Car Sales Worst For 11 Years

[Realistbear]

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.j.../ixcitytop.html

Sales of new cars have tumbled at their fastest rate for more than 11 years as private car buyers have been deserting forecourts in their thousands this year. The grim picture is set to continue with sales on course to fall further next year, official figures will show next week.

IMHO this is a very clear warning sign that people have next to no confidence in the economy and will not be willing to invest in a housing market so close to its peak.

[the don]

there is a clear pattern emerging

new car sales down

retail sales down in margin terms- retailers heavily discounting to try and mantain volumes

new house sales down 20%

for an ecomomy that supposedly is on a soft landing course these do not add up.

the reality is that high debt is a problem even with very low interest rates

unemployment rising steadily.(lots of unemployed hidden on incapacity benefit)

taxes increasing steadily to pay for nu (old?)labour's public sector waste programme

energy bills rocketing

as the problems mount there will be a downward spiral

construction sector is already shedding jobs( builders and buildng materials suppliers)

retailers will start squeezing costs( suppliers and staff headcount)

as companies feel the slowdown they will restrict discretionary spending

etc etc

[Levy process]

Anyone noticed a sharp rise in the cost of servicing cars? I've changed garage 3 times in a row looking for a decent price for fixing and servicing my car, because the price seems to be going up pretty fast. I have my suspicions that garages are trying to recoup the money they're losing on new car sales by bamboozling people with a list of parts that "need" to be replaced when you take it in for a brake pad change.

Is it just me?

[theChuz]

Anyone noticed a sharp rise in the cost of servicing cars? I've changed garage 3 times in a row looking for a decent price for fixing and servicing my car, because the price seems to be going up pretty fast. I have my suspicions that garages are trying to recoup the money they're losing on new car sales by bamboozling people with a list of parts that "need" to be replaced when you take it in for a brake pad change.

Is it just me?

What you need is a nice little proton, you dont need to change the brake pads you just leave it for a few weeks and wallah you have a chunky new layer of rust to stop you.

[Realistbear]

Anyone noticed a sharp rise in the cost of servicing cars? I've changed garage 3 times in a row looking for a decent price for fixing and servicing my car, because the price seems to be going up pretty fast. I have my suspicions that garages are trying to recoup the money they're losing on new car sales by bamboozling people with a list of parts that "need" to be replaced when you take it in for a brake pad change.

Is it just me?

I have noticed the ridiculous cost of servicing in the UK having lived in the US until very recently. E.g. an oil change on a Honda Accord in the US is about $21 including parts and labour. I paid 40 pounds for the same service on an older model Audi A4 in the UK. Also, they want you to change spark plugs every 10k miles in the UK whereas in the US Manufacturers say every 75k!

I thinks its true that garages are ripping off owners on servicing as sales continue to plummet in the face of increasingly stretched consumers. The so-called "low interest rates" are the highest in history its just that they seem low. Factor in the cost of the purchase and you see how high those interest rates really are!

How the VIs and EAs think they alone are immune from the crash everyone else is experiencing shows you the hyped up dream world they exist in--their own little bubble of unreality. Just wait until the EAs start closing branches to relfect the new reality. Their worst nightmare, if they only knew it, is the market they are predicting: stagnation. No one buying OR selling thus keeping stagnant prices!

[neilrich]

Female friend of Mine took her 12 month old VW Golf TDI for its first service last month, the car has only done 5000 miles and she was quoted approx £170, however the final bill came to £278!! :angry:

[Realistbear]

Female friend of Mine took her 12 month old VW Golf TDI for its first service last month, the car has only done 5000 miles and she was quoted approx £170, however the final bill came to £278!! :angry:

Is that 178 pounds for an oil change? Audi quoted me 130 pounds for my oil chnage so I took it to an independent for 40.

The final bill for 278 must have included topping up the window washing liquid?

[maxed out]

Strangly enough,I need to buy a car this week. I will be off to the dealers later with cash. Shall I use the old HPC mantra "if you're not embarrased about the offer price, it's not low enough". I will report back later.

[Levy process]

Has anyone any experience and/or anectdotes about the online car websites such as VirginCars, JamJar etc? The price savings look good. Is there a catch?

