BHM

.......or an unemployed/retired sort which unfortunately preclude them from that course of action. Remember about 27 years ago when there were no mobile phones & your house phone was connected by a curly wire? Anyhow I recall a local fella’s Mrs. had been plagued by heavy breathing & silent phone calls for almost 5 years - the culprit turned out to be a friend who they all used to go out drinking with as 2 couples. “So what?” you ask. It’s no good guessing who it is - just because someone’s a nosey busybody doesn’t mean it’s them, it could be a close acquaintance.

Yes

It’ll be by someone jealous. Just ignore them cos one thing I can guarantee is they’ll have bought one packet of stickers & after that they won’t spend on any more. Don’t mention it to anyone & don’t be mouthing off in the boozer cos that’s what they want. Many months down the road they’ll possibly let slip to someone it was them. Oh yes, and it’ll be someone you know. Not a ‘friend’ but it’ll be someone you recognise.

I think he got some overtime;

A poor month but I’ve sold a few and my problem is buying. At my end of the market the prices at the block, on DA & SYTNER are eye watering at the moment and from what I’ve seen recently the trade is buying absolutely any shite. When I’m at the block & see the trade fighting over 8-10 yr old scruffy, misfiring Vauxhall’s with rattling DMFs I know to keep my money in my pocket & let others fill-up on overpriced problem children.

My immediate thought was that from the door you should be selling cheaper stuff. +1, have a read of what’s covered then you’ll soon realise you’ve been lucky not buying a knacker. Sooner or later you are going to get a right kick up the arse so get used to it. The old saying “You’re not a proper trader until you’ve had a proper loss” is very true. +1. You state you’re netting a minimum of £600 per vehicle and are selling 4/6 per month. By my mathematics that is £2400-3600 per month part time. You then state that after expenses that “doesn’t leave much of a wage once expenses have been taken out!”. This means you are grossing NOT netting £600 per vehicle. As someone dealing from the door with few overheads, no VAT, only a few quid on insurance and your main cost being advertising please I fail to understand how you haven’t got much of a wage left. Finally you say you stock 3 cars but turn over 4/6 per month which is a stock turnover of 133-200% per month! Come on, are you sure? If so you’re an industry leader. This is all meant constructively, because until you know your true figures you’ll never know where your business is at. As an example, you’re turning over so many vehicles at thousands each but you’re not yet VAT registered - that simply does not stack up.

Cough! Splutter! What sort of a man gives a toss about the opinions of these keyboard warriors? I run both my life & business without any interest whatsoever in social media comments so I could not give the slightest f*** whatsoever about them. It's a common misconception that a few crap reviews will damage your business - only a small percentage of the population read them and then only arseholes take notice of them. No offence intended but there are plenty of traders who need to man-up and run their affairs their way and not crap themselves over reviews - better still, don't bother searching for them in the first place. Believe me, your stock quality (good, bad or indifferent), presentation and your pricing will have a damn sight more affect on your business than a few poxy reviews.

I usually ignore, if their offer is politely written with a little bit of "Hi/hello/thanks etc." then I politely respond however occasionally I'm very rude and tell them straight and usual resort to personal insults . I know, totally & utterly childish but it absolutely ENRAGES them (these cretins live their lives by texts/emails/Facebook etc. and the slightest thing causes huge offence to them) to which they are in such a rush to respond they send a pitifully scripted email usually full of abuse/threats/whinges, or if you're lucky, all three!. Obviously you shouldn't waste your time responding to this email because you'll never win because these jobless twats will email until the cows come home and anyhow, the aim of upsetting them has been accomplished. PS the sensible thing to do is just ignore them.

Usual readers will do fine - there’s nowt special on these old Volvos.

I’m assuming it’s clear at standstill & comes on at speed. If it happens at various speeds then most likely ABS ring is cracked and slips hence the light coming on at various speed - this is a Volvo regular. Occasionally ABS sensor. Also occasionally the ABS pump. Read & clear the code, as long as it’s the same sensor coming back faulty then it’s not the pump and although it could obviously be the sensor it’ll most likely be the ring. They love a ring, do Volvos.

Snap and I have yet to buy one that’s 100% right. At my end of the market the newest Lexus I’ve driven is an 09 but everyone has drove disappointingly, they’ve got little get up & go (even the 4.3 V8s need kicking) and the cabins have the ambience of a truckers cafe furnished with plastic chairs. Each to their own I guess but compared to a Merc they’re a joke and tbh a 1.8 Focus is a damn sight superior car in just about every way.

Agree. I know this sounds negative but no deal is better than a crap deal & the way punters are at the moment it’s bad enough when they turn-up - sending cars miles away to a potential messer would not be my ideal way of doing business. Nowadays I prefer to see the whites of their eyes & give it to them straight.

On any given day that I have the good fortune to converse with a member of the general public I think exactly the same.

We’ll all have our VTL305 renewal form by now & despite my previous comments it does state they must be outside. Anyhow stuff it! Life’s too short to worry about plastic no. plates

“I just need a car that will last me 2 or 3 years”. That was said whilst viewing a £600 p/xer! Needless to say I pushed the punter out of the door.

Even if he could it’s still a distance purchase unless he wants to take a chance and not take payment until he’s there. And anyone who’s stupid enough to do that then good luck to them I’d of been happy with £250 rather than the small £60 blow on one of mine this week! There are a lot of people in this game making out they’re making thousands on every single deal - most are talking out of their arses.

It’s been like that for months for me.

I’m glad buyers are noticing this - if you are buying via the internet you are getting ran up more than usual. It’s as simple as that.

Probably a messer who’d want £500 off anyway.

Weren’t they? I don’t recall ever being told as such & my having them in the window has been accepted by them as satisfactory.

As long as you realise that this will come under the distance selling regulations so they can reject up to 7 days & be entitled to a full refund and you, the seller, collects at your cost. I used to do it and never had a hitch BUT the way things are now with unrealistic punters I’ve stopped doing it.

Yep, people have been paying far too much and plenty of it is shite too. One thing’s for sure, at the lower end of the market these chancers won’t be prepping their cars to a safe standard.

Come on! Who doesn’t like The Village People? If they’d been hacked then someone had gone to a lot of bother - personally I’d of left it, it made a refreshing change from the norm

Funnily enough I’ve always wondered why the police don’t just hide half a mile up the road from any auction house - they’d get a month’s worth of nicks in one fell swoop. Imagine pulling the likes of 14yr old Puntos with 2 months MOT, no trade plates, no insurance, bald tyres etc. - it’d get the driver an instant ban & reduce Gumtree’s listings by 75%. Another thing I’ve never understood is why the VAT, Inland Revenue & Benefits Agency don’t march into the offices & forensically search every account - half of the scallywags at the block will be taking the piss in one way or another.