Scottish Elises

Craig at MMC shall be finalising some tyre deals for SE members later today or tomorrow.
I shall post them up as soon as they are available.

One thing I do know is that free fitting will be available during a service.

Excellent news

yup

whats the servicing costs there these days?

r055 wrote:yup

whats the servicing costs there these days?

http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... 13&t=18730

I'm trying to figure out which ones to buy at the moment.... Advan Neovas or Toyo 888s.... maybe this will make the decision easier..

Not even close to Wheelsaround prices unfortunately

The only difference must be profit margin. I can only assume the cost from supplier is pretty similar, so can't understand why MMC's costs are so much higher, especially as you'd think they'd get good wholesale prices as they probably buy more of these tyres than Wheelsaround do. Obviously just trying to make more profit.

MMC will also deliver to any of the garages in their chain FOC - slightly more convenient for those of us in the sticks!

DDtB wrote:I'm trying to figure out which ones to buy at the moment.... Advan Neovas or Toyo 888s.... maybe this will make the decision easier..

888's

May opt for a set of C-Drives for the S1, Craig quoted £391 inc. VAT (might need to chisel the P-Heroes off the rims though, or just dink them with a hammer and they'll shatter!!)

neil wrote:

dezzy wrote:Not even close to Wheelsaround prices unfortunately

The only difference must be profit margin. I can only assume the cost from supplier is pretty similar, so can't understand why MMC's costs are so much higher, especially as you'd think they'd get good wholesale prices as they probably buy more of these tyres than Wheelsaround do. Obviously just trying to make more profit.

MMC have got a nice shiny showroom with staff to pay for, Ronnies got a truck. There's your difference

Not convinced . . . I appreciate MMC have considerably higher overheads, but the difference in those prices is quite dramatic when you add in VAT and that can't just be to cover overheads. MMC also have car sales, servicing and repairs to help cover the overheads and surely can't rely on the margin from parts to cover those costs. There's almost an £80 difference in the price of a rear AO48 (without the SE discount) - and that includes fitting. You telling me they need that much per tyre to cover overheads?!

dezzy wrote:

neil wrote:

dezzy wrote:Not even close to Wheelsaround prices unfortunately

The only difference must be profit margin. I can only assume the cost from supplier is pretty similar, so can't understand why MMC's costs are so much higher, especially as you'd think they'd get good wholesale prices as they probably buy more of these tyres than Wheelsaround do. Obviously just trying to make more profit.

MMC have got a nice shiny showroom with staff to pay for, Ronnies got a truck. There's your difference

Not convinced . . . I appreciate MMC have considerably higher overheads, but the difference in those prices is quite dramatic when you add in VAT and that can't just be to cover overheads. MMC also have car sales, servicing and repairs to help cover the overheads and surely can't rely on the margin from parts to cover those costs. There's almost an £80 difference in the price of a rear AO48 (without the SE discount) - and that includes fitting. You telling me they need that much per tyre to cover overheads?!

Dez, have a look at Ronnie's business model. There's no way in hell you can go comparing a main dealer to a one-man operation with a truck, it's just not even in the same solar system. Yes, the prices are dramatically different, yes, I'll still get my tyres at Ronnie - but as a service from a main dealer, these are pretty damn good and Elaine will probably prefer to get hers at MMC. Ronnie will have huge bulk discounts with Yokohama and the like, through x years of supplying quantity to Motorsport - MMC are stuck buying the tyres from Lotus (more than likely) at Lotus pricing.

Shug wrote:There's no way in hell you can go comparing a main dealer to a one-man operation with a truck, it's just not even in the same solar system.

Yes, I can compare them. I'm a Lotus consumer. I need tyres. I need to shop around to find the cheapest tyres (but also with good service). So I compare all available options, regardless of their business model. What I'm saying is that, as a consumer, I'm not really getting much for the extra money I'm paying MMC compared to Ronnie. In terms of location, with me being in Glasgow, it's not much different to go to see Ronnie at his place or at KH than it is to go to MMC in Edinburgh.

