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I somehow suspect that TrueTrade is neither True nor Trade. Respect to @Mark101 for his post though, a great start to a bleak Monday, the (TRUE) motor trade version of motivational speaking.

The forum is pretty good though it would be better if dings like you could get their facts right. He said he lost £156k one year not £156k year one!!

We all take hits, some very much bigger than others, what we have in common is we are all trying to be a success off our own back's. You are still fighting, you are still making your own money and you aint someone else's bitch. Well put.

I’d rather take the advice of someone who has lost a fortune and learned a lot in doing so, than the advice of someone like you who sounds like an arrogant cunt. Learning from someone else’s mistakes is quite a cheap way to learn.

Does being a patronising twat make you feel big ? Read his post, get your facts right.

Indeed. It's becoming a bit of a theme on here, before you know it we'll have plastic surgeons and barristers wanting a piece of whatever cake is left. Or you could take some time out to smell the roses. FWIW, the suggestion about salvage stuff seems pretty sensible to me.

If you can repair stuff yourself try looking on the salvage auctions, there are some bargains to be had. Take pics of the cars so you can show people what damage they have had to them, be upfront about it. A mate of mine does a few, amazing how little it can take to write a car off, particularly those older in years. Just a thought!

We use CAP too alongside this new “Cazana”, I was sceptical at first but they compliment each other very well. Cazana actually lists same spec vehicles for sale and the prices they are up for, allowing you to retail back/and compare against Cap figures to see what everyone else might be bidding!

I No, I mean I’ve divided up the remaining space into three and will do each section in 2 coats,when one has dries I’ll do the next.. I can then rotate the cars without too much disruption

Good to hear some of you boys are busy, hopefully it'll trickle through! Getting some right b*llends at the moment. I know you notice them more when it's quiet but Christ, i'm beginning to worry for the world.

I didn't read the OP properly and thought it was £10 per car PER DAY! £10 per week is pretty good IMO. I don't know the area well but the other halfs parents are from Stamford. There was a nice gravelled site up that way on Rightmove commercial recently which didn't sell, I don't have the details but you might find it with a bit of googling. I nearly fell over at the asking price...three years rent at my place would have bought the freehold, amazing how cheap life is north of London.

Thanks A51, I’m gonna do it myself in three separate applications, this’ll reduce disruption. It’s a cheap Aldi copy Btw, swarfega isnt my thing, it’s far too gritty and make your balls sore....

Don't be putting imperial leather in the bogs, they'll know you're having four figs across every car. Give em swarfega, in an industrial tub.

See a similar thread made here the other day mate, it's not something to be fitted in around other things. Let's say you buy and prep a couple, the phone rings "Can I come and see it in 2 hours?" Now if you're bang in the middle of a job, which is likely, then no sorry, mr customer, you can't. And the reality is that selling small cars, fiestas, corsas, for a couple of grand, is that they are ten a penny and people have plenty of choice, meaning that they will go and see another one. If however you chose to sell miley lumpy estates that had a bit of spec and were wanted by people who needed a large cheap but comfortable shed to ferry the dogs, kids and crap around, they would no doubt wait for you to be available. I'm not saying sell miley lumpy estates, I'm saying that might be a better stock profile to suit your daily life. And yes, buying privately is an excellent way to start. If you can paint, what better than to find a low owner, high mileage, well maintained estate/suv car that needs paint in several panels and buy it cheap and paint it and hoover the shit out of it and take some nice photos and sell for a profit. Selling small first time cars is an art I think and needs a pitch to do it.

If you are doing mobile bodywork stuff like scratched bumpers and small locals,I agree with Justin.If you are any good you should be in constant demand.We know a guy who spends a day doing 2 or three for us on our premises and gets around £400.He is always busy and picks and chooses who he works for.

