Car repair prices: exploding the regional pricing myths
When it comes to car maintenance, there’s a common assumption: Londoners pay more than anyone else. It stands to reason: higher rents, higher wages.
View ArticleWhat car dealers really want from suppliers
Competition among companies providing products and services to automotive retailers is fierce. Car dealers tell us what sets a potential partner apart.
View ArticleStretch your profits with extended warranty sales
Warranties offer dealers increased revenues and retention from reassured customers.
View ArticleFast-fits: Know your enemy
What can franchised dealers learn from their fast-fit rivals?
View Article10 ways to take on the fast-fits
Dealers, manufacturers and suppliers tell AM how the franchised sector can win back aftersales business.
View ArticleHow to win fleet SMR work from independents
Car dealers are targeting corporate customers with services such as free collection and delivery and night-time servicing
View ArticleHelp your dealerships to clean up
Paint and upholstery protection, valeting and SMART repair can boost customer service scores as well as your bottom line.
View ArticleDealer service plans aid customer retention
Dealers who offer their own service plans have a distinct advantage over those who only sell manufacturers’ products.
View ArticleWarranty scheme specialists switch focus from price to customer service
Suppliers experiencing a growth boom in the warranty sector say their customers value quality service over mere product and price.
View ArticleHow car dealers can fend off the manufacturer service plan
Car dealers who offer own-brand service plans have a valuable new option with which to entice customers.
View ArticleCoating companies attempt to win over the sceptics
Paint protection experts are helping car dealers to reap financial rewards by convincing consumers of the treatments’ benefits.
View ArticleOil suppliers diversifying to give dealers new revenue streams
Lubricant companies are coming up with new products and services to win over manufacturers and help dealers develop their aftersales business.
View ArticleWhat do your aftersales customers really want?
Dealers need to meet consumer expectations to see off the fall in aftersales revenues.
View ArticleWhat does the future hold for automotive aftersales?
Alternative-fuelled powertrains, the connected car and even ‘virtual’ technicians are changing how franchised dealers will provide, and profit from, aftersales.
View ArticleWill many hands make light work of servicing?
Multi-technician teams may boost labour hours and customer satisfaction
View ArticleCan dealers hold back the tide on online warranty sales?
Dealers have traditionally been slow to embrace online sales, such as finance or GAP, and many are currently resisting selling extended warranties online.
View ArticleThree steps to optimising your car care offerings
To improve revenues and encourage customer contact, dealers need to provide a true ‘one-stop-shop’ that meets their regular car care needs.
View ArticleNine essential tools for your aftersales department
Your dealerships’ service staff need to be masters of many trades to serve growing numbers of customers effectively.
View ArticleSmoothing the customer’s warranty experience
Even with a warranty, customers can often be upset their car needs repairing, but a prepared dealer can make the experience positive and painless for everyone.
View ArticleJapanese brands dominate What Car? reliability survey
Japanese brands continued to dominated the What Car? reliability survey, with the Toyota Aygo, Honda Jazz and Lexus CT200h all scoring top marks.
View ArticleAftersales: Are your dealerships equipped to satisfy the ‘now’ consumer?
Car dealers do not yet offer the slick efficiency of Amazon and Apple.
View ArticleHow an online approach can benefit aftersales
Aftersales departments are enjoying a surge in digital innovation that can increase revenues and improve retention.
View ArticleHow to use video to interact with customers
In an era of video-on-demand, Netflix and YouTube, dealers can take advantage of 24/7 screen access to reach their customers.
View ArticleHow to make your valeting more efficient
We ask car dealers and valeting companies how to cut costs and grow margins
View ArticleThe need for speed in vehicle preparation
As stock pressures force retailers to widen their net, faster PDIs and stock turn are vital
View ArticleEvolving the vehicle protection sales process
Online tracking and video demonstrations bolster more traditional point-of-sale methods
View ArticleHow to motivate sales teams on paint protection
When it comes to selling paint protection, sales executives really need to believe in the product
View ArticleHow aftersales can improve dealers' search for profitability
As new car sales slip, dealers must look at other aspects of their operations and seek to leverage the best returns from their service, maintenance and repair offering
View ArticlePaint protection suppliers providing more sales tools to partners
Paint and fabric protection suppliers are coming up with new products, packaging and promotional ideas to boost sales
View ArticleWell executed service plans help to keep clients
Research shows 40% of those with a service plan return to buy again
View ArticleOil and lube suppliers adapt to the advance of EVs
Combustion engine vehicles will be around for a long time yet. But oil suppliers are actively seeking ways to spread their influence and develop relationships
View Article5 minutes with... Bumper chief commercial officer, Jack Allman
Bumper chief commercial officer Jack Allman speaks to AM editor Tim Rose about the aftersales finance provider's plans for 2021.
