trade vet

Yes AD,I agree,but my understanding was that there are still a lot of over fifties ( cash punters and debt free )who don’t use the internet but buy newspapers, so for £50 it was worth ago.It wasn’t just sales it was a car buying add also and I thought we would have a least bought one car from it.

If you want to look like a tourist,do the PCH in a Mustang Convertible....How many Mustangs do you see in LA ,not many.

We tried the local paper.The rep said sales were now down to 25000,so I checked and it was nearer 16000.Anyway we were getting a quarter page for £50 ( would have been £500 in 80s ) so we gave it a go for 2 weeks.The ads looked really good..... We never got a sniff.

He may have to pay up with an accompanying recorded delivery letter boldly stating that the payment is under protest.Then he can do something about later.

Walsall...Northerners........???

I am referring to doing basic stuff yourself.Jet washing,machine polishing,wet vacs,inking and touch ups etc etc .It can become an addiction.

Spec check is good.We bought a Convertible 3 series at the door lately for top money and it did have a lot of extras.Like Nick’s ML,we did a spec check and it had 14 grand of extras,does help the job.

Thank you Nick,they are charging us £3.21 on our new and larger account but as an extra when they said it was included........... ......game on.

You work on your own and don’t do any minting...? .It is different for you internet,appointment only traders.With pitch hopping punters your stock has to be mint at all times because they might buy something else to what they came in for.I do believe you about jet washing engines,let’s face it there are a lot of punters now who buy without looking under the bonnet.However,us old guys like it mint under the bonnet.

It’s not fair,it’s just another hurdle in the obstacle course.Theft of prime chucky punters is even worse. Out of interest Nick how much are they charging for spec check and is it included in your overall deal.They told me it was included but it wasn’t,infact they told me a few things and charged more despite us having another account with them from many years ago.

You can never do enough on the appearance.I used to spend hours valeting,minting and transforming stuff.You can go back to the same car time and time again and find something else to improve it.I still know ‘prep stars’ from years ago and they still command top retail money from transforming stuff at minimal cost,such is their skill using machine polishers,touch ups,printers ink on bodywork and their work on interiors and under the bonnet is something else.

I bought a few at Newcastle yesterday and managed to collect one but the others were blocked.So we go back this morning and they were still blocked in.It is really annoying when the yard guys are in no hurry and when you tell them that you expect an easy collection because you have paid £300 in buyers fees per vehicle,they just look blank.Other than that, Newcastle is very good ,friendly and efficient compared with the southern auctions.We stopped doing Enfield years ago because the transporter got a ticket while loading near the rear gate so they refused to lift from there again.Wimbledon was another one,the transporter was chased away at 4pm because they would not pull 4 cars because they finished at 5.

OK Justin,what was it and how long did it last for.I am on about when it should be clear as polished glass to them that your record keeping is accurate and above board,you employ a credible chartered accountant and yet they plough on and on. You quoted that before,you may need to get a check up James....

Melv Can we have a reply and more info please.Daily Rental Company name and confirmation it was direct from them etc.You May have to go legal but it could be worth your while.

Hi Melv I think you need to focus on the description.Ask to listen to the tape and try and get a copy of the catalogue.If it was a direct ex daily rental car,that is material to the description.There have been cases lately where dealers have been heavily fined for not disclosing about ex daily rental cars.Good Luck.

Thank you Dave I am pleased there is someone else on here who knows what it is like.

Hi Mikey I think your videos are good,you could do ours as we have given up on them.Do you have a website,cannot see one.If you are a startup,you need plenty of embellished bullshit about yourself on your website.Also,you have to be prepared to keep stuff a while and not panic and chop prices.Also,you have to think like a punter,why should they buy from you etc.

AD I am not,I am a realist,if you knew these guys and I do and I have had first hand experience of their mentality at work.They are so dim.....I am not one for past glories in this job but I have probably had more than most on here.However,I do prefer discussing the problems and the remedies, maybe I should change my tag to Victor Mildrew.

You are right of course Noacross,I am just thinking like the average inspector.One of them said to me that he was very interested in lifestyle,he got very bored later when he realised we worked all day and every day. I agree,I am not challenging,it is just that weekends skiing abroad sounds like £3000 to the people I am referring to.

Wonderfull.Nick that’s better than the travel guy on BBC.Bulgarian tourist board probably needs you to help them do their marketing.

Skiing every other weekend,you might want to delete that Nick.Unless you are using your local artificial ski slope ( as in Eddie the Eagle ) I can think of one government organisation who are very interested in their customers lifestyles.

Pannal Auctions Harrogate remember them.Low starting bid,auctioneer’s response ‘ what do you want ....blood ‘,Glasgow Meat Market,( that was a story on its own) ,auctioneer Mr Beith Senior,again low starting bid,his reply ....after a pausing briefly...’ I would not like to sell you a new one ‘.

A trader friend bought something from our local BCA in the fleet and finance a good while ago.In those days there was an engineers report on the screen and items where referred to as being serviceable or needing attention.He paid for it and reentered it leaving the BCA engineers report on the windscreen.It did a little bit of profit.The private buyer then returned the car and requested a refund.BCA asked my friend what he wanted to do.He said there should be no refund as it was clearly sold without warranty and the BCA engineers report was visible to the buyer.Trading Standards got involved and prosecuted for selling an unroadworthy vehicle despite the engineers report describing brakes,lights and steering as serviceable.He was fined in excess of £2000 + legal costs and full refund.....Let’s hope Autolink is OK.

The definition appears to have changed.James EPV for instance very cleverly got himself nominated for a dealership award and I think he was operating from home.Maybe we should refer to ourselves as a ‘brand’ and there are those on here of course with an in house R & D facility.

I used to always find it hard work when you had a ‘Chinese delegation’ in viewing.Lots of noise amongst them but you would persevere because you knew they would be carrying a lump of cash. I know someone with a lovely showroom and super mint stock.An elderly couple came in with their greyhound/whippet type dog and they were opening rear doors and letting the dog jump in and out.He asked them what they were doing and they said they were showing the dog the cars.He didn’t know what to say so he went back to his desk to think about it.A few minutes later they come over and say something like,the dog loves the blue one,we will have that one and produced a wad of cash from a plastic bag.