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trade vet
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Posts posted by trade vet
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1 hour ago, TRADE SURVIVOR said:Oh for the days when motors were painted in cellulose sorted many a bloomed minor or zephyr, spend a day with compound. t cut, wax and wire wool for the chrome, tyre paint and wash the engine down with petrol off all things (HSE would have field day now). Clean the points up, clean out the out the filters. Mint ball on the forecourt and a decent profit. These days most older p/ex we only allow scrap value.
If the millennials knew what it was like, they would understand why we like to refer to the old days.Do you recall it was normal to carry a donkey choker,I think it gave you more credibility.Once got poisoned with using wire wool,used loads of it on bumpers,hub caps,wing mirrors,window frames,wiper arms and no plates.They put my arm in a sling but I still watched the pitch.The thing is the traders who operated in the 50’s thought we had it hard.If they operated now they would be slitting their wrists.
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31 minutes ago, Rory RSC said:Sold many this month?
Brokered an old Daimler XJ Double Six resurrection job deal the other day.Only a ‘cheapie ‘ though 5 grand.Some would say a scrapper.I do call in to the pitch and they are still very busy.
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21 minutes ago, MattR said:No need to say it needs trailering away? £3500 is a cheapie, but is retail and comes with a warranty from here.
OK but I think most traders would still describe downing a cheapie as having no warranty and no prep.I’m out.
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10 minutes ago, MattR said:Nowhere near. But we do have indoor toilets. And it is 2021, not 2001.
Ha Ha ,well in Newcastle you can’t do a £3500 deal and tell the punter it must be trailered away.If you don’t want to tell us the area you operate in,that’s OK.
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48 minutes ago, MattR said:Markets changed. 1500 and under is scrap. Cheapies are up to 4k.
Where is your pitch is it in Mayfair.
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Recently a regular called in to the pitch with his just delivered Merc from Cacinch or whatever to have a quick check over.It was a good one and the price was right.However the rear foot wells were flooded because the delivery truck driver had failed to notice the back windows had been left open.Our guy told him that the carpet would have to come out to dry it out properly.So he phoned the supplier and they directed him to a local Bosche garage.The supplier told the garage they would only pay to have the carpets dried out in place.So the punter asked for a refund and got one..So the cost of collecting it might have exceeded the cost of drying the carpet.
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35 minutes ago, MattR said:Bollocks. Absolute Bollocks. Selling sub 5k involves a new MOT and a service, thats enough to keep most punters happy. As for 'paying by credit card and knowing all about CRA 15', thats shit. They either have the cash, borrow off family or Finance it. Might get asked every now and again about credit card but thats normally a parent trying to get extra points when buying their kids a car. Cant remember the last time I got quoted CRA 15. That only happens if youve ignored a lunatic asking for your help. I help them if its needed, they appreciate it and never grumble.
Thank you MFR for your contribution,when I refer to cheapies I mean £1500 and under.Please try again.
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1 hour ago, Frank Cannon said:I think one need only drive around the main agents to see why there is a shortage of stock and the real elephant in the room.
There are so many main agents getting cheaper and dirtier in an effort to keep heads above water.....usual pattern when things get tough.
Plenty of older cars sitting on their fronts now, incredible as it seems I've seen 58 plate stock offered up this week.
Some have started side shoot retail companies retailing much of what would of been traded on.
Problem for main agents retailing that old shit is they completely lack the proper knowledge that goes with trying to make a living out of that older stock, which to most main agents are no more than retailing washing machines. It doesn't help with buyers expectations when it appears with their name over it.
A couple of tame guys I know at main agents retailing older gear are starting to see just why these guys shouldn't be dabbling in this area. They are seeing the problems, headaches, 'interesting' punters, surprises, issues, ruckers, hatstands we see on a daily basis and, why you need to be choosy with whom you sell to, not just selling for sake of it. Also and, very importantly why just running the px 50 yards to the valeting bay is no substitute for an hours drive to check the quality of the chopper.....no 6th gear in a Focus made me laugh.
Whilst waiting on invoices this last few weeks I've been taking a sideways glance at some of the MA older stock. Some of the lack of prep work is simply astounding.....such as going with 6 month tickets, questionable tyres, slaughterd discs, a bucket of soapy water across the bonnet as a PDI, proper amateur stuff and quite frankly atrocious and slippery behaviour.
Ohh and...... marking sold as seen/spares or repairs on invoices, it's eye watering the complete lack of understanding here.
I should add the guys I know aren't at all happy with the way things are going but, the bean counters have spoken. The turnover in MAs makes me dizzy nowadays and this won't help.
Can't see things changing soon as many MA are hemorrhaging money, most of the profit is off the back of service and they are silly quiet.
Great post FC,main dealers workshop related income.Buried in Vertu Motors /Bristol Street recent accounts ( I like reading accounts ? ),it is stated that 40% of their profit comes from just 8% of their £2.5b turnover.I read somewhere they had 100 thousand service contracts in place so they might be keeping them afloat.They probably need to expand to survive ( I do want them to survive BTW they employ 1000’s ).
