F&I Management & Training

SECONDHAND cars topped the list of consumer complaints received in the East of England, last year.
There was a total of 2,703 cases involving independent dealers, 4.8% of the total across all sectors.
The complaints were received by Consumer Direct East of England, the telephone and online advice service.
The figures will be used to help trading standards services and the Office of Fair Trading focus on blackspots.

DATED: 16.02.07

FEED: AW

Porsche is on the verge of taking full control of Volkswagen, in which it already holds a stake of more than 27 per cent. Lower Saxony, the federal state that is Volkswagen’s second largest shareholder with 18.2 per cent, is expected to back down in its opposition to the luxury brand taking over VW. Ferdinand Piech, a controlling shareholder of Porsche, is likely to remain as VW’s chairman. This week the European Court of Justice was told German legislation blocking a foreign takeover of VW contravened EU law.

DATED: 16.02.07

FEED: MT

Skoda has been named as the manufacturer of the year for 2006 by the readers of Top Gear magazine. The brand produced the best result of any manufacturer in the annual satisfaction survey after three of its models – the Octavia, Fabia and Superb – were all placed in the top ten list of favourite cars. More than 56,000 readers voted in the survey, which placed the Honda S2000 in first place for the third year in a row. Described as being “as satisfying as a dose of dysentery”, the Peugeot 807 was named as the least satisfying car to own overall.

DATED: 16.02.07

FEED: MT

Bristol Street Motors has opened a new £2.3m dealership on Crewe Green Link Road in Crewe. The new outlet sits on a 1.8 acre site, bringing together car sales, service, bodyshop and parts departments under the one roof. Managing director, Tim Pickering said the business had outgrown its old site. He added: “With a new £4m Stoke dealership scheduled to open in May the new sites will better reflect the company’s modern and professional way of doing business.”


DATED: 16.02.07

FEED: MT

Lookers, ranked number five in the Motor Trader Top 200, has appointed the RAC to provide its inspected service at three major used car supermarkets in the UK. The deal covers sites in Bristol, Essex and Burton-on-Trent and will see all vehicles at the site come with a written RAC report on its condition. Ron Richards, RAC’s senior corporate partnerships manager said: “This is a very significant contract for us, resulting in a sizeable increase in the number of cars that will be RAC inspected, and giving us a higher profile in the car supermarket sector.”

DATED: 16.02.07

FED: MT

HR OWEN is offering Volvo customers in London an 'at home' service for minor repairs.
Owen has commissioned a mobile XC90 Customer Support Unit which visits customers at their home or place of work and carries out minor repairs on the spot.
This service is free, with only the cost of repair parts and time spent on the repair invoiced to the customer.
Even the Response Vehicles' number plate is distinctive - "HRO 2 YOU"

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: AW

MANHEIM AUCTIONS says the UK's used car market remained buoyant throughout 2006.
Used car stability continued into the last quarter of 2006 against a particularly strong wholesale market from June through to September 2006.
Volumes in Q4 2006 fell in line with seasonal expectations, but were still a good way above the level seen in the same period in 2005.
Overall average values in Q4 remained at the highest level seen, hovering just under £6,200 (up £588 on the same period in 2005), whilst the % retained against Cost New remained extremely strong at 39.7% (up 3.2% v Q4 2005).
Age and mileage of used cars remained virtually unchanged in Q4, averaging 39 months and 51,000 miles respectively, confirming the true buoyancy of the market in this period.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: AW

The DVLA Swansea has ordered a probe after registration forms destined for destruction ended-up in the hands of forgers.
In the second incident of its kind, the registration V5C forms were given to contractors but never destroyed. They have now surfaced back in the DVLA with details from legal cars copied onto them by fraudsters passing off stolen cars.
A similar fraud was discovered some years ago and was then thought to involve hundreds of the forms, but this time the DVLA cannot confirm how many forms may have escaped destruction.
An investigation some years ago was inconclusive but security of document destruction is supposed to have been tightened-up.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: AW

Hopes have been raised that the former TVR workforce in Blackpool could be back at work under a UK owner. The Transport and General Workers Union claimed it has been told that a bid for the former TVR operation has been made by Rochdale-based Melling Sports Cars. The T&G warned, however, that success in the bidding process was not guaranteed as bids by interested parties were sealed with the administrators choosing the one which would give the best financial return to creditors. It is understood a bid has also been lodged by former owner Nikolai Smolenski.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: MT

US DMS giant Reynolds & Reynolds said it intends to retain European-based DMS provider DCS Automotive and position it for future growth. Reynolds acquired DCS in July 2006. The European DMS provider currently provides services to more than 4,500 automotive retailers in Europe. Reynolds & Reynolds executive vice president Dan Agan said DCS would further boost Reynolds and Reynolds’ strength in the U.K. and the Benelux region. The US giant also owns Universal Computer Systems, the parent company of UK-based Kalamazoo.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: MT

GO-GETTING Chinese entrepreneur, Ling Valentine, who runs Lings Cars.com, is going into the Dragon's Den.
The 33-year old who came to England 8-years ago will appear on next week's edition of the TV programme.
Confidentiality clauses mean we cannot reveal whether or not the Dragons offered Ling any money - but you can see for yourself on BBC2, Wednesday 14 February at 8pm.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: AW

LAND ROVER is launching a commercial derivative of the Discovery 3.
It will go on sale on the 19 March 2007.
With N1 Light Commercial 4x4 Vehicle status, business users will be able to take advantage of the Benefit in Kind tax and full VAT reclaim associated with Light Commercial Vehicles.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: AW

HR OWEN is to return capital of about £11.8m to its shareholders.
The refund will reduce the nominal amount of each share to 50 pence, from £1.
The return of capital comes from the sale of the 24 dealerships it has completed since the end of December 2005.
Having completed these disposals, and having repaid H.R. Owen's core bank debt, the board considers that it should now proceed with returning capital to shareholders.

DATED: 12.02.07

FEED: AW