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Just off the aeroplane last night. I had my phone on constant divert “Please phone on the 8th IF you’re still interested”, and the same with my emails. The standard of enquiries appear to be little different to usual - stupid offers, last price brigade etc. All ignored while I indulged in some foreign hospitality. Already had a few phone calls today. I wouldn’t describe them as ‘leads’ as such, more like wankers with no money suffering from over optimism.

Ha. Can I vote for ‘people who have a like and edit button’?

Like

If only I had a like button.........

People who respond to a post by just putting "Like"

I had a bloke email me about 5 days ago, asking if I would take offers as the car is overpriced. I politely declined and explained why the car is priced as it is priced. He emailed again last night, asking what offers I would take, as the car has been online for sale for a while now and no one is interested. How about you fuck off, sunshine?

People

Always Taxi's outside waiting.

Fleet is the one to use.

the utter scruffy penniless dreamers I'm getting make me feel like the Statue of Liberty Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Non exhaustive list:- People ringing up on behalf of somebody else in the room... and relaying the messages! (The funniest one i ever heard was a wife saying "Here you fat bastard.... you f@*king questions!" and handing the phone over! ) EGR Valves Chucky Duffers Impatient Customers (especially the ones that barge in when your dealing with somebody and think its ok to talk over the top of you) Cars that break for no obvious reason and the worst times.... 4pm on a Saturday etc.... Liars Salesmen leaving their trademark in the toilet Staff that ask millions of questions without thinking for themselves

I always add £500 and tell em that's a much better price

I agree with Nick, I keep saying you've got to measure it. If it works and you make profit from your advertising then its an investment not a cost. whatever you choose you've got to make sure it works, for me nothing comes close to generating the total return and profit that I get from the Autotrader sales, and over the years I've tried most of them, I have call monitoring, Google analytics and different tracking numbers on everything, I don't just rely on asking people "How did you find us?" most recently last year, I tried cargurus and finandfundmycar.com - sales from those 2 websites in 3 months = 1, total cost £2,150. In same period my AT package cost me £10,500. but I sold 78 cars directly from them in those 3 months, so who is the most expensive? Doesn't work for everyone, but if you have the right cars, priced right and advertised well with great images then cant see why it wouldn't work

Dealer Trade are nice people. Think they’re ex-Autotrademail. I’ve never found anything that’s a bit of me though. There’s a Honda Jazz on there at the mo for example but I’m always suspicious as to why they’re trading it. Was the same with Autotrademail. I never got on with it myself but probably just me. Sytner a waste of time like Auction4cars and mostly DA also. Too many on it. It’s the same with main dealers that we all used to buy out of. Now they have a go at them themselves (before putting on DA etc). Just another way your margins/business is stolen/squeezed over the years including. Not like the good old days (where’s TV? He’ll agree with me :o)

+1. It happened automatically. eBay is a great source of callers that have at least 20 questions. Number one usually "Why are you selling it" :-)

So who's all old enough to remember the Mk I Ford Transit Diesels, they would never start on a real cold morning, even when new and under warranty Ford did a re call and, bet you can't guess ....................... They fitted a Glass Jar under the bonnet, plumbed into a manual windscreen washer pump fixed in the Cab, pipe going back into Air Intake, and they sold bottles of ether to fill it up, 3 or 4 pumps and crank it over ..................... I shit you not, that was the official Ford Motor Co Fix Was it the "York" Engine ?? I can't remember now I had one in a Recovery Truck, found that they would start better with the Pump retarded a bit, but would smoke like a bastard !! Ahhhhh, the good old days, long before "Emissions Testing" and "Tree Huggers" were invented

Last time I went brighouse breakfast cost me £12 for me and my missus on Platinum.. an old man owns the cafe and is miserable as sin it's not a chain like all the other BCA sites.. everywhere else it costs us £6 combined. Cars ain't cheap either.

Is the deposit refundable? (Physical customer) Erm, whats the point in taking it then?

Q; Is this car still for sale ? A ;; Its on the web site isnt it ? Q; Has this car got service history ? A;; Just a minute I'll get the advert up and read it to you . Q " do you know what petrol its had in it " A;; I need a crystal ball for that question , Q; How old was the last owner ? .A ; same age as you Q; will you put 4 new tyres on ? 5 mm all round A ; That will be £450 extra then he lost interest in tyres at that point Q; does your warranty cover everything ?, No its yours to look after . Q; it has a stone chip on the bumper ?, I left that there so you had something to moan about Q; Got to ask the wife A; Don't rush cos I've got ask my mum if i can sell it

Why's the miles so low. is it reliable . Punter starting it up from cold and revving the nuts out of it . There's a bit of water coming out of exhaust ... head gaskets gone . test drives. people that smell. Manchester Utd ... and Spurs at the moment. children. small dogs that constantly yap. Joe Swash.

Phone calls after what I consider normal hours but no message (I only return calls with messages left) Also What will you take for the car Where did you get it from How long have you had it Can you tell me a bit about the car - what? More than the advert on AT and my website, both with videos Can I view on Saturday - yes but only by appointment. I have others to see so can’t commit to a time - goodbye Has the cambelt been done (on a chain) Relying on third party services to back my exceptional customer service Feast or Famine income People parking in my neighbouring units space when I have parking outside People turning up with their friends, family and pub expert to crab a sub £5k car But mainly, the cold weather

Threads about AT.

It’s the ones that call again and again and again when you’re dealing with their complaint or fixing their car. I always ring them back like “I have 9 missed calls from you?” They always reply like “yeah I was just wondering...” I then say something like “9 times though?”. Just to highlight their neuroticism. I’m not legging it or ignoring you I just don’t have Bluetooth or i’m with someone else or i’m taking a shit. Calm your tits.

Actually I think you will be moving into thinner territory. It stands to reason the more expensive a car the fewer buyers (still plenty though at that price point) Knowing what to fix and what not to (cosmetically) is an art i’ve only recently mastered. I used to mint everything up, now I just get it to a state where it looks half it’s age and that is plenty better than most out there. A condition video appraisal stops the picky fuckers arriving at your door, as the video weeds that out and bobs your uncle.

Nik, Jim Reid left AT about 4/5 years ago and look at his business, never looked back. This debate will go on for ever! what works for one doesn't work for another dealer, it's all about ROI and if it's not working bin it and move it regardless if it's AT, Motors, Cargurus , local press.... the market place is changing so much and so are the buyers.

To get that marker even if you don't have Retail checker you can just see the AT suggested retail price and calculate between 95% and 97.9% of their market value so a £9995 AT retail car should have Great price at between £9495 and £9704.