trade vet

All the banks appear to be hard work now,so I opened a personal current account at Virgin Money.Just the same,one day I go in and request them to transfer current account money into a new deposit account.I was told no,you must make an appointment and bring proofs of address,photo ID and utility bills.I refused and told them I did not like being treated like a money launderer,they have known me for several years and the money being used they already had...I was asked to wait for a while before they said they would do it......Then I was told,this is the account we recommend,it is called....wait for it....the Manchester United account and earns zero/nowt per cent etc.( well that’s normal) I said no thank you and I needed to know who came up Manchester Utd so I could complain.I wait awhile more until they offer to set up a non Manchester Utd account.I subsequently complained to customer services but they never replied.....you cannot make it up !

Nice one....I don’t think I have seen one since the 70s...!

When I think about it apart from Saab’s ( but not convertibles) over 8 year old so called performance novelty stuff with several owners.What historically springs to mind,Lotus Cortinas ( crap cars,awfull punters),through Escort RS,Volvo T5,Impreza,Peugeot 406 coupes,and best of all Sierra Cosworth ( drug dealers had to have them to maintain their credibility), can’t think of any current ones but there are plenty of twat punters for most stuff these days.

Sounds like a good one for the small claims court.I may be wrong but you could possibly embellish that with consequential damages,loss of profits,hurt feelings,breach of contract and other stuff,get it up to £3000..Our guys mainly buy online from BCA,they operate the same,threaten them with court action.

It will be interesting to see how diesel prices go at the block......I think over 8 year old stuff will struggle to get bids,however if up to 5 year old stuff takes a dive,it could be a good opportunity.

Can we hear about some good punters for a change.The ones who are pleased to see you and rely on us and those who thank you for selling them or fixing their car.

If you are a Ltd company and HMRC pick up on this and class it as drawings,you are in deep shit.

So you get a good salesman to do 3 or 4 per week.That will cost you at least £30k.He probably won’t wash and valet your stock every day ( which you probably do ) so you need a part time valeter/car washer,cost about £12k.Unless you do a lot of finance business,a £100k stocking loan won’t be cheap.Throw in all the other overheads including comeback costs and you will need to gross at least £150k profit to net £10k if you are lucky......If you can as you say, sell 3 or 4 per week on your own,just stick to doing that.

If you worked for the council or better still the BBC and you commented on your observation you could probably find yourself in trouble.Someone would probably get promoted for reporting you.

Sounds like you prefer the campervans.Are you not better off borrowing money from the bank to expand your campervan business.Surely there is a lot more profit in them and you can always rent them out for big money.There is very little profit left in car sales these days.

That has ‘ schoolgate credibility’,I am sorry to say.It would sell,probably on chucky,a must have for the Kardashian like generation.

Hi Simon Do you have a pitch How many do you stock What do you specialise in How many do you average per month on your own It may be that you are doing OK and taking on debt might not be a good idea.

If you don’t mind me saying,when you call your business Elite Preowned Vehicles,you can’t exactly be seen running around in some Skoda or Corsa swapper the way we would because it was half full.

£2550.?..........That must come under the theft act..

WBAC is a huge success for them.BCA last results stated they had sold 300,000 WBAC and made a lot of money.They report again in June and they are already saying profits are ahead of expectations.They are also replicating WBAC on the continent,it will be interesting to see their results this time.

That’s an unusual fantasy Arfur !

And prime slots. However,it is possible that the auctions could be paying the big vendors fees to get the business.

I have had several pitches and what I have learnt is that everyone was different.You can not replicate what sells well for you by moving elsewhere.You have to try different stuff and find out.Like BHM,I think seven seaters are good news and attract good punters who often travel to buy them.But you need good road links,if you operate in the south east you may struggle.You have to find your niche,I know one guy who just does Insignias because they are cheap as chips.One of the most successfull traders I know sells ex Police dog vans in a big way,we tried it and it didn’t work for us......At the end of the day,it is not the stuff you like,it is what the punters want that counts......Successfull car dealers are not car enthusiasts !

So you did panic Mikey.Never mind,you can tell your mates you have sold 50% of your stock over the weekend,you don’t need to tell them you have made nowt.......We have all been there..Good Luck !

If you knew how good Cherry’s were,you would not be saying that.Great profit makers,100% mark ups were normal and they rarely came back.A friend of mine ran had a Datsun Cherry resurrection business.He rarely paid more than £150 for them.The Datsun main dealer considered them scrap,but he would buy 3 or 4 at a time from them twice a week.Two new wings and sills later ( £40) and he would knock them out for £500.....The good old days and it’s a pity a lot of you guys missed them.

Not just our job,I was talking to an upmarket pushbike dealer yesterday and May is normally their busiest month.It is supposed to be a growth industry,however he told me it is dead.

No one will know ?.............Good Luck

Driving north on the M6 or any other motorway on a Friday during the day,did no one tell you Andy ?

Yes,you have to put a lot of time in,usually hours at home the night before.No body said it was easy,but us old guys were used to working on the pitch then driving far down country late at night to attend some sale the next day.Now you can attend umpteen sales on line in a day !.....If you want to be a good player in this game,just work half days every day.....then the other 12 hours are yours !

Hi Adam So where is the problem.Ex fleet higher miles stuff.It has never been easier to buy,you just have to do your homework properly then press the button.Most of the stuff our guys buy is £500-£600 above Crap Clean and they are for nowt, but I recall we bought a Wrangler last year and paid £3500 over Crap and that was cheap also.If you target 70 cars per day at various blocks around the country you will buy 3 or 4 and nick 2 of them........Anyone disagree.