BHM

Focus CC, never had one before, but they look a cheap car to me & the last couple of Megane CC buyers have mentioned they’d like a Focus CC but they’re hard to come by - I often have a cheap cabby sat in stock as they always sell be it in a week or in two months. Anyhow, I was doing the usual checks at the block plus (obviously) the windows & roof. I was just about to say “the roof’s slow” then up popped the boot, the roof went down fine, thought nowt more about it, got distracted & walked away. Anyhow after the hammer fell on this little gem, the yard lad drives out, parks up & struggles with the roof - it gets to halfway on one attempt but they gave up and put it back down. I think it’s safe to say I’ll have a little remedial work on this one. To my mind, because the roof’s clearly operational, the electrical side of things is ok which suggests to me pump or fluid. Any clues from anyone who’s had experience of slow/struggling Focus CC roofs? In all my years I’ve never had a dodgy convertible roof (always check before purchase!! ) so this is new territory to me which I’d personally rather do the investigatory work.

You could be in a dead zone & sales will suddenly pick-up in a week or two - believe me you wouldn’t want your time wasted like I’ve had with my last 3 penniless, tyre-kicking, fussy, greedy, summer-holiday-filling team twats. I’m in the North & a few discussions at the block yesterday confirmed what I thought - it’s dead here at the moment. Tbh I might as well throw away my phone cos the only f***ers getting through are imbeciles! Views/watchers mean f.a. - certain cars attract lots of viewers (also known as dreamers) but it takes the right man to break ranks & actually come & view.

Ancient news. There was a main dealer (Evan Halshaw??) in Cleveland who were prosecuted a year or two ago. Anyone heard that road tax discs are to be done away with?

Everybody Loves Raymond & Frasier here! It’s all part of this profession. I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve gone into a newsagents, flicked through a magazine, put it back on the shelf then walked out? That’s not much different. To speak up on behalf of punters I will ask surely we all understand a person may simply not like a car on viewing/driving? You may like how something looks but not like how it drives - nobody in the world knows whether they’ll like the drive of a particular car until the first time they driven one. I hate tyrekickers but unfortunately we are caught up in their fact finding missions, if you don’t like it this ain’t the job for you. ADs system will certainly put off plenty of people though. My brusque attitude doubtlessly alienates a few punters. Smarmy sales tactics will dissuade some punters but be warmly received by others. The perceived tidiness of your premises will turn a ‘maybe’ into a ‘no thanks’. I don’t care what anyone says, no single way of doing business is infallible.

Funnily enough, I thought it was a £1999-er at best, and only then in the sun on a hot summer’s day when Mr. Sun has got his hat on, hip hip hip hurrah.

Yes, go to any main dealer showroom & they’re either sat behind desks or walking about with an iPad. Why the f*** any salesperson needs an electronic tablet to sell a car is beyond me - do they really know that little off the top of their heads about the product?

Never mind EPV, you can’t win ‘em all. Who knows what they’ll end up with, they sound like they’re only half way through their car selection process and you’ve been part of their learning curve - we’ve all been there but only realise it when they turn-up with “others to see”.

£4K!?!!! I wish I could find punters with £4K for 16yr old cabbies!! Absolutely anything that the roof goes down on impresses (or more accurately ‘makes an impression on’) the neighbours - I had a Megane CC recently and believe me, in not-so-wealthy circles THEY ARE A DESIRABLE CAR - don’t laugh, I kid you not - and I’m going to stick my head above the parapet & say I’d rather be seen in one of them than look like a complete arsehole in an open BMW. Also not everyone can date a car from across the car park like us. In my social circle many friends, ‘er indoors etc. wouldn’t have a clue - if I pulled up in any car and said to the Mrs it was 2 or 10yrs old she wouldn’t know any difference. +1. Let’s be honest though, how many of the general public come back to us with spurious complaints that were pointed out to them & written on the advert in the first place!?!!

