8:39 am, July 22, 2024
What looked like it was going to be a quiet week in the motor trade actually turned out to be a rather busy one as my small car dealership notched up three sales.
In my latest video diary episode (above) of the AI Car Dealership Project – my quest to start a car dealership with as much help as possible from AI – you can follow me as I sell three cars, buy two and get a drive in a Fisker Ocean.
I’m currently running the Clever Car Collection from home as I build up my small business on the sunny (ish) south coast.
In the last week I clocked up sales of a Nissan Qashqai – a car I had in stock for just a week – a Suzuki Celerio and a white Volkswagen Polo.
There were also some other highs – including being named an Auto Trader Highly Rated dealer for 2024.
I was over the moon to get this accolade as I have tried incredibly hard from the outset to offer the best customer service I can to my buyers.
I like to think I can offer a small and personalised service and my reviews so far certainly point to the fact that my customers appreciate it.
There were some lows too, though – notably a bus lane fine that arrived in the post on the very same day as my Auto Trader stickers. I’m not quite sure where I’ll put the latter just yet, as I’m not sure the other half will appreciate me putting them up in the lounge window…
I bought two cars during the week. The first, a Skoda Octavia, was one I’d won in an online auction on Carwow.
When I arrived to collect it, it wasn’t quite as described so I had to negotiate on the price. The seller was understanding and even helped me get hold of the all-important receipt for the cambelt change he had done.
The second purchase was a trade-in from our friends at electric car specialists EV Experts. I headed to Guildford on the train to pick up a 65-plate Mini Cooper which turned out to be a corker.
Estelle Miller, co-founder of the used car dealer, picked me up from the station in a Fisker Ocean and let me drive it back to the site.
Fisker went bust a month ago. EV Experts have been helping the brand showcase their cars – but now don’t know where they stand.
Miller told me they have six Oceans and have been asked to hold on to them for Fisker until they work out what they can do with them. The cars were originally retailing for £65k but more recently have been changing hands in the trade for just £25k.
Miller said she thinks they’ll struggle to sell them at all now. They have been plagued with problems and with Fisker departing there is no aftersales care or servicing available.
I feel for those people who bought one. The short drive I had in the Ocean was very enjoyable and impressive. The steering felt a bit disconnected, but that’s more an electric car thing, but it rode well and I loved the big screen.
However, Miller said a few customers had experienced serious issues with cars ‘bricking’ themselves and refusing to move. Driving one felt like a bit of a historic moment – I can’t see many others being able to do the same any time soon.
Anyway, you can have a look around the Ocean in my video update and follow the rest of my week’s adventures.
I’ll be trying to post a few more video diaries like this in between our more polished productions, so make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel to get notifications when they come out.
