Sward's used car of the year - the Ford Mondeo
2007 has been an interesting year in the used car trade, and our man, Steven Ward (or 'Sward' to you and me), was there to see it shake out...
In the first of his regular used car features for AROnline, Steven tells us that the cars were good, bad and ugly - and the view from the kerbside isn't positive if you're buying or selling MGs and Rovers.
Sward's year...
Sward's used car of the year - the Ford Mondeo
Over 100 used cars passed through my hands this year, what follows is a brief recap of the year in the trade...
HE return of Sward to the motor
trade was a big deal for me in 2007 - I'd been enjoying something of an enlightening
sabbatical. Although I started January late, that didn’t stop me
selling ten good cars, my maximum throughput per month. Bolstered by that confidence,
I set about locating my preferred stock, MG Rover.
However, it readily became sadly apparent that if I were to trade successfully, MG Rover’s products were to be avoided where possible. Their relatively strong purchase cost, parts availability and pricing, and the truly shocking post Project Drive quality levels when allied with a sceptical public made their retail potential distinctly dubious. Every MGR I sold, I was bitten by Heritage in some way - although I’ve still managed to shift a good Bakers’ Dozen. Still, despite the grief these cars gave me, I enquired into a NAC-MG franchise.
The new class of Korean car was a pleasant surprise. With the exception of Daewoo or GM’s Chevrolet, as they are called today, their quality, looks and performance, allied to keen pricing makes for a wise stock buy. People are learning this very quickly, this must in part be due to the internet helping the switched-on buyer make informed decisions.
GM is the new MG Rover, in that the quality is poor, and what they offer for the money is limited. Time and again, I found that GM is fighting a losing battle in an effort to gain acceptance from the public and trade alike. Its dealers are ratcheting up parts prices, the diagnostic service is dubious, and the quality continuing to slide. I decided to stay away from this marque also, where possible to make for an easier life. The old shape Vectra is a particularly poor used car buy, while I feel the current range will shortly suffer savage depreciation.
With my USP now uneconomically viable, I decided to stock Honda. This turned out to be a real money spinner. The only trouble with stocking Honda is being able to find them at a reasonable price. Quality is beyond reproach, the dealers a joy and everything associated is sweet. They came from far and wide to buy my Hondas, and what a nice bunch of people they are. 'Class Will Tell' as someone once drunkenly said.
Hondas are retail gold dust at the moment, and customers will come from far
and wide to buy...
The Renault Clio remained popular, so I started to stock them, but their reconditioning cost was high considering a low purchase price. With that in mind, and my new preferred marque, Honda, hard to come by, I asked fellow North East used car star 'Honest John' for advice on what to stock.
He was quick and confident in his reply; Ford. He rates the Mondeo Diesel as the best used car out there overall. I set about picking up used Fords, preferably Diesels. Here is manufacturer that is making all the right moves. Comfortable interiors, decent quality, modern design touches and a sensible approach to their ease of repair. I sold every Ford I bought with relative ease, regardless of mileage. Even the KA still has a strong following, despite the bodywork being so corrosive you can hear them fizzing in the showroom.
My new found respect for Ford saw me trade my family problem child ZR 160 in for a (petrol) Mondeo after we decided it had one too many ASBOs in its armoury for a useful existence. A quick trip to Monaco in the Mondeo made me believe that this is a real contender for Best Car in a Realistic World. Everyone was surprised I didn’t buy a diesel version, but they are so much more expensive and gentlemen don’t do diesel. Nobody was listening, although if you do run a Ford Diesel, watch that fuel pump!
This Diesel fuel craze has the market on fire at the moment as everyone wants to be into compression ignition. Although personally, I find the fuel foul, needs must and a diesel car doesn’t hang around. It’s a poor salesman who cannot convert a punter into a car which promises over 60mpg, with the prospect of a good resale value. If diesel sells, then cars without Air-Con don’t. Even though this must be the most unreliable part of a modern motor car, it’s the must-have equipment fitment. People who won’t use it or don’t know how to use it still insist on having it. I can certainly appreciate the benefits of it, if not the associated Warranty Claims. Still, the customer is always right - and it pays to remember this.
Climate control was the must-have for 2007...
Strong used car prices at auctions become even stronger when interest rates when up in April – despite a drop off in sales. That sounds like a contradiction, but the cautious spenders, became even more cautious. And these cautious people are, likely as not, types who take care of their car. What I found at the sales was that a well cared for car was few and far between. When they did appear in the ring, they made a fortune.
However, anything looking tired struggled to make ‘book. Colour, spec and condition are becoming ever more critical now. I made in roads into buying direct from Fleets and a mental note not to buy anything needing prohibitively expensive paintwork. Cars which have been smoked in are a distinct turn off more than ever too. I feverishly prepared every car the nth degree.
