Dealer

Preparing your dealership for a plate change

Plate change months compress a lot of buying into a short window. The dealers who do well in them are the ones who prepared in the quiet weeks beforehand.

Published 4 August 2026 · 5 min read

Stock and pricing

  • Price against live market data, not last month's instinct.
  • Identify slow stock now and move it before the window, not during.
  • Make sure every vehicle has full photography and an honest description.
  • Check part-exchange appetite — a lot of plate-change deals hinge on the trade-in.

Finance readiness

A plate change surfaces every weakness in your finance process at once. Fix them while it is quiet.

  • Make sure a finance calculator appears on every vehicle listing.
  • Test the online application journey yourself, on a phone.
  • Confirm e-signature is working so deals do not need a second visit.
  • Check who is covering weekends — that is when the volume lands.

After the rush

The follow-up is where the margin is. Everyone who enquired and did not buy is still in the market a fortnight later, and almost nobody calls them back.

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