trade vet

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Posts posted by trade vet

  4. Posted

    I brought up this topic because having paid out  millions yes millions in tax,I happen to think that profiteering with public funds is a serious subject.It turns out there has already been questions in Parliament regarding Motability Operations.However what I did not expect was replies from some imposter masquerading as the Motability spokesperson on this forum.

  6. Posted

    4 hours ago, MrC said:

    After a 30 minute test drive and an hour moting then moting again with tick list in hand.  Fine tooth combing the docs.

    Finally has the audacity to ask to see the trade reciept so he knows its legally mine to sell.  

    I impolitely declined

    £1300 Punto! 

    20170618_1234112_zpsv20ge2la.jpg

    We found these type particularly prevalent on Sundays and they tend to keep coming back! We then  would just say hallo and ignore them.Do you not find that more punters like these together with serious "Chucky Duffers"come out of the woodwork when trade is quiet......Looks like a straight Punto !

  8. Posted

    4 hours ago, GreenGiant said:

    From motability.co.uk

     

    Who we are

    We are Motability Operations Ltd, an independent company responsible for the finance, administration and maintenance of the Motability Scheme. All Motability Scheme vehicles are leased to customers by us, and we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

    What we do

    We support people with disabilities in achieving greater independence, through access to affordable, worry-free mobility. Through the Scheme, we lease cars, scooters and powered wheelchairs to people in exchange for their mobility allowance .

    We are passionate about improving the lives of our 650,000 customers and their families, and focus on meeting their needs. We aim to offer unbeatable value, and provide award-winning customer service. All of our profits are reinvested into the Scheme for the benefit of customers.

    Thank you for your reply Green Giant- could you please explain the following.-                                                                            1)Why do Motability retain most of their huge profits,pay corporation tax and only donate a small proportion of income to charity.Should not all of the surplus be donated and there would be no tax to pay.                                                                                                                                                                          2)Why do they need to sit on a huge cash pile.                                                                                                                                       3) As Motability Operations is a can't fail,little risk monopoly,why do the remuneration committee allow the directors to earn £6.7m with the CEO on £1m.                                                                                                                                                                  4)As the latest accounts appear to show a dramatic drop in profits,do you think that these expensive directors should resign,which would normally happen in the real world.                                                                                                                          5)You say Mobility Operations are passionate about improving the lives of customers.Does that mean they are not only a leasing company dealing in transport for the disabled but they actually help them as well !

    6)There must be 1000s of local charities run by volunteers who should be getting a slice of this huge unused  income,can they make an application for funds.

    We look forward to your reply GreenGiant.

  10. Posted

    This may get you annoyed.I have just come across the best job in our business.Today,most dealer groups have to jump through hoops to net 1% of T/O.Not Motability Operations,they do £4b and net £250m (@6.5%).So what you have got to do is,get your stock for more than 50% off list,rent it out and get paid by the government,then send it to the block.No showrooms,forecourts,workshops,parts dept,paint shops and not many staff to worry about.The result,£500m on deposit and the CEO pays himself £1m P/A........any comments !

  11. Posted

    My last post on this topic on 27th May has been removed so I will be more polite.We have banked with RBS NatWest for over 25 years.They were very good for us pre 2008 very efficient with good staff.Since then it appears to have been "open season" for all banks,just search RBS Global Restructuring Group.What I would do now before signing for a loan or overdraft is take the contract  away and read the small print with a magnifying glass.I would then get the bank person to write down for you any downside to the agreement which could arise.(However,I have no idea whether they would do that.) I think they are all the same,we have not moved,at least RBS are owned by the taxpayer. .....Good Luck !

  12. Posted

    2 hours ago, Trident said:

    I think you got away lightly, we had an old guy who bought a vehicle off us, became a regular pop in for a chat kind of guy...over time he divulged that he spend his last penny buying the vehicle, which were his savings for his funeral expenses, his missus wasn't too chuffed with him, so what he is going to do is put it in the will that we buy it back to cover his funeral expenses... thoughts?

    This has given me an idea for pensioner type stuff like Focus/Astra/ Kia estates.                                                                                What about - Price includes guaranteed full price buy back in the event of the customers death by natural causes within 2 years of purchase..........Any comments. !

  14. Posted

    1 hour ago, Trident said:

    So, what a funny thread, now i was all in agreement up until Max Branning put his tu'penny's worth in, then i remember hearing about a guy who did exactly this with high end stuff, clever lad, by all accounts, he set up a website and advertised all sorts of high end cars, now i am talking high end cars! using the original dealers pictures and descriptions, when he got a 'bite' he would prop the customer to finance, get the deal all agreed, take a deposit, go to the company that owned the car and buy it... finish the deal off, take a massive finance commision, sit back and rub his hands together - no stock - loads of cash rolling in on everyone elses hard work... he was an ex footballer with capital!! he's done very well for himself and has his own high end stock and now just sources for clients - high end clients... started out as a bit of a leach but made it work...

    You are right,I have heard of an ex footballer who played for a lot of lower league teams and now is a footballers car broker.I have checked him out and his company net'd over £100k last year ( so with his drawings on top of that etc) he does very well.               So Caleb ,if you are an ex footballer and know footballers agents ..........you can do it !

     

  15. Posted

    1 hour ago, Caleb R said:

    How long were you in the trade of you don't mind me asking trade vet? How much on average would a broker make per car sold?

    If you don't mind me asking Mat, would you say you had high ambitions as a dealer where you wanted to push your career to the limit which would mean dealing in strenuous situations like dealing with brokers to get that one extra sale a month, or did you want as little hassle as possible and just get the pay cheque at the end of the month? I would try and find someone along the lines of the first example..

