trade vet

In my and probably most other traders experience,punters were always prepared to travel.Then we opened a pitch in South London......It is right,you could not get them to come from more than 5 miles away......The reason,it took an hour to travel 5 miles.I think Ken Livingstone had all the traffic lights desynchronised !

When we attended sales before buying online,we often got favours when they got to know you.You might buy a few and have a couple of provisionals.To save the provisional office guys time negotiating improvements,we might say ‘we can only improve £300 on the two,we will leave it to you.’They used to appreciate that because a lot of traders give them a hard time.So often you might get them for less.

I am sure everyone with a pitch gets these guys.We just used to say hello and leave them to it.It is not as if you have a motor cycle showroom where you get inundated with these people.

Sparky,that is old news,Washington has not been a proper sale for 20 years.

Take note newbies....

AD......There is some cheap stock for you out there this week to replace it.......May we be allowed to know how much you blew......my guess less than £20 per week since August.

Hi Met....Have you heard of Hickams Dictum,the opposite of Occams Razor.When applied appropriately ( I think)to the Welfare system in our region,you may find that a majority of claimants have the equivalent of a PHD in benefit scrounging.....Get one benefit and more appear to kick in,so there is no way these people can afford to get a job.

Got them away @ 235p in late trading.......cunning plan to buy them back cheaper.....they will probably go to 3 quid !

Hi Justin..We got 8000 @ 172 not long ago,I missed selling them today at 239 I think, but I am still trying to get 235p today.However,I have had to blow a lot of money learning share dealing,if I survive another 15 years,I might be back to where I started.....!

It is up 10% today.....Private Equity considering a bid.I should be pleased as a shareholder but I am not.If you think BCA charges and poor customer service are unfair now,I dread to think what these guys might do.

Nice one....

Out of interest,we have a Dominos Pizza near us.I know a retired guy who works 5 nights a week there £50 per night plus tips for delivering etc, but they do insure him.Anyway I was asking him how the shop was doing when the Pizzas are nearly £20.Apparently on a Saturday alone it takes £10k,because all these lazy students think nothing of ordering deliveries with their plastic cards.

I do agree about good people who need a Motability car and look after them.However they are outnumbered by those proffessional benefit claimants who abuse the system.I have even heard of Motability cars being rented out as Taxis.....I have to admit that before on line buying,we did benefit from buying Motability stuff needing bodywork.There was usually a good choice needing work at B/Bushe on a Friday and being from up north,we could get the work done for half the price.I recall seeing some rediculous cars in the Motability section like Saab Convertibles which made you wonder what was going on.

Met....you might want to prepare for possibly getting both barrels from BHM...

Another star post from BHM.....Can you imagine some champagne socialists discussing this post at a Hampstead dinner party !

Well done Nick,it did sound a bit unbelievable 4 days on a 20 grand car,so I needed to hear the story,sad but I like the stories! I recall a case years ago when I had bought a quite rare 3.0 Sierra 3 Dr high spec thing out of Leeds.It was a civilian spec police vehicle and I paid a fortune for it.Next day it is waiting at the back of the pitch to be valeted.We get a call from a guy asking about it who says he saw it when he was driving past.I said you must have good eyesight,I told him the price and he says,I will have that I will pay you in the morning etc.Next morning ,this sharp looking guy comes in with the cash and hardly looks at the car.I again asked him how he spotted it from the road.......He said....I lied to you,I am a Police Officer,that was my car and I was going to bid a lot more for it but got called away etc.I got the auction to tell me who they sold it to and for how much etc.....stories .....stories I am away at the moment Nick,but I will call you next week.

£250..I did not know that.When you think about it,it should be a grand for a return and renewal,Motability Operations have few problems when you consider their directors are creaming off millions in remuneration and bonuses.With their Charitable status they have generated £2.5 billion in cash and pay out very little to good causes and it appears the government won’t intervene.

Where is Mr Northard,head of Manheim and presumerably IMDA external relations when they need him.Surely we need his intervention here to promote IMDA,it is not as if he has a pitch to run like the other founder members.

Nick.....What I want to know is how did you buy it ,prep it,advertise it and down it in 4 days for 20 grand and what was the deal.I think you must have sold it to your mother !

No....we want to hear about deals,problems,advice....... not playing I SPY

I tried to argue with BCA that the smell of Motability stuff was ‘material’ to the description for online buyers because we have had stuff where it has been impossible to remove the odour.We have actually replaced seats ,took out carpets and jet washed them and in no time the odour reappears....Of course I got nowhere with BCA so our guys just don’t buy them anymore.

It is all about the wheels,always has been.My first job was washing,valeting and painting wheels.A few years back,We used to buy loads of big Chinese copy alloys ( with tyres)when the pound was stronger.By the time you sold the old wheels on EBay they were costing about £250.....A3’s in particular would fly out.

OK Nick......Like ‘match of the day’.....you now have to talk us through the deal.....

Whatever it is,it appears to be in 90 day blue,so it needs to be cheap !

Never been able to understand the van market.Sometimes I may have bought a nice Transit,then find out that the side door is on the wrong side or it has sliding doors.We know someone who is a big time operator in ex Police dog vans,so we bought one a two....got it wrong again.Then the big problem,the punters will not pay the VAT.Specialist market,it sounds like you are good,stay with it I would say.