Screenman

First car legal on the road in 1973 a mk2 jag cost £200 insurance £125, I was 17 and had just passed my test. Clutch lasted a month and I had an option when I had it done, engine out or chisel around the bulkhead if my memory serves me correctly, I took the cheaper option.

Anything unpredictable is not good for a business, so Brexit which of course is extremely unpredictable could have helped sway the decision.

Rupes medium, followed by brake cleaner to check and then Rupes fine. If wet flatting I finish with Trizact 3000 prior to polishing.

When I was 18 I put up tv ariels around London for a living, now I am glad platform soles have gone out of fashion.

I am not worried about myself, reinvention is written through me like a stick of rock, and the 47 years I have been in this trade have been very good. Still not sure what normal is though, earning a great living doing something you wake up and look forward too, is normal here, but most see it as rather abnormal.

What is normal in our trade?

Why do you think Dyson wants out. Great post. I read somewhere that cranberries from Canada may be cheaper.

What makes me chuckle is the leavers are not going to get what they want, and the remainers are left to sort out the mess. You could not make it up.

It is on my bucket list for this year to have a factory tour.

We got Morgan.

I bought this car off of you only a few weeks back, OK let us get the paperwork out, it was actually 14 months ago, well it does not seem that long. Since you changed my spark plugs the handbrake has stopped working.

Traders who when you turn up cannot remember what they phoned you for, or they know the car and it is off site or the keys lost. Sometimes business would be great if you did not have to have customers. Managers who cannot be bothered to come out of the office and just tell you to do what needs doing, mind you sometimes that can be a good one. Traders who use rubbish suppliers but will not change to a quality one. Traders who take the word of their cherry picking dent guy, get a second opinion before you shove it off to the bodyshop. I know of dealers who use a guy who will not do swage lines, arches or anything that will take more than 5 minutes. Traders who use a replacement company to do repairs, they seldom do quality. Note the word seldom there as there are a few exceptions as some of my customers are replacement companies who have sent staff hee for training. In truth though, this has been a great trade for me now for over 47 years, still get a buzz every day and most of my good pals are dealers or ex dealers. Keep smiling.

I am glad he wrote margin and not profit, plenty of guys going bust confusing those two. C.

I take it that is a 323f seeing as it has pop up lights, £2495 easy.

I think most of us would like to be a £ behind Mr Finn in the bank account.

Work less than the 4 days a week I did this year, whilst also working cleverer. Charge dealers a lot more money as they are all minted ( only kidding as I have the tshirt for your side of the business) Have a good one everybody.

So you are in the middle of a load of guys who spend a lot of money on AT, make yours the best looking site and the best stock and you could nick customers off of their adverts. I know your area quite well as I had sites down that way in the 70s and 80s.

Lucas where is the road side site?

Two of my three boys are qualified maths teachers, one has risen through the ranks to be head of a good sized school and gets paid very well, the other is a fireman. A teaching job would certainly not be for me.

Does the engine turn over normally?

Quiet in the dent game last week but the last 3 days have been extremely busy, off the rest of this week but have jobs booked in for next. Generally my trade customers are quiet in these parts.

I remember being at Brentford when a woman got killed by a large transporter, hopefully the auctions are safer now.

Audi ceramic coating I was told last week is £1800 on a new car, a basic paint sealant on a new car also is about £500. I agree with rectification work prices but this is a wipe on wipe off process.

Whilst on tfr, cracks me up the people who pay £500+++ for paint protection only to go to the local hand car wash and have it removed by the tfr.

I carried the drop in the pound's value two years ago, prices are going up in January and again if the pound drops lower. Carriage companies for my imports have gone up skywards, so that makes matters even worse. The long haul manufacturers may sell things cheapers but the carriers are going to maximise income given a chance. Forgot to add, according to WBAC latest email to me prices are going to drop, yesterday. With industry prices set to fall, we're able to offer you more this Black Friday Weekend!1 But hurry, this is only available until midnight on Wednesday 28th November. Get your updated valuation: