nuclear_pond

'Lo

Whats going on with dealers? My local dealer is closing this month (Shrewsbury) and ive heard that Listers in Worcester are closing soon too (Next 6 to 12 months).

So whare the hell am I supposed to go for a service now! Wolves or Stoke look closest, at some 70 miles each way!!

I was planning on getting a new scooby car next year, but maybe not now.

Yorkie

Join the club. Bentleys of Sheffield went December 2001. Farmers of Matlock May this year.

Luckily a new one sprang up in Sheffield (Montys) and there is still Triangle of Chesterfield and Lucas of Mansfield up here in South Yorkshire area.

Gibsons of Brock in Preston was another one that has gone (they now do imports like Bentleys and Farmers.

[Edited by Yorkie - 9/17/2002 7:23:12 PM]

RaymondH

Mine's gone too. Apparently Subaru were wanting them to spend a small fortune doing up their premises in the new corporate style and they said that it wasn't worth it

Phil Harrison

My Dealer got screwed similarly, but paid up and smiled - thinly Can't see the business case... showroom was perfectly OK before.... will it give him £60K extra margin over (say) 5 years...doubt it!

Phil

Mike123

Blimey, I'm surprised Shrewsbury are closing - they used to shift a few cars from Featherbed lane. There's one up on the way to Oswestry though by the bypass - Royle's I think? Can't be too far from Shrewsbury area for you?

joop!

JUST HAD MY CAR SERVICED AT FARMERS OF MATLOCK MAY NOT BE SUBARU DEALER ANY MORE BUT STILL SERVICE THE CARS TOP CHAPS AS WELL !!!!!!

SPJ

Had my car serviced at Farmer, Matlock in June.No sign of no longer being a Subaru dealership.
What are they selling now, then?

SPJ

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Bought my '98 from ALX in Grimsby in '98 (surprise), and they closed down within a year. Started going to a place at Doncaster for service, but they've dropped Subaru for Saab.
Friend had a legacy, years ago, bought just outside Scunny, sold it for a Mondeo when that dealer closed.
My nearest is now Hull: £4.50 return over the Humber bridge b4 I've bought any fuel! Then Lincoln: farmer-boys, forget them!!! Then Sheffield, about 55 miles![img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
Come on, Subaru UK, you're losing the plot: the reason cars like Ford and Vauxhall sell so well is that there's a dealer in EVERY town! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

MattW

Royle's at West Felton near Oswestry is the nearest to Shrewsbury.

RB5Wag

RN Goldens have been selling scoobies longer than anyone in the country and have moved to just outside Huddersfield. They have great looking premises and an Sti demonstrator. I will let you know what I can next time I call in.

nuclear_pond

Thanks. Sounds like Royles is the best bet.

I liked Listers tho, always ahd a massive selection of used cars. I dont want to trek half way cross country to view a potential buy.

Stevethevet

Sorry. Not sure how accurate this is but had heard that Royles were on the way out also!

Oaken Garage, Wolverhampton is Shropshire side of Wolves so not bad to get to from that area and are a really good set of people who treat you really well. I've been going there for last 4 years with great service.

Josh L

Obviously I can only go by what I was told when I asked them, but if Listers are closing, it's news to some pretty senior members of staff, and would seem strange as they have already modernised their showrooms, and are part of a reasonably sized group.

Maybe now would be a good time to remind people not to post anything unless they are absolutely sure of their facts, as rumours like this can cause a lot of damage if incorrect, and I'm sure we wouldn't want Scoobynet to suffer as a result.

Josh

nuclear_pond

Not enjoying being accused of making up rumours!

My Listers info came from the Shrewsbury dealer, and also another dealer, the one who was asking why we dont like dealers on here recently - stan palmers.

Management are always the last top know.

[Edited by nuclear_pond - 9/18/2002 9:12:41 PM]

co55ie

Seems like the bubble may be bursting and with due respect Subaru do not offer a very comprehensive range like ford bmw vauxhall etc. I should imagine that if the impreza is not taken into account then there sales would be negligable.
The impreza is getting very long in the tooth it will soon be ten. Maybe its time subaru came up with something new instead of rehashing an out of date car with more and more limited edition models etc which are pretty ridiculous to say the least and a sad way to sell a product which is good.

