Was in a German car manufacturers dealership a few days ago, given the way I was comprehensively ignored I assumed they were making so much money that they didn’t need any more from me.
That’s just good business accounting. Before that bottom line figure comes directors dividends which could be any huge sum, plus anything slightly useful they can think of spending money on rather than paying tax on higher profits. Company cars, building extension/refurb, “business” trip to Barbados... They’ll even make deliberate losses to offset tax in following years. Also the value of a business, and credit rating etc, is based more on turnover than profit margins. Hence the likes of Carillion being able to rack up loans of 000’s million £’s they be bust!
I wouldn't disagree with any of that but the ££££ profit on a unit/car is still tiny compared to the sale value IMO.
I’ve only ever had 4 bikes but they were all delivered with about half a tank of petrol. I’ve bought 3 cars and they all had the warning light on.
I once had a new bike delivered. I started it up to show my brother and ten seconds later it spluttered and stopped! I think the stingey sods had only just filled the fuel line nevermind the tank!
I think the bloke is tugging on your plums there Tel, 279k from 75 million is bollox imho. I was in Blade Ducati a few years back cause I had a mate worked there up in Reading, he's now left so I can say this, but on a 16.2k Multi "S", he actually showed me a purchase order for 12.8K so this 5-10% profit on new vehicles is just cobblers told to customers etc so that we get very little wiggle room when it comes to haggling. One of my brothers mates works as a salesman for Volvo, and he says their margin on new cars is greater than we think ?? I can understand not getting a full tank, but if I ever pick up a car or bike that hasn't got around the half tank mark, then they can kiss my arse and put some in before I'd leave the building. I personally don't rate car and bike dealers, they are all bloody mahoosive fibbers who never tell the truth about their numbers.
But at least when you buy the house, it has the a full tank of gas/lecky that you then pay for, if the tank is near empty as some folk have said, and you run out before getting to the petrol station, then thats like not having the utilities turned on, so not the same at all is it........
Did the purchase invoice figure of £12.8 include vat ? If not then allowing for the vat on the selling price its back down to single figure margins. If it was inclusive then happy days at Blade in Reading I guess.
It was the all in figure they paid for that bike. I guess Blade must have done ok, they moved to a bigger place
I guess so. Getting back to the petrol issue, any car or bike I have ever sold privately I have always made sure there is reasonable amount of fuel in the tank even if it means I have to pop out and buy some. It is not very nice if someone has traveled a fair distance and on getting in or on their new vehicle the first thing they have to worry about is finding a garage. If I was buying from a dealer, bearing in mind they always have some fuel knocking around I`d ask them to stick a £5 in for a bike and £10 for a car. Very hard for them to say no if you ask them nicely face to face I think.
And you'd be wrong. He showed the group's accounts to a business group we are members of. I dont deny there couldn't be some creative number crunching, but I have seen it.
Tel, that's clearly just a number for the tax man. If that number was genuinely correct, then his business model must be poor.
Then the whole industry is fiddling the tax man then as I was told by someone high up in a manufacturer that with those figures they were doing well. And if the whole industry was fiddling then don't you think HMRC would have something to say about it?
So by that rational then, a smaller dealer turning over say, a mere 7.5 million a year, is making 28k How do these poor old car dealers put bread on the table?? Shocking....
Working for a manufacturer, I can get 20% discount off most of their new cars, UK built or not. Now, I assume they aren't being sold to me at a loss. Oh, 5 a year I'm allowed too.
