trade vet

Most of them went back to Russia.I can recall traders in the north picking them up and taking them to Hartlepool docks I think and getting good money for them from Russian trawlermen !

Ladas !I have great memories of Ladas.Easy to buy,good margins,easy punters,no warranty claims.

Forget London,especially South London,been there,done that,got the tee shirt etc. Costs are sky high,punters were all sub prime and that was 15 years ago.Because the traffic hardly moves,it was hard to get punters to travel more than 5 miles.Stay where you are,change your business model,where do you buy your stock !

When you see how much Penske make in the US where they net about $90m per quarter and each used car sale averages $1500 profit ( new $2800),it has hard to see why they bother with the U.K.It must be some sort of tax dodge as it will be impossible for them to replicate their US business here.Buying Sytner,Car People and Car Shop might not have cost them much because of the tax savings.Who is next,I would imagine they have already looked at Trade Centre Wales which to me looks like a very good business.I would imagine there will be quite a few who would like to be swallowed by Penske.

Brilliant,never heard that before.Real characters and the things that used to go on .

No it wasn’t him.This guy was on the northern circuit ( it wasn’t Tony Northern !),I don’t think it would be right to name him.

There was a good BCA auctioneer and he used to enjoy selling ex damaged stuff, his intro would be something like........nice little Fiesta here,only 2 former keepers,and you have service history,warranted mileage,good Mot.........and YES (he would raise his voice ) .....ITS ON THE V CAR as if it was some sort of mark of quality.Then he would target some innocent private to bid and trot them up high and bosh it out to them ! Then in the cafe after the sale he would ‘talk us through’ how he did it !

I don’t know what all the fuss is about.This job has never been regulated as much.IMO proper punters generally use proper dealers.Those who buy stuff paying cash to some waste ground ‘paygo’mobile traders are doing it for a reason.Maybe not in the SE,but in most areas,these days there are a lot less rogue traders and a lot less car pitches.I can recall when most small towns would have at least 10 car pitches of which half were probably dodgy.I think a lot of the ‘dodgies’ have worked out that if you want to make money, don’t do car sales anymore.....Maybe growing cannabis and using the proceeds to buy bitcoin is far more lucrative.

I hate to see badly run pitches where the stock is covered in frost during the day.I always found that in very bad winter weather,the punters would come out and you would do some business.

So what are you doing here if you don’t mind me asking,sounds like you don’t need a green card.When I go over there,I often see these super roadside vacant lots and wonder.The only thing is of course ,it’s about 500k for a business visa and you have to employ 2 Americans and also be profitable or you are out !

Hi Tradex Enfield,what a place that was,full of Del Boys and the rest !We had to stop buying there because our transport company got ticketed outside the back gate loading our stuff and refused to go back.A while before that and before we had a buyer there,I went there a few times.The last time I went,I got a train from Stansted which was OK.However,after the sale I got the same train into London,never again.A few stations down,all these kids get on ( big kids ,mostly white ‘ ish ‘ but speaking / or shouting in West Indian Patwah English .I was very uncomfortable to say the least .Every time the train stopped,more got on.However,we get to Seven Sisters ( I think) and everyone gets off and I have to stand in a queue to be searched by the Police with sniffer dogs.Apparently this was not unusual and this must have been in about 2000 ! ....Isn’t on line buying wonderful......

Did you have a pitch or ‘lot’ out there,you appear well informed.

Hi Avon Valley 100% record,you must be good.Would it be possible for you to recount one or two of these victories.

Stories,stories........I said you could not nick any at the old Chelmsford,but I forgot,we did on one occasion and this is what happened.These were the days of fax back catalogues,you would make about 30-40 low bid selections and hope your buyer might get one or two.We used have about 4 buyers at different regional auctions most days.Every day you would nick something from somewhere.On this day,the sale has just started and our guy rings to say he has already got 3 and the big lads weren’t there and stuff is for ‘nowt’.So we just tell him ‘fill your boots’,use your own discretion.Half an hour later,he has got a dozen,then we hear nothing from him and his phone is switched off.I am thinking he must not want to be distracted etc.In the afternoon,I still cannot get him,so I ring the auction and ask how many we have bought and have you seen our guy ( who is a well known local ) at Chelmsford.They say,have you not heard ,he passed out during the auction,so we have taken him home. What happened was,when the big lads arrived late,there may have been traffic problems ,I don’t know,but they probably heard that our guy had bought quite a few.All our guy could remember was that the big guys gofer who used to bring out trays of tea,gave him a cup of tea which must have knocked him out.We never found out what was in the tea,but we had our suspicions,however the Essex boys thought it was hilarious !

We used to do Chelmsford back in the day when we had a bigger operation.We only stopped because we could not get the stuff lifted quick enough for them as they were short of space.I don’t think that applies now.If it is half as good as it was 10 years ago,its worth a try.They had very good vendors then,a lot of high spec ex PLC Direct stuff ,you could not nick anything though because all the big boys were there.I recall,they were straightforward and generally good to deal with.

Excuse me,one of your neighbours operates a business repairing and selling accident damaged performance cars from his front garden and keeps a low profile ! Unbelievable, what would Margot and Gerrie do about that !

What a good swapper !

I see,currently higher rate in Scotland appears to start at £43k rather than £45k.I think that is a good deal considering the subsidies Scots can get .I am thinking free university tuition and free nursing home care etc.there may be others....no offence !

Higher rate tax payers are worse off in Scotland ? Would you mind explaining that please .

Hi Tradex I don’t think we are talking about the same people.I am referring to what is now called Car Giant,which I believe may be the biggest car pitch in the world.

I think BHM ticks all the boxes to be employed by the BBC with regard to their ‘diversity and inclusion’ initiative.If he could be a new presenter on struggling ‘Top Gear’ ,the ratings could soar !

Cloud based software,what a good idea.We can get some of our cloud based punters to use it.

So ‘lost interest due to other business interests’ was a load of bollocks after all.

They have buyers who attend auctions all over the country.I would imagine they now employ on line buying specialists.Then you have Greenhouse for the nearly new stuff and I would imagine Motorpoint have deals with big leasing companies where they buy brand new stuff at hefty discounts.The supermarkets are under big pressure to buy stock,they usually have huge stocking loans to service,so that is why when you attend auctions ,stuff you want can bring £1000 over your own valuation.I remember driving through the night in snow storms to get to Nottingham one Friday thinking the M1 would be blocked and the Great Trade Centre guy would not be there,he was of course,I think he bought the first 80 ex lease cars !

He’s a Saab punter,don’t hold your breath...