Alan Finkelstein, owner of two furniture and graphic design businesses in Cresskill, New Jersey, became hooked on second-hand luxury cars two years ago.
After comparing new and used Audi, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz models, Mr Finkelstein opted for a 2004 Mercedes S-Class 500 sedan with 40,000 miles on the clock. The price tag was one-third that of a new model, and the car came with a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty.
“In my opinion, it was pretty much the same car at a much lower price,” Mr Finkelstein says. He has already taken a shine to a used Mercedes S550 when the warranty on his S500 expires next year.
Luxury car makers increasingly have their eye on people like Mr Finkelstein. As hard economic times take a big bite out of their new-car business, manufacturers and their dealers are looking for ways to woo customers eager to save money without giving up their creature comforts or status symbols. One answer: high-quality second-hand vehicles.
“People may buy less luxury, but they're going to buy luxury nonetheless,” Martin Goldfarb, a Toronto market researcher recently told Goldman Sachs clients. “People want to maintain their lifestyle. Even if it's three years old, it's still a Mercedes, even if it's five years old, it's still a Lexus.”
While Lexus's US dealers sold a fifth fewer new vehicles last year, their sales of used models climbed by 4.3 per cent, and by another 19.5 per cent in January. BMW in the US sold 848 used 7-Series sedans in December, compared with 37 new units of its flagship model.
The luxury carmakers face a dual challenge in pushing used-vehicle sales. On one hand, they have to overcome the image of dingy lots and sleazy salespeople typically associated with the second-hand car market.
But as they try to close a sale, their dealers often hear that the customer can buy the same vehicle for thousands of dollars less at an independent used-car outlet.
Carmakers have responded by seeking to persuade buyers that brand-name dealerships are a cut above the rest. The terms “used” and “second-hand” have been all but banished in favour of “certified pre-owned”, or CPO, vehicles.
Lexus summed up the strategy in the slogan for one CPO promotion: “No Surprises. No Sacrifices.” Rolls-Royce uses the tagline “Provenance” for its used-car business.
“We've really tried to define CPO as a third category [in addition to new and used]”, says Matt Kaleba, Lexus's national certified pre-owned manager.
Bill Bates, his counterpart at BMW, adds: “My role is to make sure that the dealerships are as well-equipped and as comfortable selling a certified pre-owned car as a new one.”
The carmakers have pressed online car-shopping services to create separate pages for CPO vehicles. Furthermore, they are pulling out the stops to show customers that the quality of a CPO vehicle offers far better value for money than a typical, take-your-chances used car.
Mike O'Brien, who owns two Lexus dealerships in the Seattle area, says that while he typically spends $800 preparing a used car for resale, the budget for a certified vehicle is $1,800.
Mercedes has a 155-point CPO checklist. According to Mark Webster, national pre-owned operations manager at Mercedes-Benz USA, tyres and brakes are typically replaced. Buyers can bring the car back within seven days and exchange it, for any reason. Mercedes also offers the same roadside assistance available to new car buyers.
The used vehicle “drives like a Mercedes, it's got the safety of a Mercedes and, of course, the cachet of a Mercedes”, Mr Webster says.
Used as well as new Mercedes owners can take part in a promotion that the German carmaker launched this month at several upscale US resorts offering hotel-room upgrades, free use of Mercedes-Benz cars and discounts at local restaurants and spas.
Noting that most used cars are now sold through the internet, Mr O'Brien, the Seattle Lexus dealer, employs eight people at his two dealerships to handle internet inquiries.
For carmakers and their dealers, the benefits of the certified pre-owned trade go beyond sales volumes. Strange as it may seem, a strong used-car market can play a crucial role in maintaining brand image.
Leases on hundreds of thousands of luxury cars written during the heady days of the property and stock market boom are now expiring. Without CPO buyers, dealers would be forced to put these vehicles up for auction, forcing down prices and, as a result, future trade-in values. Many of the vehicles would end up at independent used-car lots that offer less protection to buyers.
