trade vet

Ha Ha never had a Samurai but did plenty of Estelles ,they were cheap .Another blast from the past or distant past,I tried to advertise a Moskvich Van in the local rag in the early 70’s when the unions were causing havoc.The advert was refused because I described it as “will carry 50,000 strike leaflets “.

Not only the importers,In the early 80’s ,dressing up your stock was a trend.Vinyl roofs,plastic sun roofs ,trim rings ,coach lines ,DIY white wall tyres etc. You could then describe them as a Special Edition .I think we did a Datsun Sunny Celebration Special Edition ,I didn’t need to with Ladas,they were bog standard ! Yes Savage wheel trims ! I had forgotten about Samaras,I once used one of them as a local smoker for a month or two .I made a point of parking it next to the bullshitters/gobshites ‘chucky’d up ‘ smokers with shit personal plates at the local BCA ,just to annoy them !

Memories,memories ,it’s a future classic ! Ladas ! they were good news,easy to sell,never needed paintwork,good punters ,no come backs.Those were the days,if the millennials only knew the way it was !I still remember one punter who we sold a 2 year old one to for about £1500 with a 10 year old Lada swapper for £100 and he said “ people laugh at me but the comp insurance is £100,I don’t need to lock it up,nobody will steal it and they never go wrong.I also know someone who was a Ford dealer sales manager ( as they were called then ) who then set up on his own in Newcastle and got a Lada franchise , he became one of the biggest Lada dealers in the UK.It might do £2000 in Brightwells Classic sale………Wonderfull !

So the founder and Chief Honcho has been removed.However,no worries and in order to ‘reset their top line ( not bottom line ) ambitions ‘and to ‘ maximise their cash runway ‘,they have created a new strategy —— close down prep centres which probably means sacking fitters,painters and valeters and ‘Bob’s your uncle ‘. You cannot make it up.

Hi guys,out of interest,circa 10 years time when there will be far more EV’s and rapid charging is the norm which depletes batteries quicker,can anyone project how much older EV’s will sell for.For instance will a 10 year old,100k,average size EV but with 30% battery depletion be considered a ‘cheapie ‘ in the trade caused by the prohibitive cost of batteries.Could a 60 grand Tesla or similar become £3000 ! Alternatively will the equivalent Euro 6 petrol and diesels retain their values far better and be better retailers than they are now………..thoughts please.

Now Cinch have reported a £149m loss.You have got to laugh,serves BCA right for copying Cazoo .Most of their best sources of stock is hedged at 95% of Cap and has been doing at least a grand over Cap.So with their additional huge buyers fees they must have been netting at least £1500 per entry through the block with no prep,comebacks or advertising .So those dickheads who thought they could do better per unit by retailing should get their P45.You cannot make it up.

Looking forward to the next press release from the Cazoo guy . Something like ‘ we would like to thank NYSE for their support,we continue to meet our projections with increased cash flow,lower carbon footprint,and our upgraded health and safety programme .Our latest modern slavery mission statement emphasises the strong beliefs we have while driving the company forward.The company is in good hands.’ Etc etc

I doubt that the Police even record cat thefts as it is an insurance claim.A few years ago our transport company had cats costing £1800 each stolen from 80 new Merc Sprinters which were stored in their yard. It didn’t make the local news

Shares down 36% yesterday to 13 cents,are they not trading illegally by losing all these millions,do they not have a duty to enter administration or Chapter 11 Protection or whatever they call it in the US .Are punters not at risk and where is the FCA.

Ha Ha …Your right,how things have changed.I remember going to parts counters and asking for things like a track rod end for a 68 xxxxx and the guy would say ‘ that will be a 739824,we’ve got them ‘ then take 2 mins to get one and you could pay by cheque and no questions asked.

