The average price of stock up to two years old has risen by over £1,000 in Q3 thanks to September’s lack of WLTP-compliant new cars, according to a study by auction house Aston Barclay. Its Used Market Insights Report Q3 2018 found that the average value of sub two year old stock was £15,589, up from £14,457 for the same ...

One in four dealers believes that 2018 used car margins are better than last year, according to a sentiment survey by NextGear Capital and Cox Automotive. Data from NextGear Capital, Cox Automotive’s wholesale stock funding division showed a gradual decrease in the age of funded vehicles to an average of 6.5 years. The reduction in age profile has resulted in ...

Most dealers aren’t meeting mandatory FCA Financial Compliance Agency staff training regulations, and are risking fines or worse, according to a survey. The regulations require continuing professional development monitoring of staff knowledge when selling insurance products such as GAP. A survey by consultants Automotive Compliance, found that 80% of dealers weren’t running the necessary training programmes. Describing the situation as ...

The Stoneacre Group has followed up its takeover of Mill Garages’ Sunderland site by acquiring three further outlets in Harrogate, Newcastle and Stockton. The deal sees Stoneacre adding to its portfolio of Volvo outlets. It now oversees 8 sites. “Everyone at Mill Garages is delighted to have joined forces with the fantastic Stoneacre brand,” said Alan Rennison-Rae, General Manager at ...

Lookers saw a 7% fall in new car turnover and volumes and a 5% reduction in gross profit between January and September, but per unit profit rose and used vehicle values were buoyant. New car sales represent about one third of Group gross profits, and were made during a nine month period when total UK new car volumes were down ...

BMW has launched a convertible version of its 8 Series grand touring, four-seat coupe. The roof takes 15 seconds to operate at speeds up to 31mph, and the vehicle has a rollover protection system consisting of two aluminum bars inside the head rests. These are deployed if the car is likely to roll, so that all four occupants are protected. ...

Good practice at Lookers Kia’s Stockport showroom has been recognised by it winning a Motability Operations Dealer Award. This initiative, launched last year, is designed to recognise and reward outstanding customer service provided by local Motability dealerships. “The focus of these awards is to thank our dealer partners for providing a consistently positive customer service experience, after all, they are ...

Volkswagen is offering a highly specified, limited run Aventura-badged version of its big Amarok pick up truck. The vehicle, costing £39,960 on the road (excluding VAT), is powered by a 3.0 V6 diesel engine and has standard 4Motion four wheel drive. It gets model specific badging, and additional features including 20-inch Talca alloy wheels, and a body coloured sports bar, ...

Year on year used car sales were up by 7.8% last month according to the latest Dealerweb statistics. “It is clear that used car operations continue to provide a valuable revenue opportunity for dealers across the UK. The data shows that all aspects of used car retail showed growth in October and we expect this to be a focus well ...

Bradford-based Multi franchise dealer group JCT600, a Prince’s Trust partner company since 2015, has launched a free-to-play online  supercar-themed game as a fundraiser for the youth charity. Called Petrol Head to Head, this tests a player’s knowledge of high performance cars by comparing different models and their performance and other statistics. Participants having 60 seconds to guess a model from ...