    Hi Caleb,we are all doing you a favour.Tell me a motor trade or car sales business you know who is making good money!Excuse me Celeb,but you have not answered my question,I am asking you or anyone else who they know who is making good money in this business.I am quite prepared to divulge my experience.

  17. Posted

    Nice theory-but in reality.....If you are going to borrow stock,you will need,motor trade ins cover,trade plates,credit licences,card machines,finance company agencies,web site. ....that's for starters! You will need to deal with swappers,comebacks and you will need enough money incase you have to unwind deals and do refunds.Most of all you will need knowledge otherwise you will get stitched up ! You would be better off selling The Big Issue.

  20. Posted

    3 hours ago, Frankieola said:

    I'm arranging finance for a friend of mine who wants to buy a Mercedes CLA from Car Giant (I know, I know, I did try to find him one myself to sell but they seem to have them for cheaper than I can get them trade)

    Anyway, I'm doing him a favour and saving him money on the 8% flat they have quoted but they have said if he organises finance externally and not through them then they will charge an extra £200!!!!

    It's sharp practice I know but is it legal??

     

    3 hours ago, Frankieola said:

    I'm arranging finance for a friend of mine who wants to buy a Mercedes CLA from Car Giant (I know, I know, I did try to find him one myself to sell but they seem to have them for cheaper than I can get them trade)

    Anyway, I'm doing him a favour and saving him money on the 8% flat they have quoted but they have said if he organises finance externally and not through them then they will charge an extra £200!!!!

    It's sharp practice I know but is it legal??

    I would like to know how this favour is going to work.I would say,you will need to buy the Merc from Car Giant,then sell it to your friend through your finance company.However,you are then going to need a profit margin otherwise the VAT inspector will suspect  something untoward ! Is that what you are doing.

  21. Posted

    3 hours ago, tradex said:

    The other oft forgotten thing?

    Pension.

    You will have a good one if I'm assuming you for an OEM.

    Pensions,we have all seen elderly ex 'flash' car dealers end up in a local authority accommodation--- why,because they have no private pension !

  22. Posted

    11 hours ago, LISL said:

    To answer your initial post, and like someone else has said, the sales are your best bet. AT, Gumtree, eBay and then work backwards. Make sure you factor in enough when it comes to prep. What kind of cars will you sell, anything and everything or diesels or estates or cheap sports cars or family Ford's or hot hatches? 

    This trade, and I'll probably be vilified for saying it, is fairly closed. And to be honest, rightly so. Everyone assumes they've never seen a poor car dealer, but what one man classes as a living another could piss away on a day out at the races. 

    In my experience, it took me nearly 6 years and about £15k in losses working part time and building contacts until I realised one thing; this isn't built for the weekend dealer. Between actually dealing with potential customers (worst and best part of the job), you've got to source the right stock at the right price. It's changed from the 70s where auctions were practically the only place to go for dealers, we're now in the information age and if you look hard enough there are options. Having said that, I'd hazard a guess and say all dealers still buy at least some proportion of stock from the block as it's easy. If book prices are met or exceeded and you feel they're too steep, don't buy anything, simple. 

    I used to download catalogues, research prices and then print them out and write next to the lot number what I'd be willing to pay and stick to it, until I learnt the trade and built confidence. It also makes it easier when vendors and auctioneers know who you are, as I've seen them taking bids off the wall and driving prices up a grand or even more. 

    Like anything worth doing, it won't come easy. But think about a few main points 

    Where will you sell from? If a premises, where are you and what's the going rent. If you're going to sell from home are your neighbours ok or tossers? I'd be a tosser if someone was selling cars on the road I lived on. 

    What will you buy? Or at least try to buy? 

    Do you have a paint shop and mechanic you can trust? 

    You'll need a warranty company that pays out (Hardy har) 

    Insurance is a bloody killer

    If you're working by yourself, how will you find time to source stock? 

    Have you got the capital to invest in stock? Like I said, after me personally losing a small fortune I then took a massive punt and invested in my first 7 cars and built from there. 

    Will you trade up, or deal in numbers? 

    Will you work off volume of sales or profit per unit? 

    Will you offer finance? If so, through who? You'll need a license as I'm sure you know. 

    You can be a "dealer" who (we all know one and I personally HATE them) who advertise as private sellers but are dealers. These guys give us a bad name and don't take their job seriously. They have sod all infrastructure and I'd bet don't pay any tax at all.

    Or you can actually try and make it work, properly, build a brand and deal with the good and the bad (much more of the latter) but this will take a massive amount of time, money and even more effort. 

    Anyway, this post wasn't meant to be too long and it is so I do apologise, but think long and hard. 

    Rish

     

    Excellent post- This guy must be getting the picture by now!

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    From what you say,forget car sales,start a workshop.That is where the money is now.Our local Audi dealer for instance are nowcharging £180 per hour.There are not many small workshops charging less than £40 per hour.Once you get a workshop going ,you could always try and sell the odd car alongside.

    Small pitches now with 2 or 3 staff with all the overheads can cost over £2000 per week to run.So to pay everyone and earn £25k for yourself you need to turnover at least £1m per year,because the net margins are so small these days.

  25. Posted

    1 hour ago, andymc1973 said:

    i got them removed, explained the situation but be aware its a 3rd party company that publishes them, message me and I can try to explain better, Andy 

    Andy .......you could charge for this service,you would probably get a lot of enquiries !