NOACROSS

Customers can’t be trusted to follow through. I won’t do it for friends either.

Yeah, just like when a punter PX’s their car saying ‘it’s just been valeted’! Yeah right.

I don’t know about everywhere else, but down here they’re constantly ‘improving’ roundabouts, crossings, traffic lights, bus stops and adding traffic calming measures, which get dug up and changed every couple of years-plus new cycle lanes that last a few hundred meters only and never/rarely get used.

You’re right and the council need to take a fair share of the blame. Parking is outrageous and don’t get me started on the business rates. That and the VAT kills the game. I guess a load of the workers have moved or will move to the distribution centres or become a van driver?

She’ll wander round the shops looking, but....my Mrs buys pretty much everything online, as do her friends. Almost every day something arrives at the house we don’t need....

Bastard ;0)

Was just thinking the same. Sold half as many as usual. Maybe May will take off!

Definitely. It's much safer and shouldn't bother the customer I'd have thought.

If they're out of the area, I will put a paid warranty on, or if it's anything german or something hefty/complicated, I will also do this for them- although I've occasionally had to step in and contribute to keep a punter happy. I also do this if I get 'that' feeling about the customer. This has saved me a fair few headaches over the years, particularly if an auto box lets go.

I hate selling a car (of any value) without doing a new no-advisory MOT, service and PDi (at an independant garage) before handover -as you're leaving yourself open to not being completely 'belt and braces' with regards to being able to prove it doesn't have a fault at point of sale. However, if the customer insisted and he signed the invoice with an annotation where you state you've offered a new mot but the customer declined & get him to sign a point of sale customer satisfaction form, then I guess you've done about all you can. Another point is: my Mrs works for a bank and tells me lots of horror stories: one is that she reckons bank transfers can be recalled before the end of day, but it's unusual. Can he not pay by chip & pin? Do you use your own warranties or bought ones?

3-30k but vast majority are 4-10k

We're lucky if it's on sale two weeks after buying the junk. My colleague gets tense about getting cars on and advertised. I don't anymore, they rarely (if ever) sell immediately.

I agree with regards to the one (or two) you have on site. I think the question was regarding a small, occasional use one you could carry about with you? Had my site jumpback about four years now, and I haven’t needed to replace the battery ever, and it gets a fair bit of use. I still also have an even older (too)heavy Sealy one that is fine -but does need charging after a couple of uses now The lithuum portable one I mentioned I keep at home and it’s excellent-however I wouldn’t ‘think’ it would last long term at work, but battery technology has moved on so maybe. I’d rather not take a chance and use the traditional one at work

Ha. Brill. Is that what aircon campers get?

This is great. Although I’ve only had to use it a few times. Comes ina nice little case too Car Jump starter, Picowe 1000A Peak Ampere Portable Jump Starter Pack Full Support ALL G... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07125GSZQ/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_tai_mi22Ab...

This is the email I got today from my customer (I initially replied politely to get it regassed/checked at her expense) : Hello, I had no luck at all with the car yesterday. Halfords’ tool to check the pressure didn’t fit my car! I then went to ATS Euromaster who said it was the pump that was at fault and they couldn’t do anything until Monday as the part would have to be ordered (I’m driving back to Dorset today so that wouldn’t have been of any use to me.). Then, to get a second opinion, I went to Kwikfit, who also said it was the pump. Isn’t the Aircon something that should have been checked before I bought the car? According to the AA, it should have been! I believe it’s going to cost me well over £100 to get it fixed. I look forward to your comments, Kind regards,

Dealer Auction do not give two-hoots about us buyers. All they are interested in is keeping their dealer network happy. I have been with them since day one, and can categorically confirm this: I have, on many occasions collected a car and it’s been totally mis-described, and DA is totally uninterested. Boring example follows: on one occasion I went to collect a four year old Fiesta. Two trains and one taxi later, I get there and the car is a shed. The rear wheel arch is missing and jagged metal left. They only pictured the good side and put. ‘D’ on the diagram for the offending side. The Dealer Principal wouldn’t even come out of his office. I left disappointed and got back in another taxi/ two trains home. Car was relisted agin, without any modification to the listing. I rang DA, sent them a picture of the damage. Nothing happened. This is only one example of a handful examples, but, to be fair, most are quite hourable and you get to know the good ones. DA (like Autotrader) don’t care about us, and we’re unimportant/ two-a-penny. Sytners have a rating system, but, even the bad dealers get top money for everything..