On a personal note, I had now bought my first foreign car since I was a teenager, and indeed my first car that wasn’t a FIAT/Alfa or a MG Rover. A Mercedes Benz 230TE seven-seat estate car was my new 'Class Chariot'. 1989-on-the-F, I bought this as a consolation prize at a classic car auction I had attended. The auction promised a 'new' Austin Metro 1.0L, but I was comprehensively outbid. I was about to move house and this indestructible Benz was to become a removal van. Suffice to say, I destroyed it… twice. My restored Austin Mini Mayfair had found a new home too, so I turned to Land Rover and acquired a demobbed Defender. Will I ever learn?
Around this time, I was doing a thousand miles per week buying up ex-fleet diesel Focus and petrol Fiestas. I often visited the Longbridge area and I didn’t like what I didn’t see. I decided to place the idea of a NAC-MG franchise on the back burner and concentrate on used cars. Paul Stowe also resigned at this time and I thought that indicative after the hollow promises and missed deadlines. The nail in the coffin was a TF and Mazda MX-5 I stocked alongside each other. One was fun, exuded quality and sold itself, never to return with a warranty claim. The TF was returned to the trade unsold and unloved, sans central locking motors which were now NLA.
Mazda MX-5s sell themselves... MG TFs don't.
What started out as a busy year started becoming tight as the summer wore on. People were losing confidence in spending money. That confidence completely evaporated when Northern Rock became New Labour’s BL in the North East. I swiftly moved into the banger end of the spectrum to keep the garage busy, turning to that perennial favourite, the K11 Nissan Micra.
Cars I previously categorized as Scrap were actually my saviour, along with offering a Saturday Surgery for my local MG Owners Club. I bought a 45-gallon drum of OAT anti-freeze, secured the services of a first class MGR diagnostic engineer and offered cost-price coolant changes. They flooded in and of course, much repair work and the odd sale came from that.
Despite initially buying finance at 1 per cent below base rate, the credit crunch changed this. I now bought finance at 2 per cent below base rate! Such was the fall in personal debt being taken-out, finance houses were becoming increasingly desperate to snare people - with limited success. So much for the end of cheap 'chukky' the doomsayers were predicting! Financing a used car is now cheaper than ever and that can only be good news. People are more switched on to Finance rates and used cars values now. I bought into Autotrader’s dealer edit whereby I uploaded my own adverts. Price, followed by memorable words and pictures are incredibly important in even getting a chance at a sale now.
NAC-MG flew into the region to view my premises, but now we had a major dealer group as a competitor, although in their last missive, we’re still in the running. Making a solid business case to justify the required investment in this venture was still elusive at the time of writing this. Besides, with the announcement of the new Chinese Leyland amalgamation, who know where Longbridge stands in the great scheme of things now? Will a two car showroom still be acceptable with the potential of a full range of cars to sell coming from SAIC?
Sward's awards
Onto the crux of this missive, now is time I hand out my hypothetical awards, in no particular order or relevance.
Nicest car I found to drive this year was the Land Rover Discovery TD5, although a neat Freelander TD4 ran it close.
Most fun car of the year was the MX5 (with hardtop firmly in place). It always felt alive and willing, a Citroen C2 VTS (manual mind you!) was fun too.
Most disappointing car was the Jaguar S-Type I accepted as a part exchange. The equivalent 75 was much better in the day. I also briefly had a X-Type diesel which was nearly as disappointing.
Worst car was the Land Rover Defender TD5. Defender? Offender more like. Awful, a real relic of the BL age with few real redeeming features. Still, the latest Transit powered example Land Rover allowed me to drove around Eastnor Castle was a huge improvement – it needs to be although the quality isn’t any better. A late Rover 45 I bought ran this award close, but then so did a late 25. I think we all know about my ZR 160.
Nicest car to own was the Lexus IS200 I bought, the quality of which was stunning. Why buy a rusty Mercedes and a fragile BMW where these are now available?
Most surprising car was a Skoda Fabia 2.0 petrol (NOT the derv vRS). This car was a rare beastie, it featured every option available on the range as standard. The only hint of its lurking Golf GTi engine was the neat five-spoke alloys. Not even the insurance companies have latched onto this cracking Q-car, neither have the prices guides CAP or Glass's. Is the Fabia the new R8 in the used car game I wondered frequently? I’ll soon find out as I’ve just bought another.
Best bargain car? Latest Jaguar XJ6, as a dozen will seat you in a well cared for example.
Worst car to work on is easily the Chrysler PT Cruiser diesel. Unserviceable now and this will only get worst in future as parts are dealer only. Best car to work on, well that’s easy, any Honda you care to mention such is the quality of the engineering. Incidentally, getting diagnostic work done on a car is getting easier and cheaper, good news for everyone. China is now making car service items of seeming acceptable quality, so prices are set to fall further I would imagine.
Car of the year for me has to be the Mondeo however. Practical, fun, cheap, comfortable and economical. I even admire the looks now. The old Focus diesel range ran this close, although I cannot help but stall Ford TDCI units. One thing that has become apparent now is just how good new cars are and their relative cheapness. The used car buyer, despite exorbitant taxes, increased congestion and stinging parking charges, has never had it so good and so affordable. One noticeable improvement I found in my return to used cars is how much higher levels of grip and roadholding are now. Wider tyres means we can all accelerate, brake and corner faster and that can only be a good thing.
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