AllanB

Yeah agreed. 3 car line up unless you call a Justy a car which I don't. God have you ever drive one, surely one of the worst cars still in production. For gods sake why don't they sort out a new Justy and have a 4WD 1.6 flatfour turbo Justy. That would fly out of the showrooms for the right price, as long as the same designer who did the current Impreza wasn't allowed to design it !

Also the Legacy is a fine fine car with a build quality to make any Impreza owner jealous yet they hardly market it very effectively do they. Subaru have a lot to learn. They also seem to be doing a grand job in alienating some of thier best dealers.



AllanB

scoobyboy

there is a new justy coming out. it's the newest version of a suzuki mini mpv cant remember the name though.

Mr.M

I can't believe Listers is going to close. They've been fab every time i've gone down there with my car.

How many other dealers give you the keys to an STi7 and say 'go and have a play for 1hr whilst we service your car!'. Well Listers did! They get 10/10 in my book!

My car goes in on Monday, will have a word to tomorrow to dismiss this rumour.

AlexK

I don't understand how you can say the Impreza is 10 years old... I thought the bug-eye was based on a new chassis/platform; that would make the Impreza only 2 years old. And now there's a facelift coming out in a few weeks to keep things fresh.

Also the Forester is relaunched this month, based on the current Impreza platform, so that's basically another new model.

True, the Justy is a joke, though.

Josh L

I'm not suggesting that anyone made anything up, just that rumours can be damaging things, and you know what Scoobynet can be like when people start to speculate on threads like these.

Although it would hardly be the first time that members of staff were the last to know about things like this, it simply doesn't make any sense.

On the whole they have one of the best reputations (I'm not the only one who drives silly distances for services), they have recently started their renovations with a revised showroom and are part of a group, which one would think would give them some financial security.

I would think that the loss of a dealer like Listers would be a great loss.

Josh

co55ie

Alex K

What I mean is if you can only flog something for so long. The impreza was a terrific niche car and stole many sales from the likes of BMW etc but how long can they continue with only product which has captured the public's imagination.
A wise business man would not be prepared to put all his eggs in one basket and especially one that was getting long in the tooth.
Look at Fords line up for example
KA
Fiesta
Puma
Focus
Mondeo
all of which are respected vehicles in there class if you were a business man which franchise would you want to own ?
And before all the usual remarks and comments ford do make some excellent cars the new Mondeo ST220 RS Focus Puma etc etc

[Edited by co55ie - 9/18/2002 10:57:47 PM]

Flat 4x4

1. INTERNATIONAL MOTORS CARE LITTLE ABOUT THEIR DEALERS. FACT
- Dealer loyalty over many years does not count for much.

2. INTERNATIONAL MOTORS ARE A BUSINESS INTERESTED IN MAXIMISING
THEIR PROFITS. FACT

3. I.M'S APPROACH TO NEW FRANCHISES TOTALLY REINFORCES THE ABOVE 2

4. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DEALERS WHO ARE TOTALLY DISILLUSIONED
WITH I.M FACT, ALLEGEDLY

5. UNLESS THERE IS A FANTASTIC, GROUND-BREAKING MODEL RANGE AROUND
THE CORNER (2004/5) YOU HAVE GOT IT WRONG I.M

AlexK

True enough, co55ie.

I've been involved with Jeeps for a long time. When Jeeps were initially officially imported into the UK, the franchise was run by Inchcape. The Cherokee in particular proved extremely popular and sales took off. Chrysler (or DaimlerChrysler as it is now) saw this and stepped in - Inchcape's import arrangements were not renewed and DaimlerChrysler UK was formed to offer manufacturer support for the brand in the UK.

I guess some of you hope that something similar happens with Subaru.

Subaru, in my opinion, will always be a niche brand, and that's probably a significant portion of the attraction to a lot of people (myself included). Fuji Heavy Industries seem to share that view, from what I've been able to gather. Should they ever decide to take over from IM, I feel it would be a positive move for us. I don't have any sales figures available to support whether that might be a financially viable option or not, however.