Well., I am so impressed with the way expoxy flooring enhances the pictures.... I have decided I am going to do the whole unit floor, I will then be able to do some kind of walk through the unit introduction and conclusion in my videos......it should be quite impressive for the billies (along with imperial leather soap) in the toilets

The problem is none of these places want their car parks turned into a car dealers forecourt even if they do require extra funds i doubt any of them would go for it. I wonder if anyone just uses car parks ? something where you can buy a 24hr ticket or maybe a yearly ticket per space ? if its just somewhere to park this is an option but the only problem is with your insurance, might be a job getting cover while parked up...

You're in an identical situation to me mate. Deals are done either in my front room or when occupied by the family, my local pub. It hasn't stopped me.

I am a tad confused i use two painters both are flat flat out and earning some serious good money, if your have a skill such as yours why you want to move over into sales confuses me no end, it seems every man and his dog sees the grass being greener over the other side, trust me when you get over to the other side its either astra turf of you need glasses.

I am not sure how to answer this. CAP. The price guide. Online.

Once you use it to buy, it's difficult to disregard it when selling. It doesn't account for options so it's best to use a combination of CAP and Autotrader when selling (if you list on AT of course)

NOOOOO I use CAP, swear by it, webuyanycar.com and tghe large auction houses also use it so it's more relevant than ever. Do not look at Parkers and don't always go for the so called Retail Back pricing because you might be missing out on profit.

Aye, that's cheaper than a PRNDL Switch Surely if it is that £1040 housing broken, Used Scrapyard Part or Repair the bugger is the best option If that is a common proberlermo I'd bet there is an American "U Tube Video" of how to repair it There you go LOL, I'm not actually sure what BJ stands for in this Guys case, perhaps he has a sideline to earn extra cash

Try to source from wherever you can, deals to be had at auction and private just need to do the legwork.

You must have a lot of contacts at franchised dealers.They are the ones to buy cheapies from.

I would be trying your local cricket,tennis,golf and rugby clubs which have secure parking,a lot of them are run on a shoestring.

Depends how many you've got in stock but it doesn't sound cheap if you've more than a couple. Makes our pitch sound reasonable...don't tell the landlord!

Depends where you are. £10 a day in central London is very reasonable. £10 a day 50 miles outside Carlisle? Not so reasonable.

I thought that sounded great initially. Then I thought through what I pay more my pitch and lock ups which holds up to 22 and I pay £1000 per month, which isnt much more than your total would be. but if you only want to store 10, I would say its good value.

Ironically my HQ was in Vegas and I agree, in the US, people are expected to have tried and fallen at least once. I don't think for a second I will ever get there or ever want to be, but how many times have the wealthiest fallen before they made it - risk can go both ways, however my failings weren't entirely down to risk (albeit if I hadn't risked things it wouldn't have happened) - it was 99% down to my stupidity and greed, wanting to buy the latest gadget, car or boat. I still want all these things, of course but now if I want to blow £50k on a car, I will have £100k to spend. I don't think TT expected the backlash and to be honest I didn't expect the support (and I certainly don't deserve it). I think perhaps TT saw a failure offering advice and made a quick remark without considering there may be a back story. I would rather have been able to say, I made £1m in my 1st year, £2m in my second, £3m in my third but lost £156k in my 4th. That to me would have been a much nicer tale but the truth is basically, I was a twat and lived beyond my means, over stretched, expanded too quickly and had no reserve funds - the end.

Thank you very much. It is very early days and I will never take anything or any success for granted again. The difference is largely down to me having grown up. At 27 earning those figures, I would think nothing of smoking around in a Jag or RR and buying cars which I liked to drive. Now my daily driver is a Ford Transit that I paid £1k for and I love the old bus - my money is now tied in stock and two houses and I get more satisfaction knowing that I could cash it all in and buy a new 911 than actually doing it. Thanks TV - there's no need for TT to respond; I really don't mind what people think of me or my business and I certainly don't mind people having an opinion. I am happy to help or advise anyone on here if they think I can add value or help through the tough times (which is when people need help). I am sure I am not the only one who has lost everything, is close to doing so, or thinks they can't make it work. One thing I shall never do is be smug if I make this work and/or try to belittle those who are struggling. Thank you AD Thanks Sparky I take ownership of every bad decision/greed of my previous disaster - what more can I do than learn from it. Probably cost me less than a University degree nowadays.

