TMO Talks To Adam Barker and Daniel Sagar, Directors
Established in January 2022 by two friends who are passionate about the motor industry, Forecourt-E based in Lymington, Hampshire, specialises in sourcing and supplying good quality used electric vehicles to customers in the New Forest and beyond.
Forecourt-E gained accreditation to The Motor Ombudsman’s Vehicle Sales Code earlier this year, and we caught up with the Directors Adam Barker and Daniel Sagar, to find out more about the business.
TMO: Please can you give us an overview of Forecourt-E, and the key benefits of buying a vehicle from your business?
DS: Forecourt-E sources and sells electric cars and vans, as well as hybrid vehicles. Essentially, we help customers who are perhaps making the move to electric for the first time, or are looking to buy their next electric vehicle.
In terms of our philosophy, it was always been a “knowledge first, selling second” type of approach, so we will sit down with the customer from the first enquiry, right through to delivering the car. In addition, we take the time to get to know the customer’s wants and needs to ensure they purchase the vehicle that’s right for them, and that’s one of the most important things for us. There is no pressure from us at any point in the sales process to put pen to paper, and we pride ourselves on our transparency and honesty.
TMO: How has Forecourt-E grown since launching last year?
AB: The business was started in January 2022, and was initially based from home. Since then, I took on a second Director – Daniel (who I met back in 2011 when we worked on superyachts together). We then moved into our first showroom in Lymington last July, where we also have our office and workshop where we do a lot of the pre-sale vehicle preparations. We are now looking to expand into a bigger showroom with more inside space for the cars. Also, in terms of growth, we should double our turnover in our second year of trading compared to what we did the year before.
TMO: What sparked your interest in EVs from a business proposition perspective?
AB: We have a big interest in keeping the Earth “clean and green”, and obviously electric vehicles are a great way to look after the planet. Dan and I are also super interested in new technology, as well as the new models coming to market, and how they can help meet the needs of today’s motorists.
TMO: Which organisations have you partnered with to provide home charging solutions to customers?
DS: We have partnered with a company called waEV, a fairly new business which established themselves in the new build housing sector, and they partnered with developers to install home chargers. As a fellow new business, we joined forces with them, and we have one of their chargers at our premises, which is what we offer to our customers. We can therefore show them the app and how it works, and it’s genuinely a really good charger. It comes with a Type 2 adapter, which is compatible with most EVs, but if you buy a car from us that doesn’t have this connection, then we can supply an adapter.
The home charging market is now very saturated, and there are many options to choose from, so we do have contacts in the industry if customers prefer to install an alternative solution at their property.
For the actual installation, we supply a link to a website where customers can do a home survey on their phone, which prompts them to take photos of different electrical appliances in their house and where they would like the charger to go. We then contact an electrician to have the charger put in as per what has been agreed. We can also point EV owners in the right direction in terms of energy tariffs.
TMO: What does a typical day look like at Forecourt-E?
DS: We are both early risers, so we both tend to get to the office before 8am. The first thing we look at is customer enquiries, and we recently had one at four in the morning from someone that was finishing their night shift. Our day is then split between prepping cars and listing them online, and also buying new stock, which is fairly time consuming.
As it’s only the two of us in the business, we might be running cars down to MOT centres, doing test drives with customers, and home deliveries. We get very stuck in, and get our hands dirty, so we both play a big part in the day-to-day running of the business.
TMO: How do you get over the fact of people being nervous about buying a used EV in terms of battery capacity, as well as range anxiety?
AB: People have a common perception that batteries will fail at the flick of a switch, and that new ones are then needed. However, in reality, it doesn’t work like this, and batteries only degrade by one to two per cent a year in terms of capacity. Before we buy a car, we can test the health of the battery so that we get the best possible stock, whilst we can also reassure the customer from the point of view that we only source vehicles that have a main dealer warranty left on them. An EV will be sold with eight years’ worth of battery warranty or up to 100,000 miles. We would therefore never buy a car that had exceeded either of these parameters.
Range anxiety is definitely a factor that affects consumers into making the transition to EVs, and this is slightly different to battery health, as it’s generally about people being nervous about things like the charging infrastructure.
