BHM

Andy, I think you’re looking for the phrase CHAMPAGNE TASTE, LEMONADE MONEY!! I’m not sure what luxury car you’re referring too in Jaguar’s back catalogue. Surely not a tarted-up old Mondeo or crusty cilled S-Types

Haha, funnily enough it’s not distance sales that I get the occasional bother from - it’s local chancers who think they’ll ‘pop in’ with a complaint usually asking for a few quid at the same time. I’d take punters three hours away every day of the week over locals. I like the easy life so everything is driven a minimum of 40 miles by me prior to advertising. It’s not foolproof and obviously faults can occur anytime but I only get a few comebacks per year and actually put my hand in my pocket only once, or perhaps twice per year. PS ARFUR, get used to comebacks, now you’re flogging your wares from a unit punters expect more for some strange reason. It goes with the territory I’m afraid.

PayPal can be a good way to take card payments if you’ve not got card facilities, it’s instantaneous & I think the fee is something like 3.5% for an occasional user. I don’t know anything about 45 day clawbacks - as far as I’m aware PayPal transactions are either a cash transfer OR with regards to purchases proof of receipt ends all discussion irrespective of whether or not the purchaser is happy. As always, cash is king.

I’ve used Movex a few times - as they’re just a middleman the service can vary significantly. The fellas I’ve met have been as miserable as sin, I guess Movex’s fee takes the fun out of the job anyvan.com can work out cheap if you’re flexible on dates, everything is transported & the service is allegedly good. Nowt beats using a known man, or yourself, though.

No, sadly missed when it disappeared a few weeks ago.

Tbh £4000ish family cars want f***ing off, there’s no money in them from the door cos most of the punters can’t afford to buy them so want credit from a shiney showroom. You can fully stock up on your £15K, make a couple of quid on some, lose a couple on others & occasionally ring the bell - especially with a nice trade-in or two. I believe you make your money when you buy. Ultimately you can talk & type as much as you like but there’s only one way to get experience. Anyhow good luck whatever you decide, but for God’s sake don’t expect to make a fortune overnight.

Clearly there’s no grey area - legally you cannot expect a man to drive an unroadworthy car on the road & I’ve wondered about the legalities should a serious accident occur (however unlikely), you being a professional and putting an ‘employee’ in an unroadworthy car. Tbh my concern with these driven services is with the drivers. Let’s be honest, most aren’t going to give a f*** about your car & they won’t be nursing it back listening for strange noises - they’ll aim to get it to you & on to the next job no matter what. Transporter only for me.

No matter what the price point or age, with VAG products you’re always going to be dealing with VAG men with one eye constantly on the bottom line. I think I’d rather gouge out one of my eyes with a spoon than constantly deal with them greedy/fussy/nitpicking/big-talking punters day after day.

They only rent out well as long as the last hirer isn’t a dickhead & hasn’t ripped off the side of one on a campsite gatepost, smashed f*** out of it pissed up coming back from the pub, or just destroying it at a weekend summer camping piss-up. A small hirer with just a couple of vehicles could very easily have his business scuppered at the start of the season by a couple of imbeciles. These stories are secondhand but I remember decades ago a fella chucking in the towel after these sorts of tales. He decided the vehicle rental game was only for the big boys - a few hundred quid deposit doesn’t go far.

An old thread but the title is apt (and I guess it always will be!) Yesterday a customer rolls up unannounced in a car I sold him about a year ago. He had his 17yr old offspring with him “just passed the driving test”. I was shown their phone to look at a car advert on Gumtree. On the way to me apparently they’d realised that the seller was a former school friend of the 17yr old - so they were going to see this 17yr old ‘trader’, advertising as a private on Gumtree on this car that looked very cheap to me. Basically they had called in to see if they could benefit from my experience and use my time free of charge. In other words COULD I GO WITH THEM TO INSPECT A CAR THEY'RE CONSIDERING BUYING FROM ANOTHER TRADER!?!!! I politely declined due to prior arrangements and just told them to buy it as it looked cheap “After all, what’s to worry about if he’s genuine trader and you know each other”.

......and paid you for your time. Free car hire to see what it’s like even though they won’t be buying yours! It makes you wonder what planet these arseholes are on - I wonder if they’d walk into Hertz & ask for a free spin out. Tbh they don’t sound like Honda people, Honda punters are 99% genuine. That’s why when I start getting the “last price” email on a Honda I know I’m wasting my time cos a Honda man wants it right, will pay the going rate and wants to see the merchandise - rather like old school Volvo men from years ago.

It would of been a bigger surprise if the A-class was actually fault free. German engineering at its finest

Haha, you’re right, me thinks a lot of big talkers on here.

