Peter Vardy has announced it is consulting with staff on plans to close its CARZ dealership in Dundee.
The Broomhill Road purpose-built dealership opened six years ago at a cost of £7 million.
A 30-day consultation period is now under way for dozens of staff, with a closure date to be confirmed after the end of this process.
Hundreds of Courier and Evening Telegraph readers responded to the news on social media.
Poor customer service claims
Several noted problems they have had with vehicles purchased from the site. At the end of June disgruntled drivers held a protest claiming the dealership sold them vehicles with underlying issues.
Adelle Smith said: “Three of us in our household were looking for cars, all of us had bad experiences with them individually. Wouldn’t go near them.”
Alex Dunn said: “You reap what you sow. Treated many locals with contempt with poor, poor customer service and a couldn’t care less attitude.”
De Rek added: “Had two poor experiences with them, neither of which stemmed from local staff – company level processes and rules killed both deals for different reasons.”
However, Laura Drurie said: “Got a car from them and have nothing but praise for them.”
Linn Garden said the Dundee dealership missed out on a sale, saying: “Lost our sale as assistant needed to go home just as we were about to buy a £17k car would have taken another five mins to complete the paperwork. Their loss big time.”
Several expressed surprise that the Dundee dealership asked them to sign in even if they were there to browse available cars.
John Melville said: “It was like walking into a nightclub with some bloke on the door with the ear piece in. Sign in before you get escorted around. Left without buying as I hate that. No wonder they are closing.”
Challenging car market
Explaining the reasons behind the closure plans, Peter Vardy said there were fewer used cars aged under three years coming onto the market. This is due to shortages of new cars being produced when Covid hit in 2020.
Jason Smith said the closure news was a “sign of the times”. He adds: “Car market hard at the moment. Money is tight and interest rates gone high making finance deals less attractive.”
Lynn McAlpine said: “It’s at a short downturn cause everyone bought a new one when they were furloughed.”
Andrew Bell said: “If cars weren’t so expensive people would change their car more often.”
Meanwhile Gee Magilton said the plans were “good news for smaller companies”.
Job losses concern
Many readers have expressed concern for staff who could lose their jobs. Peter Vardy says it hopes to offer staff alternative roles within the business.
Tony MacDonald said: “We all work for companies that push us to do things we aren’t fully on board with but rarely under the pressure that these guys are working under on a daily basis.
“Get a grip and remember in this current climate your job might be next.”
Richard Davies adds: “The car trade is a revolving door for staff, they will just move to other dealers.”
