Thread: This dealer must be dreaming

G'day Folks

Yup! Brian was about spot on there, it's been going on for as long as I can remember, bought my first 39 Ford sedan at an auction at 16, I went with my schoolmate's father who was a backyard dealer paid 30 Bob for it (30shillings=$3 dollars) wasn't much call for pre-war mechanical braked V8's sedans then,(the FB Holden was just released) took it home washed and polished it detailed inside, sold it for 50 quid (50 pounds) didn't tell the oldies that I owned it the old man would have killed me, but he always wondered where I got the money to buy my 39 Austin 8 "Wasp" tourer

cheers

In the scenario I laid out, the wood duck goes into the dealership with a pile of puss worth $1000 on which he still owes say $3000 and it needs that much or more spent on it to make it roadworthy and reliable. He drives out in the Disco with sticker price of $12000 and owing the $12000 plus the payout which got loaded into the package, and most likely three years insurance which he must have to get finance and doesn't have on hand. So he owes the finance coy. $18000 minus the trade-in of $7000 for a Disco with a wholesale value of $4000, and the cycle begins again.

JD, most dealers cover their warranty obligations with warranty insurers whose premiums, like comprehensive insurance, are based on experience. They charge more for known troublesome makes/models and also apply excesses. Some makes/models the insurers won't touch and the dealer has to carry this warranty himself. P38 Range Rovers are an example. Some insurers won't touch them whilst others charge a very hefty premium. Some Alfas are another example.

Originally Posted by dm_td5

1993 V8 with 121,396km in 15 years. That's less than 10,000km per anum! Must include the cost of a new odometer in the price

I should point out I have a 2003 Disco that only just (last week) clocked up 42,000. It will be 5 years old in May. My 1999 Defender has 91,000 on it.

I know of one 15 year old Patrol up here that hasn't done 30,000km from new. Owner hardly drives it.

So, yes, I do realise some cars have low mileage.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

..........
JD, most dealers cover their warranty obligations with warranty insurers whose premiums, like comprehensive insurance, are based on experience. They charge more for known troublesome makes/models and also apply excesses. Some makes/models the insurers won't touch and the dealer has to carry this warranty himself. P38 Range Rovers are an example. Some insurers won't touch them whilst others charge a very hefty premium. Some Alfas are another example.

Yes, I understand that - but the dealer still has to pay the premium and assume the risk of the excess.

Perhaps the point needs to be made, that the bottom of the market is risk averse - they have to be! The dealer takes the burden of this risk, and charges handsomely for it. They get away with it because they can!

The only way out of the loop for the wood duck (except bankruptcy or a lottery win) is to get lucky and have one of his purchases last long enough without needing repairs he can't afford that he can pay it off, and start afresh, saving to buy a cheap private sale vehicle. It helps if he can learn enough to maintain and repair the car himself, too. The secret is probably never to get into this position in the first place!

John

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Some insurers won't touch them whilst others charge a very hefty premium. Some Alfas are another example.

NO!!!..... Alfas?..... Really???


...Alfas are super-reliable cars.... and hardly ever rust

Used vehicle warranty used to be limited by price and age. I think under $3000 and over 10 years did not attract warranty. There used to be quite a number of bomb dealers in the major cities who sold that class of car. Good business too. No warranty, so tell the clients to pi55 off when they come back with a broken car, and all deals cash, so no time wasted running the heads around the lenders. If they didn't have that much money then you gave them the flick. A good salesman could qualify the potential buyer and decide quickly to continue or back off.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Used vehicle warranty used to be limited by price and age. I think under $3000 and over 10 years did not attract warranty. There used to be quite a number of bomb dealers in the major cities who sold that class of car. Good business too. No warranty, so tell the clients to pi55 off when they come back with a broken car, and all deals cash, so no time wasted running the heads around the lenders. If they didn't have that much money then you gave them the flick. A good salesman could qualify the potential buyer and decide quickly to continue or back off.

And sent the "punter" off to a better salesman who made the deal happen

Originally Posted by cookiesa

And sent the "punter" off to a better salesman who made the deal happen

You don't waste time on a prospect without funds. If you are selling $2999 no warranty cars and the yards policy is cash deals only, one doesn't waste time running brokes and bums around the money lenders. Let them get their own personal loans if they can.