AS car transporters rumble all over the country delivering the many
thousands of new vehicles we will snap up in time for the L-plate rush,
some dealers have cause to feel rather more relaxed about their
prospects than others.
The twin Lex Toyota outlets in Glasgow fall into the former category.
While August was still a distant page on the 1993 calendar, Toyota sales
got off to a flying start, registrations climbing by a massive 46% over
1992 figures.
Improvements on this scale suggest more than a single reason, but
there has always been an unsatisfied demand for Toyota products. This is
caused by import quotas which, given the company's position as one of
the world's top three car manufacturers, have been totally unrealistic.
The opening of Toyota's assembly plant at Burnaston, Derby, where the
new Carina is built helped to relieve some of this pressure, and Lex
Toyota general manager Robert Muir has at last been able to dispense
with his waiting-list. You can now have any Toyota you want and, in most
cases, when you want it.
The Lex Toyota operation in Glasgow has recently been strengthened
with the purchase of Parkhall Garage, now trading as Lex North and also
managed by Robert Muir.
Since it was taken over at the end of last year, a redevelopment
programme costing in excess of #400,000 has taken place. Earlier this
year it was granted Lexus franchise status and Robert Muir says sales of
the luxury car from the Great Western Road site have been excellent from
the outset.
''We have also been awarded the new Toyota Supra franchise which
becomes separate this year, with only 25 outlets in the UK,'' said Mr
Muir. ''The Supra will be the latest Japanese supercar, priced at
between #35,000 and #40,000. We should have one in the showroom by late
summer or early autumn.''
Mr Muir stressed that the high levels of customer care and service
developed over the past four years at the Shields Road dealership will
also apply at Lex North.
The use of a common-management approach will ensure uniformity. As
well as Mr Muir, after-sales manager Colin Wilson will also look after
both businesses. ''By using this method we believe we are able to offer
a superior service to any of our competitors,'' Mr Muir said.
Development work at Lex North will be complete by October from which
time it will, according to Mr Muir, ''be one of the most impressive,
most modern businesses of its type in Scotland, with over an acre of
customer parking available.''
Used-car sales at both locations have always been a Lex strongpoint,
the company being one of the first to introduce 30-day ''cashback''
deals on pre-owned vehicles. In other words, everything the customer
buys is on a no-risk basis. If the car is not up to expectations, it
could be handed back.
Lex Toyota has also embarked on an imaginative advertising campaign --
and has ruffled a few feathers in the process -- by claiming that it
sells ''the world's cheapest Toyotas'', with the promise that it will
beat any new Toyota quote from elsewhere.
''It has certainly been working,'' said Mr Muir. ''Showroom traffic
has increased five-fold since the campaign started, with a parallel
increase in sales.''
It is this knack of being able to attract attention that has helped
Lex Toyota to become arguably the most successful Toyota dealership in
Scotland, scooping up awards for sales, service, parts, and marketing in
1992 -- an unprecedented clean sweep of everything on offer.
Both Glasgow businesses have just been licensed to sell ''Toyota
Terms'', which is a refined version of the scheme by which the private
buyer can enjoy all the advantages previously only available to business
car operators.
Only four dealers in Scotland have been appointed to date and the plan
allows motorists a method of car purchase over a two-year period (and to
replace it at the end of this term) at the lowest possible cost. Under
the plan it is virtually possible to pay for a car over two years for
less than under a three-year hire-purchase arrangement.
The major benefit is that the motorist can change his or her car every
two years while paying a lower premium, enjoying the advantage of having
a new vehicle at more frequent intervals than might have been previously
possible.
Residual values are, unlike in some competitive schemes, solidly
guaranteed. So is service back-up, with all the familiar Toyota hi-tech
wizardry installed in the workshops, a bodyshop, and a fleet of courtesy
cars which are offered on free loan to customers -- fully insured.
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