CJ Underhill

what are the prices like for Autoprotect? I only use them if somebody non local is buying a car, otherwise i stick my own on i've been using customer protect, decent price, easy to do. However they are terrible at paying out

I stopped using autotrader about 18 months ago. We were paying for a package of X cars (too many for what i stock) website (we didnt want or use) clicks etc. I did what mrsmini did worked out the cost per sale Last 12 months or so my sales have been good, if not better using nothing but old fashioned local advertising and ebay motors Just took the plunge to join Motors through my local paper rep.

I often think i made the wrong career choice, i'm really not a people person

We also know a lot more then the friend you've brought along whos a "mechanic" .. e.g a typical pistonhead forum know-it-all who's spent 5 mintutes on google and parkers and is know an expert on used cars. Make sure he's prepared for the awkward questions and red herrings im going to throw at him for mine and my collegues own amusment after you've gone Also, do your homework first.. don't sit for an hour trying to knock me down £400 because the timing belt wants/will soon want changing on a car that is chain driven Don't complain and make snide comments if i havent had time to whip the hoover and sponge over the vehicle you've stopped to see when it's clear you've just been off roading and living in your "immaculate" part exchange for the last 2 years.. atleast empty the ashtray before telling me it's never been smoked in, It doesn't matter how many floor mats you put in your car.. im still going to look under them to find that massive hole in the carpet you've been trying to hide

You can tell alot about a person from the car they drive for example... if it's in a ditch.... its a woman

" two nuns in bath..............

Just because we are open till 18:00 doesn't mean you can turn up at 17:50 and want to test drive every car we have Don't be upset when i don't laugh at your "is just like your driving test" joke on the test drive.. its the 10th time i've heard it this week "how much for cash?".. well it'll cost you the extra £10 it'll cost me to bank it We're not stupid.. we know you wont "be back at the weekend", we know you don't need to "talk to the wife" or get "insurance quotes"... we just humour you Dont be upset when we charge a refundable extra on handover day because you've ""accidently"" forgot to bring that ""fully stamped"" service book with you Your meaning of "mint condition" is far different to mine.. im not giving you a price over the phone Dont expect a £1000 discount over the phone, before you've even seen the vehicle, i don't care if your 300 miles away Despite what you think.. we really don't have thousands of pounds profit in every vehicle Dont use the "i've seen one cheaper elsewhere" line when you haven't even been to see that vehicle James Corden lies... you wont save over £3,000 selling your car privately

We've used the rubber dunlop holders for years. We've the old fashioned metal plates, not the plastic ones alot seem to have these days Im mixed about them. Some cars they are good for hiding the rear plate, shutting the rubber straps in the boot. However this is only good on normal tailgates. Pickups, MPVS etc its useless. As is the front plate, its meant to be shut in the bonnet... but it rarely covers the front plate. Im looking at trying to find a soloution. But as somebody has said, the value of these plates.. im not willing to risk loosing one when customer rightfoot wants a blast down the A5 in a flashy motor. All i i can think of is some sort of magnet...

We had a customer who had a disabilty and didnt have the strenght in his hand/arm to pull the handbrake, so he invented a contrapsion so he could use his knee/leg to pull the handbrake on

You'd probably find that wouldnt be under the inspectors role. The only thing we could note was scuffed wheels and tyre condition.

I think we have all been there Ken. I started about 4 years ago, and got stung a few times, but as you say, its all a learning curve. The biggest thing i found was to build some good contacts. Relationships in this business are key. I got a good realationship going with 3/4 dealers and a couple of old fashion "traders" that you can trust. I found these key to building my business.I'd know if the guy said it was a "good" car or "a little rough" exactly what he meant. I also made a couple of contacts in localish similar sales centres. Ideal for swapping the odd overage stock, and trading cars between each other

Excel is a good idea I made a little form on the computer, includes name, numbers, cars of interest, budget and part ex details. They are all printed off and kept in a little leather notebook sized folder/organiser. Its good to have a hard copy, as you can easily put it in your pocket before going to auctions etc

We use a system from Catalyst called Platinum. I think its more workshop based with a car sales section. Its a good system that does everything you could imagine. Stock control, invoicing, VAT etc etc not sure on the price tho. If your only a smallish vehicle sales, you may find it better to have a programmer write you a system. We've got a guy writing one for us, its a bigish up front cost, but then theres no monthly payments, works out alot cheaper in the long run, plus its designed to how we want it

