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I always sit on my cars until their sold, if I have bought it I stand by it. My approach teaches me desirability and sale ability because this trade is so fickle you have to constantly change.

What,Police come out and record it as a crime ! We had a coach parked near us which went up in flames and it was on our CCTV.I was told by a retired inspector,that for the Police to come out and take action,there would need to be video of an MP on the coach with a little boy with trousers around his ankles !

Happy new year guys...just a quick thought I've had over the Christmas period. I've got a couple of cars at the moment which are more than likely going to attract somebody looking to PX their current vehicle. Being relatively new to the game, and having only stocked first time buyers sort of cars, I've never actually taken a car in PX (although every advert I've placed since I started has said PX welcome). Trading from home and keeping my overheads low, I don't use CAP or Glasses, and use autotrader search within 60 miles of my home to value the cars I buy at the block. Just wondering how you guys value PX's in the same situation as me. Do you simply do what I normally do, search AT to find retail price and then deduct to get the margin I want from their PX? I will of course be retailing whatever comes my way. Cheers in advance

In addition to any usage fees, there’s a benefit to banks getting people using plastic - much of the general public are so poor at money management that it’s just another way of getting them in debt. A man with cash in his pocket knows what he has left - most of these idiots paying for drinks at the pub on plastic think that the card’s credit limit is point zero. I’ve definitely noticed an increase in punters asking for CC payments - I don’t take them so it won’t affect me but punters who want the car usually rustle up the money but the CC brigade (who are no doubt so skint they can’t afford to maintain their car) can go elsewhere & bother them with their aftersales claims. Cash is still king here!

You need one with a different spec than run of the mill that tempts them to give you a try - You can then rival main dealer price by having the nicer car. Us independents generally give better service than the main dealers with most customers you can get them to tell you about a bad experience with a main dealer have a laugh about it and win the business.

We aren't doing too bad. Done 1 on 23rd Sold the 23rd's P/X on Christmas Day (no rest for the wicked, eh? - especially when you make them pay in full before viewing! Not working Xmas day for a 'just looking') And another sold on 31st - Paid in full over the phone and asked for delivery. Not a problem Sir! Guy on the 31st had to buy as he has a kid on the way, at 55 he wasn't expecting more kids! A TV licence would have been cheaper

Yup, 100% agree! Had 2 back tracks last year as customers swapped in their piles of **** as one of my salesmen didn't do their sodding job properly and didn't do a bloody road test. Luckily we have a Part Exchange disclaimer the customer signs. It still costs us money though as we've prepared the sales car then have to do the swap of the cars (collect and drop). =============== Back on topic - We go by HPi then AutoTrader Retail Check. We used to use iControl but we have too many main dealers near us so it throws out nonsense data. Usually offer Retail Check Value if in ready to retail condition or a few hundred less if ok. If in terrible, we offer a few hundred less than Cap Below to ensure we get out money back from the AH. 1 tip - Be confident in what you're selling and ensure you know you have your price right on the money. If it's something you don't want, be honest, we tell customers they're vehicles are going to auction. At the end of the day they are there on your site so they have done their research and are with you that very moment for a reason. Don't get me wrong, don't rip customers off, you want them to return, but don't over value Part Exchanges.

all buyers are liars inspect the p/ex "its been great" =gearbox jumps out of second "just fancy something different" =i cant afford that big bill thats due "always fancied one of these and dont really want to part with my car" please dont look underbonnet "it is a short mot, but it will fly another" =last years advisories answer that one ! if they dont inspect your car properly, theyre desperate to get shut of p/ex, if they do inspect your car, then double inspect theres ! all buyers are liars inspect the p/ex

First ask them what THEY want for the p/x. This will let you know straight away what you are up against. If they just want rid and state a silly low price then happy days. If they ask for something well over the top just sit them down and show them the trade valuations in black and white. If its something tasty i may offer CAP clean or more depending on how desirable it is, but usually i will just go in at CAP average tops, this means if worse comes to the worse i can offload it to another trader and break even on it or maybe just get a drink. If you do not have access to CAP then value how you like but remember you have to show the buyer sometimes in black and white how you come to the figure offered to get them to part with it.

Swappers,this is what I do,right or wrong.What you have got to do is weigh up the type of punter.If you sense they could be hard work,hit them with a price.Sometimes it can be a good idea to find out if they have had any offers from main dealers.If they have,you know you have a chance as some amateur in a crimplene blazer has probably undervalued.With nice punters who might have a cheapie,I always tell them how good it is “ the sum of the parts are worth more than the car” etc.They then uasually tell you how much they want.However,you must be carefull with ‘middle of the road ‘ swappers e.g. yours is £6k and the swapper is £3500,these are the ones you can get stuck with.....I had never heard the term ‘retail back’ before,but we have been doing that for years......At the end of the day,it has always been a great feeling to do a deal and get a good swapper in ‘right’.

I always ask for their bottom line. Sometimes it’s much less than you expected, I also always ask if they have got a “we buy any car” value.

ASP, you are doing the right thing, it’s called “retail back”. It’s standard practice, simply look at your local competition and price accordingly.

One 3k profit in a 20k car or four lots of 1.5k profit in four 5k cars? I know where my money would be going!