or simply more dealers going under ??....

"Official figures show that car buyers have deserted showrooms as Britain's second-biggest car sales month was hit by the economic downturn.

Statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show just 330,295 cars were sold in September. That's down 21.2 per cent, or 89,000 cars, on September 2007 and it's the fifth consecutive month of falling sales.

The plate change in September is usually the second-strongest month of the year and can account for up to a fifth of the year's total. However, with the downturn in the economy and finance not being so freely available, sales have collapsed and the car market faces the toughest time since 1991."

Ok so you work for a dealer by the sounds of things, but why are you putting all of this stuff under the superb II section?

There is a nice off topic and chit chat or general motoring section.

moved to general car chat.

The Dealers, like many firms, are on their knees as it is.

That killer deal may mean the firm goes under with your deposit and car - just as has happened to someone else here with streets of Bristol.

If one killer deal will put them under then they would have gone under regardless of the discount or not.

Moral of the story.... put your deposit on credit card and swallow the 2% surcharge on the £500. That way if they go to the wall you can get most of your money back.

If one killer deal will put them under then they would have gone under regardless of the discount or not.

I know, but what if they only way they could shift motors was to do killer deals and no one actually kept track of what was going on?

Sounds just like the Banking industry.

If they can only shift cars by doing killer deals and this leaves them no profit then they need to look at selling a different brand of car where they can reach a price customers will pay while still making profit.

I did notice a fair few economy brands showing up around here. It's interesting that a lot of people are no doubt going to skoda dealers on that basis and getting one heck of a shock when they see what they are charging these days.

I think there are plenty of car dealers (as you say like traders) who have been looking at what is best for them (bonus) rather than what is best for the company as a whole.

This IMHO is something thatcher encouraged, money is king, make money, be rich, you're nobody if you're not rich and screw all others.

It's now unwinding in a very big way.

UK car distributors have to pay for cars in Euros (for European-made cars like Skoda) or in dollars (for other countries like Japan, Korea).

The value of the UK pound is sinking heavily against both euros and dollars, so more pounds are needed to buy any imported car. It's hard to see how they can get much cheaper.

No prizes for guessing who is responsible for this mess :(

Matt Fincham?

Matt Fincham?

Matt Fincham?

pmsl!