We Were Featured In AutoScene Magazine
Metalbox remarketing growth through reputation
Autoscene caught up with Chris Lamb for a question and answer session on his motor trade vehicle stock business Metalbox Remarketing
Chris tell us about your background and what made you decide to start MetalBox Remarketing?
I have been in the car trade since the early 1990’s I started off selling Maestro & Montego for a Rover dealer, a baptism of fire some may say.
I moved gradually into Fleet sales then worked for a Europcar franchise in the North west selling end of rental fleet Vehicles. In 2006 I had the opportunity to join Avis Budget Group as Remarketing Manager, Staying with Avis until March 2020.
Covid hit I opted for voluntary redundancy.I had no idea what to do, a very good number of my customers and suppliers encouraged me to go it alone. I had huge support in the early days and still value the faith that various businesses had in me from the early days.
Tell us about Metal Box Remarketing and who your target customers are?
Metalbox are trade to trade wholesalers, we source cars for anyone in the motor trade, we agree prices then physically buy the cars on their behalf and sell them to our buyer network. We very rarely see a car so a lot of this work is based on trust between metalbox, our suppliers and our buyers.
Our target buyers are anyone in the motor trade car & commercial dealers. We currently supply some of the largest dealer groups in the country down to individual dealers looking for the odd sold order (and everything in between)
What differentiates you from other vehicle remarketing companies?
Most remarketing companies are either brokers or a hybrid of broker / Auction type companies, we have no issue how anyone does business and deal with a lot of these companies.
We think we are unique in the market as we buy everything we sell, essentially taking the risk on all the purchases.
Where do you source your stock from?
We source from a handful of trusted auctions and selected leasing companies. We also sell dealer overage stock for a large dealer group. We also source new vehicles for major rental and leasing companies.
What is the buying process for trade customers? How long does it take to sign up and can they do it all online?
Our process is pretty easy, we have an online sign up on the website which will then give access to automated & targeted stock lists, dependent on their individual requirements.
We also have three internal account managers who will contact them on a regular basis to ensure they have everything they need.
What is the buying process for trade customers? How long does it take to sign up and can they do it all online?
We always supply a fully imaged condition report along with a basic mechanical check.
What happens if the dealership is unhappy with the mechanical or bodywork condition of the vehicle?
We cannot guarantee mechanicals on a vehicle but we are careful not to select cars with any obvious faults or warning lights.
If a car arrives with cosmetic damage not reported (other than minor smart repairs) we will work with the supplier for a resolution.
The buck stops with us and we are fiercely protective of our reputation and will never walk away from a genuine claim for damage
Is Metal Box Remarketing available to customers all over the UK?
We supply to the whole of Great Britain and selected buyers in Northern Ireland
To organise all this data for dealers is a significant undertaking, is there a substantial team working behind the scenes?
We have a fantastic team at Alphagrafikon Ltd who organise all our web design, manage our database and plan our automated stock lists and social media marketing.
How have you managed to keep up with demand for used cars?
This has been a struggle at times, as it has been for everyone. We feel our advantage are the guys in our team, who are dedicated to searching for vehicles all day and every day. This is a major plus for group buyers and sales managers, saving them a huge amount of time. The used car market has been extremely volatile post covid with inflated prices and low stock levels
Do you believe that we will see a return to “normal” in the near future?
We are already seeing some return to ‘seasonality’ prices and demand is currently high. I expect a gradual slow down around Easter and through Summer.
Then another peak at the end of Summer and through Autumn. We are very lucky that when the used car market has its natural drops we can utilise the time to supply leasing and rental partners with new & nearlynew stock.
What are your ambitions for Metal Box Remarketing and where do you see the business in 5 and 10 years time?
We take each year as it comes, if you told me 3 years ago I would be running a business selling the best part of £15million of vehicles a year and employing nine staff, I would have run to the hills.
We have gradual growth year on year with three offices in the same building and with more planned later this year.
5-10 years?
Hopefully in my place in Spain taking in the sun, it goes without saying I couldn’t juggle everything I do without my right-hand man and Ops Director Jim Towey and the great core of staff we have around us.
Original interview here at AutoScene
