trade vet

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Posts posted by trade vet

  2. Posted

    1 hour ago, GreenGiant said:

    Hold my beer....

    About 15 years ago I took a punt on a couple of unregistered new cars at BCA. They'd been entered as the selling dealer in the Channel Islands had closed and these 2 cars were fully paid new stock that the (French) manufacturer didn't want back. Nobody at the auction wanted them (waaaay before online bidding). Paid £8k for a midsized hatchback and £10k for a bigger one. Had no clue what I was going to do next.

    Anyway, had a discussion with the DP of the nearest dealership representing that manufacturer and he agreed to ask them to add them into his new car stock, so that they could be registered, for £250 per unit admin fee.

    Sold the smaller one for £10k (£8k off list) and the bigger one for £12k (£9500 off list), both as New cars. So, £3k-ish up. The Main Dealer registered them, then informed me that the cars were eligible for New Car registration bonuses and, as they also counted towards his targets, he got back-end rewards too. We agreed that we would get the front end reg bonuses and they would get whatever they earned back-end.

    Turns out the 2 cars were run-out old models and they were massively supported to get rid.

    *Drum Roll.........*

    The smaller earned £7500 reg bonus.

    The bigger one £9000. Both plus vat.

     

    So, total outlay £18000. Total net profit nearly £20000.

    I sh*t you not.

    I would be surprised if anyone can top that......wonderful account !

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    We used to get the odd ex military black Ford Orion diesel (Escort with a boot) and they needed re registering.We would sell these  quite quickly to Asian guys from a town 70 miles away.Afterwards we began to get regular enquiries about them.We then bought a transporter load and told callers the price and that they would be arriving 9am Saturday.On the day we arrive to work to find all these Asian guys waiting outside (WTF).We go about our routine and when I am in the office,suddenly all these Asian guys run in throwing money bags onto my desk (WTF).The wagon had arrived outside,was yet to unload and we sold them all.I think we later repeated this but in a more orderly fashion.We later found out that these cars ticked all the boxes for taxi operators in their town.In particular,the type,colour and the fact that when they were re registered,it appeared to the authority like they had bought a new car.This meant they did not need a taxi test for 3 or 4 years and as I recall,they nornmally had 3 taxi tests per year.This loophole of course was quickly closed down !

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    12 minutes ago, sparky said:

    About 10 years ago I started buy from Central Car Auctions. In the beginning, with no account and without an online banking facility it was a case of going to the bank, giving them the bank details of Central and the figure and they would do a chaps payment and give me a copy of the paperwork. So, a couple of weeks later I would do the same again but just use the original receipt altering the amount details only. In the mean time I had bought a car off AT Mail and used the same payment process to pay a dealer based in Manchester who I'd never used before but went with my gut and it turned out to be great buy. A few days later on the Thursday I  went to the bank wanting to pay Central 25k, gave the cashier the paperwork crossing out the previous amount replacing it with the new amount. Happy days. Well it was until I logged on to online banking the next day on the Friday. I'd only given the cashier the wrong receipt and rather than pay Central 25k I'd gone and paid the guy in Manchester 25k and from a banking point of view, there was nothing I could do about it, nothing. Luckily, the trader I had given the money to was a stella guy and after wetting himself about what had happened agreed to give me back the money on the following Monday, which he did, thank **** for that!

    Looking back I still get a cold shiver about what I did and how  easily it could have gone the other way which would have been  goodnight Vienna.at the time. It's fair to say that whenever I do online payments now, it takes me a lot longer than it should do after I've checked, double checked and double double checked everything.

    Good story,you were lucky....if the guy had bank problems,the bank could have swiped your money.....!!

  11. Posted

    Cautionary tale about HMRC and record keeping.....If you are a recent start up and have 'nowt',HMRC may be more lenient with poor record keeping penalties.However,I know someone who started doorstepping in later life from his mortgage free home.On his first Vat inspection,it was discovered he had missed out ONE vehicle from his stockbook.This sale of course was the best deal he had ever done and the profit was far and above over what he normally earned per sale.HMRC took the view that he must have not recorded many more sales at that level of profit.( In fact he was only doing 1 deal per week in total).They raised an assessment after probably factoring in his mortgage free house.He eventually reached a settlement with HMRC after having to remortgage his house !!!!.........any more HMRC stories..

  13. Posted

    I agree with Justina.There is a lot on this forum about difficult punters and while the worst ones you get will stay with you forever,the majority are lovely people.If you do it right, a lot of them return and are easier to deal with.....However,I am not sure this happens if you major in sub prime business !

  14. Posted

    Sorry guys,but I still disagree.I would try to milk and embellish this to death.I would make myself a 5 star AA retail dealer and put a perspex sign above the entrance.I would have it on our website,invoices,compliment slips and get number plate frames made up.I would have a large plaque made with exaggerated wording and get a fake photo made up of me receiving the award from someone looking like a well known do gooder at some big audience AA event to lmpress punters in the sales office.I would try and adapt the phone system so callers would hear something like....Albert Smith Car Sales are extremely proud to have been awarded Special Dealer Status from the AA for customer care.We would like to take this opportunity to thank our many loyal customers who recommended us for this prestigious award......etc etc.........I am onto this now...!

