A recent sample of some 1100 visitors to the Honest John website found that 28% of new car buyers and 32% of used car buyers rated their experience as poor. More were critical of the after sales contact.
If you don’t know Honest John (HJ), he writes a Letters page for the Sunday Telegraph and markets himself as an Arthur Daley car dealer type, with ethics and more knowledge. Definitely a stereotypical male image of motor (said with a cockney accent) traders as his photo would suggest.
HJ has singled out five independent businesses that meet his Highly Approved Trader (HAT) standard; BCA (British Car Auctions), Cargiant, Motorpoint, drivethedeal.com and Warranty Direct.
No franchised dealers or garages there yet…
To keep this status they all need to maintain a 97% ratio of good feedback and be judged as delivering excellent value.
I am not sure how he plans to measure excellent value or encourage customers to keep up such a high positive feedback ratio. Speaking personally I can’t think of one business I have written to to say thank you to where the service has been OK but not exceptional. I expect it to be fit for purpose in the first place.
And when it isn’t, even just mildly less than I would have hoped for, if there’s nothing to be achieved by complaining, I don’t bother; I just take my business elsewhere.
I’ll be interested to see how HJ manages this and whether the HATs stay on if the % ever drops.
So look out for HJ’s (racing pundit?) hat in future.
Let’s hope it makes it easier for motorists to identify genuine quality in the new and used car buying sector in future.
FOXY Steph