Franchise dealers always got a hard time from manufacturers.It is like having a noose round your neck if you are a smaller dealer with a franchise.Now after a recent court case,it appears any franchise dealers can be given a few weeks notice and terminated for any reason.According to reports Stellantis appear to be behaving like Mr Botna ,who was the sole importer of Datsun in the UK,(if anyone remembers him ) and the strokes that were pulled on dealer principals who had to put their houses up as security .

Ha Ha outrageous ! stitched up by a lovely ‘old dear’,bet you thought you had nicked it. Nice one.

It has always been the same,the worst ‘ Chucky Duffers ‘ tend to come out of the woodwork in December.They must think because it is a quiet time for car dealers,they will somehow get accepted.

With the worst ones it is virtually impossible to get rid of the odour and after a week or two ,it usually comes back.We had an ex Motability Golf which had several wet vacs,smoke bombs and we even changed the trim.We retailed it twice and had to refund it each time and had it in stock for about a year.Then third time lucky we retailed it again and it never came back ……….the punter was a farmer !

Would you mind providing more information.What was the issue,was it Assured,did they offer a remedy,who was the vendor,who did you take to Small Claims and what was the result,how many do you buy per month.Just read G3 T & C’s and it clearly states they can reject anyone without reason.( BCA state if you take legal action they can cancel your account. ) .Normally when you buy at auction,the contract is between the buyer and the seller and the auction acts as an agent .

Hi SAC,I think the guys need to know what stuff you deal in.There are hundreds of auctions scattered all over the UK.Buying from the block these days is a lot easier than it used to be.

Kojak nice one,he would be ideal for the Met right now………Who loves ya baby. ( apologies to the millennials )

Sounds to me like Close are looking after you.Unless things have changed with the top tier finance companies,if it is any help ,in my experience in order to qualify for better rates and terms they factor in volume of business,average balances,proposals to acceptance ratios,No of rejects,no of default cases on your account etc and whether you are beating their targets. Also they consider whether your account is high maintenance or not.Interest rates are rising so your finance income should increase anyway.. I found Close to be nice people and a good steady finance company to deal with.

My experience.Our company had an expensive trade policy with Aviva going back to the distant past when it had been called several other names.It always specifically stated my name and that I was covered for social and domestic and we never made a claim.When I retired they said I had to start again and donkey’s years no claims meant nothing. As we had paid out a fortune in premiums over the years plus we have several other policies with Aviva ,an argument ensued and I took it to the Ombudsman…..who agreed with Aviva.

A lot of DVLA staff are still working from home.To try and get a reply from a human,I would be communicating with them by first class,signed for registered post.I still wedge plates on the inside but not now.How about paying 1 months Road tax by cheque ‘ under protest ‘ and request that they provide a photo.You were not smoking it as I don’t think using Trade Plates for private journeys is allowed. Good luck with DVLA

Best trade bullshit I have heard in over 50 years.Cazoo top guy has stated he is very proud of their latest results,losing £240m in 6 months which I think equates to losing 5 grand per sale.Shares now 50 cents,down from 10 dollars.This guy might be better off going into hiding.You guys make sure to tell your punters to steer clear.

Hi guys, Interesting topic.I think this business model is a minefield.With varying rates of duty charged on both the purchase and freight invoice price and with VAT charged on top,you must need huge mark ups to make it work.When you factor in waiting times for shipping, type approval and registration at DVLA .DVLA alone can take months and your import will probably get highly taxed as private light goods under the new regs which can confuse punters. Another consideration regarding VAT is that HMRC inspectors are allowed to interpret their own rules any way they want and challenging them is not easy.Those of us who traded in the 90’s will recall that many dealers did well with Jap imports while following what they thought were the correct import rules.Unfortunately many of them were subsequently destroyed by HMRC at a later date. You can make enquiries with HMRC but they are unlikely to help and they might refer you to your accountant or your agent as they call them. So not much help but best of luck,there must be easier ways to sell cars.

Wonderful.Thank you for your update Mr C.

Sounds brilliant Mr C.Can we have an update on how you are doing.You surely cannot do 20 of your wonderful conversions on your own.

So GB Fake News then.