Plate-change party

I don’t use social media much, but I did send out a tweet on August 1, 2017 that I still can’t get used to the fact that August 1 isn’t plate-change day any more. If January 1 was the logical date to have a plate-change, then August 1 was the romantic time to push the buy button. Long days and summer holidays were a great incentive to buy a new car. It might be a logistical and financial nightmare for dealers and manufacturers, but so what? For the customer it meant you could enjoy choosing, buying and using your car during the best months of the year.

This meant August 1 was a real event, something which the dual plate-change dates of March 1 and September 1 have resolutely failed to replicate.

Do you remember how many dealers would hold a party prior to the big drive-off at midnight? You could do that on August 1 because it seldom rained in August. In fact, August 1 has traditionally always been a real scorcher.

So it was really warming to hear of a Mercedes dealer holding a party on March 1. I thought such a jolly practice was a thing of a past. I mean, all handovers are Quality Surveyed to death these days by the manufacturer and the salesperson must follow a prescribed sequence to earn his bonus.

So how does a new car dealer explain the dozens of sub-menus on the 10in infotainment system when there are a score of customers all champing at the bit to get away at precisely midnight? Maybe instead of a wine and nibbles party, the dealership should hold a huge Powerpoint presentation showing how to get the best out of your user interface? Maybe I’m getting cynical and carried away here?

The point is that a new car is a joyous thing and it should be celebrated. If there are also like-minded people enjoying the same event, all the better. Consider it a social event for those signing on the dotted line. Certainly one lady at the Mercedes event insisted she’d be buying her next new car from the same dealer, just so she could take part in the celebration of a new two-digit number.

That is surely what it is all about, otherwise we’d all be taking the bus.