In line with the above, we always take the time to address individual customer concerns, and ways that people can possibly overcome them, so they have the knowledge they need to make an informed purchase decision.
TMO: What are the key pieces of advice that you share with customers before taking ownership of an EV for the first time?
AB: The main thing that we try to understand is what they use their car for and how many miles they tend to cover to ensure that the EV’s specifications meet their needs.
TMO: What charging solution do you propose if a customer doesn’t live in a house with a driveway?
DS: If charging at home is not an option, there might be the possibility of being able to charge the car at work, as some employers are installing chargers for staff use. We have also seen quite a bit of success with people approaching their local council and asking for lamppost chargers to be installed. Also, if you do live in a flat with a shared car park, there are often options to have charging points put in. Before buying an EV, it is important for customers without a driveway to find out whether any of the above is possible.
TMO: With EVs tending to be more expensive than equivalent petrol or diesel models, do you offer finance arrangements?
AB: Yes, we have several finance partners in place. If a customer is interested in pursuing this route, we introduce them to our finance broker and they work together in terms of budget and affordability to agree the most appropriate arrangement.
As to the cost of running an EV, Daniel has created a cost calculator on our website, so that customers can see how much it costs to charge different makes and models to realise the benefits over owning a petrol or diesel car. Also, with an EV, the maintenance costs are a lot lower. You still need to get an MOT every 12 months, but there are fewer checks. There are no oil or fuel filters, or timing belts, so there is a lot less to service, and costs around £120 at a main dealer.
TMO: How do you see evolution of the used EV market going forward?
AB: As we are seeing now, there will be an ever increasing number of electric makes and models appearing on the roads, with more new brands entering the marketplace, putting pressure on the legacy carmakers to keep up. I think we will see a heavier presence of battery swap technology entering the market for those who travel extreme distances and for heavy goods.
TMO: Has the cost of living crisis impacted your business?
DS: The rising electricity prices knocked the entire EV market at the beginning of the year, and we were certainly not immune. This has however, now started to bounce back, and we are as busy as we have ever been. People are looking to save money wherever possible, and for many, an electric car can help them to do that. We take time to learn each customer’s personal situation to ensure we can help them in the best way possible, and we will continue to do so.
TMO: Where is your main customer base?
DS: About 90% of our customers live within an hour’s drive of our premises. However, we have collected and delivered cars as far afield as Scotland, but we can essentially bring a vehicle to a customer in any part of the country. We also recently had a remote purchase of a vehicle by a customer in Newcastle. The car was viewed via a video online, and we went through all the paperwork with them, and within 48 hours, Daniel had delivered a car to them! We always do a thorough handover so that the customer knows how both the vehicle and charger work.
TMO: Do you make consumers aware about the fact that a distance sale is governed by different consumer legislation compared to if the car had been bought in-person?
DS: Yes we do, and we are completely transparent about the customer’s rights when making a purchase in this way. As a customer, I would want to know where I stood with regards to the law.
TMO: How will you be encouraging your customers to nominate you for a 2023 Garage Star Award?
DS: By continuing to do what we always do, and to provide the highest level of service, from the customer’s first contact with us, to long after they have driven off the forecourt. Also, now that we are accredited to The Motor Ombudsman, we will also be informing customers of the services available to them, and what it means to them now that we are signed up to the Vehicle Sales Code.
TMO: Are there any changes or new innovations that we can expect to see from your business this year?
DS: We have launched a brand new website, which will help the whole customer purchase and ownership experience from start to finish. For example, reserving cars online, and making the booking of appointments even more seamless. We will also be doing a lot more video content for YouTube, including “how to” guides, to complement our existing blog and Knowledge Centre.
TMO: What were the main reasons for Forecourt-E becoming accredited to The Motor Ombudsman’s Motor Industry Code of Practice for Vehicle Sales?
AB: Everything we do here at Forecourt-E is about our customers and them being confident in the cars and services that we provide. The Motor Ombudsman is the best at what it does in the industry, and we would like to be the best at we do, so becoming accredited seemed like a logical decision for our business.
TMO: Thank you for your time, and it has been very interesting to learn more about Forecourt-E.
Interview conducted in April 2023.
Images courtesy of Forecourt-E.