Had the same email today on a Ford Fusion sold months ago. I replied the same as you Justin. Within warranty I may have helped as goodwill gesture if I liked them.

I (stupidly) did it once, for a very good friend of mine. Porsche Boxster (for his wife allegedly). He said the car was 'near London' and it was a dealer. Turns out it's someone selling from home, and it's in some grotty suburb of Bermondsey! I wouldn't have agreed to go if he'd put me totally in the picture and he knew it Anyway, we get there and the car is lurched on the front garden grass of this, shall we say, less-than-salubrious area-where most people seemed to use the front garden for old mattresses and kids toys.. full of lowered three series and Vauxhalls. I turned to my mate and said he was an utter Twat, and he couldn't seriously consider buying such a car from here. I could also see without getting out, that the car's been fighting. Paintwork an OK job if was on something cheaper/more run of the mill, but I pointed it out there was also lots of new parts underneath and the Full Service History wasn't and it had the oft-usual oil leaks and was just not a nice car. The seller was pretty defensive and kept saying 'it's luvly in'it!' and such like. My idiot mate made us have a test drive. Clutch is shagged but the seller said 'they're all like that'. We left and he sulked until we stopped for lunch in some grotty pup called 'The Queen' or something very similar. My idiot mate then changes his mind as 'it's cheap' and phones the guy up. So, long story boring- bought it anyway, and it pooped itself within a year and the clutch after a month or so. Oh how I laughed/continue to laugh at him about it. He still has it many years later as (in his words) he's spent SO much on rebuilding the junk over the years that he may as well keep it. Spends most of its life on his front garden- but his cat has a nice place to sit on the fabric roof at least. Never again and I now always say no if anyone asks me 'if I've got or can I get' etc. and don't give any advice other than, best go to the main dealer for that.

Hi Grant we’ve all been there (although anything diesel is a bit of a struggle this year down our way (South Coast) but I’ve struggled with 1.6’s of these and German stuff in general.) I’d rather see the cars advert in whatever platform you use to be able to comment better, but just from your website listing the following stands out to me: 1. Is it me or is there no worded description about the car? Service history, cambelt, owners, condition etc? As a punter, I think it’s very light on info. 2. Those front seats look dirty/stained 3. Wheel edges look nibbled and I know it’s up on the miles but I’d do these.. 4. I always do a picture of the engine bay and a close up of the wheels and sometimes the service book 5. It just says it’s a five door so I don’t know if it will come up on a search for an estate car without knowing where you advertise. 6. Is it grey or black? 7. I’d say £4995 is the price point for that. I’m happy to PM you my website if you’d like to compare etc and see if you like anything better.

Same here. Just ticking over and last year April ended strongly too. It’s a funny old game....

Try another Merc Dealer. I’ve always got info out of them. Especially if you suggest they just blank out the last customer’s details. They usually just read it out to me. Date of visit and whether it was a service or a recall plus mileage. I then mock up a nice looking A4 printed sheet with the info and dealers number etc.

Agreed. Good effort. Move on and forget the twit. You wonder how they ever buy a car! We all get them from time to time and all you can do is be polite and leave them to it. (Ha-I must be too long-in-the-tooth, because I barely spend five minutes at a time with a punter whilst theyre deciding. Especially if they’ve got a fool in tow.) ‘Let me know if I can help Sir/Madam.’ Ten minutes later ‘Any good?’. I don’t mind a test drive as it keeps the discs clean etc-but I will warn them that I can’t do anything on the price. So called experts that come with them never are, and I quickly become the ‘Sales Prevention Officer’. We all know deep down, that if they’re difficult before buying, they’ll be an arse afterwards so better it sells to someone else.

It's not much different I've found, but I do get the odd few off there. We get a deal with them as we subscribe to Motors and it's the same company-Cox Automotive

Absolutely! Of course you've got to claim! That's the point in having insurance. If it was an old banger of a grand or less or so I might not bother. My Mrs. has had a couple of fault accidents (she's hopeless) and we had a bit of vandalism in the village and some cars got done a few years ago. The insurance didn't change much if at all the next year. You can always shop around if they try to fine you. (I hope your Mrs gets over it OK and soon. You'll no-doubt have to treat her to something nice if she's anything like mine ;0)