Merlin Car

Auctions Merlin Car Auctions

M7 Motor Park,
Junction 10,
Naas, Co. Kildare.
T. 045 988 700
“The Ultimate Auction Experience”
Volume 2 September 2008

‣ Merlin Moves Up A
Merlin Moves Up A Gear!
Gear Wednesday July 30th saw double the action with double the auction at Merlin! The new auction will run in a similar manner
except now the vehicles will be divided into two auction lanes running simultaneously. In the existing auction hall, we will run
‣ Mini Boom Finally through finance and ex-fleet stock and all trade, retail and “no reserve” vehicles will run through the new second lane.
Arrives We are delighted the new 2-lane auction system was welcomed with great enthusiasm as traders and private buyers alike
revelled in the excitement. Over 300 vehicles ran though the first two lanes and the auction finished in record time with 200
‣ A Special Celebration successful sales. Merlin O’Reilly, CEO of the Motor Group commented, “We hold a reputation for being the leading auction
company in Ireland. Our new two-lane auction is just another step in maintaining our position as the most innovative auction
‣ In With The Old, company in Ireland. It is imperative to always stay one step ahead in order to succeed.”
Out With The New
The idea for the two lanes arose because most buyers are interested in a particular type of vehicle and have a predefined
budget. This new system means sellers are showcasing their vehicles to a specific, targeted group of buyers and in turn buyers
‣ Customers Reap The are watching an auction that contains only vehicles fitting their requirements. The other main benefit to the two lanes is that
Rewards there is twice the selection of vehicles in half the time. Since the launch of the new system the auction has been running much
smoother from both a business and customer perspective. It has also seen an increased volume of both cars and customers,
traders are also enjoying the shorter auction because it gives them more time for their retail sales.

Norman Colfer & David Kehoe, Ireland’s premier auctioneers

Merlin Car Auctions

The Ultimate Auction Experience
Wednesday 7pm & Saturday 11am www.merlincarauctions.ie
M7 Motor Park @ Junction 10 Naas Road, Naas, Co. Kildare. PH: 045 988 700
 “The Ultimate Auction Experience”

WE ARE
PROUD TO SELL
VEHICLES ON
BEHALF OF THE

Mini Boom Finally Arrives FOLLOWING

CLIENTS

New car sales jumped in July as motorists took advantage of the On the used car front, we have seen a significant rise as motor
introduction of lower VRT taxes for more environmentally friendly dealers are beginning to see a slow but steady increase in used
vehicles. New figures issued recently by the Society of the Irish car sales versus the first half of 2008. At present, it is definitely
Motor Industry (SIMI) show 16,386 new cars were sold last month, a buyers market especially at Merlin Car Auctions where traders
compared to 13,150 in July 2007. The figures represent an increase and dealers alike can take advantage of the continuous increase
of 24.61%. in the levels of repossessions and fleet cars for sale, which are in
turn, presenting great value for buyers.
Falling sales in May and June were as a result of consumers holding
off on their car purchases until the introduction of the new tax Our new twin lane initiative, we hope will in turn facilitate this
rules in July. There is evidence that the new VRT and road tax demand, whilst offering dealers a wider variety of cars and vans
systems that had been designed to encourage people to buy under the same roof in half the time.
cleaner cars, are actually working as planned.

A Special Celebration
Norman Colfer, one of Ireland’s most famous auctioneers and a
pinnacle of the entire industry celebrated his 80th birthday on
July 19th. Norman has been at the helm of Merlin Car Auctions
since its inception in 1974. Now 34 years on Norman still wields
the gavel and has been responsible for an astounding 1 million
vehicle sales at auction. Besides vehicle auctioneering Norman
has auctioned across several industries, the most notable being
Goffs and Thos. Adams in Blackrock, which he still does today.
To celebrate Norman’s history with Merlin and his love of
auctioneering we saw it fitting to hold a special auction in his
honour. The auction hosted over 200 vehicles including finance
repossessions, no reserve vehicles and 15 beautiful classic cars to
mark Norman’s very special occassion. Some of the classic cars
included a 1974 Rolls Royce and a 1984 Bentley drop top coupe,
which was actually the car Norman’s birthday cake was driven in
on. The entire event was a massive success with over one hundred
cars sold by Norman himself and after the auction the celebrations
continued into the wee hours of the morning.
It was brilliant to see all the traders, new and old, joining in on the
special celebrations and ensuring Norman had a memorable night.
Michael O’Reilly added a touch of sentiment to the occasion with
a tribute speech to Norman which also took a trip down memory
lane to the times when the auction was in its infant stages. Another
highlight of the event was the RTE film crew that followed Norman
for the day as part of the Capital D programme which will air on
RTE 1 in early September.

