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Tyreman,

Can I offer you some food for thought.....and I only normally state facts

Cars:-  Dealers make virtually no profit from selling new cars. They do make a good profit from the workshops.

Caravans:-  Dealers make good profits from selling new caravans.  They make very litte profit from their workshops. 

It's worth a thought !

Well done Harry B ,Its only when you stand up to these robbers and they back down that you get that feeling of elation   Good on you .

                               Coljac

If there is no profit in running a caravan workshop /is the profit made from the pre service ? and why do they advertise for business?/ and how do mobile caravan engineers make a living /Im not being confrontational ,i  am only asking .

         Coljac

Car and Caravan dealers have to have workshops as part of the Franchise requirements.

In an ideal world sales and service would be equally profitable.

In the real world more cars are manufactured than customers want....little profit, if any!

In the real world not enough caravans are manufactured to satisfy demand....big profits!

A couple of actual examples:-

New car, pre registered and kept by the factory for 6 months. New price £21,000 yours for £11,500.

New caravan, not sold during the main season. In September it becomes last years model. New price £15,000 yours for £13.950.

As a further ramble to round things off.

Car dealers don't sell accessories, that market is dominated by Halfords etc.

Caravan dealers dominate the accessories market. Even buying on line isn't much cheaper because that is dominated by a few companies who maintain highish retail prices.

If I invested £10.000 in a van and some tools and managed to service one caravan a day...I would make a reasonable living.

Hi EJB986

Please, you'll have me feeling sorry for Caravan Dealers in a minute.

All the dealers in my area are so busy they have notices up stating they will not carry out any extra work during services unless it is pre-planned. Quite reasonable, they need to be able to plan their workload.

But d'you remember seeing signs outside hairdressers "No appointment needed" because they're short of work. The caravan dealers obviously are not!

What happens to all those P.D.I.'s that new caravan buyers pay - mine cost me £400 plus. Let's be generous and knock off £100 for delivery. That leaves an awful lot of £300's paid to the workshop.

Why won't the Manufacturers pay the hourly rate for warranty work? They only pay around 50% of the rate. Do they know something we customers don't? 

Do you know the mark up for "One shot nuts" etc.

If their workshops aren't making a really good profit then something is definitely wrong.

I'm sorry but I have no doubt the industry is ripping us off with services.

Tyreman

Hi SimonM65

Most car/caravan dealers sales and workshops are very protective of their own profits and work.

I'm not surprised of your Main Dealers reaction or response.

Did you get the same reaction from a small independent garage?

 I've known Main Dealers/Manufacturers argue blind with a customer that their car is O.K. - When faced with a written report from a small independent there were blushes all round and the work was carried out without question.

Tyreman

Hi EJB 986

Your idea of a van kitted out is good. You can make a good living.

But get yourself "Approved Workshop" status and approved as a transient workshop by Baileys and you'll make a killing.

Tyreman

Tyreman,

Perhaps you didn't quite see my point. Caravan dealers make BIG profits on Caravans. They make BIG profits on accessories. The workshop side of the business makes a marginal profit.

The reason is that British caravan buyers will pay ANY price for the latest caravan and ANY price for the latest accessory.

The reason they won't do extra work is because the stockholding of spares is virtually nil. After all Mr Caravan Owner can't go anywhere else so he can wait a few weeks and yet he will return when he is told to!  The Motor industry is just the opposite.

In all markets the consumer drives the price

Hi EJB986

Sorry but I can't agree. In my experience they turn away almost all work unless it's a very quiet day and not just when special spares are required.

Otherwise why put up the sign.

All reasonable caravanners will accept that their little extra job can't be done if there is a need for non stock parts.

How can these new "Service Centres" only survive if the work is unprofitable?

Tyreman

I have never said 'unprofitable'. If a specialist Service Center is set up it would obviously be more profitable than the normal dealer with a workshop tacked on to the business.

All my inferences have been about normal 'Caravan Dealers' who have to have a workshop as part of the franchise agreement. When profits from 'van and accessory sales are so good the average dealer isn't interested in the workshop side of the business.

Quote: Originally posted by EJB986 on 22/3/2007

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the average dealer isn't interested in the workshop side of the business.

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Thats why I have to book a service a year in advance then ?

Hi again EJB986

I'm sorry if you're in a position where you work for a Caravan Dealer!

I suspect that many Dealers expect the impossible, like a handsome profit to be made by the workshop BUT all the work done on p.d.i.s, and secondhand vans for sale being done for nought and expecting the charge for services to pay for it all.

That doesn't make it right though to charge the poor customer who's locked into services to maintain their extended warranty through the nose. 

If you separate the workshop out with all its own overheads from the sales side and make the workshop charge the sales department for work requested by them then it should be more profitable than any Independant Service Workshop

Tyreman

Apart from being a customer for over 40 years I have never had any other contacts with the caravan industry except that I have, in the past, pulled companies accounts. Which anybody can do!!!!

Having been in retail and distribution, but now retired,and my wife has always been in manufacturing, we like to know how other businesses are doing.........sad I know