Trade-in Not Necessary

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31439, 4 August 1967, Page 1

Trade-in Not Necessary

The car dealer, not his supplier, may require a trade-in before selling a new car. The dealer who insists on overseas funds before selling a customer a new car is also acting on his own initiative —not on instructions from the companies which supply new cars.

These conclusions have been reached by the Consumers’ Institute, which wrote to six motor companies supplying most of the new cars In New Zealand, after reports that some car dealers were insisting that they were unable to supply a new car unless a trade-in ■ or overseas funds, or both, were provided by the intending purchaser. The six companies all disclaimed having given any such directive to their dealers, the magazine "Consumer” reports in its latest The Ford Motor Company

replied: “On-no occasion has our company-endeavoured, by directive or other means, to influence retail dealers to require that a used vehicle be traded-in as-a prerequisite to a new car being supplied. Our company has no shareholding or other financial interest in any dealership in New Zea-

land, each being an individual business operating under its own management in serving the particular area in which it is located.” Dominion Motors said: “... We can assure that no such directive as that mentioned by you has been issued io its dealers by this company. The individual dealers are fully independent and, if they wish to do so, are quite free to sell on a ‘first come, first served, no strings’ basis.” General Motors and Austin Distributors’ Federation, in their replies, deny that any direction to sell new cars only if a trade-in is offered or overseas funds made available has been made to their franchise holders. Both say that because of reduced basic import licences, every car

ordered in on overseas funds reduced by one the number of claimants for cars which became available under basic import licence and represented additional business. Volkswagen Motors replied that the allocation of -new vehicles supplied to dealers was left entirely to the dealers’ own good judgment. Todd Motors: “ we do

not sell can to the public but to appointed dealers who are independently owned. We have no financial interest in any company selling retail the cars which we import and distribute. “Dealers must decide their own policy regarding the offer for sale of can .purchased from us, this being their stock in trade. In making this decision, dealers can be influenced by the difficulty in obtaining enough new stock to cover overheads and in maintaining full employment within their organisations. However, as stated, this is a matter for the individual dealer, as we have no rights nor authority to direct a dealer’s selling policy.”