BHM

Matt, turn the tables on yourself and have a think as though you're a potential customer. Why would someone looking for a car come to you to find it? The internet's a powerful tool that is available even to someone living in a mud hut in the middle of Outer Mongolia, never mind punters in the U.K. No one buying cheap bangers or run of the mill cars has a use for this service and more importantly for you, if you even managed to source cheap new cars through the dealer network (highly unlikely) then the profit isn't there for you. As for high end motors, lets say Porsche/Ferrari. Why would a prospective purchaser come to you rather than a dealer? and good luck getting a discount there. Then as you'll only be taking a deposit how are YOU going to finance these new(ish) cars to get them from your supplier to the customer? If you're expecting to get a sale or return deal then you don't know this game very well. Finally, (and I'm making an assumption here) if you haven't had experience of the general public & how they behave regarding money then you're in for an awful surprise - they'll fuck you around until the cows come home UNTIL it's time to show some financial commitment and it's that time that sorts the wheat from the chaff. Even assuming all of the above paragraphs fall into place for you then you've got this paragraph to deal with! Honestly Matt, save your time & redundancy money. Go & buy a few from the auction & then you'll get some real experience in this game from purchase through to sale because believe me, there's plenty inbetween 'the purchase' to 'the sale' that anyone new to this game really doesn't appreciate.

Hi, as you've mentioned 4 websites on your original posting that are failing you, assuming your sales expectations are realistic in today's financial pressured times, then I'd perhaps question whether my adverts really are written as well as I think, are the photos really that good & are my prices really reasonable? What's your stock profile?? I've never took the plunge with AT as being a small operation at the lower end of the market I couldn't justify the fees & as for a website, well, unless someone knew my website address they're not going to find me on the 5th (or 25th) page of Google - they'll simply find you via the main platform. I think a lot of your advertising focus may depend on your stock profile & aiming it at the correct audience. I'm sure for "specialised" or newer cars then AT is the way to go. A couple of the main dealers I've bought trade-ins from recently have said Motors is doing ok for them, oddly enough they say it's an older crowd buying from there. Personally I think Gumtree's ok for selling a filthy £30 cooker or a set of scuffed alloys with half-bald tyres but that's about the financial limit on that website. I'm sure others will disagree but I reckon it's a waste of time - I wouldn't even spend time uploading a car even if it was free to use. The same with Facebook as most on there seem to be the part-time brigade or those masquerading as "private" but in reality "full-time selling pure shite" but again, I'm sure others will disagree.

A mid 90's Jag XJ6 3.2, burgundy, cream leather, 2 owners from new, 50,200 miles, FSH in virtually brand new condition - about 3 or 4 years ago, bought at the block. I'd never been in one & it suited me down to the ground, a diesel Focus would have the legs on it & certainly would give better than 23mpg but I loved it - I don't know why, I just did. If I'd had a garage I'd of kept it & I told the buyer the only reason he was buying was because I didn't have a decent garage. Anyhow £3000 on eBay, one local man came around looking for a deal "cos there's one at a Jag specialist for £4500" Eh??? Work that one out! So I politely sent him on his way. Two days later he was back on the phone declaring mine cleaner, that my FSH was full & the specialist's wasn't FULL but still trying to chip £100. I had the great pleasure of replying "Sorry Sir, you're a day late, it left London-bound yesterday with its new owner" The best thing was he obviously bought the other one as I regularly saw him driving it until I moved location.

There's one born every minute

Welcome! I look forward to more of your postings.

I half expected the answer to be 10" on the hard God knows how you get a penny out of the punters before they even see it - half of the greedy bastards I deal with don't even have a deposit after the test drive - the number of punters who have to be directed to the nearest cash machine surprises me. Who on earth goes to see a car without at least a coupl of hundred quid with them? ANSWER: my punters!

His turds won't be any shinier than anyone else's turds.

After last Friday I may as well of shut the door. I had a phone call today from a man 5 miles away - "I'm coming to buy NOW!!!" That was over 6 hours ago

6.5 hours!!!! They'll be as fussy as fuck & back on the phone in due course. After 90 minutes the other week I kicked two arseholes off the site Sir, you have the patience of a saint & truly deserve that medal.

Bloody hell, there's nowt like resurrecting an old post Anyhow, as a small operation I've never bothered with a card machine (cash is still king here) but on two occasions I've produced an invoice via PayPal which allows the buyer to pay by card (I told them to add 4%) as it appears on their statements as a purchase NOT a cash withdrawal so they could benefit from a card purchase interest-free deal.

