I'm in What Car? Magazine

[ChrisJ]

No Rachael I'm not a dealership accountant, but I do deal with 4 dealerships of different marques (although none of them Peugeot) in my work.

The 12% approximates to the average gross margins of the dealers I prepare accounts for, though this will of course include margins for servicing etc. Margins are generally around this level mainly due to manufacturer discounts in addition to dealership bonuses etc, although I will admit that the margins on different models of car vary greatly with some substantially higher and some lower.

I would point out that net margins are tight and a lot of dealerships would barely break-even without the manufacturer incentives.

Hope this helps.

[Robbie]

I think I would worry about residual values on any car, regardless of how much I loved it, if it made a substantual loss in a very short space of time. That only seems common sense to me, unless of course I hadn't the need to worry about the money, which I have.

So saying, as other members have said, I don't think the cc falls within that sort of catagory, thats why I bought it and because its a great concept car at the end of the day - YES - it IS a great car, in my opinion.

Maybe the smart money will walk to the importers/supermarkets, but to be quite honest, I can't be bothered with the extra hassle, and prefer the greater convenience and peace of mind of my local dealership I suppose. Call me lazy, no offence taken, but that in itself is worth the £3000 difference to me.

Robbie.

[Rachel.]

Wasn't trying to catch you out Chris. Sounds like you do a similar job to me. I do three Peugeot dealerships. Servicing is the lucrative side, the margins on new cars are much lower than 12%, especially once you've accounted for PDI charges, salesmens commission etc.

Hope that helps. Just wanted to check I wasn't talking to one of my clients!