MSP Motors

Hi, I could get road risk cover for around 800/year, however I choose not to. Travel costs is getting about on the train and fuel costs for the month, I don't think 400 is that bad. Im by no means high end and do sell middle of the road cars. I have had months were I have sold 15-20 cars this year, however last 2 months have just been dire! I am really desperate to leave autotrader, it's just the fear of the unknown!

Hi, This is how I get to my overheads; rent 900 At 1242 ebay 170 Motors 160 insurance 300 phone 70 Travel 400 accountant 150 misc 300 All these figures are Gross. I am based in Hertfordshire, just inside the M25 and I trade from an industrial estate, I have around 20 cars. I have sold 3 cars this month and all have come from Motors.

Morning guys, Im interested to know the different range of monthly overheads you guys have. I am really struggling right now. Im a one man band and my monthly overheads are £3700 without paying myself. This month and last have been a real struggle and as always in times of despair, you begin to question yourself.

Clever..... Apart from, im at the opposite end of the country to Runcorn. You just don't have a clue about any of this and every one who was had the misfortune to read this forum knows that (I suspect you know it too, otherwise you wouldn't be asking..... You'd be doing!)

I'd tell him to put in whatever he likes in his will, but come your funeral buddy, we shall not be contributing!!!

I say just go for it. If you have a good idea and have confidence in it, invest all your money into your project, build up your client database and away you go. On a side note, I want to test your knowledge on an idea of mine. I was thinking of setting up a brokerage firm for the housing market. Do you think it's viable if I go to prospective house sellers on Rightmove. I will then list the property on Facebook and take a commission from the seller. What do you think? I have absolutely no experience in this, but I think it's an easy, hassle-free way to make some easy money? Sounds easy. On a serious note, what makes you think you are entitled to make any money in this industry without putting hard work or capital into it. You are a complete tool and that's why everyone has responded in this manner.

I'm happy for you guys who are busy..... But I must admit I am utterly and completely dead. As our my neighbours. I sold 14 last month, this month I'm on 4 and to add insult to injury can't get near sourcing any stock. Maybe it's just me......

And the verdict is in........ So I turn up to the court with my one line of defence..... " I didn't personally sell this car" against a stack full of lies that the claimant had prepared. I get briefed before I go in that there are 5 cases to be heard at 10am and only 2 judges........ As I'm sitting in the waiting room I'm starting to think I should not have prepared this defense this way and all the other doubt is creeping into my mind. Then my case is called, so I'm straight into the hearing room......... And to my surprise, it's just me! The hearing lasts 5 minutes and it's struck out! The judge expressed surprise that the claimant is a no show and warns me that they have grounds for appeal, but has a quick scan through the paperwork and says, it's obvious that the claimant bought the car from a LTD company so rules in my favour. As I am leaving the court building, who should I walk past? Only the claimant and his dad..... I feel like informing him he's 15 minutes too late, but I restrain myself and just walk on feeling at absolute buzz! Now, I know he can appeal, or start a fresh claim against the business.... But to be honest I don't care now! I cant see an appeal working as he was just 15 minutes late! And if he decides to take the ltd company to court again, I will always have this little victory to fall back on, even though it was not the absolute victory I was hoping for, it's a victory.

MrC and umesh, you are both completely right. People are so used to sending back a product, that when it comes to a used car that they bought for next to nothing they expect that I should just cave in and return there money. If they had provided any evidence from a garage that they had an issue, then for a sake of an easy life then I would have most probably refunded at the time. However, because nothing was sent to me and I was not permitted to look at the car, then genuinely what would people traders be expected to do? He wouldn't even tell me a fault at first and his emails to me were riddled with lies. The truth is the car could have a really serious fault (I really doubt this), could need a sensor/pressure valve or could have no fault at all. The fact is, many months down the line it is still not clear what the actual fault/if there is a fault, yet I am expected by this customer to pay them back in full. Failing that, I can get taken to court and run a good chance of losing the car amount plus costs and interest, depending on the individual views/feelings of the judge. In my opinion, if the CRA 2015 is applied to this scenario, then the claimant shouldn't stand a chance. Yet I am left wondering if I have made the correction decision in defending this claim. Win lose or draw I will post the outcome.

