BHM

I assume you’ve checked fleabay for a secondhander?

90% chance he’s a bellend, 10% he’s not. Tbh anyone in this game can understand punters being a little apprehensive BUT ‘forum smart arses’, weekend tyrekickers etc. will soon show their colours & at that point you chase them away PS - you don’t need to be emailing back & forth to arrange an appointment. Tell him to lift the phone. Punters get 2 ‘helpful’ emails from me, the third tells them to call to discuss their further enquiries.

The trouble is more than 90% of the time DMFs do need changing & on the few occassions the DMF wasn’t changed due to being within tolerance they then didn’t feel ‘right’. A case of disturbed parts etc.? If I’m honest I’ve only ever experienced 2 DMF/clutch units that have felt 100% after a cheapo 3-part only job although I’m particularly sensitive to the mechanics of a vehicle (so I’m told!). Tbh I don’t blame garages advising customers it’s a 4-part job. Admittedly what the customer authorises is up to them. It’s not in garages’ interests to advise a customer to do a half-arsed repair only for the customer to revisit saying “it doesn’t feel right”, after all cost-wise labour v. DMF is similar.

F*** me, I can’t believe it, you actually sound sensible! Welcome! As a newbie you should be on here planning to take on the big boys, make £4000 on a £1000 car, not expect to invest a penny in repairs and think the industry revolves around pretty websites, fancy camera angles & not cars. Re: working at home, look at the Government Planning Portal website & you’ll see you’ll be fine with your quoted level of business.

I’m with Dave on this. Any one man band should know a lot about the mechanics of a car - if you don’t then as the only person responsible how on earth do you expect your cars to be right? You don’t need to know how to repair the problem (how many of us could fully refurbish an alternator?) BUT you should have some idea of the workings of motor vehicles. As an example I wouldn’t be able to change a clutch without a mentor beside me but I know when one is knackered & I know that at the very least a 3-parter should be replaced, and if it’s got the dreaded DMF then 9 times out of 10 it’ll be all 4 parts. A few years of experiencing secondhand motors will soon improve your knowledge of the workings, and failings of secondhand cars!

If they’ve not yet accepted it I’d ASSUME a private punter has every right to back out of a deal? You have to get it fixed anyway so go ahead with the repairs & see what the customer’s attitude is at handover time.

A few years ago a local large VAG specialist modified his signage to the colours & fonts of VW main dealers. No proof, all hearsay from an employee, but the bones of the tale was the owner was told in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t be getting any more diagnostic updates, loose trade account privileges & they’d prosecute under some sort of copyright infringement. As I wrote I’ve no proof, or insider knowledge, but the discussion arose because within a few months of the new signage being erected it was replaced so draw your own conclusions. Probably just a cheeky c*** Calling yourself ‘XXXX specialists’ doesn’t appear to be a problem though.

Doubly FFS

FFS

Who gives a f***?

+1. Who on earth with £10K to spend would put it into a jazzed-up Vectra? Surely they’re almost invisible on the secondhand market.

I stopped buying private almost decade ago - I know some lads make a killing but all I can remember is seeing one misdescribed heap after another. I wasted hour after hour of my life & find the block or Stealer Auction far less hassle. My last ever private viewing was a Peugeot 307cc (that’s tells you it was ages ago). He refused me a test drive & drove swerving to avoid every lump in the road so I told him to redirect along a certain road - it sounded like every suspension bush was knackered! We then got back and I said I wanted to test the roof - he was visibly worried. First cycle ok, midway through the second cycle the roof stopped dead. I just got out, told him he was a pisstaker & got in my car. The punters’ p/xs are bad enough - you can shove private buying where the sun don’t shine!

Well done AD, the joy of small cars! I reckon the problem partially was that it wasn’t pink, it was FIAT’s half-arsed version of pink which is about as pink as my hair.

Either this or just tell him to f.o. anyway. Quite why you’re covering batteries for 2 months is beyond me anyway.

Absolutely bloody 100% correct. If you feed these cretins they swim towards you. These numbskulls will ask question after question to bolster their own feelings of adequacy and importance. Funnily enough this last fortnight I’ve had a clear out of 5 or 6 things on a separate eBay account - all ‘no reserve’, starting at a few quid just to get rid (mind you one item which had been destined for the tip made £160). Anyhow, one of the items was a rear mounted bike carrier from a p/x car. The one chap email to come and “inspect the goods before the auction finishes”, so needless to say I ignored the f***er. He then emails along the lines of “you haven’t answered me, can you tell me does it strap securely, will it get stolen if I leave it on my car in the woods?”!!!! To my mind common sense suggests that bike racks fasten securely but also suggest that items left unattended in a public place are at risk of theft so I decide to answer this oxygen thief “Sorry I’ve never used it & I can’t guarantee someone won’t steal it from your car”. His response “Never used it??????? Why not?????? What are u selling me. I dont want a security guarantee from you!!!!!” I laughed, deleted it & thankfully he was outbid by 51 pence. This bike rack was up to the heady heights of £9, yes £9 and this cretin wanted to make an advance inspection and fire off email after email.

+1. Any diesel Vauxhall should go in this category in my opinion. The 1.3’s reliability is pitiful, I’ve never seen a 1.7 that nowadays runs 100% (bring back the good old Isuzu!), and as for the 1.9/2.0, where do I begin?? Unlike many on here I’d like to wave a flag for Zafiras - I’m more than happy to take on a nice petrol one. Also they generally attract nice easy-to-deal-with buyers, not fussy etc. I’ll also throw Shogun Sports into the ‘don’t touch’ category. Numerous failings, not helped with having a 35-40yr old engine under the bonnet. Ideal if you like to keep your mechanic busy and also wish to attract scum & big-talkers into your pitch.

