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  1. 1 point
    They are good sellers anyway, especially if you know the market for them
  2. 1 point
    @Nvp cars No problem at all. It's a very precarious situation at the moment, not just in used car sales, but in the business world in general. Most customers don't appreciate that they are buying from a business and that the margin in used cars (on average) is not thousands but hundreds. Of course you get the odd one or 2 that make a pretty penny but these `bonus` (what I like to call them) cars are few and far between nowadays. If you're completely committed to doing this you'll need to be strong minded and have A LOT of financial backing. If you've got 100k to start with, never `play` with money or you're destined to fail, then you should spend 50-55k on stock, probably 12-15 cars. The rest you'll need as cover for your costs over the next 6 months. You ALWAYS should count on rainy days. In this industry those days are months so you should prepare for them as they can average as high as 4 months out of a yearly period. Don't get attached to the cars. Having a smaller stock can mean you can get attached to a car for one way or another, which results in you not letting it go for a £200 discount. In some circumstances like you've just got it in, fair enough, but if you've had it a month, sell it. Don't under value your cars. A/T love to put this incentive to dealers. Move it in 20 days blah blah... Ok that's great, make £400-600... Now try and replace it, that takes you longer than selling the cars in the first place unless you over pay on everything. As others have mentioned, it's a very unpredictable market at the moment. If a friend of mine had £100k of his money, with a site available to him like you have, would I recommend him to get into this industry without prior knowledge and just being a car nut? Nope. It's a very easy way to lose £100k and that £100k will not provide you with enough financial support to start and run a 30-35 car site properly. You should take a course on HP and PCP finance. There are a few out there ranging from £600 a day - £5,000 for a 5 day certificated course. My finance advisers are sent on these with Santander and I also ensure they pass a SAF test every year to ensure their knowledge of the finance aspect in the used car market is kept up-to date. I've recommended all the dealers I know to do the SAF test as it's a great way to ensure you know what you need to know and refresh your brain on things that have changed or you've forgotten. One of the biggest things in business is to know what you offer and know it inside out, it just so happens in this industry, there is A LOT to know. What many people don't understand is the overheads for any business but for a car dealer, it's astronomical. As mentioned previously we were paying A/T nearly £10k per month for only 80 cars, 1 bill per month for only advertising was just shy of £10k. Just don't forget your overheads... Regular Monthly Payments: Wages - You WILL need a sales manager with at least 10 years of experience at a decent sized used car showroom to help you. You'll need to pay £500 + bonuses per week for a decent one with knowledge of the industry and not one of the sales staff from a car supermarket as they are not really trained at all. At the end of the day a salesman can sell anything but the sale manager can direct the company in the right direction so a good one is a MUST. I can never stress the importance good staff play in help making a company successful. Pension Scheme Health Insurance Scheme (You can do without this, but I do advise it for later) Business Site Insurance Liability Insurance Cover Business Trade Insurance (You may be able to tie in within the same company) Business Rent Business Rates Business Bills (electricity, gas, Site Bills Repair Works MoT Works Car Servicing Car Preparation Costs Advertising Costs Valeting Equipment Sundries Website Hosting Warranty Cover (in house or outsourced, it still costs) Stock Database and Invoicing Monthly Payment One Off Start-up Costs (12-15 cars, with £100k Budget) Stock Branding First Promo Advertising Website Setup Stock Database and Invoicing Setup Car Site Branding FCA Licence Fee Solicitors Fee to setup and Limit a New Company Trade Plates I may have missed something from this list, but there are a lot of overheads. Anyway, think it through hugely, as I've said, it's a quickfire way to lose A LOT of money. Do pro's and cons and think it through over a few months and months. Do a Risks and Challenges Assessment for everything. On a side note, if you're really into cars, a good sales manager at a large franchised main dealer can get around £72,800 per year if they show good enthusiasm, hit their targets and motivate their sales team to hit their targets. I've known someone as young as 27 to be a Sales Manager on this kind of pay. As I've said and highlighted above: "If a friend of mine had £100k of his money, with a site available to him like you have, would I recommend him to get into this industry without prior knowledge and just being a car nut? Nope. It's a very easy way to lose £100k and that £100k will not provide you with enough financial support to start and run a 30-35 car site properly." All the best with what you decide, just really do think it through.