I do plan to go all the way, my only fear is that I submitted my defense some time ago, which was that there must have been a mistake as I didn't sell the car personally. Which the court date looming, I'm slightly concerned that because I haven't submitted any other evidence, if the judge decides to proceed with the case I will be left to defend myself without showing that I tried to resolve this matter in a reasonable time/manner.

Hi, Yes they can reject the car within the first 30 days, but it's my understanding that the onus of proof is on them to show there is a fault within the first 30 days..... In this scenario, they told me they were rejecting the vehicle and at first they sold me they didn't even need to tell me why they were rejecting the vehicle. When pressed on the matter, they revealed a fault with the gearbox. It was at this point I offered to have a luck at it, this was refused my the customer (after he accused me of breaking the law, by not giving his money back) and no evidence was sent to me that the car had a problem. It's extremely frustrating this situation, and if I lose then so be it, but the car was a cheap, old car sold with no history. After 3 weeks it developed the slightest misfire, which required the plugs changing.... I did this then I got the rejection letter. Then it transpires that 5 weeks later the customer has taken the car to his garage and they have mentioned a gearbox fault. Surely if you reject something, you don't keep driving it. If it's unsafe to use on the road, then don't drive it! Let's hope the judge hasn't had any bad luck with cars recently! I will keep the thread alive once I have more information. Thanks

You would like to think, but as others have suggested, it all depends on the judge on the day. I obviously think I am correct, and that I being reasonable in wanting to know there is a fault before returning money, wether the judge does, well that's the question!

I have heard horror stories yet I have also heard of victory's, I guess it's a chance, but I am in it now. I know that it all comes down to the individual judge on the day..... Which is fundamentally wrong, however I couldn't even enter into mediation because the entity the customer has put on the court papers is the wrong one.

Thanks for your reply guys. I understand your points above, but surely the new legislation clearly outlines a procedure to help in claims like this. How can you reject an item, provide no evidence that it has a fault, not let the supplier inspect the product, then take the wrong person/entity to court. There is no mention of my business name on the court papers even though on all the paperwork there is only reference to the business (ltd company). With hindsight it would have been a lot easier to buy the car back, but in my opinion this customer has gone about everything completely wrong. I guess we will soon see!

Hi Guys, First-time poster here, love the site and I'm after a bit of advice; I sold a 12-year-old Renault Megane a while back for £1500 to a real problem customer, the car had no service history, but a fresh MOT was put on for the customer. After a few weeks, I replaced the spark plugs for him as he came back shouting due to the slightest misfire. A few days later but within the dreaded first 30 days, he contacts me to tell me he's rejecting the car. I asked why and was told, "I don't need a reason, I'm rejecting as the goods aren't fit for purpose". I politely informed him that I would need a reason to validate the claim. After much back and forth they tell me that the car had come up with a gearbox fault on the display and the car was in limp mode. ( having sold many an automatic french car, 99% this will be the simple fix of the pressure regulator) I suggested that they drop it to me so I could take a look at it for them. Once again I was told no, they didn't have too and they wanted their money back. They had supplied no garage report, would not let me look at the car, so naturally, I refused the claim. Roll on a few months and the customer has taken this matter to the small claims court. His account of the situation is a complete fabrication. But worst of all, there is a "report" by his local back street garage that was undertaken 5 weeks after the initial 30 days had expired. The customer also admits they took the car to the garage. The report states "there is a problem with the gearbox and it could cost up to £1000 to fix" Now obviously, the "report" is a complete waste of paper, as it's not a report in the slightest, but in my opinion, it's evident that the customer has been driving this car after they have rejected it, even though they had accused me of selling him a deathtrap (it's really not!). They have also not supplied this information to me (just with the court papers). To make matters even more complicated, they have not taken my LTD company to court, but me personally. In my defence I stated that I think the customer has made a mistake as I did not sell this car personally to them and when the mediation team called to see if I was willing to try and resolve the matter before court, I explained the situation and he said that if the wrong entity had been chosen by the claimant then he could not help. I would just be real interested to know what you guys think about my chances in court. Phil