CONVERTIBLES donò€™t...
CONVERTIBLES donò€™t come much more exclusive than Rolls-Royceò€™s Phantom Drophead Coupé. And with a price tag of Ò£305,000, itò€™s a rare sight on UK roads ò€“ but thatò€™s not enough for one super-rich collector, who has commissioned this unique machine from legendary Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina.
Industry analysts say...
Industry analysts say franchised garages are making significant improvements to their used vehicle operations to combat the threat posed by low-cost car supermarkets.
That could see extended warranty packages and the kind of low-rate finance offers employed to promote new models make an appearance on used car forecourts.
Franchised operations often charge a premium for second-hand motors purchased through their approved used schemes, but many drivers are unwilling to fork out extra money because they consider nearly new cars to be a relatively safe purchase. Robert Macnab, director of published research at Trend Tracker, explained: “Thanks to the increasing reliability of cars, used models are becoming more of a commodity. And main dealers’ current programmes scarcely add enough value to justify a premium. Makers’ approved used car schemes are virtually identical, and need to be reinvigorated.” Only last week, we reported how franchised garages are losing out to online and high street lenders (Used News, Issue 937).
Research from Trend Tracker claims car manufacturers need to help their dealers by providing subsidised finance rates, so zero per cent finance terms and low interest rate deals look set to reach second-hand buyers.