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Best Practice Archive

  • Don’t get caught out by consumer laws
    Whenever a consumer buys goods and/or services from a trader, both consumer and trader enter into a binding contract. The contract may include identified...
  • Service plans: don’t price yourself out of the market
    Sky Ford started getting serious about service plans last September when it entered into a partnership with EMaC, and in the period to June this year has sold...
  • 360-degree spin sends used cars on a roll
    Salisbury Audi is selling a greater volume of used cars than ever before, and head of business Mark Langford believes that is due in part to putting videos on...
  • 7 ways to sell more cars
    Before you spend any more on attracting new customers, gather your team and go through the answers to these questions: 1. What are you doing to maximise your...
  • New green dealership halves water usage
    BMW and Mini retailer Elms Cambridge has just opened the doors of an iconic new dealership featuring a range of renewable energy solutions, following a move...
  • New channels: new challenges
    The media has lambasted social media for helping to mobilise the mob in the recent Festival of Robbery. But the post-riot truth is that Twitter has emerged...
  • How do you staff the internet?
    With ever increasing numbers of car buyers starting their shopping online, and visiting fewer and fewer physical retail premises before buying their car, have...
  • What’s your marketing focus in the second half of year?
    With the first half ending on a quiet note, retailers are looking to optimise their marketing budgets to get maximum value in the rest of this year. Three key...
  • Caution: retailer loses unfair dismissal case
    A centre manger who requested parental leave from Charles Hurst, Northern Ireland’s largest dealership, has won the maximum £65,300 after an...
  • Winter tyres – why you must order them now
    Historically, the UK hasn’t been a huge market for winter tyres, especially compared to other northern European countries, however, two snowy winters in...
  • This year’s winter could ‘break all records’
    If you are considering stocking winter tyres this autumn, you really ought to be thinking about ordering now. That’s according to Richard Edy, director...
  • The future is mobile ... hitch a ride
    Last month Microsoft, BCA, TBS Enterprise Mobility and the Mobile Data Association discussed at a conference on how mobile technology is impacting the used car...
  • Succeeding as car sales dry up
    We are now half way through one of the most difficult years for motor traders in a long time. The latest new car sales figures show the market continuing to...
  • Five ideas to help your business
    Straight to the point, how can you make a difference to you your business this month? It is all too easy to stop reaching out to customers, but the need to...
  • Next stepping stone for the digital dealership
    Lifestyle Europe has started selling new cars to retail buyers directly on its website. “We‘re looking to secure our place in a new era of vehicle...
  • Think parts online to boost your profits
    The internet isn’t all new and used car sales, there’s also a flourishing market for parts and accessories as a recent deal between eBay and BMW...
  • Don’t let aftersales be an afterthought
    With new car sales struggling, and now the used car market reportedly taking a dip, dealerships are increasingly looking at aftersales to boost their revenues...
  • Getting the best deal for the customer
    With used car retail activity remaining the battleground for dealership profitability, I make no excuses for returning to a familiar theme – the...
  • Have you got your ad budget in the net?
    The well-known saying ‘the more things change the more they stay the same’ is particularly relevant to motor retailing. Despite changing times, the...
  • How to beat target and make £100,000
    Advertising on petrol pump nozzles has been around for some time. Motor retailers have typically used the medium to raise awareness. Dick Lovett for example...
Auto Retail report
Who's Where 2011
WHO'S WHERE IN AUTO RETAIL 2011 is the definitive guide to all major auto retailing and authorised repairer locations in the country. It lists all new car franchised dealers by town and gives contact details, including post-code, phone number and name. It also lists franchises held and ownership details.