  15. Posted

    We got fed up with warranty companies bad service to our customers years ago.You can do your own,but unless the rules have changed,you cannot call it a warranty unless it is underwritten.These days,I doubt you can do it successfully without having your own workshop.There is a lot you need to know but it has definitely worked for us.There are good spin offs,it promotes customer loyalty and servicing and repair work..........one thing...Love Cars ?..proper car dealers do not love cars ! anyone disagree.

  17. Posted

    Unaccompanied test drives cover depends on where you operate from.We have been doing them for over 20 years but we have to do due diligence,cctv,ID,demo booklets,signatures etc.It all costs money.We have had the same insurer for many years but when we got a pitch in SE London,getting ANY sort of motor trade cover was difficult,it was an insurers no go area! We got some foreign insurer,but it was definitely a no go area!

  18. Posted

    1 hour ago, BHM said:

    Obviously not that well known!

     

    1 hour ago, BHM said:

    Obviously not that well known!

    Well known,but not to me (knowing nowt about racing).If I can digress etc....We got them back and did a deal.It so happened that the next week my wife and I had been invited to the big meeting at York by the heirachy of our chucky company who were having their annual bash.One of guys had some rides so naturally I asked for some tips.He said something like,that one could win,that one might get placed but don't bet on that one in the first,as it is hopeless.Come the first race,this horse is 100/1.However my wife is so impressed by the outfit worn by the owners wife,she puts a fiver on to win! and you know what.....!!!!

  19. Posted

    1 hour ago, Rory RSC said:

    Ten mins?  Very specific that. 

    We had someone come in yesterday to view a Qashqai who was actually on an unaccompanied test drive from another garage. Trade plates, his family and the price board in the car. Who does that sort of thing?  

    We never time them,we just emphasise 10 mins,otherwise punters will take the p... like your experience.

  20. Posted

    We have ins. cover allowing unaccompanied test drives for up to 10 minutes.The punters must declare and sign they have a current licence and provide their ID etc. However,I once refused to deal with 2 quiet young lads who looked about 15 and had shaved heads.They were interested in a Passat diesel.They looked like ram raiders to me.They said nothing and left.A few hours later,we get a phone call from their mother,screaming at us.It turned out she was a regular customer and her boys had travelled 50 miles to buy this car.The boys were in their early 20's and were well known professional jockeys !

  21. Posted

    Hi Matt..it only sounds like a small pitch,no employees,low overheads..good for you.Just lock up and go.The only problem I can see is,Mexico in May,you may need another holiday when you get back.Also.when we started,we used to go in December when trade is dead !

  22. Posted

    11 hours ago, Integroo said:

    Hi chaps.

     

    I'm not a car dealer, and just lurk here out of interest, so apologies in advance if this is not allowed.

     

    What I am is a European competition lawyer, i.e. the area of law relevant to the Google case you are discussing.

     

    I thought I could maybe provide some insight.  The Google case is not fundamentally about treating consumers unfairly; it's about a breach of the competition law prohibition against abusing a dominant position.  The argument runs that Google is dominant in the market for Internet search, and should not be abusing their dominance in that market by favouring it's own services in a different but related market (the market for shopping comparison services) by placing Google Shopping first at the top of it's search results.

    Unfortunately the whistleblowing line isn't directly relevant, as it relates to cartels i.e. anticompetitive agreements between competitors.

    There are of course comparisons that can be drawn to AutoTrader.  The first question is are they dominant - normally one would consider below 40% market share unlikely to be dominant, above 70% likely to be dominant, in between possibly dominant depending on the structure of the market.  Instinctively I'd suggest that the market for dealer sales and private sales may be separate (very generally speaking the question would be whether a small but significant, say 5%, price increase by dealers would drive customers to private sales - if the answer is no, the markets are separate).  If they are separate, it may be considered dominant, though more investigation would be needed.  The question would then be are they abusing their dominance to the detriment of competition and ultimately to consumers by favouring sponsored adverts.  I'd say this could be argued either way, but there is an argument there.  

     

    I'd suggest if you wanted to tackle this, writing to the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK would be the best bet (though no harm in copying it to the European Commission), stating that you think there are competition concerns in this market that should be investigated by the CMA.  They may open a market study.  However the concerns expressed should not be the impact on dealers - it should be the negative impact on consumers (higher prices primarily through poorer competition  between rival dealers). 

     

    Hopefully insightful and hopefully allowed.  Happy to answer any questions anonymously - this is not legal advice, just some friendly insights.

    Thank you very much Integroo.There we are guys,that must be about £1500 worth of legal oppinion.

  25. Posted

    20 minutes ago, Dlloyds said:

    Thanks Trade Vet, There is quite a few go through the auction but I I have looked at them and moved on quickly due to the miles covered.

    Thanks for the advice.

     

     

     

    Forget the auction,you have got to go and find them yourself and drive them.We have sold plenty 150-200k miles but these are swappers which we have inspected.Keep away from auctions until you are a good player or you will be skinned alive.!