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It's been about 16 months since we jumped ship, we are selling as many and haven't got the equivalent to a large mortgage to pay with AT anymore! Happy days!!

Morning all ! well after my well earned break / hissy fit from selling cars I've decided to re start my empire! started up about 2 weeks ago selling trade to trade only, as we have our workshop / bodyshop and MOT place, I'm dealing with pre prepared cars and it seems like a goer, and keeps me in my favorite part of the car business aswell. apart from that I hope we are all having a happy new year !

Excellent! Shameless plug and only 6 weeks late.

1 a day so far, solid start. Managed to pick up 3-4 decent bits of stock too so hopefully should carry on

I understand if this post isn't welcome here as I have seen some rather lovely glossy adverts in CDM which wouldn't have come cheap. Anyway I told everyone I was leaving AT, I have been without them for 1 month now. Currently not looking back. I thought that the quiet X-Mas period combined with dropping the number 1 lead generator would cause me to have to hibernate until January. How wrong was I !!! I have been so so busy. I am not looking back. On another note, I haven't been anywhere near their site for a month so I went back to it as I wanted to find a car at another dealership and my god hasn't it changed for the worse. I am struggling to find the car I needed to find with all these new sub menus and things. AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT BEST . What is a new user going to think? I am so glad I am out. When is anyone else going to follow ?

anbody who buys a car off this bloke with words like that deserves everything they get

Just done my daily deal lol although there could be two in the offing today

I can't believe I'm just 2 weeks away from this. I want to do something for suppliers, customers and the community but I've never seen them done well ("Sales Days" at all the main dealers I've worked at have been mostly dead affairs). Obviously Christmas springs to mind as a theme, and quite how I've sold a single car without balloons escapes me, butI figured you guys might have a few do's and don'ts, some general ideas etc

GREAT to hear that ! so are you advertising in different places ? portals etc ? what have you done to maintain/increase sales / leads with AT ? [Great saving per month to add to bottom line ]

Couldn't agree more GG what we collectively have to learn after years of being taught to fight one another is that if we all stood together we really can make a difference and make our jobs a lot more easier all it takes is for us to have the b@lls to do it. After all the big greedy boys in our industry need us more than we need them. It's a lot easier to start a used car sales operation than it is to appoint a whole new dealer network.

Thanks for the update James, glad to see you are succeeding without AT, the cost saving alone must help Decembers figures. A wee tip from a man who has been through it, you will go through those quiet months , because everyone gets them, but remember don't be tempted to go back, because we are all at our most vulnerable when it's a really quiet month, but as I said everyone get's those even when you advertise every car you have on Autotrader! Next update 3 months? I look forward to it! UPWARDS AND ONWARDS

Well done Jamslug, once you're over the fear factor it's easy, IMHO autotraders a dead duck and in a decade they will be a distant memory unless they listen to their customers and stop putting greed first.

The afterparty's where the fun starts.....

Happy 1st Anniversary ! Phew seems a long time a go since that time .. 18 years now in business - Voting age ! I got the local press to do an article on the business with most of my suppliers having a support advert , it worked very well ! New readers got to see the article and I just put in there that everyone was welcome to pop in and have a look / drink / cake , I also sent out letters to all customers who had bought cars from me thanking them for support and please pop in ! - It worked very well ... I did have 'balloons' in the showroom , only a couple saying '1' .. but I feel I would have sold twice as many cars had I gone down the balloons avenue ! Good Luck with what ever you decide to do ! continued success my friend !