NOACROSS

Yup fair point. Gotta get the chance to inspect the junk. I’d still wager it’s an ex-parrot and not pining for the fjords.

Yes. This is a fair point. It’ll still be fucked though I’d wager.

Yup. Absolutely agree. Can”t have a refund or one chance to repair, but needs fixing. I’ve just put an engine in an old Hyundai PX that let go after six weeks. Mechanic says the radiator went, engine got hot and punter kept driving (said he didn’t notice temp gauge until too late.) Pissed off, but it was what it was. Used engine ordered and fitted, and punter happy. A loss but that’s life-it happens.

Bottled and blown out in order to facilitate ‘restratergising’ or something similar from memory. Many are called. Few are chosen. Bless. Wonder what his plan is. Main dealer. Pointy shoes...

We do the same in the form of a deposit slip..... In this case I would still refund the deposit-Just to move on. Life’s too short.

Standard German shit-itself junk. Really unlucky mate, but you're on the hook to repair or refund (less a sensible deduction per mileage done). Or if you pop the business in time you might get away with it- if that's something you can live with. One month's warranty means nothing with the CRA 2015. Cars not to buy/sell.....or use a paid warranty to help you out would have been an option. Life in the city I'm afraid. (What about poor old Benji losing two grand and folding!...)

Send them a cheque with a covering note of 'refunded deposit'. Idiots. Their loss.

Believe me- you will definitely have lots of free time on your hands (once you've bought some stock and had in prepared). Most of my time is now taken up on the phone/computer/internet/ipad etc. We'd all love to have a second string to our bow, and on on-site side-by-side mechanical business is ideal in my opinion. I think you'd be crazy not to get on board there too with a successful and established business. The car game is very hard indeed. Especially in the first couple of years. Good luck with it al though and everyone on here will happily help with sensible questions etc. I would just hover over your dad and do the receptionist/booking in work etc and speaking to the customers and taking the money, until your dad feels like taking his foot of the gas a bit more.

I would consider this a side /part time project and build it slowly as it will be a mistake to think you're gonna be able to 'hit the ground running' and make this a full time profitable venture quickly. I would just go for cheaper stuff- however, I would suggest your angle is the benefit of the well-respected on-site workshop. You should get a bit of business both ways from this (i.e. the workshop customers with doomed cars and the workshop will get your sales business; plus you can get your buyers to comeback for service and MOT work.). To that end- can't you get involved with this side of the business too (as you won't have enough to keep you busy full time with just sales) ? It is a much more steady and reliable earner than car sales. Also, being in the sticks isn't an issue. The internet has made the country a small place. Plus, as has been said above, your local market will be what it will be, and you'll have to find out what works and what doesn't. It might be small autos or large 4x4's for example. Think about your advertising costs- especially if you decide to go with Autoraper- that'll really hurt.

I don’t really I understand, as I got bored reading it. Typical long winded clear-as-mud corporate babble. Cox own Motors, so why on earth bring AT in on it? What do they bring to the party? How to squeeze every last bit of blood out of your customers? I guess it’s just the current DA platform with a load more cars added, and will no-doubt increase massively in price if Autoraper have anything to do with it. I wonder if we will need a Manheim subscription as well as a DA one.

Is BHM on holiday again? He's the one to help here ;0)

Ha - love it. True. Quote of the week mate. ;0) Hands up who's also out already? (Benji saga still makes me laugh from time to time & can't put myself through it again). Yeah- Not even time for Justin to get a coffee bet in!

As above- but if you want some free non-confrontational advice- I'd say just start small and play with a bit of your own money first and see how you get on. It's a minefield this game and I wouldn't recommend that anyone gets into it nowadays AT ALL. It's much more hassle/complication than some think. Getting the stock, preparing it, selling it etc is all very difficult and that's without the sales process, punters, recon, costs, VAT, CRA etc. Good luck though and there's loads of similar threads on here that I'd suggest you spend a day or so reading. All very helpful and it saves you and Mrs. Maybe or whatever he's calling himself today falling out ;0) However he's maybe a bit 'fruity' for some but speaks the truth. (wasn't our Benji an BCA tester?)

I'd have thought your trade insurance will simply pay you out a trade value & hopefully you took it in at a sensible price. Maybe me, but I'd be pragmatic, claim and move on. If you were a punter buying the german junk and it caught fire, you might be able to jump on some legal action- I dunno, but I'd hope any customer of mine would simply claim on their insurance too, but this would more than likely be a headache I'd wager if they wanted to cause you one. However, this is a good opportunity for us all to remember to check for and get any recalls done before sale. Bad luck though mate. Feel for you.

