The car was not the...
The car was not the star at the last big, international exhibition of 2006. Instead, the Los Angeles Auto Show has been dominated by celebrities, politics, money, factory closures, vanishing motor industry jobs, alternative fuels and, inevitably, the environment. Disputes, denials and even the tragic death of a leading motor industry figure also grabbed more attention and headlines than the vast majority of cars on display in LA.
Industry analysts say...
Industry analysts say franchised garages are making significant improvements to their used vehicle operations to combat the threat posed by low-cost car supermarkets.
That could see extended warranty packages and the kind of low-rate finance offers employed to promote new models make an appearance on used car forecourts.
Franchised operations often charge a premium for second-hand motors purchased through their approved used schemes, but many drivers are unwilling to fork out extra money because they consider nearly new cars to be a relatively safe purchase. Robert Macnab, director of published research at Trend Tracker, explained: “Thanks to the increasing reliability of cars, used models are becoming more of a commodity. And main dealers’ current programmes scarcely add enough value to justify a premium. Makers’ approved used car schemes are virtually identical, and need to be reinvigorated.” Only last week, we reported how franchised garages are losing out to online and high street lenders (Used News, Issue 937).
Research from Trend Tracker claims car manufacturers need to help their dealers by providing subsidised finance rates, so zero per cent finance terms and low interest rate deals look set to reach second-hand buyers.