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Sparky, I don't think anyone on this forum had any initial animosity towards the IMDA, I believe we all want it to work for the benefit of all of us. The animosity has grown from disbelief in the unprofessional, belittling, arrogant, patronising replies to simple genuine questions and equally the complete lack of replies. I have also spoken to several of them and they seem genuine guys who want to help, but as I've said before, I can't get my head round why they have acted the way they have. It doesn't look good.....Just my opinion............

I'm with you Grant, I've also had my best year with December still to go. As a Sole Trader, keeping your costs down is the key, and before anyone assumes.... I don't save on mechanical prep, all my cars independently inspected and PDI'd properly. I save £££££'s on the bodywork, wheels etc by not making a 10 year old car mint. I will also say, video has made a huge difference to my business. "People buy from people" and instilling trust and guaranteeing accuracy has made all the difference to my business, the customer knowing upfront who they will deal with and what they are actually buying is the key.

Hi Lakeside I can see you are trying hard,but I don’t think you should give up your day jobs just yet.This is a difficult and complex business and most of us started valeting cars when we were kids and worked in garages for several years before venturing out on our own.For a start Insignias are worth nowt and are suitable only for sub prime finance punters only.A month ago,the Met Police flogged off about 2 dozen 64 plate Sri Autos at 60-70k for about £3000 each.These were straight cars ,not what you would expect.Forget about making big profit margins and don’t believe what people tell you at the auction.Take note from the pros on here ,ask questions and we will try and help.Just buy nice stock,present it well ,don’t be greedy and you will be OK.Look at car dealer websites for ideas,not just in the UK,I am 50 years into this job and still learning. Good Luck

I agree with Mojo 121,November is November,if you know what you are doing,there is business out there.This November has been even better for buying stuff,possibly as good as I can remember since the Oil Crisis (that is a long time ago).Looking forward,first 2 weeks in Dec.virtually F/All,week before X/mas one or two, between Boxing Day and New Year,very busy.Early to mid January,very little trade about.Early Feb,book goes up a lot and retail comes back.etc.I know there will be regional variations,but that is my experience going back years.For those guys doing ‘nowt’,the bottom line is,they may have the wrong stock or they could be too greedy,so they have to take some medicine,take some hits and replace their stock.........

That’s brilliant,maybe BCA are changing their ways !

We had a right nightmare having a minor warranty job dealt with at our most local VW dealership. As we are trade they seem to think we are trying to stitch them up and instantly on the offensive. Pop down the road to one 15 mins away, different group, and they could not have been more helpful. Same story with BMW and Vauxhall. If at first you get the wrong answer go somewhere else until they tell you what you want to hear

I think they should be commended for what they are doing, after all you can either join or not so what's the problem.

Best of luck in my experience you stand more chance if you stand behind the current owner. Once the manufacturers get wind you may be liable they will stand their ground. If they think it’s the current owner going to be out of pocket that’s when they are more inclined to protect their brand reputation.