trade vet

I think there needs to be a ‘spoiler’ video which we can all use spelling out to punters the potential downside and extra cost when buying a used car from an online only dealer compared to an established traditional or local dealer who you can speak to at anytime.

I hope Cazoo go the way of the pushbike food delivery company Deliveroo.They floated this morning described as a tech company valued at billions and the shares have plunged.It will cost the underwriters billions,might effect Cazoo,hope so.

Worth looking at,some amazing claims and jargon you can steal for yourself.The management- world class team ( none of them from the trade of course ) and they have the firepower to succeed ! They are ahead of Cavana at the same stage in their development - translation - we have lost more money than them.Brittas,Alan Partridge,Reggie Perin ,George Costanza and Kramer come to mind.

They will say anything .It’s all contrived,if they manage to get the float away,they will have achieved everything.US Online used car dealer Carvana are supposed to be a success,they do $5b t/o and lose -$500m,the shares have done nothing but millions of shares are traded every day.Another US used car dealer called Carlotz managed to float with the idea that punters would pay them $300 to prep and sell their car and when it was sold they would retain another $800.They floated and sell thousands of cars but again they lose money and the share price has gone down.It must be the volume of shares traded that counts ?

Some guys I know ran a busy petrol station,workshop and pitch which was close to the local telly studios.They used to look after a presenters big daft American car.One the guys took it out for a run around but not that far.By the time he got back the local celeb already knew about it.All very Alan Partridge.

I would imagine there is still potential for underhand ‘ bounce out ‘ dealings by auctioneers.If I was bidding and bids went way over Cap when it shouldn’t and was then showing not sold,I would be quickly ringing provisionals to get my name on the sheet.

They have probably set up their own WhatsApp group where they can ‘ one up ‘each other like the usual auction ring group of bullshitters of old.I can imagine what it’s like if you post ‘how ya doing’ and in reply ‘ a bit quiet but did 9 on Monday ‘.How about margins ‘ still only netting 2 grand a unit ‘ .Then another ‘ wouldn’t get out of bed for less than 3 grand ‘. You have got to laugh.

Another Good one David.Again no ‘delusions of grandeur’ with this guy about how good he is.He is a realist about the job.

Ha Ha,hopefully you are OK,if not you should investigate.That is an unusual car for a woman to buy.In normal times it would make a good rental 24 hour taxi ( usually 3 drivers only one with a taxi licence is not unknown ).Please excuse me but that sort of thinking comes with being in the job forever !

Tread carefully.I can recall some good ones like checking up and finding it’s a taxi or been towing an overweight caravan .The last one I can recall it was the punter who deliberately burned the clutch out because he wanted to cancel and get his swapper back because he realised he had let it go far too cheaply.I gave him a full refund but not his swapper and thanked him for the business.With a lot of comebacks I used to often get the punter to drive me around for a couple of miles.On one we had fitted a clutch in prep and sold it and a month or two later the guy says it’s slipping.He drives me around and shows how it is slipping.I agree and ask if that is how he normally drives which he confirms so I then have to point out he is driving with his foot resting on the clutch. With comebacks which are potentially expensive in some cases you have to be like a detective.These days if I was suspicious, I would want a photo of the mileage and the general condition of the car and a copy of the invoice for the new parts incase the clutch is for another car !

Ha Ha.That sounds a bit like when Motability started.Become a Motability named driver for an infirm relative and operate as a taxi driver with a free car.There were cars coming back worn out.Better still in the distant past,a sales manager near us got into trouble loaning out cars on Saturday night straight off the pitch untaxed to his mates.They were used as taxis and brought back early on Monday mornings !

Just received an invoice from BCA for a 14 grand car ( not mine ) ,£829 buyers fees plus £57 Assured fee....I think that should be classed as Extortion !

What I don’t understand is BCA’s Cinch operation.Why do they think they can make more money retailing when their auctions have never made as much money as they have of late.I was reading Vertu Motors last accounts,150 retail sites,£3 billion sales,£7m net profit and 40% of the profit came from 8% of sales which was ‘after sales ‘.That about sums the job up.

6 billion or whatever,if the guy has copped for £100m of investors money already as rumoured,no wonder they are bandying around these figures.It will be interesting to see their next annual accounts.

You did well,did you check he was 18.Are there any additional precautions dealers should take when doing online/ click and collect sales to kids or new adults acting on their own.I may be wrong but I would want to know what it was going to be used for to be ‘ Fit for purpose ‘ ,a copy of their license and if they could not produce insurance I would be stating on the invoice that they understood they must be appropriately insured before they can drive on a public road.Duty of Care and all that stuff.......and no credit cards !

He probably just wants to attain Jag status.Those XType Mondeo Jags were the same ,the punters thought they had a Jag.

I am OK thank you Casper.Mind I would not like to have a punter like Alex Salmond ! It would be nice to hear you on David’s podcast.

UK Car Group are We Buy Any Car and owned by BCA.They bring top money because they are generally good and have an ‘Assured ‘ description.I have bought plenty of them and when the odd one had been misdescribed in some way, BCA have been good about it.Maybe because they own and enter all UK Car Group vehicles.

Being on a stocking loan is the least of your worries.Unless things have changed,I doubt Pendragon would be ‘blocking’ a Grade 2 Low miles 14 Jag without it having something untoward they couldn’t fix.If it had been entered by Bristol Street that could be a different matter.Where we are they block a lot of very good ready to retail stuff presumably because of cash flow.

AD was ahead of the game and he encouraged others.There will be quite a few who have prospered by following his advice.He was good for this forum.

Those who got caught up in the PPI mis selling scandal will know what I mean.I still get letters from Claims Companies for deals in 2005 when we stopped offering PPI in 2001 ?

Claims for mis selling during lockdown.That could be next,what a headache that could turn out to be if your paperwork is not precise.No defence if you have broken the law,void deal,full refund plus any consequential damages.

There might be method in their madness.Bumped into a top Ford sales guy last year who has stayed with the same dealership for many years.because he has a massive repeat customer base.He said that when Arnold Clarke took over they have a deal where ‘ sales executives ‘ as they are now called could lease a new Merc for a low rate which was proving very popular and reduced staff turnover.It appears that the mentality of your average millennial ‘sales executive’ ( with pointy toed shoes no doubt ) would prefer to go home in a new Merc than earn a big lump of commission.

I forgot about auctions,everyone would be back to driving up and down motorways again to buy stock.

Is a distance sale as stated classed as an online sale.If Rishi Sunak decides to introduce an online sales tax which he is under pressure to do,dragging in used car sales might be a good earner for The Treasury ? 20% VAT is bad enough but +5% online sale tax,...punters would love that.