Yes, my good run has come to an abrupt halt although I am drastically down on stock. A single phone enquiry from someone who was either drunk, high or mentally impaired and only one arsehole emailer. Time to get out the holiday brochures.

You'll definitely get good money through DA for them. Unfortunately

Probably. If so I hope they'll consider a feedback system just like Sytner Auction - it'll help weed out the shysters on there or make them clean up their act.

Must be a main dealer.

Absolutely flying here this week & have been for the last four weeks but I suspect it's just stopped dead. However the fact that my stock has been almost wiped out might have something to do with it. Now I'm back to not being able to replace but I only buy at my prices - the spaces will stay empty until prices settle down.

From what I gather most traders insurance has increased about 15% this year. Suck it up, don't get insured or make sure you're not over insured - they're your choices.

You don't want my valuation on a 16 year old Toyota with a knackered roof. All joking aside, I'd glue on (tidily) some roof material from top seam to the bottom seam between the two roof struts & duplicate on the other side so it looks uniform & thus correct to a casual punter OR perhaps get some Toyota/MR2 logos sewn over them. Far from ideal but it's the cheapest way as I assume it's just a cheap old knacker getting tarted up for sale.

+1 on this.

You've more chance seeing me nude pole dancing in Harrods window.

I'd call his bluff, tell him to sod off & see where he goes from there - my guess is nowhere like 99% of these chancers. His demister does work except for a small area of it - he's a piss taker although you already know that. I think you do have another way out as I get the impression you still have his caste off with a roof fault. Tell him to come & take back the CC because you could almost put your life on it that he knew the fault existed & my guess is that he really won't want it back. One thing for sure, don't give him an ear to whinge into, just tell him whatever you decide, with a very tight timeframe (unless it's fuck off as that doesn't require any action on his behalf) & leave it to him to act. Good luck, he sounds an absolute tosser, tbh I wouldn't be debadging & painting as punters causing hassle before they buy are the sort to cause bother but too late now.

I couldn't agree more

Haha, you're probably right, although every now & again everything slots into place, I get a run of BUYERS as opposed to messers & offensive emails and remember that this job's good when it's good. I just wish only the 25% of straight people contacted me rather than also the other 75%.

The trouble with the "super serious" is they sound convincing because in their own mind they are serious, rather than intentionally lying. Sometimes with some of these punters I have absolutely no idea what's going through their minds - last month I had a fella who I was convinced was pulling out money after the test drive. He then said "Right, I'll make an appointment at the bank on Monday & see if I can get a loan" FFS, another hour of my life pissed away on a dreamer. The death knell of any deal is when I hear either "Don't let it go, I'm coming to buy" (usually turn up late after looking at another car on the way & then have another 2 to see afterwards or are the fussiest bastards on earth) or the dreaded "I'm not a messer" - in my experience any punter who feels the need to say that is most definitely a messer and at that point nowadays I make an excuse & tell them to phone later.

With all respect Rory, I think discussing finance options on a car with a gentleman who can string together a sentence and has some basic courtesy is somewhat different to responding to an arsehole emailing at midnight on eBay offering £500 for a £1200 car who hasn't even got the basic manners to start with "Hi" or "Good evening", finish with "Thanks" or "Thank you", and omits their name. Something along these lines; 500 cash m8 4 ur car Sorry, but anyone who thinks that's worth responding too is kidding themselves.

Too true, I couldn't agree more. I'm a one man band with my compound next to me, I stopped Sundays about 3 years ago, IF I've received a deposit from a customer who has already viewed & test driven (so it's just 5 minutes for the money & log book exchange) then I'll let them come before 11 o'clock. Viewings, test drives & collections without a prior viewing are a no no. 99% of them tip up late without an apology, want to piss about like the messers they are, fancy driving a few (phone up about a £700 trade in & take a fancy to a £4000 Jeep) and then go away to think about it never to be seen again. They all seemed to be on their way to the shops, turned up late after a pub lunch or have simply exhausted themselves looking around B&Q every Sunday and fancied looking at cars instead of patio decking, lampshades & potted plants. Strangely about 4-5 years ago I often did a few on a Sunday teatime but now any sales are generally Mon/Tue & Thur/Fri with a busy Saturday perhaps once a month, but usually my Saturdays are dead (except yesterday) with the odd messer fancying a spin in one of my cars amongst the other 6 they're going to see. Dont be afraid to sack-off the Sunday brigade. If your cars are right & your prices are right the genuine punters will still be there on Monday.