Dealers with little stock - what gives?

[Bob51]

Drove past Alto Skoda at Pennant Hills today. Showroom appeared almost empty and Audis were lined up where new Skodas used to be. Their website shows they have just 4 cars in stock - 2 Fabias and 2 Octavias.

A check of Northshore Skodas stock on their website shows almost the same - 7 cars - 4 Octavias, 2 Yeti and 1 Fabia.

Anyone know what is going on? Both these dealers used to hold stock of 20 or so new cars.

[Lucas_R]

I drove past Newcastle Skoda today and they have a completely packed car yard, some cars even parked out on the road infront of the dealership.

Oh and a truck dropping some more off.

[wai]

You will find that dealers will have to pay VW some (if not all) of the price for a vehicle if they have it on their lot. As long as they have some vehicles on the lot, it is not an issue. It is VW that need to have stock so that it can get to a dealer in as short a time as possible.

[Tigger]

The age-old dilemma...They cant sell something they dont have in stock to show potential customers, yet they cant afford to keep stock in ,on the off chance they may sell it....

But I know from a consumer point of view, I wont buy a car until I have tested it out!

[wai]

Actually, it is not that difficult for VW to change.

A few decades ago I was development engineer for a major pallet racking/shelving company (still in existence). We were having to hold huge stocks to service the distributor/reseller network. The warehouse was beginning to burst at the seams.

Well, at the moment they have "storage centres" (actually the distributor/reseller network) and this is now where they store their product for sale. The result is the customer gets a much quicker response as produce is already with the reseller, and the central warehouse does not need to be expanded.

Maybe it comes down to VW not "trusting" their dealers?

[Martin]

Anyone know what is going on? Both these dealers used to hold stock of 20 or so new cars.

They may have been selling stock cheap to move it pending arrival of the new 2013 model - hence sold out
(That's how I got my car cheap)

I know Mazda run a quota system, how many cars you sell in a month/quarter impacts how many cars Mazda will give you to sell in the next quarter

[LunchboxVRS]

I went to a couple of skodas looking for a vRS Octavia but they had none. I got a brief look at a customers the day they where picking it up from the showroom. I had driven a golf GTI and new performance would not be far off. So told them I wanted a stock white wagon. I kept ringing them to see when I could get one but got nothing. Wanted to put down a deposit so I could get the lease going but they couldn't even get me a price. I waited a month then went in and told them to jam it. He then tried to offer me a demo hatch in black. I said no and he said sorry he couldn't help. Could not believe I could not get a car.

[Tigger]

I went to a couple of skodas looking for a vRS Octavia but they had none. I got a brief look at a customers the day they where picking it up from the showroom. I had driven a golf GTI and new performance would not be far off. So told them I wanted a stock white wagon. I kept ringing them to see when I could get one but got nothing. Wanted to put down a deposit so I could get the lease going but they couldn't even get me a price. I waited a month then went in and told them to jam it. He then tried to offer me a demo hatch in black. I said no and he said sorry he couldn't help. Could not believe I could not get a car.

Wow!! bad experience indeed!
I know where there is a low km demo White wagon available...
North Shore Auto Group.
It came with us on our "2013 Skodafest" cruise!
Ask for Allan...

[Bob51]

I understand the cost of holding stock but the overall impression of a dealership with an almost empty showroom is its closing down. Not a welcoming experience to a prospective buyer.

Neither of the two dealers mentioned in my original post has any Superbs if their website is correct. Yet Skoda is advertising 0% finance on MY12 Superbs implying there is stock. Anyone responding to the advertising is unable to see a single car. Who is going to buy a Superb if you cannot see or drive one even if it isn't exactly the variant you want?

Doesn't add up to me.

[Tigger]

I drove past the Patricks holding yard at Ingleburn today, and I can tell you there looks like HUNDREDS of Yetis in stock!

They should be sitting on a showroom floor attracting buyers...not in a dirty big paddock collecting dust and spiders!

[wai]

They should be in dealer yards and showrooms, only VW does not own the dealer network. It comes down to ownership of the cars in dealer yards, and then who pays for damage.

Yes, dealers should have a couple of examples of each model so that potential customers can see and feel them.

[LunchboxVRS]

Wow!! bad experience indeed!
I know where there is a low km demo White wagon available...
North Shore Auto Group.
It came with us on our "2013 Skodafest" cruise!
Ask for Allan...

I'm just going to save a bit more and get a amorok later in the year.

[K1W1]

the overall impression of a dealership with an almost empty showroom is its closing down.

Being a Skoda dealership that is highly possible. In many cases Skoda dealers seem to only have the franchise for short periods then dump it. Some have closed completely but most have just gotten rid of Skoda and gone back to the other products that they sell.

[K1W1]

They may have been selling stock cheap to move it pending arrival of the new 2013 model - hence sold out
(That's how I got my car cheap)

Yeah right.
Think it through. The new model will not be here for 9 months at least. What possible incentive would the dealer have to give away stock and then watch the weeds grow on their yard for the next 200 odd days?

[cbay]

Drove past Trivett Blacktown today. No more Skoda.

Interesting as I see so many more on the road in my area now though (north-west Sydney).