Regardless of the completely different business models, Ronnie and MMC are competitors. They therefore can be compared because at the end of the day they are both selling the same product and a consumer will often look for the cheapest product they can find, even if it doesn't involve a shiny showroom with sofas to sit on while you wait. The difference in price doesn't make up for the difference in the perceived service you receive from them. A consumer shouldn't have to think "oh, they've got a lot more overheads so I should pay much more". You have to compare what extra you are getting for the extra cost and I don't think you get that much.

So, Ronnie and MMC are competitors and if MMC want to gain more business in tyre sales and fitting, they do have to compete with him. With these prices, the simply can't. I'm not having a go at MMC. I'd like to use them for tyres (as I'm now using them for services from now on), but I just can't afford to at these prices.

D

delands wrote:
2. Yokohama AD07 Rear tyre – £132.25 For S2 SE Members Price £119.03 Each


Please also note that all the above prices Exclude Vat at 15% and fitting.

Are these prices definitely excluding vat? I paid £119.03 for a rear AD07 recently.

dezzy wrote:

Shug wrote:There's no way in hell you can go comparing a main dealer to a one-man operation with a truck, it's just not even in the same solar system.

Yes, I can compare them. I'm a Lotus consumer. I need tyres. I need to shop around to find the cheapest tyres (but also with good service). So I compare all available options, regardless of their business model. What I'm saying is that, as a consumer, I'm not really getting much for the extra money I'm paying MMC compared to Ronnie. In terms of location, with me being in Glasgow, it's not much different to go to see Ronnie at his place or at KH than it is to go to MMC in Edinburgh.

Regardless of the completely different business models, Ronnie and MMC are competitors. They therefore can be compared because at the end of the day they are both selling the same product and a consumer will often look for the cheapest product they can find, even if it doesn't involve a shiny showroom with sofas to sit on while you wait. The difference in price doesn't make up for the difference in the perceived service you receive from them. A consumer shouldn't have to think "oh, they've got a lot more overheads so I should pay much more". You have to compare what extra you are getting for the extra cost and I don't think you get that much.

So, Ronnie and MMC are competitors and if MMC want to gain more business in tyre sales and fitting, they do have to compete with him. With these prices, the simply can't. I'm not having a go at MMC. I'd like to use them for tyres (as I'm now using them for services from now on), but I just can't afford to at these prices.

D

Fine. Simple fact is that I don't believe you're comparing apples with apples. Perhaps customers shouldn't have to think in these terms, but what would you have MMC do? Sell at a loss? I'm pretty sure they are not making massive profits per tyre with this deal.

Stick to getting tyres out of the back of a truck (as I will) but how about trying to appreciate the fact that MMC are trying to support the Scottish Lotus community where they can? It's a simple fact that they will never get close to pricing from operators like Ronnie (I've actually never been to a place that does - have had many incredulous conversations with tyre suppliers wondering what discount he's on) I'm also not going to have a go at Ronnie - but two separate occasions I've returned to his guys at KH with my car jacked up once on the rear undertray and once on the fibreglass sill (thank f**k it was an S1) so from a service point of view, they need watched like hawks - I had a stand up argument with the guy who jacked it up on the sill, telling me he did them all like that...

The fact that MMC know they can't go head to head with him (so they know they're not going to see a huge spike in sales), but will still offer a special SE deal for those who do want to get tyres from the main dealer speaks volumes about their new attitude IMO.

I completely agree on MMC improving things. I just had a call from Craig the other day to see how I got on with that indicator fix Alan did for me and he was fantastic and helpful on the phone. I'm not trying to put down what they're doing - I'm just saying it's a shame they can't get anywhere near Ronnie's prices as I'd like to use them for tyres too and I don't believe the additional cost is justified.

Anyhoo, I'll be sticking with Ronnie just as you are and while I've never had a problem with him or any of his staff, I'll watch out for the jacking issues you've mentioned

D