Now is the time to start planning for the March sales peak, and to make sure you have everything in place before the rush begins. Are you going to be doing more of the same, or are you going to...

It has become clear that with the slow start to the year for both sales and aftersales, cashflows are under severe pressure. Some of your customers will be finding it increasingly difficult to pay...

The JCB Group took control of the Honda cars franchise for Ashford, in the company’s east Kent heartland, last summer – and has already turned the business around. Sited next to the JCB...

All the new car talk at the minute centres around two things – the March plate-change and the ‘Showroom Tax’, an increase in first-year VED for cars producing over 150g/km of CO2...

Peter Vardy’s six dealerships in Scotland no longer open on Sundays. The move is aimed at giving the company’s staff time to spend with their families and, said Peter, underlines the...

Harratts is bucking the trend of reduced budgets in the recession by launching an ambitious training scheme. By June this year, 60% of the company’s 300-strong workforce will have received...

Renault Leicester’s Motability specialist Alvin Parmar has gained an NVQ Level 3 in customer services after successfully completing an assessment of his skills. “I’m delighted with...

JCT600 beat its goal of selling 400 cars during the recent holiday period with a special 12 Days Of Christmas promotion that ended on January 4. “Many dealerships batten down the hatches at this...

Over the last two months, Hodgson Toyota in Gateshead has been piloting an ‘eco’ driver training scheme with ten of its customers. By making some simple changes to their driving style as a...

Those of us who have been in motor retail for a number of years can remember the days when selling a car and not taking a part-exchange – what was referred to as a ‘clean deal’...

This KP measures the profitability of the space a used vehicle occupies rather than any measurement of the vehicle itself. Understanding the difference is critical to this concept. Assume your used...

The fourth edition of this classic 1984 ‘how to’ marketing book has been revised and expanded to include marketing on the internet, putting other new technologies such as podcasting,...

A new training scheme aimed at creating ‘champions’ in the dealership who are experts at selling service plans is being trialled by The Warranty Group. The champions will be introduced to...

If you haven’t managed your way through a recession before, Recession Storming by Rupert Hart is worth checking out. It explains why the traditional focus on cost-cutting does not really help...

Suspension is not a step to be taken lightly. But neither must it be shied away from. It is a step in the disciplinary procedure, not a punishment in its own right, and does not imply...

It is a sad fact of the current downturn that the vast majority of staff in dealerships will be concerned about whether they are still going to have a job this time next year. Realistically, as a...

The greatest challenge in bringing about change is the entrenched culture in your dealership. These are the patterns of behaviours that have been accepted, tolerated, punished, repeated or reinforced...

A well-equipped workshop with well-trained technicians, should out perform a poor workshop lacking the right tools and expertise. But this is not always the case! Accurate measuring tools must first...

No auto retailers – regardless of the marques they represent – are immune to the current economic downturn. In these straightened times, they must pro-actively focus on the areas where...

In my experience, technicians are pretty good at finding additional work on cars in for service. But then things can start to flounder, as the method of reporting this potentially lucrative income...