I price keenly on family cars but more optimistically on rarer stuff, 4x4s etc. Where my prices are keen the punter is offered trade money only for their p/x and, as in the case two hours ago, scrap money (£100) if I deem the car to be a shed. 2 hours ago; Man with a 55 plate Mazda 3 with a 2ltr petrol engine, rusty arches hanging off the car, I didn’t even enquire about miles or MOT - it’s £100 to my eyes & if it’s better than scrap I’m quids in, if not it’ll eBay for a drink. The man started talking about me (me!!) repairing all 4 arches for £300ish.........I said no chance, I wouldn’t waste my time on an old shitter that nobody will want anyway - he seems to think old Mazda 3s are gold dust. A shame cos give me a nice Mazda 6 any day of the week.

I do lay it on thick for amusement! I should add I see the car is older than I first thought - the bloody old thing is 16 years old! Tbh the likes of this thread annoy the f***ing life out of me - a nice, helpful, honest (I assume) trader being milked of their time & professional experience by a punter who was ALLEGEDLY shafted over by a third party. I look forward to finding out when D&M get recompensed in some fashion for their two days of work so far on the car THAT THEIR FRIEND HAD MISREPRESENTED TO THEM, albeit possibly in ignorance. It’s just another Champagne taste, Lemonade money punter who bought an old BMW cabby knowing fine well it’d been in a prang, had had parts replaced but thought they’d save a fiver on a car check. Ok, IF the story is accurate the seller’s dodgy but so what? That’s not any of ours concern. The BMW’s owner has had enough of the car the dealer they want to sell it has found it’s on the register. So what? Give them the f***ing keys back & tell them to crack on with it! At the end of the day it’s just an old cabby for the ‘bit of flash, not much cash’ market. DOES BEING ON THE VCAR REALLY AFFECT ITS VALUE??? Not bloody much! DODGY DEALERS?? There are thousands of them, you can tell half of them with their evasive adverts & photos. Don’t fight other people’s battles. Finally, let us all remember the ancient (even older than the BMW) saying in Latin; Caveat Emptor! Yep! Pure greed motivates these people. You can’t rip-off an honest man.

No. I’m not originally from a car retail (or any sort of retail) background and still believe if you think the price is right for a given article then pay without quibble. That’s probably why I’m a shit salesman, I sell cars but I’m certainly no car salesman - my negotiation generally centres on ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I know to the penny what I have in every car before a punter turns up so those cars I want away I decide pre-sale the bottom-line, but my good sellers I won’t budge a penny. I’ve seen other members of the motor trade haggling over £25, or trying to give a painter £80 for a £90 job - I wouldn’t f***ing embarrass myself. “That’s the price of sod off” is my mentality. There are too many with double standards in this world and tbh there just as many horrible greedy c***s in this industry as there are in the general public.

After all that, as I wrote, let Mr & Mrs 15yr old BMW get on with it. They phoned up for the car so they can now phone up to claim back their money for buying a plonker. D&M - you’re far too nice!! They’ve already used two days of your time for which you’ll no doubt receive f.a. You are running a business not a charity! Sorry, you’ve done more than enough - see how keen Mr & Mrs 15yr old BMW are to come down to your unit and do two days graft for you (good luck there - you’ll soon see how good these friends really are). As for those of you thinking TS will immediately jump to it & get an immediate solution?? Give me strength, it’s 2018, they’re overstretched & any investigation & subsequent prosecution is well down the line. Mr & Mrs 15yr old BMW‘s BMW will be in the knacker’s yard by then. One written-off ancient convertible ain’t newsworthy either. +1. Too bloody true. They’re keen to buy elsewhere so when it turns to shit they can go & get their advice elsewhere. Why on earth do so many in this industry want to assist a (usually greedy) retail punter for buying from an alleged dodgy trader elsewhere? Sorry, no sympathy here. P.s. someone buying an old knacker bmw cabby cos it’s “individual spec” speaks volumes to me (Too greedy to do a £5 car check).

Yes to a certain extent I agree (it always easier having everything working) so if it’s a cheap fix it’ll get it, if not it won’t. Tbh it’s only the radio that’d be a concern to me - anything else I can talk my way around and it’ll be priced correctly anyway. As for some fussy punter expecting 100% perfection my attitude on a few grand’s worth of 13 year old bmw will be ‘take it, or leave it’, I won’t be blowing smoke up anyones arse cos it won’t be priced sky high at my establishment. In my book it’s just an old, big petrol barge, with only moderate performance, near the end of its life, that’ll attract penniless big talkers like moths to a lightbulb. In the immortal words of AD “You don’t get gold for the price of silver”.

