Mistermuttley

Rapidly going off Manheim. Last month tried to sell me a Qashqai with a sky high clutch and nothing in the inspection report on it. Did eventually take it back though. Secondly bought a Juke yesterday and received an e-mail saying 'successful bid confirmation - congratulations you have successfully bid on the following vehicle...' Ring them this morning to pay for it, and they tell me it has gone to someone else! Ask how that is possible and they said because i bid on the third and final offer it didn't register my bid....So the person that bid before me got it even though on simulcast it said I had won. Funny how they still sent me an email saying I had won it then. There are becoming many reasons for me to sack Manheim off now and I think I will try some of the smaller auction houses like Wilson's in Telford. They can't be any worse.

As a doorstepper like you I also do the same checks, normally while the car is up while doing the oil change. Everyone has different standards and we have to accept that what others think is fine is not to others. Regardless, as said a full Mot does give you and the consumer protection/confidence in the car and can help if the car throws up an issue post sale.

All good points. Especially re the court! Good to hear other peoples views on pdi's n Mot's.

My PDI is obviously more basic than yours, as I deal with 1k to 4k motors generally, any prep costs soon take whatever profit you have in it away. My Pdi . For me it covers what I need it to. I agree re the Mot ,but after the garage I use think I am a bit over the top getting a new Mot when it has say 9+ months I am deciding not to bother with them. If anything goes wrong then its on me. The customers get 3 months warranty anyway so it will just be a financial learning curve for me at that point!

U need ramps for a pdi?! Yes we are all different!

I put a fresh Mot on 'nearly' every car i sell ,but if it has say 9 months+ I am now not bothering. Just giving it a test drive and doing the checks mot would, lights etc. A Pdi covers most safety aspects for a car, so am I in the minority for doing this? The reason i don't do an Mot for car with 9+ months is my garage asking me why I am bothering to get one done!

https://simplyinsurance.co.uk/ Great price for me. Saved a lot compared to what last years company gave me as a renewal price. Rang a few and these were the cheapest.

Have a Fiat 500 on Facebook at £2650, an idiot popped up with 'can do £1600' so I just replied back 'I can't' !. Guy just gave a thumbs up as a reply. I like Facebook and it is cheap and free to advertise there. Do very well there with the advertising budget! Cars that do well though are normally best priced below 3K, just put them on there. Hopefully it will do well for you, there's no reason not to try it.

Same with Manheim always seem to win a proxy bid right at the top of my limit. Call me conspiracy theorist but I'm sure they know peoples top proxy bids. And this was happening before Covid times.

There is no magic bullet. If I am after cars from places other than the auctions due to high auction prices, I will look on Ebay, Gumtree and Facebook. But you have to look at loads to see anything worth buying and making a profit on. And when you do see something worthwhile it pays to ask questions before you even think of travelling to view. Such as any bodywork issues/mechanical issues, v5 in your name, service history etc etc. And always Hpi it as at least half the cars on Gumtree are on the hpi register with no mention of a crash. Can take a long time to find something worthwhile making a call on. Good luck!

Yep, i think its a good quirky selling point to them. Took pictures with both doors of each side open. Most traders don't seem to bother. See my soon to be released 'confessions of a car dealer'. On finest VHS tape. Discount for forum members!

The funny thing is I used to stick to bread and butter cars, small hatchbacks. But someone on this forum mentioned how that market was so crowded and the car supermarkets have 100's of the same model, so sometimes its better to go for the more oddball cars. Its nice to get the odd oddball car now and even ugly things like a 1007 I had always make a sale. The missus even said re' the Meriva, you won't sell that. Happy to prove her wrong! Its the 1.7cdti engine and on the test she was like oh this is powerful! Then again her last car was a C1. It was a really nice test drive though, i find it really enjoyable when their eyes light up and even though its a run of the mill car, it's special to them. Wish they were all like that!

Yep I did tell her to try her bank first, but i still had a call from the finance company before she approached them. She is all excited now, well it is a Meriva!

Thanks, she has just rang me back. Her bank have ok'd a loan for her now. I think she was just reluctant to ask them as she is self employed. But she is happy now, another one gone!

Just had an elderly lady come to see me about a car. Asked if i did finance and I told her I don't as I only take cash or bank transfer. Suggested she approach her bank as she should get better rates there....Think she may struggle with the bank as a car finance provider has just rang me on her behalf to buy the car. Only issue is as I am a part time trader I am not vat registered or limited company (fully legit though income to hmrc ,warranties etc). They said they would get back to me! Anyone know if I can arrange to get finance for her by any means? Thanks.