View Article5 minutes with… WMS Group commercial director Craig Grant
Automotive Management (AM) Editor Tim Rose sat down with WMS Group commercial director Craig Grant for the latest instalment in the '5 minute with…' supplier interview feature series.
View ArticleCar retailers are realising the 'wins' offered by digital aftersales processes
Aftersales departments have been kept busy for the best part of a decade by a buoyant new car market with each dealerships’ own customer base keeping workshops full.
View ArticleHow can car retailers turn red and amber aftersales work into profit?
Even the traditionally slender margins that car dealerships make on new and used car sales once all the overheads have been factored in, aftersales is key to profitability.
View ArticleData, flexibility and finance key to a broader aftersales customer base
As the new car market declines and EV ownership becomes more widespread, dealer groups are increasingly turning their attention to older vehicles to keep workshops full.
View Article8 Questions to... Snows Kia Guildford master technician David Weston
Fresh from his crowning as world champion in the Kia EV Skill World Cup 2021, Snows Motor Group's Kia Guildford master technician David Weston is the latest person to take part in AM's '8 Questions...
View Article8 Questions to… Bowker BMW Preston service engineer Harold Bowden
Bowker Motor Group BMW Preston service engineer Harold Bowden speaks to AM for the latest instalment of the ‘8 Questions to…’ feature series.
View ArticlePlugging the gaps for EV-trained technicians
Car retailers' aftersales departments need to take action to keep pace with dramatic changes in the sector such as electrification, automation and digitisation.
View ArticleHow aftersales efficiency can ramp-up profits and positive customer outcomes
Automotive Management (AM) explores how to overcome the workshop inefficiencies that are losing car dealerships thousands, perhaps millions, of pounds every year.
View ArticleCar retailers' aftersales retention relies on well-maintained customer data
Accurate customer data has always been important, but the COVID-19 pandemic has created a problem that could be losing service departments tens of thousands of pounds of potential profits each quarter.
View ArticleHow workshops might adapt to electric vehicle repairs and services
Aftersales departments need to be prepared for a substantial change to their business model in the coming years as plug-in vehicle sales create a complex world with lower maintenance and new skills and...
View ArticleAftersales retention: how car dealerships can tackle the cost-of-living crisis
With costs soaring, a constricted new car market and a used car market under pressure, the concern that routine vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs (SMR) could be delayed, or cheaper...
View ArticleHow to boost aftersales affordability to keep serving cash-strapped motorists
As consumers are coming under increasing financial strain from soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, so car dealerships are stepping up to help them through these challenging times.
View ArticleGarage labour rates rising but future bookings fall
Independent garage labour rates are rising quickly, but future bookings have fallen sharply.
View ArticleFree coffee, croissants and car health checks work for AM Awards winner...
Passion for Porsche is helping Inchcape's Porsche Centre Portsmouth optimise the efficiency of its service workshops and identify opportunities for owners to keep their Porsche in great shape.
View ArticleWorkshop award winner S&R Miller thrives on returning customers
S & R Miller showed it was more than worthy of retaining the AM Awards Independent Workshop of the Year title in 2023.
View ArticleHow will the expanded ULEZ impact used car sales and MOT tests?
London's expanded ULEZ has led to spikes in sellers of older cars but may impact MOT testing as the oldest cars are scrapped.
View ArticleFive key steps to aftersales success for modern automotive retailers
From CRM and service plans, to online booking and attracting older vehicles into workshops, there is plenty modern automotive leaders can do to attract extra service and maintenance work.
View ArticleHow to guide customers with better EV aftercare support
Automotive retailers are becoming experts on electric vehicles themselves, but there are additional elements of support and aftercare needed to properly guide customers.
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