10:40 am, September 11, 2023
Some franchised dealers are turning away retail repair and maintenance work to get through the number of part-exchanges generated by the 73-plate.
That’s according to EMaC, which reckons this year’s improved supply of new vehicles could see a return to pre-Covid sales volumes for the September plate-change.
However, the service plan provider warned that workshop operations were already being stretched – an issue made worse by the industry-wide shortage of technicians.
As workshops get through the part-exchange backlog, EMaC is advising car dealers to address the problem with a longer-term approach by offering care packages to new car customers.
It believes this’ll ensure that vehicles are regularly maintained over the course of their ownership so will need less preparation work when part-exchanged.
Serkan Obuz, automotive warranty director at EMaC, said: ‘The September plate-change is an extremely busy period for franchised workshops as they prepare new vehicles for sale.
‘However, with dealers now retaining more part-exchanges for their used forecourts, we are seeing some workshops facing meltdown scenarios because of the extra work required to bring them up to retail standards.
‘This is compounded by the shortage of qualified mechanical and bodywork technicians.’
He added: ‘In some cases, we have seen dealers turn away retail service and repair work in favour of preparing part-exchanges.
‘One way to reduce this preparation time in the future is to have a proper maintenance plan strategy, offering cosmetic, tyre, alloy, mechanical and electric cover to new car customers.
‘This will ensure that cars come back in near CAP-clean condition cosmetically and mechanically.
‘The customer experience will also be enhanced as the vehicle will remain in showroom condition throughout ownership and they’ll get a better part-exchange value for it.
‘In turn, this will improve workshop throughput, increase the quality and volume of part-exchanges and improve customer loyalty.’