Test drive it extensively- plug it in etc and call Merc to see if any doom on it- if they'll tell you. I hate all German crap as many of you know, as they're the worst makes out there- but if it's free money with good odds then go for it/why not. I would put a paid warranty on it too if it was me. He who dares Rodney is oft quoted on here. That's all this game is 'a gamble'. Someone ordered it in silver with red, with that engine and someone else will like it. I hate silver too but I think they look fine it that colour and the red makes it a bit different. I too would mark it up for £6995 and see how you get on. This gives you some wriggle room or to over allow on a PX etc. However, I have a main road site and that would be on the corner spot & I'd wager someone will buy that driving past to a golf club bloke or middle aged woman that (thinks she) wants some fun. (Not many things sell like that anymore- but an eyeful on a corner will get people's attention.) Otherwise and maybe even anyway- 4500 might be the realistic return price. It'll sell and at least it's only German petrol junk, not diesel.

As above. Never mention new engines, rebuilds, gearboxes, resprays etc. It will scare off the punters if you do. Weird, but true.

Sometimes they just don't like the car (or it's not what they had imagined I guess) once they've had a drive. Always difficult is parents buying for kids too. Ungrateful little sods quite often. Can't let it get to you. Next. I don't mind a (reasonably well qualified) test drive as I've said before. It cleans off the discs and gives them a run if nothing else. I will FOR SURE value their px and discuss prices before any demo though usually- unless it's a sticker, and then you're hoping they might talk themselves into it on a test drive. There's no sure-fire bulletproof way of not getting mucked about however. You can't go swimming without getting wet (better analogies are welcome. What was that Eric Cantona one about seagulls and boats?)

Would rather that over a German diesel or a German auto, any day of the week. Lovely miles. Good sellers and drive well/comfy old buses (as an estate anyway). Sold loads of them. Gearboxes have been no drama especially at those miles. Shame it’s a saloon though. That’ll slow it down.

It does seem to be Idiot Day/week/month so far!

The increasingly few times I can be bothered to try and put up with the dreadfully cluttered AT site/ap, it shoves numerous sponsored listings and adverts down my throat and only shows about four cars per page in an ever-closing letterbox of actual stuff I want to see. You then have to select a tiny drop down menu to rearrange it to 'nearest first' or similar. Even technology haters/silver surfers eventually work it out. The ordering options on ebay are much clearer so dunno what the issue is. I'm on ebay all the time though and I click 'newly listed', 'ending soonest' or 'by distance'.

Just reply with something mildly witty and make sure you spell and punctuate properly and professionally. You could say pretty much what you’ve posted here, saying he rang as you were locking up at an already late time and you tried to arrange a suitable future appointment..guy just hung up or something. Or just say you’d be delighted to be given an other opportunity to serve them during business hours Mostly- don’t sweat it. Reviews are bollocks on the whole and customers will work out an idiot leaving a stupid review. In the end, the reviews pan out fairIy I find. You always get the odd fool unfortunately.

? People search by ‘newly listed’ or ‘ending soonest’ or they just search for the type of car they want or maybe they do a ‘by distance’ search. You can also go for ‘auction only’ listings or ‘accepts offers’ Or ‘buy it now’ The default setting is ‘best match’. If you select the ‘best offer’ option for your listings you appear more readily. I wouldn’t be without eBay MP. It sells all sorts of cars for us.

It’s only that price up to 4K by the looks: https://www.gumtreeforbusiness.co.uk/motors/choose-right-approach-business/ will be £400 quid otherwise (which I guess is OK) or £850 a month for the Premium package, which is too much I think. I also refused the gumtree bit at last contract renewal without any fuss, but I was talking to the eBay Motors Pro team- not the gumtree side of it. I spoke to them yesterday as my contract is for up to 100 cars and is up again in October, and nothing was mentioned-so we’ll see then if anything has changed I guess.

Gumtree is a waste of time Mark. I’ve tried it a few times over the years. Has been about three years since I last gave it a go though. Just do an eBay Motors Pro contract for 20 - it’s good value. They used to do a free trial, but I dunno if they still do. You need to work it properly. Let me know when you’re on if you want some pointers.

Highly recommended. They can’t do enough for you. Great company.