News

September is a great time for our industry. Once the initial clamour for 61-plate cars dies down, the used car market will pick up the pace as the part-exchanges hit the forecourts mid-month and a new set of buyers come through the doors.

For dealers, it’s the perfect time to generate additional margin through the sale of add-on products but regardless of whether customers are buying new or used, bringing them back to your dealership should remain a key objective. Commission from finance or GAP gives an upfront benefit but there’s no downstream opportunity to deliver further profit.

The good news is that every customer needs to maintain their car through routine service and maintenance work - warranty and service plan products accommodate this requirement perfectly. Every car that leaves your forecourt, new or second-hand, needs a service at some point and bringing the customer to come back to you is the perfect way to build both margin and relationships.

With the cost of motoring on the rise, customers are looking at every penny and warranty and service plans let the customer budget for running costs. If your service plans can discount parts and labour costs upfront, you can actively show the customer how much they’ll save over time and add real value to the sales proposition. Being able to provide every customer with a quote for a service plan and an extended warranty at handover stage is a great opportunity to explain how you can help the customer to save money over time.

Of course, bringing the customer back isn’t an activity that’s confined to sales teams when customers buy a car – aftersales have a role to play too and with access to simple & flexible products, the whole operation can help build customer relationships that extend for years.

We know that dealerships which embrace warranty and service plans at all levels of the business fill workshop bays and turnover more parts much more readily than those who don’t, and profit usually follows. At a time when customers are feeling the pinch, these products really do help take the worry out of buying a new car.

By Tim Heavisides, Group CEO of Car Care Plan Holdings.

This article originally featured in Car Dealer Magazine.

To find out how Car Care Plan can help grow your business, call us on 0844 573 7591 or contact us.

For media enquiries, please call Andrew Jackson on 0844 573 6299