MB Scarborough closed and Kettering closing.

[Rory]

Getting tough out there.

 

[Cole@MBS]

Think we will see more of this! Spent loads of money on workshops etc and losing customers due to the credit crunch!

 

[Seeker_UK]

Getting tough out there.

I do hope MB Kettering aren't going under - there's nothing about it on their website.

But if they are, they've only got themselves to blame - they priced themselves out. When I went there for a new car, they had no CLK < £20K. How is that good business?

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Getting tough out there.

Scarborough is interesting. I would have thought coastal towns generally have more "grey pounds" and probably more MBs?

 

[Rory]

Scarborough is interesting. I would have thought coastal towns generally have more "grey pounds" and probably more MBs?

My (very local) view is that those people aren't changing their cars like they used to. In my road, full of decent size family houses, the majority of the residents are retired, houses paid for, and their kids have long since left home. Until recently every new registration change would bring a smattering of new cars, but that simply hasn't happened with this, or the last, plate changes.

 

[MAAB]

Some MB garages are also cheating their loyal customers by creating more repair work
unnecessarily, so gradually they are loosing customers and so the business.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Some MB garages are also cheating their loyal customers by creating more repair work
unnecessarily, so gradually they are loosing customers and so the business.

This has bee the theme of many posts and much debate in the Forum recently - dealerships "enhancing" services with extras that may not be necessary (and even threatening not to stamp the log book if items declined) and MOT centres "finding" problems in order to get the chance to fix them.

Apart from being unethical, it is very short term thinking - it is not surprising that the market has moved away from such practices.

 

[jberks]

I'd heard Scarborough had gone, as has North Leeds and there are rumours about Harrogate. Scarborough, Harrogate and York are all part of the same firm so I guess they're cutting back, hoping to service all the customers from the one site.

 

[hawk20]

When you see polls on this forum and others showing only about 25% of members using dealers for servicing it is not surprising. And using internet firms when buying. It's the old adage: use them or lose them.

I find my local MB dealer honest, hardworking and thorough.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

My (very local) view is that those people aren't changing their cars like they used to.

I am sure you are right on this point Rory. One good reason for buying MB is their reliability and durability. I keep mine for at least 4 years each, and kept a 190 for much longer, only changing it for an estate car eventually, when we needed more space.

If the pensioners of Scarborough are happy with their cars and reliability is good and rusting is not a problem, then good on them!

Sadly, if you are selling new cars, it is bad news. Same happened to Michelin when they produced the first radial ply tyres!

 

[hawk20]

I don't think many pensioners buy MB cars. Over two thirds of new sales go to companies or people on company car schemes.

 

[rhud]

When you see polls on this forum and others showing only about 25% of members using dealers for servicing it is not surprising. And using internet firms when buying. It's the old adage: use them or lose them.

I find my local MB dealer honest, hardworking and thorough.

Agreed hawk. I have had good experience from MB Harrogate and would not like to see them go.

 

[jberks]

Agreed hawk. I have had good experience from MB Harrogate and would not like to see them go.

Hopefully that one was just a rumour! They're offering free MOTs for life at the moment so well worth a visit. I haven't bought a car from them but to be honest they were the only people I felt were actually trying to sell me one. Sadly they didn't have what I wanted.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

I don't think many pensioners buy MB cars. Over two thirds of new sales go to companies or people on company car schemes.

We clearly belong to a very select and discriminating group Hawk! :wink:

 

[television]

When you see polls on this forum and others showing only about 25% of members using dealers for servicing it is not surprising. And using internet firms when buying. It's the old adage: use them or lose them.

I find my local MB dealer honest, hardworking and thorough.

I have been in the service trade all of my life, and service has never been something that earns profit that is worth talking about.
Profit has always come from sales, the service department is a necessity that you must have if you sell things that go wrong, often the performance of that service department will dictate your future sales , do a lousy job or be too expensive, and both will have the effect of driving people to go elsewhere.
Maybe the time has come where car makers must restruct their thinking on this line, as it is not really working the way things are, and so many unhappy people

 

[television]

I don't think many pensioners buy MB cars. Over two thirds of new sales go to companies or people on company car schemes.

Down here they do, lots of old fogies and farts down here have them

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Down here they do, lots of old fogies and farts down here have them

Of course they do - yourself being the notable exception that proves the rule Malcolm. :wink:

MBs are likely to be owned by older people as the "entry cost" to having a new or recent car is high. All the more reason that the Scarborough experience has to be a wake up call for the trade, whilst it provides evidence that relaible, durable MBs also make for contented pensioners who feel less need to change.

 

[hawk20]

If you look at the polls on this forum there is a big drop off in MB ownership once retirement age is reached.

Most of the MBs round here -bought new that is- are owned by people in work who can afford to lose half the cost of an E class every three years. That's a lot of money for those on pensions, which are typically in the UK less than half what people earned at their peak (as few have been in pension schemes all their working life and so few get the max).

 

[Alex M Grieve]

If you look at the polls on this forum there is a big drop off in MB ownership once retirement age is reached.

Or perhaps a big drop off in Forum participation amoungst pensioners?

 

[hawk20]

Or perhaps a big drop off in Forum participation amoungst pensioners?

That is possible. But let's remember the average pensioner couple is striving to live on £9,600 per year in this strange country we know and love.

You need some pension to buy a new E every three years and rub out 20k in depreciation? Over and over again, every three years in retirement?