NOACROSS

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Posts posted by NOACROSS

  2. Posted

    Life in the city mate. It happens. 

    I dont mind the RAC inspections, they’re a bit more sensible than the AA.

    I’ve learnt to state via email beforehand, that any inspection they undertake is on them and we are not responsible for the loss of that money if they don’t buy the junk  

    Your Bentley guy: can you not strap up for him for a personal loan? Zebra Finance will deal with this for example.  

    (Just come back from the pub. My Mrs once again asking me what I want for dinner! You’d have thought that by now she’d stop asking me for an opinion!)

  3. Posted

    Have you tried putting it in neutral Nick?

    I have a Tucson that won’t start in park but will in neutral  

    Also, I guess you have put your foot on the brake whilst starting?

    Theres good money in that mate once it’s going  -anything LHD on English plates is an earner  

     

  4. Posted

    17 minutes ago, boring dave said:

    i hate my voice unfortunately

    i always wanted to be a dj because it was always a fanny magnet job

    anyway what if i do a video with say a voice changer to the darth vader

    would it put people off i wonder

    Is it boring Dave? ;0)

    Dath Vader - hilarious. Love it.

    I mute the audio on mine. Good four minute walk round the car with close ups and I point to bits of spec where necessary.

    17 minutes ago, EPV said:

    no time to look around, too busy on Instagram. 

    Insta-what? I barely know what Bookface is. ;0)

  8. Posted

    I’d rather see pics too but then, I’m old school and us long-in-the-tooth dinosaurs need to get with the times, so I’ve caved also and started doing it the last couple of months -since August as a direct result of hearing about its value on this forum.

    I’m only doing it on new arrivals and I quite like it and the results  

    I’d hoped it was the secret weapon’ I’d been missing all these years, and as August was very good, I thought this might be the reason. However, as Nick says- I also keep asking the punters if they’ve seen the video.  Most haven’t (even though it’s right in your face on the website.)

    When people ring up to ask about the car, I answer the questions and say ‘have a look at the HD video on the website’. They come in and I ask if they’ve seen it. About half have. Weird, as it only takes three/four minutes of their life after all. 

    The ones that have seen it, seem to like it very much- and I can honestly attribute at least one sale to having the video. It seems to be the higher spec cars or things that are a bit ‘different’ where they are seeing the video. It might be more appealing it seems to people out of the area as shows them it is worth their journey.  

    I think one issue is (as I’ve said many times before) that although the website is a very important tool/shop window; it’s often not where they’ve seen the car advertised, but rather they’ve seen it on an advertising platform- whether that is eBay, Autoraper or wherever, and for some reason they don’t see the embedded video if there is one. 

    Annoyingly, eBay doesn’t seem to be compatible with mobile/Apple products and the video doesn’t show when using these devices. I complained but they say it’s something they are aware of but won’t be addressing in the near future. 

    I’ve now started adding a caption to the photos saying ‘see this car’s HD video on our website www.....’.

    Time will tell, but I think it is the future unfortunately -like garlic bread. 

  9. Posted

    I've used a chap near you (I think) before EN4 0AE?

    07453288830

    Was very efficient on a few occasions but has been a year or so since I last used him.  He sorted a CRV last time for me where the disc wouldn't read/eject. 

    Might be worth a try.

    I also had a Subaru that wouldn't power up.  My autoelectrician got it working by doing a factory reset via his diagnostic gear/laptop.  

    Good luck.

  12. Posted · Edited by NOACROSS

    Thanks Tradex. 

    Yes, you’re right of course but it’s a four hour round trip for the guy (assuming a clear run from London Colney) and then  plus what-a couple of hours waiting at the workshop and living with him? 

    Best part of a whole day for him and fuel. 

    He’s prepared to do it at a push so might have to be if I can’t find a willing mechanic as I say. 

  13. Posted

    Thanks for that Dave. I don’t disagree with you and don’t mind paying for supply and fit. 

    I mentioned someone could grind off the edge as you say (the pads are almost new) but the customer couldn’t find anyone who didn’t just want to fit new and this suggestion seemed to be received as a sub-par, somewhat cowboy suggestion to him.

    If he brings it back- so be it as you say but thought I’d ask. 

    Thanks again  -appreciate your reply  

     

  14. Posted

    Any recommendations for a sensible rate mechanic who would want to fit discs & pads all round to a customer’s car?

    A nice enough bloke but a worrier. He is complaining of squeeking brakes and has been quoted daft money. (They passed with no advisories)

    I’ve agreed to pay for the parts (not the labour) because I’m mad/soft, he is talking about drivng it back to us on the south coast!  I’d rather just send him the parts and find him a local independent that won’t rip him off. 

    Any help greatly appreciated if anyone is in that area. 

    Is that near you Nick?

  15. Posted · Edited by NOACROSS

    MK3 much better than MK4 rubbish!

    Shame it’s not a Gti as has been said. 

    (I have two very low miles MK3 Gti’s in storage.)

    ebay classified advert if you are happy to wait. I think £2495 or best offer personally. VW people are a different breed. Somebody will want that. 

  16. Posted

    Def case of a similar reg been entered wrong for me, and have you rang up the National Mileage register Nick? There very helpful. 

    Even if you can’t get it changed eventually (I would be amazed if you can’t) then most normal people will understand and see the error when it comes to selling it. 

     

  19. Posted · Edited by NOACROSS

    6 minutes ago, tradegirl said:

    I didn't know his posts were deleted. I assumed he deactivated his account and the posts went with him. I still wonder if what Linc says is true and it's someone we know.

     

    Why is the opinion in PH that this forum is full of shysters? Don't they actually read? All the posts in here are traders saying "do right by the customer".

