trade vet

I have just searched NextGear Capital and they appear to be part of Cox Automotive/Manheim.Anyway having never had a stocking plan I would like to be educated as to how much they cost and how they work.NextGear website appears to say they will fund stock for 150 days.I read somewhere else that the BCA equivalent charge 10%.Surely that cannot be right,so can someone tell me how much the money costs.Also,do you have to sign a personal guarantee or are there any other downsides to watch out for.

It is easy to miss details from the topic.I think I must be the biggest culprit aswell as going off on a tangent.Its all well intended good stuff and banter from all of us ....

I know see that Matt did say it was a prominent pitch that he was considering.

Most of us who have been in this job a long time can recall a lot of guys who talked a big game,looked the part etc and then suddenly self destructed often leaving a trail of havoc.That is why I never believe big profit talk unless I have seen actual financial results which are often availible in the public domain.Unfotunately this job attracts a lot of bullshitters.

Ok,so Matt has worked in a centrally heated franchise dealership for 8 years.He has probably been impressed by the traders who called in.If that is the case,he needs to run a check on these guys.The bottom line is Matt is still a ‘non league player’ and is likely to have difficulties running a pitch.I note that he says he does not want to make the jump to earn £50k per year.I would say earning £50k In year 1 and have the business break even is a good result for a start up. Matt would you mind providing some basic info about your proposed new pitch without telling us where it is. 1) Is it an established business and what does it sell now or if not what did it sell previously. 2) Describe the size and how many it will hold under cover and in the open 3) The cost of rent and business rates and are you taking on a lease. 4) Does it have passing trade. With this info,we may be able to explain running costs you may not have thought of,which may be helpfull.

James,that doesn’t matter he is doing 6 cheapies per month.Matt does not appear to have an accountant yet. By the way,I have had plenty of debt.In the early days I had an overdraft and then the bank manager ( remember them) warned that they could call it in at any time for any reason so advised I should have fixed period loans.These days the ‘banksters’ can pull fixed loans and stitch you up.I have never had a stocking loan because I have seen them lead traders with smaller businesses into all sorts of difficulties.There must be many who would like to close up or retire but can’t because of their accumulated debt so just keep on a brave face and carry on. One of the good things about pitches is that when you get established with a good repeat customer base,it is a big help knowing they will give you several deals each week.

All the best pros I know in this job started by selling cheapies.A lot of them are now in their 70’s and back to selling cheapies to keep them active.I have always liked good cheapies.

Sorry guys but I am a little confused.Matt has been operating part time with little experience and appears to have done very well with the added bonus of a day job.He wants to go from having negligible costs to running a pitch and taking on debt,so his ‘ stand still’ costs could easily rise to £3,000 per week.Also,I don’t think you guys can give out advice about pitches if you have never had one.You need to have worked on a pitch for several years to understand how to run one.If Matt makes the move and takes on debt,the chances are he will go bust in a short period of time.I have seen this time and time again.As for those traders we all meet claiming to make huge profits,it is usually bullshit and their businesses often have a negative net worth.So beware Matt,if you want to proceed to shark infested waters,then good luck because you are going to need it.

This is the sort of crap they talk about in the public sector in order to get signed off work for 3 months ( on full pay ).

6 per month part time,that’s good.Stick to what you are doing because full time you could do 8 and you will also improve on the buying side.Don’t be influenced by bullshit traders who tell you they are regularly netting 2 grand per car and try not to take on debt.Regarding record keeping,you need a proper one ( they aren’t expensive for newbies ) and you should consider incorporating.

Hi JKG Are you an auction guy.If you are,you are based fairly central for some big ones and there must be people on here who would pay you a fee to check out stuff and bid for them.I was looking for someone like that just last week.

I think if you are operating a roadside pitch it is all about presentation and colour combination to impress passing trade.So smartly displayed visible prices and info are important.So are big SOLD stickers.The other thing of course is that your stock has to look mint at all times of day.For the old pros in the job,I think Noacross should agree that this is pretty basic stuff.

If he is a solicitor,I would find out where he works and email a reply ‘ by mistake ‘ to some senior partner at his office with the details of his claim and asking for the service history since purchase in order to proceed.That should go down well with his colleagues.

Unless you were joking.With advice like that,would you not be better off selling time shares in Tenerife or somewhere because you won’t go far in this job.

The last wagon I sent there was for 3,the driver was held up for several hours and it cocked up their logistics.This resulted in us getting a large bill.The conspiracy theory is BCA want you to use their transport,more likely incompetence of management caused by employing too many foreign ‘Could not care less staff’.

I did not go in,the auction was heaving today but there weren’t many in the cafe.

It’s a bit better than Angel of the North.......You can get treatment Andy....I saw some tempest tossed prices at Brighouse today,went for 3 got 1.( a grand over c/c) never do any good there.

I don’t know about the diesels,we never had them.Circa 66-70.the petrol Transits were excellent compared with the column change 15cwt Thames predecessor in which the gear linkage constantly jammed and you had to get underneath to give it a shake.What about the Mk 1V Zephyr produced at the same time,now they were crap...But everything was fixable.....Best not to mention the good old days too much.

Looks like I will have to go myself.Dont like buying there on line.Was hoping to get a local Yorkie to bid for me,never mind.

The vast majority of punters are nice straight forward people.However,the odd one who lies about a warranty claim does get me annoyed.For instance,I remember being well down the M1 and an Astra we had sold went past doing about 100mph.Sometime later the guy calls in ( he was actually wearing a Ferrari Baseball cap) and asking if we could repair his exhaust under warranty.I said yes and asked him a few things like has he been far etc.He said no and always drove carefully etc.You can imagine the rest. Its not the punters,it’s all the other stuff,suppliers short changing you or just being incompetent and the bullshit explanations. I never liked flash traders,they are usually frauds.When you are struggling for a parking spot at the auction then some dickhead with the Range Rover Sport with vanity plates,fake tan and Rolex ( all the optional extras) arrives. The security gate just opens and they are allowed in because they are a big time operator,when you know they haven’t got a pot to piss in. That’s all for now.

I wouldn’t know where to start.....

Anyone doing Brighouse this Monday please ?

A recent High Court ruling found that because banks are UNREGULATED a class action against RBS for £100’s of millions for constructively ripping off businesses failed.

The point being,if you are a car dealer you have little chance of winning.Unless the rules have changed,you can’t bring a solicitor/barrister with you to argue points of law. Over the years,I have been to the Small Claims Court 8 times,won 6,5 of these were non motor trade.The motor trade case I won was with BCA,the 2 I lost were with punters and we had a strong defence in both cases and the judgements were a joke......Sorry if I keep repeating my Small Claims experience

Hi Twerp Sorry to hear about your loss.I know how you feel.The thing is if you had a PDI signed you would probably have still lost.I would have thought his consumer rights would have been diluted anyway if he had failed to declare it was to be used in connection with trade or business.RAC must have thought that. I hope everyone takes notice,I think these part time judges enjoy taking the piss because there is no appeal process.14k in 7 weeks,busy taxi drivers don’t do that,incredible. Get the judges name and complain,I have done that before.It won’t do you any good,but it will give the judge a headache.I understand these cases are recorded.