trade vet

Some of these Eastern European car wash’s are good guys and they can do a lot for £30.Then just finish them off yourself.No need to use one of these new bullshit breed of prima Dona valeters called detailers.They tend to be too expensive,too slow,don’t like doing wet vacs and when you show them how to cut corners,they take the huff.They don’t understand that a lot of the best car dealers started off as valeters.

I would stick to what you are doing.7 or 8 per month from stocking 10 is very good.The extra costs you will incur from a 3000 ft unit and carrying 25 plus employing staff,extra insurance,advertising ( and double the agrovation) etc etc will mean you will probably need to do double the business to equal what you are doing now. Another thing to factor in is that with the onset of Brexit and the likely increase in the level of scaremongering in the media from mid September,trade is likely to be crap until early next year.When an extroadinary event takes place,( wars,9/11,miners strikes,oil crisis,) in the past it has diverted people’s attention from buying cars. Also you can’t just employ someone and regard them as self employed.If you cannot prove they are regularly carrying out other work ,you will run the risk of getting done by HMRC.

Yes....and wait for a good swapper and sometimes you can get some chucky commission as well.

I don’t see the problem,I would take some medicine.We all get stickers which we thought would waltz out.I would just make it £6950 and wait for a good retail swapper.Seeing the other stock,I don’t think a loss should have any impact on the business.

All very funny but what are the ramifications for the testing station.Advisories are in the public domain,how would VOSA view it.If the customer was offended,some lawyer might agree and claim damages from the testing station ( not the tester) .....An alternative view !

I think every repair shop in the land is looking for a good all round mechanic.Where do you get them and how much do you offer them.Signing on fee,house with guaranteed good school places nearby,cars for him and the wife, £30k basic ( £50k darn sawf) and generous bonus scheme,free account at the local etc.The next thing will be that the good ones will be employing agents like footballers.

I think Dell needs to be very carefull about what he says.If an insurance investigator gets involved they might ask some awkward questions about the working relationship with his friend/mechanic,invoices for previous work,bank statements showing payments etc,they might also interview people at Lookers which could open a can of worms.I witnessed an accident awhile ago and I was later questioned and the insurance guy ( ex police) was good.They might establish that the mechanic is a business partner,what happens then.

Sorry to say,I don’t think we are getting the right story.Dell needs a good lawyer.

Hi Fatboy You will quickly lose weight in this job.All the stress and worry will see to that.You don’t see many fat car dealers. Good early CV,a lot of us started as valeters or petrol pump attendants,I think you will do well.

It’s a ‘trade sale’ ,CRA does not apply !

When a punter threatens Trading Standards,I used to say ,I agree let’s do this properly,please get in touch with them and when they contact us ,I will take advice from them.I am sure we will then resolve the matter. Most Trading Standards guys are straight forward although I have not dealt with any for a long time.

Hi Noa You are right about me and supermarkets except I did go to Asda a few weeks ago and caused trouble.A bit like what Mark was referring to with pensioners.I had to buy a birthday card so I stand in this long queue with people with huge baskets of shopping.When it comes to my turn I hand over £3 for the £2.50 card and the cashier does not give me any change.So I insist on the 50p and the cashier has to ring someone to open the till and people behind start giving me flack for holding up the queue.Apparently I was in the wrong one with only one item etc.so I had to make a sharp exit.

Hi Casper. An idea for you.These could become a ‘must have’ fashion accessory.Fold up personal shopping trolleys ( but with a trendy new name ) with logged in shelf smart technology for speedy shopping to take you to the food product you require in any major supermarket.Made with recycled parts and upholstered in Gucci,Burberry,Louis Vuitton etc. You just need Meghan Markle or a Kardashan to be seen with one and the global demand would be phenomenal.You could then sell out to Amazon for a billion.

Ha Ha....I know a bit about this subject despite not having a tartan trolley.Two sides to this.I think the rude ones tend to be men.Savvy pensioners often shop every day to get the best deals as food prices constantly fluctuate. My wife often complains about ‘ time poor’ younger people who fill their trolleys and who must have no idea of the price of stuff and then pay by credit card and don’t check the till receipt ( and don’t collect points ).I am told that the best deals at Sainsbury’s are mid month.Tescos can be Sunday afternoon after 4.M&S is easy to follow,for instance for the next bank holiday weekend they might be stocked up with barbecue stuff.Bad weather means poor sales and they have to drastically reduce it on Tuesday to shift it.I have seen my wife often come home with £60 worth of foodstuff having paid £15......Just general dealer chat before anyone gets upset.!

Ha Ha ...Back in the 90s I am at home one night about 8 and the owner of a local auction calls going ballistic.We did a lot of business then and we had 2 guys who bought the banger swappers.Unknown to us they both used this guys auction and one of them was attacked by the other in front of the rostrum and the sale had to be closed.Apparently the aggressor was connected to some local crime family and the auction guy said we should have known that.The next day the aggressor came in and coincidently the VAT inspector was also in.So I asked him to show his proof of ID to the Vat guy and he made a sharp exit and we never saw him again.

I did Tues at Colchester,we set off at 4am bought a few and got home 10pm.(660 mile round trip ) I know a guy who did the Thurs night sale.He bought scrap that was taxed and put them on his wagon and took them to London to I think it was called Belmont or Charlton auction.Apparently the immigrants down there would buy anything as long as it had a few months tax. What was the main auctioneer called at NCA,was it Moor.The guy I am thinking of was a quick knock specialist.

Why not,selling heavy stuff.There is a huge population and good road links within 60 miles or an hour from Manchester.Its not like the SE where I found that punters did not want to travel 10 miles because it took them too long. Good luck to them.

I have always found that you get a lot of bonuses with BCA Assured stuff when you are buying in the hall.In the last year I have had quite a few good buys from my local BCA that were wrongly marked ‘engine needs attention’.It is a big help when the on line buyers are put off.

Ha Ha Brilliant Guy,had huge success with the Sinclair Spectrum home computer.Then what does he do,blew a fortune on the Sinclair C5 electric ‘pram’ which I think he expected people to drive on the M1.What a disaster.

Sir Robert Sinclair ?

An old trader guy I got to know insists that in the mid 70s the best thing he did was have a phone system fitted in his car that cost him £2500 ! when you could get a descent house for that.He used to underwrite the very heavy stuff and main dealers would contact him first by leaving a message somewhere which would then be passed on immediately to his car phone.I have to say I do not recall anyone with a car phone at the time but I do believe him.

I am not sure whether the millennials like reading about the old days.I think we are being quite reserved,if we disclosed a lot more that might really sicken them !

We did ex Police V6 Omegas,no idea how many we sold,but it was a lot. I sent our scrap guy to an old punter last week having explained he may only get £150 for his 1 owner ,04 Vectra. The scrap guy called to say thank you etc and that he gave the punter £200.I said that was too much but he said the number on it is worth a grand !

Tax discs,radios,spare wheels,jack and wheel braces but I did not blame the punters.I used to blame the salesman.

I only bought 1.4 Rover 25’s because they rarely blew head gaskets. One of the first questions the Vat Man would always ask was if you surrendered any tax discs..Standard answer..Every car we buy is not taxed.( not a lie).....we never mentioned the swappers.