Merlin Car Auctions

The Ultimate Auction Experience
Wednesday 7pm & Saturday 11am www.merlincarauctions.ie
M7 Motor Park @ Junction 10 Naas Road, Naas, Co. Kildare. PH: 045 988 700
 “The Ultimate Auction Experience”

In With The Old,

Out With The New!
The long anticipated launch of the Merlin Car Swap took place on
August 13th. The service is the first of its kind in not only Ireland but
also Europe. Merlin Car Swap means auction customers can now
trade in their vehicle against any purchase at Merlin Car Auctions.
This may sound like the age-old “trade-in” process seen in every
retail garage across the country but it is the first time this concept
will be seen in the auction industry.

The process works similar to that in a retail garage, the customer

comes in and has their vehicle valued and is then given a “Merlin
Cheque” for the value of it. This “cheque” can then be used against
the purchase of any vehicle at Merlin. So if a customer is trading up,
they will pay the difference but if they are trading down in value,
they will be refunded the difference. The beauty of it is that one,
they don’t have to be without their car until they collect their new
vehicle and two, if when we sell on the trade in and it makes more
than what it was valued at, Merlin will give you a cheque for the
difference! Managing Director David Byrne commented “The idea
of giving our customers the difference if their trade in makes more
than what it was valued at is simply a good will gesture, so any
apprehension for first time users of the auctions is eliminated and
customers are also guaranteed the best value for their trade in. Car
Swap means both buyers and sellers now have a more complete
offering from the auction and this is something we always work
towards.”

The process is so easy and convenient and customers won’t find a

better cost of change anywhere in Ireland. Considering the current t Trading Up Or Down, We Accept All Trade-in’s
economic climate, there may be a large number of people trading t Buy Your New Car At Trade Price
down but also a large number of new faces at the auction who are
looking for the best possible value for money and where better to
t Thousands Of Cars To Choose From
find that than at Merlin Car Auctions! t No Hassle, No Haggle, Just A Straight Swap!

Customers Reap The Rewards Log onto www.merlincarauctions.ie or call our Sales Team on 045 988 700

The loyalty programme which launched with huge success in Merlin
Motor City, Ireland’s largest car supermarket, back in February
was extended to the auctions in July. The programme, christened
“Merlin Rewards”, takes a step forward and differentiates itself
from the thousands of loyalty programmes that have gone before.
How you might ask? Well, rather the usual mundane offers that
disguise themselves as “loyalty cards”, we’ve decided to give our
customers something different, a loyalty card that would allow
them to use it outside the domains of Merlin. This new loyalty card
will allow both traders and private buyers avail of discounts from
various other companies as well as within Merlin. And probably
the most notable aspect of this programme is that it is evolving,
new companies are joining all the time and the deals customers
are being offered are constantly changing.
The list of companies joining forces with us is growing at a ferocious
rate and will soon include more travel and entertainment providers
and various other retail stores. Joanne Cranley, the company’s
HR and Marketing Manager said, “In order to launch the card, it
made sense to secure motor related companies first. Now that
the programme is off the ground the variety of discounts our
customers will be able to avail of will be increasing on a continuous
basis and we have numerous exciting new companies about to
get on board.”

We understand that in this challenging industry, it is the customer

who is king. It was last year that Merlin O’ Reilly decided he wanted
to do something more, something that would allow his customers
reap the benefits of being a Merlin customer all year round. It was
from this the Merlin Rewards Programme was launched. We have
partnered with numerous other companies to offer our customers
exclusive discounts from many different retailers, including Allianz
insurance, Advanced Pitstop, the Irish School of Motoring, Cassidy
Travel, Mount Wolseley Hotel and Fort Lucan.

Merlin Car Auctions

The Ultimate Auction Experience
Wednesday 7pm & Saturday 11am www.merlincarauctions.ie
M7 Motor Park @ Junction 10 Naas Road, Naas, Co. Kildare. PH: 045 988 700
We are
proud to sell
vehicles on
behalf of the
following
clients

lane auction with over 500 cars for sale every week. Lane 1 is finance
repossessions and ex-fleet vehicles,lane 2 is dealer part-exchange,
private entries and ‘NO RESERVE’ vehicles.
BELOW ARE THE DATES OF OUR FORTHCOMING AUCTIONS

Wednesday Saturday Wednesday Saturday

3RD 6TH 10TH 13TH
7pm 11am 7pm 11am

Wednesday Saturday Wednesday Saturday

17TH 20TH 24TH 27TH
7pm 11am 7pm 11am

Wednesday Saturday Wednesday Saturday

1ST 4TH 8TH 11TH
7pm 11am 7pm 11am

Wednesday Saturday Wednesday Saturday

15TH 18TH 22ND 25TH
7pm 11am 7pm 11am

keep yourself up to date with

Wednesday
all the latest industry news on
29TH our new blog page.
7pm
www.merlincarauctions.ie

Merlin Car Auctions

The Ultimate Auction Experience
Wednesday 7pm & Saturday 11am www.merlincarauctions.ie
M7 Motor Park @ Junction 10 Naas Road, Naas, Co. Kildare. PH: 045 988 700