trade vet

Was the punter Lee Marvin.....search Point Blank 1967 A little ride on you tube..

Out of interest (or not) make sure you are being correctly invoiced for MOT tests.We had been subcontracting MOT’s and PDI’s and a typical bill was for an MOT,oil change and filter,cambelt etc at £x + vat.It was several years later when we realised we had been paying vat on MOT tests which are zero rated.I think we were paying £35 for the MOT’s and we had overpaid a lot of VAT.We tried to reclaim the VAT but we just gave up after being passed around various HMRC offices...So just in case,make sure you are being correctly invoiced as MOT tests carried out direct to you from a testing station are zero rated.

Long ago,when I was a junior working on this busy pitch for £10 basic plus commission for doing 10 per week etc.The best sales guy was a Blake Carrington lookalike ( anyone remember him) who sold so many he had his own young ‘cocky’gopher to do all the paperwork and hand overs.So Blake being so busy gives the gopher a strong sales lead for a Sunbeam Tiger which were hard to get.He says we have had a Lord on the phone,give his Lordship a call insist on speaking to him,be polite and offer to show him the tiger,it’s a guaranteed sale.The cocky gopher must have got through and got a real ear bashing .He did not know he was calling Lord Lambton whose stateley home grounds included his Lambton LION park.

If you are in the Midlands you are fortunate to have a huge choice within 2 hours drive.We never got many from Peterborough.While not knowing what you sell,if it is older stuff for instance,as long as you have a good paintshop and workshop etc.....

I have done a bit of doorstepping,the better the doorstep,the easier it is.I was just talking to a sales guy this morning who I have known for years.He works full time for a doorstepper ( his description) who operates with a ‘grand name’ and they do 20 per month doing heavy stuff.However it is from a palatial residence with huge grounds.

Whether you do BCA or Manheim or any of the others,there is always plenty of stock about.If you are not an online buyer,you have to ‘get on your bike’ to get the stuff you want.It always amazes me when traders just rely on their local block and constantly complain.We used to drive late at night up and down the country every week to get the right stuff.Buying is a lot easier now than it was.

That’s awful,£15k you have got to claim for that plus the stress and shock etc...You will still get insurance .Alternatively I recall a trader near us who had his Porsche stolen who had offered a grand ransom to some local bad lads to get it back.He got it back.

That’s good......By the way, I bet you had to fight to get £250 out of BCA !

Sorry to be a ‘doubting Thomas ‘,but will you not need 2 VAT accounts and 2 different stock books to keep that going.I like Justin’s comment,I can identify with that ! We are just trying to keep you right,car dealers get no leeway with HMRC,you are not allowed to make mistakes.

So fast forward 5 years,business doing well.....question from HMRC inspector.’Do you pay all your business income into the company account’ ‘Yes of course’ you answer............Then the inspector produces the above......

Hi Mark Warranties..we started doing our own over 20 years ago,we throw them in.Upselling warranties,service contracts,Gap ins and other stuff is easier for main dealers.In the past,when we have done it,it just seems to cause bad feelings with the punters down the line.

Definateley not sub prime.....we never offer sub prime.....we tell them ‘no sub prime get your own’.....no commission or volume bonuses,horrible swappers ....the job is hard enough !

OK........The thing is when you have a pitch ,sales staff can get a bollicking for doing a straight sale for full money on something that has made the phone ring.The reason of course is they have probably cost you a grand,because they have not been listening when you have told them,we need a good swapper and chucky on this one.

FAP......does that mean full money ?

Half term and bank holidays,I have always hated them.Have you noticed that public sector workers now appear to finagle a bank holiday Monday into a weeks holiday on full pay.Good for pubs and restaurant trade but no good for our job.Looking ahead to May,the way the 2 bank holidays fall probably means 3 poor weeks trading in the month....Then there is a Royal Wedding of course...On the other hand prices at the block might ease a bit,apparently BCA are back up to 25000.

Dan appears to have gone to ground......our advice may not be what he was expecting.....he probably thinks we are like the crimplene guys at the main dealers !

Hi Stephen It does not work like that.Chartered Accountants are like GP’s,they cannot know everything but do their best.You just have to look at how the HMRC inspectors manual is written, to give you an idea.The other thing is tax inspectors can often interpret tax regulations differently amongst themselves.......In the last year or two there have been several multi millionaire footballers declare bankruptcy having been faced with massive HMRC penalties after being advised by top accountancy firms to set up legal tax avoidance schemes which were later outlawed, not the accountants fault.As for HMRC,we had a case for instance where we (our company) being from the North East bought a flat in London which was handy for staying during the week as we bought most of our stock down there.After 10 years,HMRC made a ‘discovery assessment’ that because it was ‘availible to us’ at weekends,it was a taxable benefit although we were never there at weekends.I was taxed personally on 2/7ths of the open market rent ( which was a lot) backdated for 10 years with interest/penalties etc.I argued that how was it therefore ok for Arthur Scargill who had allegedly awarded himself on retirement a rent free for life multimillion pound London apartment.It is apparently owned by his employers the miners union yet he must be getting away with it as he would have had to pay a grand per week in tax on the benefit......Of course they cannot comment on other taxpayers.....I am sure you get the picture now.

If he has taken out a big balance on finance,will he not still be liable for any early settlement charges.If he had a good swapper,I would just keep that and charge him 45p per mile for the Audi......I have found that with these types who are completely unreasonable,there often is another story and they won’t come clean.

Good accountants .....if you pay them a lot of money they may be able to make your accounts look better.Just look at Carillion and what about that wiz kid Essex dealer with little experience who was getting all these awards before his balloon burst. HMRC will tell you,if you employ an accountant and he makes a mistake or messes up,you are responsible for his actions and you will have to pay up.......I have been there !

Hi Simon Welcome to the Jungle.....I have looked at your website......I like it....However,it may be a good idea to mention and embellish your franchised dealer sales manager CV,punters will identify with that,it will increase your credibility. ...I bet you have some good contacts for buying stock direct......Good Luck in your new venture.

High Screenman....You know quite a few ?...I have to say,if you press the button on them at Companies House you may get a different story.I know guys with the big pitches,talk the talk and walk the walk etc,nice houses,big rolex’s ,keep up appearances etc and the truth is entirely different.....they are treading water ! not like 40 years ago.

Dan.....All that stuff is straight forward.....it’s stock buying techniques newbies want to know about.

£750 p/m in London area for 10 cars with outside parking......’cheap as chips’

Hi Lee Everyone gets a few declined every week.You don’t want to be chasing ‘chucky duffers’ if you are running a good business.In my experience,you want prime finance punters who create better commission and volume bonuses,they have better swappers and better still they are more likely to return.When these sub primers default and get snatched back,they don’t blame the chucky company,they will blame you for stitching them up ! ......I will stop there.

Are there any successful,wealthy and profitable car dealers left out there,I cannot think of any..... can you ?