Leaderboard

Hi Sparky This is a subject close to my heart as we took over a motorsport centre and converted into our workshop & Performance Centre in April 2013, so just over 18 months ago. Now every one will have a different view on how a workshop is to be run but we wanted it to reflect what we did in the Sales Department, which is look after customers 100%, treat them fairly and keep in contact with them continually to ensure they are always kept in the loop. The cost of equipment is high especially finding out what is the best diagnostic equipment to use and what type of cars you will attract. A good CRM/Invoicing system integrated with stock levels and parts and being able to produce reports, job cards and an easy to use booking diary system is a necessity! So once you have the equipment and the computer software and CRM you then need the staff to run the place, now in our part of the world (North East Scotland ) one of the hardest staff members to get and retain is a good technician who is not only experienced and knowledgeable but also capable & efficient, this is mainly down to the fact that most of the go through their training only to move to the oil industry as the lure of offshore work and big money! You will also need someone to run the show a real knowledgeable person front of house who can communicate well not only with customers but also have the respect of the guys on the shop floor, without this you will struggle! We still use a third party for MOT's but organise them for customers and also retain the fail work and the advisories. So as you can see it's not going to be easy, you will have your days when you think what the hell have I done, but the rewards when run properly are fantastic also when you get compliments from customers saying its the best ever experience then you know you have broken the back of it. Just be careful to ensure you have the proper system to price jobs, always give an estimate rather than a quote! and use good quality parts from a good supplier. If you would like any help feel free to give me a call or email jim@jimreidvehiclesales.co.uk .

Ive always said its safer to just put them on the MID and we do that simply via a text message service to our insurance company and within minutes the car in on the MID and we can also take them off via text message .. theres also an internet app we can use to put cars on / off and for the 2mins it takes do do iust always put them on etc. My business partner was stopped a few years back via ANPR as the car came up uninsured as we did not put on the MID .. he had our insurance documents on him which we like to carry and had an understanding copper who let him drive off

Minefield.... According to my own motor trade insurers, the only cars that need to be put onto MID are ones that have been in your possesion for 14 days and are also taxed. However, since the new tax rules came into play in October, I'm unsure how/why/if the tax side of it still matters. The road tax side of the motor trade must be another subject for another day! I questioned my insurers a couple of yrs ago about said MID subject, and said that from the information they had given me at the time of my renewal that it was very complicated and difficlt to assertain which cars needed to be on the MID and which didn't. There was clearly some confusion on their part as one person told me to do one thing, but another in the same dept said to do another! So, still confused, I took the decision to put every single car that is in my possesion on the MID as soon as I get them. They then stay on there until I sell them. So if I'm going to pick a car up from Coventry or wherever, I put the details on the MID just before I set off to collect it. And as soon as I've handed the keys over to new customer on completion of the sale, I go back onto MID and take it off. This may or may not be the correct thing to do, but as I see it it's better to have everything covered in the event of an unfortunate/unlucky incident, than be unsure as to which cars need to be on the MID and which don't. However, obviously for a small dealer like myself that only has a handfull of cars, it's fairly easy to do and once I'd been doing it it all became part of the routine. But I suppose bigger concerns with big numbers of vehicles could find it more tricky to keep on top of. In reference to Andy's comment above regarding trade plates, trade plates only cover you for the road tax. They are nothing to do with the insurance side of things. Hope this helps

I've been using a number of the sites recently while sourcing stock for trading up. Can;t say i've heard of Dealerbid and we've not spoken to them. All the sites have their merits. It all comes down to stock profile at the end of the day, each site is stronger in different areas and obviously the physical auction guys are getting their act together online now. As suggested above, the biggest challenge is that some of them seem to have quite relaxed rules, so you can;t be sure you're dealing with just trade !