Alternatively,Marshall’s are doing so well they are repaying £4m they have received in Pandemic Help and 100% of the main shareholders have again voted to extend Mr Gupta’s contract as CEO.where he earns about £500k plus bonuses.He receives about £2m in bonuses ! ,how good is that.
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38 minutes ago, David Horgan said:Nearly gone as we opened up Rory after lock down click collect , like shelling peas , 80% of them never got online after the 12th they just walked out . Good money too , average of 500 notes extra on each one and some more when i could over the profit margin we planned for
.They just kept going up and up . Wish id bought 100 but we didn't have any more room .
But I am the ultimate risk taker , i have zero fear of buying , born from an early age in the wholesale fruit markets and produce auctions ,
Like now everyone who waits for the crash is losing money , I'm buying cars at what i sold them at 6 months ago but you know that too , Still selling .
Tell you what though the public are now realising that prices are fixed and cars are short in supply .
Sellers mkt and about time again
Ultimate risk taker,you must be exceptional DH retailing cheapies,I don’t know any quality pitches retailing cheapies these days.You must have a good system in place although plenty of Doorsteppers appear to still do OK with them without comebacks.I thought CRA 15 and ‘ fit for purpose etc ‘ put paid to proper pitches doing them.In the distant past I used to get excited taking in good cheapies and retailing them without touching them.Now cheapie punters expect a fresh ticket,pay by credit card and know all about CRA 15.
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22 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:I sincerely hope my pension company aren't ploughing money into any of these vendors.
It’s now reported that BCA subsidiary Cinch have borrowed £1 billion to expand into Europe ? They have only been trading a few months.Any of us trying to borrow £100k from a bank and you need to sign a personal guarantee and show 2 years trading accounts.It might all end in tears,the prep and the subcontract warranty claims could kill them.Also if the likes of Lloyds ( Autolease ,Lex ,Black Horse etc ) decide to follow suit and have a go,that might cock things up for them.
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14 hours ago, TRADE SURVIVOR said:No real surprise here as many dealer groups have already started to consolidate their representation. Twitchy bottom time for many who hold one or more of Stellantis franchises, back to the future as in the 80's there was an appetite for manufacturers to have independents appointed as service points across the country which over time dissipated as the market was over represented. Times have changed and can see this policy being revisited going forward. Can see many planning applications from Stellantis dealers being submitted, block of flats coming to a location near you.
Block of flats or whatever,I hope so.They must have put up with a lot of crap from manufactures for years.
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3 minutes ago, RH Trading said:Clearly Cap's wrong, cant catch up fast enough to reflect live prices right now, its not the market that's wrong its IMHO I believe, we've just increased all of our stock by a few hundred and are still selling fast, don't want to be left with empty spaces, cars being sold within 4-5 days at moment when they normally take 2-3 weeks
Cap is more wrong than ever.The conspiracy theory of course is that the major auction groups are not correctly reporting their results to Cap because a lot of major vendors have contracts hedged with them at guaranteed 95% of C/clean.So keeping Cap values lower would be in an auction groups better interests if they get to keep above Cap proceeds.
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1 hour ago, It's me said:angela raynor for leader of the supposition
that should do it
It could happen.Look at Jeremy Corbyn who became leader helped by membership of the Labour Party being reduced to a quid or whatever which gave people the right to vote in a leader election.So thousands of Tory’s signed up and voted for Corbyn.
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10 hours ago, TRADE SURVIVOR said:Understandable Martin whilst Carzoo and Carzam seem to have a price war going on. Also dealers such as Evans Halshaw have retail priced cars that look value compared to current wholesale prices.
There was someone on here awhile ago who said he bought stock off Evans Halshaw forecourts as they would price them up cheaply because they needed paintwork.
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8 hours ago, TRADE SURVIVOR said:I am more concerned about one of my customers rather than the economy who contracted covid in February 2020 and is still walking with aid of a stick, plus we have two retired members of staff who have spent many weeks in hospital due to the contagion. Our death rate cannot be attributed solely to the government in the early days it was the scientists who advocated a herd immunity approach, also the lack of common sense within our community's exacerbated the spread , we as individuals all have a responsibility which so many sadly ignore (been in a supermarket latley). Economy wise it's pretty cyclical around every ten years we have a downturn, we were heading there anyway just so sad for many families that this virus was the catalyst. Don't be nervous the economy it will recover. As for your point about our economy being hit harder than any other developed country I would love to see the numbers.
Young people appear to live by social media and the level of anti vaccine messages they receive causes many to fail to turn up for jabs.The worrying increase in the Indian variant appears to be in areas with a lower vaccination uptake.A doctor friend of mine does the jabs and he was telling me that he found schoolteachers took the longest because they ask so many questions about risks and after effects.I did tell him the trade has similar problems with teachers.However he did point out that Maths teachers were easy because they could calculate the risk.
All the Covid money is likely to create inflation next year followed by higher interest rates although it cannot be as bad as 89/90 when inflation and base rate mortgages were 15%.Back then the banks cut back and so did the finance companies who then pulled the rug on smaller dealers.So don’t be surprised if debt is called in and also the Poundshop rebrands as the 2 Poundshop.
