trade vet

If our guys relied on cap valuations,we would not have a business.Most of our stuff is well over Cap clean.I get tired of traders complaining about missing stuff because it was over Cap clean,when what they were after might have £2000 worth of extra spec.

Thank you for explaining,I think even I might have won that one.She must have been a ‘nutter’.

Arfur,you did well.Would you be able to explain roughly what the case against you was and why the judge threw it out.I have been to small claims court 3 times in the last 25 years with punters and came second twice for no good reason and the other I won because the punter failed to appear.While I have won cases with builders,architects and notably BCA where I was the plaintiff.

There appears to be a misconception that small claims court judges are fair and reasonable regarding the CRA where used car dealers are the defendants.I doubt there is anyone on here who has successfully defended a small claims case brought by one of their punters.

To quote the peripherals who hang about every block.....We are busy,doing loads of Ssaang Yongs,Insignia Autos,any French stuff.......and McClarens,we are knocking them out as well ......Good sellers from the door !

I always took the bonuses in this job with a pinch of salt,because lurking around the corner there is another major problem to solve.It could be merchandise,staff,HMRC random investigations,creative assessments by VAT inspectors,banks or accountants letting you down,or things like the council under charging for business rates for 3 years.I recall the utility company mixing up the off peak and peak tariff readings for years and trying to claim £1000s.I can go on and on,so any bonuses you get, I think we deserve.

If we couldn’t get a reported problem to reoccur,I would always let the punter demonstrate what it was by getting them to drive in their NORMAL MANNER .You know the sort of thing I mean,’it hesitates in top gear ‘ or it shuts down ( goes into limp mode ) for no reason.If they cannot demonstrate the problem,do nothing. I have had them doing over 80 mph and saying did ‘you feel that ‘etc.I recall One guy being furious because his Golf Gtdi was going into limp mode for no reason ,causing him to miss a flight.Our guy plugged it in ,got a print out and it clearly showed that our punter had been travelling in excess of 90 mph.on various occasions when it shut down. I would usually say to these types that owing to their clear demonstration of their normal driving technique,the company would have to withdraw the extended warranty on their vehicle and off they would go with their tales between their legs (we do our own warranties )

Corsair V4’s ! I had forgotten about them,Tradex I hope you are not as old as me !

Andy ,Who are you being prosecuted by .OK so it’s the DVLA,that’s better than the police.I would still be inclined to PAY IT after what happened to me.I dodged a flawed speeding prosecution (£65 fine).Months later I was summonsed to appear at the magistrates on the charge of not completing the documentation correctly.It appeared to me,that I had completed it perfectly correctly,so not having any previous convictions,I went along without legal representation and pleaded not guilty .On the paperwork when inserting the FULL names and addresses of the directors ,I had stated my full name and my wife’s first name and address.By missing out my wife’s surname ,this was the offence.I am too embarrassed to admit how much I was fined,but to give you a clue,I was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £400 ! The fine must have included a standard premium for car dealers !

Mitigation etc.What if it was booked in for an MOT via your mechanic and getting clamped prevented the MOT taking place.

We are inland ,but did get plenty of seagulls as well,but since our bird scaring owl with rotating head was placed on a tree branch close to the stock,all the birds keep well clear.For £10 it’s worth a go.

Andy ,Who are you being prosecuted by .

Grant ....birds mess......get an ornamental eagle owl ,available on line for about £10.If they are placed properly,they work well !

Ha Ha..stately home overlooking lake etc,that wouldn’t work,your punters would feel outside their comfort zone.You would need to move up to over £50k stuff ! It’s amazing what you can get away with.In the AT mag days,we had 3 dull units on a trading estate and after seeing the film ‘Wag the Dog’,it gave me an idea.I got the agency to create a new heading for our ad with CGI making our units look vast with a massive forecourt and dozens of punters.It worked really well and no one complained.I think it is known as ‘artistic licence’....,sounds better than ‘a load of bullshit’.

Simon,I would continue with your home video presentations which are unique.The reason being that from a punters perspective it provides them with an image of stability or ‘air of respectability’ from living in a desirable neighbourhood etc.Unless of course,you could recreate a presentation that shows you coming out of your property or front garden,walking down the drive past one or two nice bits of stock,then into your unit.This would create an image that your unit is in the grounds of your property......

£4.5k ! ,might you be able to tell us how you were stitched up?

I agree 100%,sounds like a very articulate punter,he might agree to the terms ‘under protest’,then go to small claims court later on.

Beware ex main dealer types,they may be good on sales,but they can be bullshitters and have bad habits and cause you problems with paperwork,valuing swappers and don’t expect them to leather a car off that’s going out.I think it is better to train them up.Aged over 50 Ex workshop guys are good and reliable,they still talk like a fitter and the punters like that.We had one guy who always wore a blue overall coat,several pens in his top pocket,he used to nick the swappers and do good chucky deals.( He refused to do sub prime chuck duffers )He was always busy,making sure everything was priced up,off the button and was always checking lights and levels.The best guy we had,used to like getting up early,he would be in at 7 and would wash and leather off the stock by 9.30.The current guys can code read ,are tech savvy and don’t mind washing cars and other stuff .....That’s my experience,I hope you get a good one.

Good...you know what they say ‘ if it’s not broke,don’t fix it’

Looks good,are your punters still going to book appointments and view at your home.

You are 20 !,forget it.Go back to working at a van retailer.Like most of us,work 7 days a week learning about all aspects of the business,save up at least £50k.Do this for another 5 years,find a like minded colleague with £50k as a partner,you should then be taken seriously and you will be ready to have a go. Good Luck.

Hi there I think you would be better off by using your £15k and buying one or two and see how it goes.I know people who sell vans and work from home.They might have some arrangement to park them up somewhere which costs very little.I would forget about taking on debt at the moment,stick to what you are currently doing and try and do 2 vans per month.................I have to say,I have always got it wrong with vans,either the wrong type of side loading door or if it is a mini bus it’s got to be 9 not 12 seat etc and these van punters don’t like paying VAT.I remember buying a virtually new £10k Mitsubishi pick up at the door,It had all the toys,I thought I had nicked it.Six months later,we still had it because it had been a ‘grey import’,It did not have a heater,it had been built for the Malaysian market !

There is a downside to everything.Having looked at the numbers,it appears a better business than renting property.Even today,I saw some camper rental company in the south charging £300 for a weekend hire and a lot of their stuff was out on hire.These were older ,poor spec camper vans.In the summer,£1300 per week appears to be the going rate.Surely,that is better than selling cars !

Get your accountant or someone to do a business plan,show it to the bank and see what their response is.In my experience,bank managers are into caravans and camping.Alternativeley,if you advertised in the AT equivalent for campers,because of the talent you have,you could get an investor.There are a lot of people out there sitting on cash and getting no return for it and looking for investment opportunities.

Mr C Your Vans look brilliant.It just seems to me that if you could keep a few of them and instead of selling them,rent them out,you would probably do very well.I had not realised how much they rented for !