Dealers count on CPO buyers bringing in their cars for servicing, thus providing an extra source of revenue. Today's used-car customer may be tomorrow's new-car buyer. Brand loyalty is much higher among luxury car buyers than for mass-market brands.
The carmakers' captive financing arms have joined the CPO push by directing a growing share of their loans and leases at two- to three-year-old models.
Lexus offered a special loan rate of 2.9 per cent last month on its RX sport-utility vehicle, its top-selling new and used model. A similar promotion is planned for early spring.
BMW provides bonuses and inventory financing to dealers who buy cars coming off lease. It also helps pay for their print and online advertising.
The German carmaker holds its dealers to the same customer-satisfaction standards on new and used vehicles.
“There should be no difference in the way the customer is treated,” Mr Bates says. “You treat him right and he's going to recommend you to his neighbour.”
參考譯文：
艾倫?芬克爾斯坦(Alan Finkelstein)在美國新澤西州的克萊斯基爾擁有兩家家具和平面設(shè)計(jì)公司。兩年前，他開始迷上了二手豪華轎車。
在對新舊奧迪(Audi)、雷克薩斯(Lexus)和梅塞德斯-奔馳(Mercedes-Benz)車型進(jìn)行比較后，芬克爾斯坦選擇了一款2004年出廠、已行駛4萬英里的奔馳S500轎車。該車的價格是新車的三分之一，還有為期三年、3.6萬英里的保修期。
“在我看來，與新車相比，這幾乎相當(dāng)于一輛以極低價格買到的新車?！狈铱藸査固贡硎?。他已經(jīng)看上了一輛舊款奔馳S550，準(zhǔn)備在明年他手頭這輛車的保修期過后換掉。
豪華車制造商越來越關(guān)注于芬克爾斯坦這樣的人了。由于嚴(yán)峻的經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢嚴(yán)重影響了新車業(yè)務(wù)，制造商和經(jīng)銷商正想方設(shè)法吸引渴望省錢卻又不肯放棄物質(zhì)享受或地位象征的客戶。高品質(zhì)的二手車就成了解決之道。
“人們購買豪華車的數(shù)量可能會減少，但他們?nèi)詴I，”多倫多市場調(diào)研員馬丁?戈德法布(Martin Goldfarb)最近告訴高盛(Goldman Sachs)的客戶，“人們希望保持他們的生活方式。即使用了3年，但它仍是奔馳；即使用了5年，但它仍是雷克薩斯。”
盡管雷克薩斯美國經(jīng)銷商去年的新車銷量減少了五分之一，但其二手車的銷量卻增加了4.3%，今年 1月銷量更是增加了19.5%；去年12月，寶馬汽車(BMW)在美國售出了848輛寶馬7系二手轎車，而其旗艦車型的新車僅售出了37輛。
在推動二手車銷售方面，豪華汽車制造商面臨著雙重挑戰(zhàn)。一方面，它們必須克服一個通常與二手車市場相關(guān)的形象障礙：臟兮兮的場地和低素質(zhì)的銷售人員。
但就在它們努力促進(jìn)這一塊的銷售之時，它們的經(jīng)銷商卻經(jīng)常聽說，客戶可以在獨(dú)立的二手車經(jīng)銷商那里買到同樣的汽車，但價格要低數(shù)千美元。
