In this month's issue of AM - Automotive Management magazine:

Finance has transformed new car sales of late, but what impact have fixed monthly payments, shorter replacement cycles, younger stock and the ability to search nationwide had on the traditional used car customer?

One thing is for certain: despite strong retained values keeping screen prices high, the consumers have more buying power than ever and your sales and marketing teams need to understand how to influence their choices and win their custom.

Our insights in this month's magazine examine the latest consumer trends affecting the used car market.

One particular is the consumer’s growing appetite for easy-to-understand finance, arranged at the dealership.

However, the finance sector says many dealers still fail to properly put finance at the front of their used car proposition and could be missing out on sales as a result. Maybe the used car’s screen price should be replaced by a monthly payment offer the customer knows they can budget for.

Also this month, Nissan reveals its new strategy to impress customers and make them feel welcomed by its retail network.

The contrast between how a global brand and a small, regional motor retailer approaches that aim is aptly illustrated by our face-to-face interview with Norfolk Motor Group.

Elsewhere, Philip Nothard, retail and consumer valuations editor at CAP, suggests a simple formula for dealers to calculate exactly how much their over-age stock costs them daily.

Prof Jim Saker, director of the Centre of Automotive Management at Loughborough University’s Business School, looks at the changes technology is bringing to the sector, such as a camera that can tell how a test drive is going.