[Edited by AlexK - 9/19/2002 12:11:30 AM]

Chins

Mercedes sacked their entire dealer network recently, BMW and VW are about to do the same. Go speak to most car dealers and you'll find a few unhappy ones. Franchises closing and changing happens across all brands. Audi had some pretty huge changes a couple of years ago. Seat have got a poor name as well.

IM dont seem any better or worse than others. What they cant control is Subarus lack of ability to deliver a GOOD broad range of cars.

With regards to dealers closing. I'm with Josh. Dealers never seem that complementary about their competition. Unless its come from a director/dealer principal of the concerned dealership, it probably best not to post on here. I'd be suprised if Listers close as they seem to be one of the more agressive dealers. Showroom refurb could be for any brand though. Hope Listers dont close as it keeps others honest.

Jonathan

scoobyslut

Listers are changing franchise, they are going to Lexus, not closing,so once they "change" they can still service, but not under the "subaru UK" banner,they will no doubts still sell a few too.
As far as I am aware, Royles are closing too. Think its about time "IM" opened their eyes and saw the smoke rising from the hills and did something about it before there are no more dealers out there to even get parts from,let alone get our cars fixed!

Josh L

As I understand it, from various conversations I've had this morning, Listers have indeed handed in their notice , and will be going over to Lexus.

However, they will be continuing until something like Spring 2004.

Sad news, but I'll still be making the 180 mile round trip for the next 18 months, and will certainly be going to them for a replacement when it's time for the P1 to go.

Rumour has it that it's a sales related issue, so maybe the bugeye hasn't sold as well as IM's PR would suggest. Having said that, I agree with Chins that all the manufacturers have a similar attitude, but it's a shame that some of the lower volume companies, like IM, no longer seem to want to offer the level of service that helped them so much in the past.

With the high volume manufacturers you get cars that depreciate at alarming rates, no customer service and cars that consistently fill the bottom places in surveys like JD power, yet they are the same cars we see in the top 10 best sellers list every month! The only way smaller companies in any field can survive is by offering a level of service that the 'big boys' can't or wont deliver. So by alienating customers in the way IM have surely they're just cutting their own throats?

Just my opinion of course.

Josh

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Scoobyslut is right. ANY Subaru dealer closing is bad news. It sends the wrong signals to those who have a Subaru, and don't want to travel for servicing. It sends the wrong signals to those who might, otherwise, buy a Subaru, and it puts those of us who have Subarus, and love 'em, at a disadvantage when it comes to time to renew, buy parts, or even test new models.
Wake up, IM, the writing is on the wall[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

spider

iTrader: (1)

Josh,

My next door neighbour works for Listers so I asked him what was going on. He says they've been told they will be changing to the Lexus brand "within the next 2 years".

Seems a bit of a long time frame, but I think it's something to do with giving IM reasonable 'notice of intent' or some such.

As many have said, it's always a damn shame to lose a dealership - especially one that gets involved in our hobby!

IMHO I.M. haven't really got a clue about customer service/brand loyalty - and don't even get me going about how shoddy their "printed-on-Andrex-warranty" is!

Steve

co55ie

It seems that subaru have really lost sight of what made the impreza so popular and have rested on their laurels for far to long. The customer service seems to have gone down the pan from what I can ascertain and in my opinion they have over satuated their own market which is not good for anyone especially the owners of the vehiclees as residuals tumble. It's a shame because the impreza is a cool qwerky car and really responsible for cars like the RS Focus being produced etc as I doubt Ford and other manufacturers would have been bothered otherwise.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Hey, good point Co55ie. During the reign of the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts, Ford made some really quick cars, not overstated, not overengineered, just quick, and fun to drive. I speak of the TwinCam Escort, the RS1600, Mexico, RS 2000, RS Mexico, Lotus Cortina, Even the 3 litre Capri and the Mk3 2 litre Cortina. In those days, if you drove the quickest Ford in it's class, you also drove the quickest CAR in that class.
Then they lost their way, and even the RS Turbo wasn't so good, and way overpriced.[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] It took the Subaru/Mitsubishi dominance of rallying to shake them up, and maybe, just maybe, the present Pug dominance will do the same for us. Not that I'm holding my breath though.And the rate that Scooby dealers seem to bite the dust at the mo, bodes well for no-one but the other car manufacturers.
Alcazar