Lithia emerge victorious in “Battle of the Buyers”

George Guy, Divisional Stock Car Controller at Lithia Motors was crowned champion of the inaugural Battle of the Buyers, a co-produced competition between Car Dealer Magazine and Carwow, the UK’s car-changing destination.

The competition saw five car dealers compete versus one another to purchase up to two cars per dealer from Carwow’s daily online auctions. It featured George Guy, Divisional Stock Car Controller at Lithia, Matt Kitson, General Manager at Trust Ford, Jodie Barber and Jo Smith from Wink Car, Joe Betty from Berrow Motors and James Baggott & Joe Wallington from Clever Car Collection.

The winner would be decided based on the fastest selling car, emphasising the importance of speed of sale, with all cars to be funded, retailed and sold by Clever Car Collection. The competing dealers were given an open brief to buy any car using their own buying philosophies, so long as the retail price was under £8,000.

After winning 9 out of the 10 cars bid on at Carwow’s auction, 6 cars were successfully purchased including a Ford Fiesta (Trust Ford), Skoda Octavia (Lithia), Mitsubishi ASK (Berrow Motors), Volvo V40 (Clever Car Collection), Volkswagen Golf (Lithia) and Jeep Renegade (Berrow Motors). 

All cars were delivered directly to Clever Car Collection, facilitated by Carwow’s transport service "Carwow Collects" with a built in Assured Scheme, which protects dealers against financial loss in case of any undisclosed faults or issues emerging post purchase.

After being prepped and marketed across online channels on Friday 17th January, a whopping 4 of the 6 cars were sold by the end of that same weekend, with the Lithia backed Skoda Octavia the first one to leave the forecourt.

George Guy, Divisional Stock Car Controller at Lithia and winner of Battle of the Buyers said: “I had a quiet confidence going into the competition, having used data-driven insights to guide my purchase decisions. But securing first place with the fastest-selling car was a truly rewarding experience, especially in such a fun and competitive environment with some outstanding dealers. Prior to May 2024, I had no experience in used car buying, but Lithia has provided me with the opportunity and training to excel in my career. After just seven months in this role, this victory feels like a testament to my dedication and the incredible support I've received from Lithia, alongside learning from experts in the used car market.”

James Baggott, co-founder of Clever Car Collection added “I still can’t quite believe I let other car dealers buy cars with my money and that my chosen cars didn’t win, but overall it was a fantastic competition featuring brilliant dealers each with their own unique philosophies for sourcing cars.”

Sally Foote, Carwow’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “We were delighted to support this project to create a bit of fun, healthy competition, whilst also shining a spotlight on the competing dealers. With so many cars won at auction and selling within days of being advertised, it really does underline the game-changing opportunities for dealers to source quality cars from our daily online auctions.”

Carwow and Car Dealer Magazine extend their special thanks to all the dealers involved in Battle of the Buyers, and look forward to the next one.