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

Has anyone any experience and/or anectdotes about the online car websites such as VirginCars, JamJar etc? The price savings look good. Is there a catch?

i bought a car from eurocarconsultants ( they went bust about four weeks after my car arrived and it arrived about four months late) i think the only reason i got it was the amount of time i spent chasing them and also i told their staff that the companies accounts were late at co house and that in my experience that usually meant trouble. Paid the deposit by visa though and think that was wise - think that you can only claim from the visa company if the transaction is less than 30k though.

[The Masked Tulip]

How the VIs and EAs think they alone are immune from the crash everyone else is experiencing shows you the hyped up dream world they exist in--their own little bubble of unreality. Just wait until the EAs start closing branches to relfect the new reality. Their worst nightmare, if they only knew it, is the market they are predicting: stagnation. No one buying OR selling thus keeping stagnant prices!

I think EA branches closing and chains going bust in 2006 will make the penny drop for a great many people.

[neilrich]

Is that 178 pounds for an oil change? Audi quoted me 130 pounds for my oil chnage so I took it to an independent for 40.

The final bill for 278 must have included topping up the window washing liquid?

Yes it was essentially nothing more than an oil change, she came away with VW windscreen wash and a litre of oil. As I said the car has only 5000 miles on it and she puts it in her garage every night! Luckily she is loaded and I think the VW garage in question has cottoned on to this fact, she ordered the car from them with just about every optional extra going.

That was £278 for a 5000mile inspection/oil change, I could well imagine that this is the going rate in London but we are in the North East of England!!

[The Masked Tulip]

A friend of mine had his car serviced at a Honda dealership and then a WEEK later they did his MOT - the cheeky sods try to get him on things like brake pads and indicator lights even though they had only actually done that very work the week before.

Whatcar had an article earlier this year pointing out how dealerships are now ramping up charges - you take a car in for a service and they ring you to say something like "Oh, we noticed that the lightbulb has gone sir, shall we do it while we have it in?".... Not only do they then charge you over the odds for the bulb but a 5 minute job is charged at the full hour rate and dealer servicing costs are soaring.

Whatcar are good as when they review the cost of new models these days they take into account the servicing costs and it is often surprising how much some dealerships charge for certain models. Toyota seems to be doing as much as possible to drive DOWN their servicing costs.

[Converted Lurker]

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.j.../ixcitytop.html

Sales of new cars have tumbled at their fastest rate for more than 11 years as private car buyers have been deserting forecourts in their thousands this year. The grim picture is set to continue with sales on course to fall further next year, official figures will show next week.

IMHO this is a very clear warning sign that people have next to no confidence in the economy and will not be willing to invest in a housing market so close to its peak.

It`s not just new cars, expensive ones, not anecdotal either, personal experience. Jags/BMWs/Boxsters selling as quick as you could get your hands on them up until approx. 8-12 months ago. The second hand values were in freefall on some models, e.g. held onto an X-type Jag across 2 editions of the guides, car lost a grand Most dealers I know and a privately owned auction have seen a seismic shift in sentiment (that word again). The best profits at the current time are in doubling your money cars, buying for a grand and selling at two. Also, not sure how relevant this is to the BMV brigage over on the Pig , but freephone adverts offering to buy cars are working very well. Plenty of calls, silly offers being accepted on expensive stuff.

I lived in Essex in the last economic downshift, plenty of dealers went bust/gave up the job, not enough customers to go around. Perhaps it`s all not so different this time

Edited December 29, 2005 by Converted Lurker

[apom]

Female friend of Mine took her 12 month old VW Golf TDI for its first service last month, the car has only done 5000 miles and she was quoted approx £170, however the final bill came to £278!! :angry:

My girlfriend paid £180 to do a basic service on a ford KA..

that was plugs,oil and filters...

that was it..

unbelievable..

My car cost me £800 three years ago..

service it myself.

[laurejon]

I have to agree I do think cars are a key indicator to the state of the economy. Leading up to the last recession a new car on the road was as rare as hens teeth.

