SMMT speaks out to defend beleagured car dealers

29/10/2010

Are you a wooden duck who’s been highballed and ankle tapped at the time of the month?! A recent Which report highlighted these as tricks dealers used to shift stock.

Confused by the terms? I was and I worked in the car trade for 20 years. However a recent Which report that made the headlines explained what these practices are.

High-balling – Salesman offers customers an unrealistically high trade-in price so he can offer less discount on the car he’s selling

Ankle tapping – Salesman offers less than the market value for a trade in so he can offer a lower price for a new car

Time of the month – At the beginning of the month salesman says he needs the sale to make up last month’s quota; in the middle he claims the sale is needed for a specific quota, and at the end of the month he needs it as he’s ‘almost hit his target’

Wooden duck – A customer who does not haggle.

I applaud the SMMT Chief executive Paul Everitt for speaking out against the report, ‘I understand the need for interesting headlines, but there must also be fair comparisons and secure analysis. As an industry we recognise the need for continuous improvement and, through initiatives like Motor Codes, are committed to transparent monitoring and raising standards.’

The practices highlighted are surely a thing of the past. At FindsYouCars, we ask all our dealers to sign up to our strict code of conduct to ensure that consumers are protected.

By Jonno