對此，汽車制造商試圖說服買家，讓他們相信品牌經(jīng)銷商要優(yōu)于其它二手車經(jīng)銷商?！芭f車(used)”和“二手車(second-hand)”的說法幾乎聽不到了，大家喜歡說“認(rèn)證二手車(certified pre-owned)”，簡稱CPO。
雷克薩斯在一款CPO車型的促銷口號中總結(jié)了該公司的戰(zhàn)略：“無須驚訝，不須犧牲”(No Surprises. No Sacrifices)。勞斯萊斯(Rolls-Royce)二手車業(yè)務(wù)的標(biāo)語是“系出名門”。
“確實(shí)，我們一直努力將CPO定義為（新車和舊車之外的）第三類車，”雷克薩斯的全國CPO經(jīng)理馬特?卡拉巴(Matt Kaleba)表示。
卡拉巴在寶馬公司的同行比爾?貝茨(Bill Bates)補(bǔ)充說：“我的工作是確保經(jīng)銷商在銷售CPO汽車時，就像銷售新車那樣既準(zhǔn)備充分又心情舒暢?！?/SPAN>
汽車制造商也敦促在線購車服務(wù)商，為CPO汽車建立單獨(dú)的網(wǎng)頁。此外，它們還竭盡全力向顧客說明，相對于值不值全看運(yùn)氣的一般二手車，CPO汽車提供了更好的性價比。
邁克?奧布萊恩(Mike O'Brien)在西雅圖地區(qū)擁有兩家雷克薩斯經(jīng)銷店。他表示，一輛二手車的轉(zhuǎn)售準(zhǔn)備費(fèi)用一般為800美元，而CPO汽車的費(fèi)用則高達(dá)1800美元。
在奔馳公司CPO車輛出售時的清單上列有155項(xiàng)內(nèi)容。奔馳美國公司全美CPO業(yè)務(wù)經(jīng)理馬克?韋伯斯特(Mark Webster)表示，舊車的輪胎和剎車通常都要換掉。購車者可以任何理由在購車后7天內(nèi)把車開回來進(jìn)行調(diào)換。奔馳也會提供與新車買家相同的路邊援助服務(wù)。
韋伯斯特表示，二手車“開起來就像是開奔馳，同樣具有奔馳的安全性，當(dāng)然，也有奔馳的標(biāo)識”。
這家德國汽車制造商本月在美國的一些高檔度假勝地推出了一項(xiàng)促銷活動，新舊奔馳車主均可參加。活動內(nèi)容包括酒店房間升級、免費(fèi)使用奔馳車、以及在當(dāng)?shù)氐牟蛷d和溫泉消費(fèi)打折等。
西雅圖的雷克薩斯經(jīng)銷商奧布萊恩指出，多數(shù)二手車現(xiàn)在都通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)銷售。他的兩家經(jīng)銷店聘用了8名員工，處理互聯(lián)網(wǎng)咨詢。
對于汽車制造商及其經(jīng)銷商而言，CPO汽車交易的好處不僅僅在于銷量增加。雖然看起來可能有點(diǎn)奇怪，但一個強(qiáng)大的二手車市場可以在保持品牌形象方面起到關(guān)鍵作用。
在房地產(chǎn)和股市高峰時期，曾經(jīng)有數(shù)十萬輛豪華汽車被租賃出去，如今這些租約正在到期。若無CPO買家承接，經(jīng)銷商將被迫把這些汽車掛牌出售，從而壓低價格，并因此降低未來折舊價值。許多汽車最終將出現(xiàn)在獨(dú)立的二手車商店里，而這些商店對購車者的保護(hù)較少。
經(jīng)銷商指望CPO買家繼續(xù)接受這里的維修服務(wù)，從而提供一個額外的收入來源。今天的二手車客戶可能就是明天的新車購買者。豪華汽車買主的品牌忠誠度要遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于大眾市場品牌。
汽車制造商自己的融資部門也已加入推動CPO銷售的行列，它們把越來越多的貸款買車和租車業(yè)務(wù)放在了車齡在2至3年的汽車上面。
上個月，雷克薩斯宣布，針對RX系列多功能運(yùn)動型汽車(SUV)提供2.9%的特別貸款利率，并且計(jì)劃在初春進(jìn)行一個類似的促銷活動。RX系列是雷克薩斯最暢銷的新舊車型。
寶馬針對購買租約到期汽車的經(jīng)銷商，提供獎金和庫存融資。此外，該公司還幫助支付印刷媒體和在線廣告費(fèi)用。
這家德國汽車制造商要求其經(jīng)銷商，在新車與二手車業(yè)務(wù)方面需執(zhí)行相同的客戶滿意度標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
“對待客戶的方式不應(yīng)存在任何差別，”貝茨說?！叭绻阕尶蛻魸M意了，他會向他的鄰居推薦你?！?/SPAN>
（轉(zhuǎn)載）
