when sat with my daughter at a local dealers while she discussed changing her car I got into a discussion with one of the sales guys who said that JLR are that fed up with their franchises giving them a bad reputation for customer care etc that all JLR dealerships are going to be managed by JLR rather than franchises.

anyone heard of this? might be a good thing as it cant get any worse at franchised dealers IMO

If that were true then I would be highly delighted.

I remember back in the 70's when Vauxhall/Opel did exactly that, got rid of all the lazy sales people and put their own in. It worked, and it worked well. Unfortunately too well, which is why they had to revert to franchises staffed by useless liars again.

Now, where these new 'dual branch' showrooms are appearing, the dealership has to invest significant £m's, so I can't actually see them just rolling over and letting JLR tickle their tummy. They will want a significant ROI, otherwise why would they stump up that sort of money?

Now, if JLR were to fund a dedicated head that actually KNEW the vehicles inside out in each dealership, then that could work.....but surely the "order takers", sorry, SALESMEN/WOMEN should know the product inside out themselves?

why should dealers being owned by the manufacturer make any difference, other than to be able to stop dealers from competing against each other for your service and purchase business?

what was said may not be correct, which is why ive posed the question here and on Disco4 forum.

JLR may have paid at least in part for the upgraded showrooms

as you say, it takes away the competitive pricing aspect of franchised dealerships but those same dealerships have in effect been dragging the JLR name into the mud with their poor service levels and customer care. So a set standard of customer care and support at ''reasonable'' prices might be a step in the right direction to retain customers and business.

JLR may also retain a level of control over the dealerships and if they fail to perform to standard have some sort of penalty imposed.

IMO whether JLR take over all the dealerships with a view to improved customer service levels, or whether they take partial control of franchises and impose penalties for poor performance, it can only be a good thing for us as loyal green oval enthusiasts