trade vet

Stay with it Alfie,you could always try some different stuff,you will eventually find out what makes the phone ring.It could be tippers or fridge vans for example.I know someone who only sells dog vans,he has a big warehouse full.What about that 'bank of Dave' guy in Burnley who does people carriers in a big way. Good luck !

Hi,good luck with your venture.However,you may need to factor in that a lot of modern punters don't look under the lid before buying.

Andy,I agree.I was at the block and offered an Asian trader a cheap Toyota.He said he would have it,so I said its at our house just call and collect it.He calls when I am out,so my wife gives him an invoice but he would not pay her.He rings and says he can not pay my wife on religious grounds.I just tell him to forget it and that I will just enter in the block.With a little bit of help from the auctioneer,the same guy buys it at the block....it did £500 over reserve !

By the way,what a great deal !

Hi CGF Did you not want to buy more ambulances.. Hi Ek Central ,I remember them from the meat market years ago.I used to buy from Beiths,I did not like Central.Your father will know what I mean.....you have just jogged my memory !

In the cafe at the block and the conversation turns to 'there is a punter for anything'.Mentioned were seized Sierra Cosworths being good sellers,so were old Ladas as you could get good money for them from Russian trawlermen,1 year old, half price Austin Princess Wedges etc.( you will already have guessed,we are all Saga qualifiers) One of the guys then says remember the 2 fire engines !He had been at the local plant sale which had included 2 fire engines.The first one comes up non runner,sold as it stands lying in the yard,remove it yourself etc.,there was no bids,so the auctioneer asks our guy for an opening bid to get things going.He obliges,bids £500......bosh he's bought it.The next one comes up and the auctioneer without looking just knocks it down to our guy again for £500 to the amusement of everyone.Anyway,he settles up,gets the keys and has absolutely no idea what to do.He subsequently finds out they are both "off the button",sound healthy and are well shod,have plenty of fuel and drive ! Goes home tells his wife who goes bonkers.So in order to save money on hiring a low loader and to look official,he dons blue overalls,white shirt with crested tie and drives them back to his pitch 10 miles away without any trouble.He advertises them for £2000 each in some plant/machinery mag and sells them.One buyer owned a amusement park and by having a fire engine on site,it shaved several thousand from his insurance premiums.The other buyer was a speedway stadium who needed to regularly water the track......any more past glories !! l

Hi Rory,I wasn't inferring it was doom and gloom.Anything I say is based on past experience.I think start ups should know of any potential downsides.I think I am qualified enough to comment on most things in our business apart from stocking loans as I have never needed one.I was not trying to discourage Alfie at all. Also,In my experience,I found Close to be very good.You can ask me anything about this business and I will try and help.

We have used the major finance houses for years.However if you are a start up,you will just have to do the best you can and use brokers.When you can demonstrate you have a sound business and produce accounts,you should be able to attract support from the likes of Black Horse,Santander,Close etc.I would say don't get roped into attracting sub prime business.That means sub prime negative equity swappers which could mean that sometime in the future the VAT people could be chasing you for extra VAT on negative equity balances because of incorrect invoicing.Its a minefield !

Hi Alfie, Finance companies...be careful ! you may be offered good commission rates but it can be clawed back.You have to be mindful of the rates and terms contract.e.g. If a hirer misses 3 monthly instalments your commission will be clawed back ! That could mean ( or did in our case) if the hirer misses 3 different instalments by one day your commission will be clawed back ! Also,after a while you may want to move to another finance company who are offering a better deal.You may be asked to pay a lump sum to cover any potential shortfalls in the outstanding cases you have received commission for ! That is the downside,but if you have a good finance company and do the business for them,you will get looked after- corporate events,away days,volume bonuses etc

Yes Arfur it probably is....usually associated with traders who have failed at running a pitch.You might hear people say -What happened to so and so who drove a Bentley and had that huge pitch etc......oh yes,.he is a doorstepper now ! However,Arfur you could be referred to as a 'personal automotive procurement consultant',would that make you feel better! What about these clockers haircutting PCP's prior to their return - 'recalibration engineers'- that's another story !

Sounds good,I did say you must be a good player.I know a lot of good doorsteppers but none have been doing it for 30 years.When I tried it,I was buying from main dealers and running around all day and night getting the stock right.Selling it was the easy bit,because we had a particular imposing house then with a front door bigger than No 10.Out of interest I was talking to an old trader last week and he was describing to me how he sold 2 fire engines from the door ,if anybody wants to know !

Hi Arfur,31 years as a doorstepper,that has got to be a record,you must be a good player.If you are doing 3 or 4 per week,you must be running around 12 hours a day doing workshops,paint shops,valeters,collecting parts,going to the block and fetching stock etc.I did try it once for a few months,did well but too much hassle for me,much prefer pitches.

No offence,but I imagine Dan W is a full time dealer rather than a doorstepper.So I doubt he can demand a deposit prior to punters turning up.

Banging in quick bids etc...not always a good idea in my experience ! Auctioneers will tell you they can read bidders body language so they will trot you up every time.

Hi Jimbo When you get more established and your business expands,you won't be able to rely on main dealers.You will need to learn to use auctions.

Hi Jack,If you are doing cheap stuff,you need a good deal from AT.They must be panicking,they have just announced that private punters can advertise for free for stuff under a grand ! Please let us know what deal they are offering you.Incidently AT share price was down to 338 today ,that is down from 430 ,3 months ago ! something has got to give with their rates.

Hi Mojo,I think you are right ..... thank you !

Yeah..great deal you just have to add another £11k and you get a new poverty model Fiesta ! Can anyone tell me why this new Ford scrappage scheme will appeal to punters !

Borat...?

Hi Jimbo,you are really new to this job ! If you think you can source quality stuff out of franchised dealers you may be mistaken.Those days are long gone.I can only think of one trader still buying out of main dealers,rumour has it,it costs an extra £100 cash per car !,back in the day we used to pay £5.As for Glasses,Cap etc,if you are going to be a retailer,you don't need them,just follow the market.The pros don't use guides anymore !

Hi Jimbo,the bottom line is record keeping is very important because HMRC have always been suspicious of us.You will get some good advice on here and here is some more.S.O.R - all vehicles you offer for sale should be recorded in your stock book whether you sell them or not.The reason for this is,when you are inspected by HMRC 3 or 4 years in the future,they may have a copy of your advertised stock at some given time which they then compare with your stock book records.Typically,they could find a S.O?R car which is not recorded in your stock book,which 3 or 4 years on you may not be able to remember as you handed it back.I am not trying to put you off,but the danger here is HMRC could take the view that this is a regular occurrence and then assess for undeclared VAT+penalties+interest.........It happened to us.

Hi Carl,things have moved on a lot in the past 10 years.Sourcing stock has never been easier for most of us.Even most of the smaller auctions are now geared up for on line buyers.For £250k,today you could probably buy an established dealership with audited accounts and a £5m T/O.I wish you best of luck.

Ref....it's got to be a yellow card !

If you had checked out the dealers in the motor trader article you have hilighted,you would have seen they were either dissolved,dormant or insolvent and in one case they were a website builder and not a car dealer.So I am afraid that has blown your credibility,so maybe you should try and promote yourselves elswhere !.........Good Luck.

As they say on Dragens Den ..........I'm out !