Have we cleared up what happens to the current vehicles in the motor trade? i was lead to believe from my post office.. why i took their word i'll never know, that... "if the vehicle was put in possesion of the motor trade (yellow slipped) before today, the tax would still be valid" They told me that the tax only expires, validates etc when the ownership changes. Are the few cars on my pitch still taxed? I haven't a clue... i think it was a pretty poor effort on the DVLA's behalf, apart from what i've read in Car Dealer i haven't recieved anything at all regarding this nobody seems to know what is happening, i guess a bit like HMRC.. the DVLA don't even know whats happening, websites down, i can't tax cars, i sent off a change of ownership late last week... was it done in time? i guess i'll wait and see... i can't imagin it was tho

Cheers James. I took over from a pretty old fashioned 1970's sales manager.. Everything was done the old school way, so im pretty new to the social media side of things so looking at ways to improve

Jamslug your facebook page is pretty impressive, do you pay for the facebook marketing if you dont mind me asking?

as somebody pointed out, a lot of these rental companies have a "front" company, a company that does nothing, but have a name, that they use to register the vehicles in. I think its Europcar that register vehicles under "Provincial Securities Ltd" The problem is alot of these vehicles are owned by the manufactors. I remember we used to inspect tens of thousands of vehicles at Walon, that were owned by General Motors UK, but "leased" to rental companies. The better vehicles that came back were remarketed as GMUVS (general motors used vehicles) and i know VW were doing the same. The best vehicles went to showrooms as approved used vehicles, the others went to auction in specific VW/ GM / BMW auctions. I guess aslong as your truthful about what you know about the vehicle, you've nothing to worry about. You can only tell the customer what you know. If the vehicle is registered to VWFS, theres no telling that it was a rental, company car, private finance etc

I persume they are 3 year old stuff? I can't imagine there being that much to be wrong on a 3 year old car

i think they are 50/50, some are good some are worse. The only thing that puts me off is those people who suffer from "not my car" syndrome, and decide to drive the nuts of it.

I was going to say maybe a tablet, as its easier to use as a computer The apps are good, we use the dealer auction app, can appraise and upload photos direct on the phone out in the yard

The only stuff i buy from the auctions is the nearly new, 2 year old stuff. Having worked as an inspector at auction sites the reports are pretty bang on physically. And i find there is enough information on the reports to give a good guide. The only issue is how the inspections work. In my day, the car was in the yard, paperwork, service books and keys etc were locking in an office somewhere. So come the time we inspected, we could only list 1 key, no history, no book pack (if its not there you can't list it) Its down to somebody in the office to change it on the final report if it does have those things. I find some cars i buy at auction listed with 1 key actually have 2, or it has got the history with it. I do favour the simulcast tho Manheim run. With auction prices being the way they are at the moment, i haven't had a wasted trip around the country to be out bidded on the couple of cars i want. Tho i think charging an extra £40 to buy using it, on top of the fees is a bit steep

Its just for bragging rights, good old fashioned one up manship

It's not arrogance at all. Of course we take the vehicles for a spin down the road, on first appraisal before PX and before we upload them to auction site. Anything that is obvious, or not correct, lets say a knock, a rattle, funny noise when changing gear etc of course we will list, last thing any of us want is a hard time on collection But there can be alot of issues that you cant see, hear, or tell from a run down the road, If we are not aware of an issue, we cant list it. I don't think dealers (or most decent ones) are trying to hide behind the "not inspected" to sell a shed or a car with a serious issue. Its just a way of being able to cover our backs

Yeah you have to be careful with the "not mechanically checked" however, i sell on Dealer Auction, and some of the buyers are worse then retail customers when it comes checking the cars... "theres 2 more stone chips on the bonnet you didnt mention" "the undertray is slightly damaged" etc With the cars we trade, theres no profit in them, after the fees you might make £100 - £200 if you have a few bidders, but its not enough to spend time mechanically checking. I don't know if a suspension bush is on its way out, or theres a bit of play in a wheel bearing... but unless you state its not been mechanically checked, buyers get arsey if you haven't mentioned it.

I've just took in a an old Rolls Royce with a built in... wait for it..... barometer.... why would you ever need a barometer in your car? Tho as you pointed out, the one door only remote locking has to be the most pointless Or fighting with the once touch window to only open it a quarter of the way