Yep, I’d rather have a shitty old Corolla p/x to sell than an Auris. Zero interest cars for some strange reason & both of mine were T-Spirit models so loaded with kit. Bloody Hyundais - I’ve an 2011 i20 diesel that I’ve reduced to peanuts but I still can’t get any interest whatsoever. Not a single call or even a stupid email so that tells me even immigrants don’t want them! I used to make a nice reliable wage out of Tucson’s, Kia Sportages & Cee’ds but they seemed to die a death early last year. Once I’ve waved my i20 goodbye that’ll be me finished with them. God, I hate small cars to sell & I slag-off French shite but at least dross like Pug 207s sell. If I had to rely on a wage from Korea’s finest I’d be starving to death.

Fiestas - good news eh? A matter of opinion, tbh I’d rather have a Dacia at the right money.

It’s hard going & I reckon it’s only going to get harder over the next couple of years.

Fingers crossed but any 70/90 seem to get a few ‘box issues once they’ve passed 150K, both manual & auto. Get it assessed (I guess you don’t need telling this) and if it’s diagnosed as the gearbox, rather than get involved, I’d be tempted to bat it out cheap as it is & get it away to a half-deaf (or ignorant) punter. The last grumbly ‘box Volvo I had was sold to a man who turned up in his knackered N-reg Discovery so he noticed sweet f.a. and was chuffed to bits with his purchase.

I’d of thought that too as every year I must send proof of trading to my insurance broker. However it can’t be the case because a few times a year I sell cars to people who state they’ll just put it in their trade insurance. Somehow some of these punters are getting insurance every year & are using trade policies as multi car policies. They’ve never traded in their lives, don’t have trade plates etc. - they just have a few cars lying around. It doesn’t make sense to me.

2.5 - 3 months. In my opinion if it’s not gone by then then no one wants it so I cut the balls off the price & blow it out of the door to the first greedy parasite who rocks up As an aside them Aurises are pitch cars - absolutely no good for the internet. I’ve had 2, both low miles for age, both top spec, both FSH, a petrol that I put 4 new tyres & a clutch in and a scruffy (but f***ing cheap) diesel. The petrol only sold “accidentally” to a man who came to see a Berlingo but took a fancy to the colour (I don’t think I’d even taken a phone call on it) and the diesel just attracted stupid offers from the usual undesirable section of society who want everything for nowt. EVENTUALLY a nice fella turned up but I certainly won’t be searching for Aurises anytime soon.

I’d guess you’re adverts aren’t frank enough - they have to be brutal. Mind you, being close to London you have a lot of Eastern Europeans & Nigerians so you’ll always have a lot of ‘optimistic’ punters.

Yes & yes. I’ve had 2 goes with them & won’t bother using them again. Ecu Testing once had concerns because a decorative plastic shroud on an ABS unit had a corner snapped off. When I discussed it with them over the phone they very reluctantly agreed to test it. A few days later I got a knock at the door - postie returning it. It had a note “unable to repair, unit incomplete”. It was a f***ing plastic beauty cover!!

Haha, the fact these lines are in bold & repeated tell you all you need to know about punters & their p/xs. Plus, do NOT believe any religious types, elderly, disabled. Treat EVERYONE equally because I’ve met liars from all 3 of those ‘groups’.

I was well refreshed on New Year’s Day but plenty of interest yesterday although many seem to want a £500 discount, a c.o.d. deal or are “coming at the weekend” - in that case why bother me on a Tuesday?

In addition to any usage fees, there’s a benefit to banks getting people using plastic - much of the general public are so poor at money management that it’s just another way of getting them in debt. A man with cash in his pocket knows what he has left - most of these idiots paying for drinks at the pub on plastic think that the card’s credit limit is point zero. I’ve definitely noticed an increase in punters asking for CC payments - I don’t take them so it won’t affect me but punters who want the car usually rustle up the money but the CC brigade (who are no doubt so skint they can’t afford to maintain their car) can go elsewhere & bother them with their aftersales claims. Cash is still king here!

Snap (almost). I’ve had loads of stupid offers this last week & punters failing to arrive, although thankfully I’ve nailed a few after a poor month. One gentleman, named Asif, wasted 10 minutes of my life on the phone yesterday then last night emailed me an offer of £1800 on a £3600 car. I emailed & told him what I thought of his type, he replied with the usual b/s and he’d NEVER spoken to me & would report me for pestering him!!! Anyhow after that I phoned him to square him up - needless to say our little keyboard warrior had a different attitude on the phone & cried off like the pathetic spineless individual he is. If any of these pillocks start messing, as long as you have their no. I suggest you phone them up cos all the ones I’ve contacted seem to shit themselves. Finally, I will add that out of all of the ‘stupid offer brigade’, I think the Eastern Europeans now match the Asian community for their greedy & disgusting way of doing business. Hopefully someone on this forum can enlighten me as to their mentalities with regards to conducting business.