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17 minutes ago, grant8064 said:Had a very busy reopening fortnight but the last couple of weeks have been really very quiet. The kind of quiet where you check the email and phone are working most days.
Needed to book one into a local main dealer last week and, rather than the usual two week wait, they had every day and every hourly slot free...six empty ramps and down to one tech sweeping up. Only thing seen in the showroom was a some tumbleweed blowing through. Maybe it's a regional thing but it's dire round our way lately.
It’s certainly dire if you have a Stellantis franchise and today you have been terminated with 2 years notice.Some of these will be smaller long established family owned dealerships ( especially in rural areas) who have put their neck on the line and loyally stuck with Vauxhall,Citroen Peugeot through thick and thin for generation’s.Then with this Stellantis merger creation and new management they have terminated every dealer and want to renegotiate. I would hope there will be those who just decide to tell them to stuff it and pack in now.
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16 minutes ago, David Horgan said:yes we ask all the time , really helpful , walk round look , start the car up while they are on the phone .
might be just our luck mind , but we haven't failed
Ha Ha,Sounds like the old days.Huge Bung Motor Company
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8 hours ago, It's me said:I'm sorry to say that this is not true
You are ignoring the inevitable if you still believe this a year since ockdown.
We have been 5 weeks back and not one sale has been made by walk ins or telephone calls
Its all been done online then they turn up see and do a transfer
This last year has changed the game out of all recognition
I'm not getting any locals apart from those with problems that reckon I will fix for peanuts because we've been here longer than they were born
You are only as good as your last sale
Loyalty from customers is getting less as your customers from 30 years ago die and their sprogs are indeed buying via tab as they are not interested in kicking tyres
No repeat punter deals in the last 5 weeks ? may I enquire how long have you had your pitch.My old pitch still gets them every day.( except during lock down) Mind it took me 20 years to get the flow going.Trade Survivor may have a similar experience.With the exception of those dealing heavy tackle,I think it is better to keep your best stock for your local punters and pick and choose retail swappers.Everyone to their own !
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1 hour ago, David Horgan said:better than employing starmer or corbyns gang , all the stock gone for free to to non working idle twats .
Imagine Abbott in charge HAHA well errrrm what we think , is this urm let say this , what i mean is lol
What she means is wheres my other bloody shoe cos these two are the same colour
, and where my counting beads gone my god shes one cell short of a single cell life form .
Think the country thinks that way as well , the last two elections prove that one
I can think of dozens of Labour MP’s who would find it difficult to hold down any job in the private sector.Mind Dennis Skinner although a bit tall might have been a good valeter.Ex Miners were usually good valeters,they never stopped working in all weather.If I went on holiday I think I would prefer to leave the pitch with Kier Starmer in charge rather than Boris.
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When or if we get over the pandemic,there could be many enquiries set up.Of course enquiries can take years and the general rule appears to be that you carefully choose a judge and water down the brief.WMD springs to mind.Boris appears to thrive on chaos,being PM is hard enough but can you imagine his personal and financial problems.Parliamentary rules are not top of his agenda.He is paying for ex wives,apparently at least 6 kids which we are not allowed to know about and he might have to pay off his American ex girl friend to stop her writing a book.She has a short window to get maximum sales and financial impact.
Can you imagine employing Boris,he would probably be your top sales guy but he would leave havoc.Forget to get docs signed,forget to get MOT’s for swappers,do HPI’s,misplace deposits etc.I have seen sales guys like that and the best solution was to employ a minder who did all the paperwork and the handovers.
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8 hours ago, TRADE SURVIVOR said:Hi TV, will see what I can do. May upset a few folks as I can be a contentious old chap who is not concerned about chucking the odd grenade now and again to stimulate a debate
Excellent,you need to get fast tracked into the Private Lounge.
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2 hours ago, TRADE SURVIVOR said:Similar to David steady away and ignoring the comics, putting prices up virtually between cups of tea. Discount is not a word we recognise. only regret is not filling a field full of stock when prices were on the deck, hey ho
Hi TS,great posts.We need more pros on here.Keep posting please.
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3 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:I'm hearing a whisper from three used commercial dealers that the used van market is getting a tad sticky although new is still strong......place a custom order for a new Trafic expect delivery next March due to parts shortages.
.....only so many 'Herpes' drivers out there I guess.
Camping gear is where the smart money is and I'm not talking leather chaps, eyeliner and rouge
PS strictly appointments here still in an effort to keep the shite from the door.
I bet the camper van conversion guy who comes on here would like his vans back to rent them out.
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1 hour ago, BHM said:A CCJ for the PM. I couldn’t believe it - supposedly some scoundrel has made a false claim & Boris is looking to get the debt struck out.
Apparently it’s a correctly submitted claim but it appears No 10 spinners have chosen to ignore it.Some unnamed mail office minion in no10 will probably get the blame.If Labour were streetwise they should start a trend.
2010 Audi A3 2.0TDi 170 bhp Oil level rising
in General Dealer Chat
Posted
Pardon me but is remapping best left to the punters.Any punters talking about remapps is not a good signal.We do our own warranties,I would tell them if you buy from us and get a remap,your warranty is void.Saying that,remapping as a stand alone business appears to work.