online dealer Cazoo has revealed it sold nearly 10,000 cars in the first quarter of 2021 – but only made £143 per unit...
For comparison, Vertu Motors make £1,467 and Pendragon make £1,200 per used car they sell."

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/cazoos-fil...

Interesting to see just how much the big dealer groups are making on every car they sell...

How many times has this online car retailer been tried in the past and how many times has it failed? The only reason they have as many sales as they currently have is due to Covid and people not being able to go to car dealers?

Are people really happy to buy cars like this, I know I would never buy any car unless it was physically in front of me. Plus they are competing with Cinch who have much better access to cars due to being owned by WeBuyAnyCar.

I think once car sales get back to normal they will go under.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Joey Deacon said:

Are people really happy to buy cars like this, I know I would never buy any car unless it was physically in front of me.

I bought a car from them in October last year, a 2019 Renault Captur.

The price was competitive, but not the very cheapest out there, and the purchase and delivery experience was great. With a newish vanilla car that's still under manufacturer's warranty and sold with a 7 day no quibble returns policy, where's the risk?

It's not like buying a 15 year old Merc unseen from a shonky ebay seller! (Although I love the PHers who are brave enough to do this and write up a Readers Cars thread on it )

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Tuesday 20th July 11:52

[WonkeyDonkey]

Joey Deacon said:

How many times has this online car retailer been tried in the past and how many times has it failed? The only reason they have as many sales as they currently have is due to Covid and people not being able to go to car dealers?

Are people really happy to buy cars like this, I know I would never buy any car unless it was physically in front of me. Plus they are competing with Cinch who have much better access to cars due to being owned by WeBuyAnyCar.

I think once car sales get back to normal they will go under.

I think most people are now. All that's really desired for most is something with a german badge on the front and a screen to show your songs. People on a forum like this are just an anomaly.

[Chrishum]

Joey Deacon said:

Are people really happy to buy cars like this, I know I would never buy any car unless it was physically in front of me. Plus they are competing with Cinch who have much better access to cars due to being owned by WeBuyAnyCar.

I bought a car unseen back in Feb, albeit from a bricks and mortar dealer 100 miles from home. I asked questions by email, they were answered honestly. I spoke to a salesman and everything was painless probably took ten minutes to get it sorted. Then I travelled over to collect the car still keeping the 14 day distance selling protection. 15,000 miles later the car is still spot on.

I wouldn’t buy a used 911 that way, but for a mid priced daily drive hatchback it was the easiest purchase I’ve ever made from a dealer

[anonymous-user]

I guess most people are not bothered about spotting poor repairs and colour match or checking to see if the interior looks like it has been used to transport dogs or smoked in then?

There are used cars and there are used cars, having seen the state of some Motability cars I wouldn't want to assume it will all be perfect when it arrives. Add to that the state of some of the company cars in my (pre covid) work car park.

[KTMsm]

Joey Deacon said:

I guess most people are not bothered about spotting poor repairs and colour match or checking to see if the interior looks like it has been used to transport dogs or smoked in then?

There are used cars and there are used cars, having seen the state of some Motability cars I wouldn't want to assume it will all be perfect when it arrives. Add to that the state of some of the company cars in my (pre covid) work car park.

With the distance selling 14 day money back guarantee, all the risk is being borne by the seller