8:54 am, October 2, 2022
It all started so well…
A couple of months ago I bought a 16-plate Hyundai Tucson. A lovely car with proper franchise service history, panoramic sunroof and low mileage. It also had the one kryptonite feature that gets me to pay more every time: beige leather.
Having had it in stock for just a couple of weeks, I took an inquiry from a window cleaner and his wife who told me they wanted an SUV and had a Lexus to part-exchange. ‘Tell me a bit about it,’ I said.
‘It’s a lovely low-mileage car, nice specification and full service history.’
‘Sounds lovely, and what’s the colour combination?’ I inquired.
‘Burgundy with beige leather.’
BOOM!
As expected, the deal was concluded, and after a couple of days the buyer was ready for me to deliver their new car.
After a lovely handover where we discussed everything from the weather to the football, I left them with my standard parting line: ‘In the nicest possible way, I hope I never hear from you again.’
Oh how we laughed (with me not letting on that this was only the 8,000th time I have said that).
My phone rang the next morning. ‘Hi James, it’s Mr Customer.’
‘Hi Mr Customer. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to open the sunroof again?’ I joked.
‘I wish. No, the car has just p*ssed fuel all over my mother-in-law’s new block-paved drive.’
It was like a scene from Stars In Their Eyes where the meek, mild-mannered window cleaner goes through the smoke and emerges as Johnny Rotten.
It transpires that Tucsons of this generation suffer from faulty sensors in the fuel filter housing and that once corroded they can leak fuel.
Knowing that we had just replaced the fuel filter, we were absolutely bang to rights.
You can’t just buy this part from anywhere, though. It’s an OEM-supplied part only.
‘It was like a scene from Stars In Their Eyes where the meek, mild-mannered window cleaner goes through the smoke and emerges as Johnny Rotten.’
Being the good egg that I am, I told the garage I’d order the parts as long as they promised to get the car in as soon as I got them.
But as commitments go, I didn’t think buying parts was akin to committing to finding Atlantis.
It’s absolutely absurd how difficult it is to buy OEM parts from a main dealer.
Most have centralised call centres that are impossible to get through to.
If you’re lucky enough to speak to someone, you get told ‘We don’t deliver that far, mate’ even though the distribution centre is on the other side of the trading estate.
Car dealer groups need to take heed of what is happening to the new car distribution model.
The abject failure to deliver consistent customer experiences has meant that more and more manufacturers are taking back control of new car delivery.
However, car sales functionality has been nigh on impeccable when compared with that of parts departments.
In a world that sees Amazon able to deliver clothes pegs within four hours pretty much anywhere, it’s not unreasonable to expect an OEM to deliver a clutch kit within 48 hours.
I’d be amazed if OEM parts distribution models aren’t completely overhauled within two years, and much like me with my Tucson, dealers only have themselves to blame.
This column appears in the current edition of Car Dealer – issue 175 – along with news, views, reviews, interviews, features and much more, including our tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. You can read and download the magazine FOR FREE by clicking here.
Main image used for illustrative purposes