Thank you very much for your comments & the couple of emails (Andy & mark) It’s just an old 2005 big petrol engined saloon so by the sounds of it the idrive will be just a fancy radio. Even if the worst comes to the worst it’s probably worth repairing if it’s only a couple of hundred quid & the rest of the car is as good as promised I think the punter, an old guy still using dealers, was quoted £2K+(??), at that money it’d be getting either ignored or an old £30 Goodmans unit thrown in Ill let you know in due course.

No laughing at my ignorance! This isn’t my usual bag but it’ll be an ideal Bit of flash for the not much cash market - I’ve been offered a very cheap older 5 series & the gentleman thinks it’s a disaster that the idrive is u/s, he’s been to bmw & shat himself - I nearly fell over when he told me what he’d accept if he likes my car. 1) As a complete technophobe, am I correct that bmw’s Idrive is just a fancy radio/I.c.e. system? 2) Basically a knackered idrive unit won’t disable the car? A knackered glorified radio is of little concern to me at this money but something that buggers-up everything else electrically is, if you get my drift.

Tell them to phone the dealer - it’s not on the advert or invoice so the dealer will either fold (deduct how much per week for usage??) or tell them to f.o. Simple as that & don’t get involved would be my advice! You’ve got nothing to gain, it’ll take up your time & what if ‘dodgy trader’ is a big bad lad who comes to visit you after your friend starts quoting you? It’s not your argument. Funnily enough this is the second time in a fortnight I’ve heard similar & this is what I told my trader friend; They’ve bought elsewhere, friend or not let them crack on with it, if they’d bought from you, a friend, this wouldn’t of happened, would it? I also added I bet he bought cheap, thinking he was getting a deal, well he’s certainly been dealt! I know I sound like Mr. Uncharitable but we’ve only got your version of events. Friends or not, I have little sympathy for 99% of people who are ripped off because, put simply, their greed has led them to it.

Very true.

EPV, all you need to know is these transmissions are total & utter shite and you just need to remember 3 things about cars fitted with them. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. Any driving issues & most Citroen dealers quote £2000+ cos they want to change just about everything to save any comebacks - hence why most at the block have jerky transmissions. Tbh the myriad electrical issues these cars have, window regulator issues, airbag issues, handbrake issues, brake calliper issues.........the list is almost endless. If you want to see how bad the French can be at making cars then buy an old C4 Grand Picasso. They are very possibly the shittest, most fault prone, secondhand car available. They really are that bad.

Hahaha, long term you’re better with the one you’ve currently got. Mechanics cutting corners of their choice will never work out.

There’ll be plenty of mechanics in the backwaters of the N.E. working for less than £30K. A local RR dealership’s techs (as they are now called) weren’t on that a couple of years ago - punters charged in the region of £140p.h. and the dealership was trying to hold onto staff with a 20p p.h. pay rise. As Trade Vet wrote, where are you going to find a good all rounder AND reliable mechanic? You need (or be one yourself) a knowledgable workshop foreman to crack the whip and even then a small but growing percentage of jobs require dedicated software. I’m oversimplifying here but a lot of mechanical staff seem to be in one camp or the other - either nuts & bolts men OR diagnostic machine men.

If it’s juddering when setting off it’s very probably the clutch at fault - these must be the shittest robotised-clutch transmission ever invented cos they wear clutches worse than a learner driver. And never mind scrimping on the DMF unlike other greedy chancers on this forum! Tbh are these one of the shittest cars ever made? As someone earlier wrote, a shame cos they’re popular with the punters but f*** me, just about EVERYTHING f***s up on them.

Who honestly gives a toss? I’m more concerned with what’s written on the test - it could of been tested in Timbuktu for all I care.

The trouble is everyone is obsessed about not making any cosmetic damage to the wheel. The wheel of a secondhand car! Who honestly gives a f***? Just smack away with the hammer & chisel - in the furniture trade a few chunks missing is called patina

What surprises me about these rogue traders yanking brake warning bulbs is it’d be easier shoving some Blu-Tak over the LED rather than ripping it right out. I’ve pulled a few stunts in the past but there’s no way I’d be bodging anything to do with brakes. I bet ‘your’ man bought cheap.

Ask the finance companies