I suspect that given that a car is the second largest purchase and a luxury item then for sure it will be one of the first cuts people make when they tighten the belt.

No doubt Blair will be getting some new instructions from Ford and GM via George Bush instructing him to give his neighbor a shuv and lower interest rates to stimulate an consumer led recovery.

As a footnote in an earlier post the question was asked how are we as a nation maintaining tax revenue when jobs are being offshored wholesale. The answer is one of simple economics, Brown borrows more money and pumps it into the economy via public service contracts and workers.

[apom]

the best reflection would be to consider when you would make a new car purchase.

If a £20,000 car is worth £5000 in four years.

How much would you need to earn to take that loss.

[laurejon]

the best reflection would be to consider when you would make a new car purchase.

If a £20,000 car is worth £5000 in four years.

How much would you need to earn to take that loss

Good point and I dont know much about the car business however I do think the greatest number of purchases is by companies as opposed to private ?.

If that is the case then companies will tighten back as you would only buy cars to offset profit in your books no profit would mean no new cars or plant to most businesses.

[homeless]

40 pound for a oil change lol

take out sump plug : drain engine oil

screw off oil filter

screw on a new oil filler

replace sump plug

fill with oil

Time 6 minutes

materials 8 pounds

cost 40 pounds lol

ffs find yourself a local shed mechanic, there everywhere

dont fall for the con of the service book(which is why most people use a dealership), you will spend a lot more in getting it stamped than you will save on the resale price.

a european directive came in forcing car manufacturers to sell the diagnostic computer programs to whoever, before they were selling them only to there dealers hence ensuring people had to go to the dealership for many repairs.

[oracle]

Anyone noticed a sharp rise in the cost of servicing cars? I've changed garage 3 times in a row looking for a decent price for fixing and servicing my car, because the price seems to be going up pretty fast. I have my suspicions that garages are trying to recoup the money they're losing on new car sales by bamboozling people with a list of parts that "need" to be replaced when you take it in for a brake pad change.

Is it just me?

yup,noticed this a while back,fortunately I'm fairly mechanically minded so if minor servicing is all that's required I do it myself.

...anything major then I will bin my car(it's disposable),and buy a banger....as long as it has MOT then I'll run it.

you can get a perfectly good old car for a couple of hundred....and if you don't do the yearly service on that(or scrap it when the mot is due),you have automatically saved the price of the next years motoring.

[Bear Goggles]

Interesting, I was just thinking about buying a new car the other day. I had a quick shufty on the AutoTrader site, and I was shocked at how much the prices of second hand cars have fallen in the last couple of years.

Then my car sailed though its MOT and the bloke in the (independant) garage said that it was in really good nick for its age so I've decided to keep it for another year!

Looks like I'm just not a good consumer.

[laurejon]

Trouble with changing oil is where do you put the waste?.

Pour it down the drain like many people do and you could find yourself with a huge fine from the waterboard running into thousands!!!.

I dont change the oil on my car, it changes itself at the rate of a pint per month I merely top it up.

[Without_a_Paddle]

Trouble with changing oil is where do you put the waste?.

Pour it down the drain like many people do and you could find yourself with a huge fine from the waterboard running into thousands!!!.

I dont change the oil on my car, it changes itself at the rate of a pint per month I merely top it up.

Pour it back into a can and take it to the local tip.

You can then pour the oil into a tank and throw the empty can into a special skip.

[gasket37]

http://bangernomics.tripod.com/ is an interesting site, especially the maintenance section http://bangernomics.tripod.com/maint1.htm.

[Mushroom]

yup,noticed this a while back,fortunately I'm fairly mechanically minded so if minor servicing is all that's required I do it myself.

...anything major then I will bin my car(it's disposable),and buy a banger....as long as it has MOT then I'll run it.

you can get a perfectly good old car for a couple of hundred....and if you don't do the yearly service on that(or scrap it when the mot is due),you have automatically saved the price of the next years motoring.

Yes but but, think of your image. You do want to look like one of life's successes don't you?

However, I've said this here before, to do what you do you have to thank that initial purchaser.

If we all wanted "bangers" the prices would rocket.

Mind plenty buy "banger" houses and look at prices for those.