BHM

I’ve never been asked for a CoC by an Irish buyer. As for tax, insurance etc. none of that is our concern. As you’re handing over the full V5 you could ask him for identification but either way, the moment the car leaves he can collect as many fines & ANPR photos as he likes.

I’m wondering why anyone would write about a bit of boot carpet on a PDI.

The car was no longer yours so all you do is write to tell them this. THEY need to get the ownership details from the dvla.

As some of them strip the lining from your throat I guess Covid19 wouldn’t stand a chance

Wouldn't most of us be a metre away anyway? Much closer & you're in their personal space, or fornicating.

Ultimately it’s your decision, you can operate a 5mtr zone if you wish. Tbh for some punters I’d like to introduce a 100 mile zone!

Perhaps they’re on the hey diddle diddle

Three cars parked up for months here. Unless it’s a cheapie & you don’t want a car parked up for potentially months I suggest you don’t take a car without a V5.

I don’t know why you’re concerned. You’ve said you’ve purchased a Motorcheck report & I've just looked & their website clearly states every check comes with a data check guarantee up to £30,000. KERRRRCHING!!! At 9.00am precisely I’d be on the phone to Motorcheck rattling their cage for money. Manna from the heavens, surely?

Rather than trawling through the dodgy privates & traders on FB & Gumtree I’d rather take a punt buying blind from the block. Obviously trade-ins are the best source. As for do-er uppers I always have punters for £1500-2000 cheapies. For a few hundred quid you’re not risking much & most get through an MOT for another £100-200. Most selling these cars sell them for a few quid profit with no prep & a few months MOT. I find if you spend on prep & an MOT you can often get close to a four figure sum out of cars in this price bracket for a few hours of your & a mechanic’s time. The profit to outlay ratio is superb.

Oddly enough I saw one last week - but it was the first one I’ve seen in years. There’s also someone local who uses a 30yr old Maestro. It’s just a scruffy user, what a strange choice for a daily driver.

As always it depends on your stock profile. 10 minutes with the G3 & the MOP does a good enough job on my stock - it brings them back to about 85-90%. I’ve seen a colleague MOP them, then manually rub down with fine (1200 grit I think) sandpaper, then rebuff again with the MOP & half an hour later they looked like new. To be honest, even if you don’t possess a polisher then some G3 on a rag & 15 minutes of elbow grease will improve them which is good enough on an old banger like a corolla.

Are you sorted now? I assume you’re not still on the phone since Wednesday!

Effort-wise I see the market akin to selling 17 year old, bottle green Puntos with 170K on the clock. I had the 'good' fortune of taking an MX5 trade in at Christmas - dear me, the sort of punter that attracted was pitiful, tbh I wouldn't describe many of them as men.

You’ll definitely need a welding machine & plenty of sheet steel. I’d suggest for this market, invest in a college course in how to deal with the general public, specifically on dealing with time wasting, dreaming, middle-aged dickheads. However if you like answering gormless emails every night this is probably a good market to be in. Good luck in whatever you do, you must have the patience of a saint.

Reading section 1 tells you were this is heading. Rightly so. ...and not before time too.

Eh? The longest it’s ever taken one of my adverts is about 10 seconds.

Is that really as surprise? When I occasionally visit these places they always APPEAR to be over staffed & half of what they employ looks like deadwood to me. The staff merry-go-round twirls as fast as ever, these places are generally fuelled on bullshit & the whole new car industry is selling a product that about 90% of the populate can’t/won’t pay for. I may be incorrect but I also get the impression certain new cars only get a private bum on a seat if it’s via Motability. I’d of thought serious change is long overdue.

Haha, really? Obviously I don’t know the deal or the customers but I’ll make some assumptions and ask how many PAYE men looking at an old Focus, THEIR old Focus no less, do you know who would be happy to see you wipe a four figure sum across it? Imagine selling it back at cost & getting a claim! “Spares or repair, trailered away from the premises, no warranty given or implied, MOT certificate not valid”.

Doesn’t Manheim do it on their vendors’ behalf?

So you’re expected to work for nothing? The customer obviously doesn’t realise secondhand cars are at a premium at the moment or how self-employed people make money to live - if you’re running a charity give it back to them at cost. However the next time you go through a quiet spell try going around to their home with your begging bowl & see how charitable they are. I see your predicament by at the end of the day it boils down to they pay whatever you decide the price is or they go away. The actual decision on what that price is can only be decided by you. They wouldn’t be getting it back at cost here!

Haha, little charity there!

The few times I’ve had anything to do with Merivas (boxy old shape) I’ve found the owners couldn’t give a shit about tyres, or the bodywork & mechanicals for that matter! Do these type of owners ever attempt any repairs or even basic maintenance if it’s not related to a failed MOT?

I think half of it, and the 10K small business grants, has already been spent on overpriced stock from Dealer Auction and much of it pissed up the wall on shabby 'prestige" cars, various blinged-up vans and quad bikes. From what I gather the 10Ks were handed out like Smarties to anyone renting any unit on some deadbeat industrial estate irrespective of any genuine business activity - all of these private men (that's what they really are) have spunked away the money already.

Never thought of that but I'm sure you're correct. I guess many of these 'no quibble money back' promises that our industry is allegedly awash with are just the usual B/S. I'll stick to being honest, upfront & straightforward with my customers.