BHM

Most things. I’ll do the odd bulb, battery, coil pack & fault diagnosis etc. but as for getting my hands properly dirty those days are behind me. I can get discs & pads changed for between £10-20 labour depending upon their mood and the other week had a secondhand gearbox in a petrol Zafira both supplied AND fitted for £150 so at these prices there’s no chance of me getting oil behind my fingernails.

Always has been & always will be in my book.

+1. Despite their big talk & brand snobbery half of them can’t afford to maintain their vehicle.

Not on the same level as your nutter but last week via the phone was asked for £2000 for an 07 Skoda Roomster, 80K miles but they’re virtually unsellable here (I’ve had 2 in the past). Who the f*** thought of designing a family car with 4+1 seating!?!! I told him to jog on, he told me he was doing me a favour in taking my 08 CRV diesel! “Sir, if your car’s more desirable than mine then why do you want rid of it & replace it with mine?” More ‘armchair expert advice’ spewed out of his mouth, I bade him a good day & put the phone down.

I know it’s gone so this is immaterial but surely it wasn’t a major expenditure decision? Not much more than scrap money surely?

I suspect you’ll of have at least a couple of emails from them?? Anyhow there’s nowt much you can do.

The IMDA are a great idea and I wish them well but when I saw a Manheim employee involved I nearly choked. I wrote of my scepticism on this forum, which was removed within an hour or two and I subsequently received a warning. Anyhow it’s good to see a senior figure from Manheim interested in the trade’s opinions and I look forward to seeing what results from this fact finding mission, as I’m sure many of you on here will be. #PositiveThinking

Feel free to feedback or ignore this. Manheim Surecheck. A waste of money to me and it’s a disgrace that we are forced to buy an unwanted insurance product. My main gripe with Surecheck is its poor coverage, quite frankly ‘silver’ is pitiful. Example - static check of gearbox. That check tells you sweet f.a. about a gearbox’s operation. I’d rather spend my money on an MOT. Apart from money, obviously, I believe its main objective is to separate any claims issues from the auction’s frontline staff & onto the Surecheck Helpdesk - of which the auction halls are full of tales being fobbed off. I could go on about Dealer Auction, Manheim’s sister company, turning into The Wild West with unchecked vendors doing as they please unpoliced despite Dealer Auction’s bold assurance that “You can be assured that all registered users of Dealer-Auction.com are vetted to ensure the highest standards of professionalism are maintained from both Franchised Main Dealers and Trade buyers”. Really? With regards to Dealer Auction’s assurances they need to recheck EVERY VAT no. of EVERY member & REMOVE members accordingly - too many have submitted false VAT no.s, some part-timers have dropped out of the VAT scheme and Dealer Auction have allowed vendors ‘extra’ buyers accounts for their employees who do a bit of trading on the side. Whilst I’ve got the bit between my teeth, the most basic of checks (i.e. occasional spot checking & reading the vendors’ adverts) would clearly highlight lazy vendors who cannot even be bothered to attempt an appraisal. Your representatives are not at all interested - any complaint is met with the attitude of ‘don’t bid if you don’t like the vendor’s appraisal’. Here’s just one fine example of an auction listing (I refuse to call this an appraisal) by one of the vetted professionals selling their wares via Dealer Auction; STRICTLY 72 HOURS PAYMENT AND COLLECTION UNLESS OTHERWISE AGREED. THIS FUNDS MUST BE CLEARED BEFORE THE VEHICLE IS RELEASED. PART EXCHANGE VEHICLES ARE NOT INSPECTED IN OUR WORKSHOP. KNOWN FAULTS WILL BE DECLARED BUT PLEASE ALLOW AN EXTRA £100 IN CASE OF OTHER ISSUES. ALL OUR CARS ARE GIVEN A VISUAL INSPECTION. PLEASE DO NOT BID IF YOU ARE UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO MEET THESE TERMS. THANK YOU WINNING BIDDER, PLEASE GIVE US 24HRS NOTICE OF INTENT TO COLLECT SO AS TO ENSURE THE VEHICLE WILL BE READY FOR A SWIFT DEPARTURE. COLLECTIONS BETWEEN MON –FRI 9AM – 5.30PM. PLEASE NOTE WE NOW HAVE TO CHARGE A DEBIT CARD FEE OF 0.5% OUR BANK DETAILS WILL BE EMAILED ALONG WITH THE INVOICE AS THERE IS NO FEE FOR BANK TRANSFERS. ONCE A CAR HAS BEEN WON, PAID FOR AND TAKEN FROM OUR PREMISES, WE DO NOT GIVE REFUNDS AS THIS IS A TRADE AUCTION. PLEASE SEE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR FULL APPRAISAL

Low ball. However if you’ve someone with a £100 old banger (Sir, just because your 16 year old Fiesta only has 60,000 miles doesn’t mean it’s worth a fortune, especially with rotten wheelarches and a dent on every panel!) who thinks it’s worth the Earth I just tell them “Sorry, you seem like such nice people I wouldn’t want to offend you. Why not sell it yourself”.

You couldn’t give me his no. could you?