Hi True Trade Where are you.........Mark deserves your reply for his honest account,he is clearly very experienced.

Just for clarity, it was my 3rd or 4th year of trading and I blame nobody but myself. I started trading properly at 27 and did very well initially, everything aligned and I was selling between 3-7 a week with great margins and very low overheads (open pitch £100wk all in). I'm not proud but fast forward a few years and I decided to expand far too quickly, employing staff, taking on additional property - ex's went through the roof and for some unbeknown reason, cars stopped selling. Being a "green" young man, I had not built any reserves, living a lifestyle that wasn't really sustainable, stupidly believing that I would always earn those figures having not worked through hard times previously. Long story short, it ran away with me and I lost everything. I reiterate, it was no ones fault but my own. Forced by my own stupidity, I re entered the employed sector and after a while earned board positions with multi million pound organisations and I put that success down in part to the lessons I learned running my own business. Last year, I decided (after 12 years of rebuilding things) to quit my corporate life and start again and that's the story. I agree True Trade, I am a wannabe, maybe I will make it, maybe I won't but believe me; if anyone needs advice I talk from real and painful experience.

That’s a bit unfair,you don’t know the circumstances.My understanding was that it was a sizeable operation.You don’t know how the losses were accumulated,there could have been some extraordinary items,then there is depreciation,it happens.The guy was just pointing out his experience.Several years ago we were hit with a large HMRC assessment after we had invested in a connected party deal from 5 years earlier.HMRC were right but agreed we were innocent in that we had received mistaken professional advice so they waived any penalties.It could have been a lot worse but it was bad enough and it showed in our results.

On more specialist stuff I always expect my buyers to know more than me because they should've done months of research compared to my hour or two at most. Tell the Pistonheaded muppets: I am sorry, I am not SELLING anything here, I am just here to give someone in the know an unrepeatable opportunity to buy it.

Sounds like a pure anorak, probably runs an 07 Nissan Micra Sport with a sports exhaust and coilovers and has no intention or means of buying one. He just sits on the net reading the obscure specs and phones dealers to share his encyclopaedic knowledge. AKA Sad Bastard!!

Absolutely. Mark, you have hit the nail on the head with your last sentence. You are realistic and understand your outgoings substantially reduce profits - something I’m not sure many realise when I hear them quoting fantasy profits. In this day & age overheads should be slashed to the bone. That’s why internet companies are king & high streets are dying on their knees - overheads. Give us a few more years & at this rate we’ll all be able to afford high street units just to use as car storage! Years ago I realised, from my one-man-band viewpoint, that the highlighted sentence above was king. SIMPLE AS THAT. If you want to keep it simple, as opposed to grow the business, then you can make as much as you can but if you’re pissing away thousands every month on rent, advertising etc. it amounts to little because it’s basic mathematics - incomings, minus outgoings, equals profit. It’s not rocket science but it’s where many small businesses struggle.

Well done Dan

Ha no, we don't get involved with much German stuff. Small GM auto...shame because it would've got me back to site but it was such a nice day I decided to take the long scenic route...not sure the fields and quaint villages were worth the roadside wait!

or do the same to the car they are collecting and watch their faces take the spare wheel or gunge as well

Well played....

They never think you will be that brave. Hats off to you for this.

We have just had to cancel a deal with a customer at handover On px appraisal was told it had 2 keys, full history ( book wasn't in the car at the time ) and parcel shelf is in the garage at home.... day of handover, we have lost the second key, service book has gone missing..... cant remember where services were done.... and shelf is lost.. no problem we will be charging you an extra £700 due to having to re value the part exchange with this information. customer kicks off and calls us crooks lol. and wont be proceeding. no problem jog on and forget your deposit oh and try telling the truth next time. lying gits.

Pistonheads is one of those forums full of 'experts' that expect us to offer top money for their 'crapped out' old shitters full of concealed faults at p/x time? And we're the dodgy ones?