    I thought the same and was going to post the same question. Then I remembered ‘your can’t argue with a fool’.  

    I would have just ignored the saddo as soon as he started the other night. Obviously out for a rise and no point wasting life on him. 

    As you say, this forum continually proves itself to be full of honourable people and I’m sure there’s some normal people on PH too no?

  21. Posted

    Good on you Nick.  It's the sort of thing I would have done years ago, before adding 'never sell to friends or family' to my list.  Or if you do, charge them more and get the money upfront.  Also, I learned early on, never to decide for a lady!

    Remember: 'No good deed goes unpunished Terry'

    • Like 2

  22. Posted · Edited by NOACROSS

    Hi Mojo - average of 40 in stock but scope/space for about 60.  £3-10 k mostly with average being 4-6 I suppose.  The odd heavier thing but I struggle with enthusiasm for them and the book drop worries me.

    It's probably easier to say what I try not to stock:

    So I avoid where possible: Anything German, particularly diesel, auto German cars.

    Diesels

    Saloon cars or family hatchbacks like Golf's

    High mileage stuff.

    Small manual cars

    Boy racer or sporty stuff (I will buy the odd SLK, MX5 etc).

    I particularly like small autos, (as we're in old-people city here) large speccy stuff, estate cars (most Volvo's- V70, XC90, C70, V50 etc), Honda CRV, XF Jag, the odd modern classic, a Prius or two....

    If I had the nerve to stock newer German stuff like Rory for example or Nick where they buy stuff still under manufacturer's warranty, I think I'd had a different attitude but I must admit to being out of my depth knowing what to buy and what not to in that world. 

    I'm happy to also retail the PX's - even if they're diesel/German or up on the miles, but I try to get them in at the right price obviously.

     

  23. Posted

    Gumtree is a waste of time, and CarGurus is occasionally OK, but you're better off on the free package. Motors is about as good as CarGurus-that is not very. ebay Motors Pro works well for some (me included).  Exchange and Mart is quite cheap and they'll do you a website (an average one) but results are hit and miss. 

    Most on here will recommend Autotrader (or the vocal ones at least) if you can get your head around the extortionate cost (I can't-but as Nick says: see other threads) if you're only a small operation then this is probably the place to try first.  Especially if turning over your stock quickly is a priority and you want to play the game with regards to price indicators and you are sensible with your profit margins.

    So, yes everyone- that's me recommending Autoraper I think! :0)

    Good luck!

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    10 minutes ago, Nick M.K. said:

    So it's a personal decision not a business one?

    How can the option of multiple websites that DON'T deliver be cheaper? They still cost money. eBay + Gumtree (paid basic) + Motors will be around £650 per month for 20 vehicles and you'll get a quarter or a fifth of the enquiries... 

    Is it not better to pay the "Autoraper", "beast", "robbers" or whatever else they are called their £1300 pcm, sell more cars, get more and higher quality leads and save the time and energy required to manage multiple ad platforms... You should be able to pay half of your AT package cost just from the part exes that you advertise free under £1500. 

    Also, if you have a stock of 40 but don't fancy paying for all stock you can have an "auto rotation" where 20 vehicles are advertised at any one time and the ads are rotated by software. Car Dealer 5 and Click Dealer provide something similar. 

    I was with them for donkey's years Nick - since day one on Autotrader Digital in fact (20 years ago maybe even and before with the magazine) when the reps. begged us to come on board (a pound a car from memory)

    Even at 20 cars it's a load of dough and, when we dropped them a couple of years ago I was nervous, but the world didn't end- and for me at least, the decision was the correct one.  As I say - it's the quiet times that hurt and you can just end up working for them.

    Again - if I was you with your stock profile and 10/12 cars I'd probably do the same. Kudos to you for having a manageable number of cars to find, and the balls to stock what you do.  You try buying for a 40-60 odd site and it's a different game. I think you're to be commended for buying what seems to be in demand (on AT) and I don't stock any of what you do. 

    I don't agree that AT is the golden goose personally (just my opinion and some will agree and some won't) and people do not just go to AT to look for a car nowadays. I also hate the sponsored ads, cluttered website, price indicators/race to the bottom etc as has been said before.

    I'm honestly glad it's working for you guys but I wonder at what stage that yet another price increase makes you all say 'whoaa...enough is enough' -and this forum is intended to give everybody all sides of the story and this is mine. :0)

    For me the other sites DO deliver on the whole and I can cope when it's quiet.  

  25. Posted

    Broken record here:

    Unaccustomed as I am to weighing in on an Autoraper thread (;0)) - I'd not count your chickens there or get your hopes up too much! 

    (I'm talking mid-size pitches here) I know a few locally that are also v. quiet and are with them.  Sometimes it's just quiet & when you're quiet WITH that giant albatross still wanting feeding, then it hurts. 

    (We were busy in august and they weren't.  Don't get me wrong, last month we were quiet too like them, and this month hasn't started with a bang by any stretch of the imagination. It's a funny old game as they say.)

    I'd be interested to hear if you do get results though- and good luck to you.  Maybe just try a few with them and see...but would you just have got results eventually anyway?  .....my usual line inserted here that we STILL get people telling us they saw the car on AT.

    30 minutes ago, sparky said:

    As far as advertising goes I guess there are two schools of thought for the smaller indies. Go all in on AT or go all in on everything else apart from AT.  Only one way to find out.

    Yes indeed-but the second option is miles cheaper.  if I only had say ten in stock I might consider the robbers myself to be honest.  I can't justify it with 40 plus in stock....plus they make me so cross.

    I'll go back in my box now....