Sorry, I meant the majority of one-man-bands I know aren’t a LIMITED COMPANY, but are VAT registered. God only knows how I changed LTD CO. to VAT - fingers & brain in flux!

The ‘spinning collar’ type, of which most are, are easily dealt with in 99% of cases as long as you can get a thin screwdriver, or similar, into the recess to execute item 1 below. 1) A narrow screwdriver hammered down UNDER the collar to break off the collar. You are now left with the round main ‘centre’ of the bolt. 2) Hammer on an undersized socket that’s tight (can’t remember if it’s 19 or 20mm) for a few mm, then slacken the nut a few turns. 3) With the nut & socket still on the car hammer off, sideways, your socket from the bolt (otherwise it’s a twat to remove an oversized round bolt from an undersized socket). 4) Remove the offending bolt. Job done. 5 minutes per wheel.

I know the prices in K&C and a plot for 40 would be a nice exit strategy for everyone on this forum! Back on track. £30,000,000 sales, £5,000,000 debt to generate a huge profit of errr...£40,000 I assume there’s a lot of reinvestment in the business taken place, probably better than money sat in the bank.

I’ve seen a couple bent, the load bed folded up against the cab was all that appeared to be holding them up. Tbh by A&Ss description it sounds like typical rot found within the wheel arch of many a seperate chassis vehicle. I’d suggest a good look underneath, some sheet steel, a welder & under seal the whole lot. You should be grateful the back axle isn’t knackered. Horrible vehicles with major failings, never owned one & never will but they are popular with the punters.

Sorry, I think you’re well off course. Legally the police won’t be interested - the duty lies with the driver. Under a civil action the onus of proof is less but still your advert will match your invoice. The only argument would laughably be about allowing someone to drive away in THEIR car but how on earth can we stop someone driving away in THEIR car? Sorry but that’s a load of old tosh, if someone stabs someone does the victim take the retailer who sold the knife to court? Good luck refusing to hand over the keys to someone you’ve just sold a car too. My responsibility is to advertise correctly, not mislead customers & record the sale correctly. I’m not a moral guardian for the actions of strangers. If you think something through to the worst possible scenario you’d never, ever sell anything.

I think the moral of that tale is if you’re fiddling & get caught you are going to get the book chucked at you so don’t fiddle. I will add that if you give ‘them’ the chance to get their claws into you they will rip you a new arsehole. As an aside, the vast majority of one-man-band sole traders I know aren’t VAT registered except for one who sells shite & near-deathtraps on Facebook, Gumtree etc. from his front door but isn’t even V.A.T. registered. I’d of thought that would of flagged up ‘something’ but it doesn’t appear to of done so yet.

What a load of bollocks. Sorry, but what decade are your local Trading Standards operating in? RFL hasn’t been transferable for years & you can’t remove an MOT from a car. As for governing what someone does with THEIR car - put simply we have no legal powers to do so whatsoever. I decided to write “instructed to trailer away” on the adverts & invoices as I feel it is an honest & accurate reflection of my responsibilities & legal powers. There’s no TS department in the land going to prosecute a trader for advertising infringements on heaps CLEARLY advertised for repairs etc. that has my FULL disclaimer ON THE ADVERT (this is what the courts are interested in) and on the signed invoice. All this is a shame because until recently I used to just give the buyer a few hard words & pocket the money but after one smartarse tried it on for a few quid I decided I’d cover myself. Whatever happened to the good old days of a few honest words & a handshake?

Sorry but I have to disagree with this and many of the other comments. AutoJacob is only getting problems from customers because he must be misdescribing them and/or inadequately advertising them. I understand pitch men don’t want the hassle but I don’t mind selling a £1-200 p/x turd for £400 via eBay but the advert MUST BE BRUTAL and you MUST write on the advert that it’s sold for spares AND the buyer will be signing the following. Sold for repair, unroadworthy, no warranty given or implied & instructed to trailer away. Once you’ve looked the punter in the eye, told him you “don’t give a f***, it’s take it or leave it”, get them to read & sign your disclaimer they do NOT come back. Anyone getting complaints after that is probably making false promises & playing up the car, rather than playing it down. As for crushing old bangers - no f***ing chance! There is ALWAYS someone for a few hundred quids worth of shite out there. Controlling buyers expectations is the key here - any phone call asking about it’s reliability, “will it pass an MOT?”, “can you guarantee it’ll be fine for a few months”, “It’s for my daughter” etc., should be TOLD STRAIGHT & if they don’t understand then terminate the call forthwith.

To be fair i think Jagstang’s comments will ring loud & clear with the pitch men who have a few staff & need turnover. However as a one-man-band you are welcome to the monitoring of the live market (whatever that entails) & sourcing inline with competitors - no chance here! Mention of MX5s (urghh!), Minis (an even bigger urghh) and as for the pitches stocking small cars (ARGHHHHHH) give me an orphan such as a big petrol Mazda 6 any day of the week. £3-400’s worth of car, an MOT, a few parts, a wash, a photo then wipe across with a grand margin - it’ll be gone within the week. As is always the case in this industry it’s horses for courses. A friend on mine likes VWs to sell, (ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) but wouldn’t touch most of my stock.