Workshops being stretched by sales of 73-plate cars

Retailers being urged to offer care packages to new car customers

Workshops being stretched by sales of 73-plate cars
Photo: Bigstock

Many franchised dealers are turning away repair and maintenance work to process part-exchanges generated by sales of 73-plate cars.

This is according to service plan provider EMaC, which says new car sales could return to pre-Covid levels. It’s urging retailers to offer customer car packages to ensure vehicles are regularly maintained, therefore requiring less preparation work when they are 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. 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. This will in turn improve workshop throughput, increase the quality and volume of part-exchanges and improve customer loyalty.”

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