I didn’t think main dealers put any money into cars to sit then on their forecourt, I always thought if the p/xs wanted much more than a valet then it was off to the block.

Tbh the Dacia & SsangYong brands have what appear to be reasonably attractive products at reasonably attractive prices - I can see why certain ‘no nonsense’ customers are attracted to them new or nearly new. I’d guess they’re no sports car but tbh neither is any Audi A4 1.9Tdi I’ve driven and there are many folk who find the German marques’ image distasteful.

I know they’ve had problems recently but I can only speak as I find.

9 times out of 10 it doesn’t work BUT recently I’d had a Saab in stock for months. I removed the advert, rephotoed it, put it up £500 to 2500 and Bingo! Sold 2 days later. Before anyone thinks I’m talking the big talk I must stress that in my experience this is very very rare - I usually end up working for a pittance on sticky stock. Try upping the price, if you’ve got no interest in a fortnight it’ll need slashing to get rid of the bloody thing.

For the cheap shite that is beyond help, once or twice a year I’ll stick it on eBay, spares or repair, with a brutal advert. Usually I end up fixing the problem & just work for less. Tbh many problems are a cheap fix, last week I needed a Zafira gearbox, £150 supplied, fitted, car collected & dropped off - I didn’t leave the comfort of my sofa. Clutches/DMFs are my bugbear but SOMETIMES you can add a little onto the price & catch the right man who appreciates the fact it’s been done. Tbh most cars currently need at least a couple of hundred quid chucking at them to make them sellable.

Self. One of you will begrudge the other their share of a particularly nice deal you/they have made and then you’re on the slippery slope downhill. It’s human nature, the only way I can see it working is in a husband/wife type scenario where the money/losses all go into the same pot.

I still have a HSBC account that is laid dormant but I’ve kept it open just in case. Tbh they’re a pain in the backside to deal with, many cash deposits were queried, they used to have one of the smallest card machine withdrawal limits, the small business advisors seemed to know little about running a business and don’t expect to withdraw any amount over your card limit at the counter. I once had the temerity to withdraw £5000 of my own money without notice - I had to complete a form & then the cashier had to get the manager’s approval. I’ve been with the LloydsTSB & ended up with the TSB when the bank split. I don’t need much out of a bank, just to deposit & occasionally withdraw money unhindered. The TSB’s great as far as I’m concerned and the once or twice I’ve made a large withdrawal this has been done immediately without issue.

Sounds like an immobiliser issue to me.

It never works in the end.

Try Lucas PAS Stop Leak - it works a treat. Many moons ago I took in a Vectra p/x & it was pissing out of one of the rack ends - to my surprise this totally sealed it. I should add that I’ve also seen small leaks that it’s failed to ‘fix’.

I suspect my MOTing & driving of every vehicle coupled with my ‘no bullshit, straight talk’ approach to customers saves me all of the CRA returns hassles. I just do not get punters coming back - each to their own but for the time being I’ll stick with my tried & tested methods. Tbh I point out negatives to punters & if they start whining I chase them away - I think the managing of punters expectations goes a long way. Watch this space, I’ll probably get a whinger on the phone tomorrow.........

Never mind no viewings, thare’s absolutely no chance of even getting to speak to me on a Sunday because my phone is off. I don’t care whether I’ve had a purple patch or not sold a car in a fortnight - I made the decision about 5 years ago to sack off Sundays due to the tyrekicker contingent. I should add that about 6 or 7 years ago Sunday’s were often my best day then all of a sudden it changed to dickheads’ day so after a year of it made the decision. I now enjoy at least one arsehole-free day every week & have no regrets whatsoever. If I have too much to drink on a Sunday I sometimes have a second arsehole-free day with a hangover on a Monday &, again, I have no regrets whatsoever. The joys of working for oneself.

For some strange reason I’ve had a very good month - one quiet week, one mad week & two steady weeks. I’ve only had a few arseholes on the phone (who were dealt with promptly) and EVERYONE I’ve dealt with has been pleasant, straight forward and devoid of any bullshit!!!! I cannot believe it, I’m 100% certain that normal service will shortly and all of the loons, imbeciles & cretins will be heading my way to contribute to my future heart attack as my blood pressure goes through the roof.

Call me ignorant but I cannot see the excitement about completing PDi forms. If a sales car has a major failure, whether or not you’ve completed a tick sheet is immaterial, surely you’re still liable? I refuse to believe that a tick sheet absolves you of your responsibilities. Like many desk jockies nowadays I think many in this industry mistake the completion of a PDI form (I.e. getting the paperwork right) for the completion of an actual thorough examination. An MOT and a thorough test drive (minimum 20 miles) tells you just about all you need to know mechanically. There are many on here who seem to be regularly dealing with customer issues yet proudly proclaim the virtues of completing these magical PDI sheets. I’d suggest to those of you that your preparation standards are below par and you need to assess what’s important- ultimately this industry is about CARS, not paperwork. I have NEVER had a customer come back with a safety related complaint & rarely on any other type of issue. I won’t be changing my work practices anytime soon.

I’m back, I’ve tried not to blow my top reading some of these bloody posts. I can feel my blood boiling already!!! Grrrrr!!!!