Nick M.K.

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Everything posted by Nick M.K.

  1. Of course it matters. If trivia like oil level matters then so does tax and / or insurance. We are in a service business where the silver is spent quickly but the great service they will remember. And talk about. If they are happy to pay my margin customers can certainly have a few more minutes of my time for their insurance.
  2. 6. Including my 227 Day BMW i3 which everyone seems to want now and the Toyota Auris that AD wasn’t keen on. The Auris buyer (a young asian bloke, paid full price!!!!) left a £150 Kia Picanto in chop that I thought to give away. Until I checked AT pricing. I now have 8 cars in my prep queue which I am rushing to get ready and advertised before the inevitable end of November lull.
  3. Yes you can but you specifically asked for online invoicing system with some automation. On Excel you can have all your company details but the details for each vehicle will need to be entered manually.
  4. Absolutely not. This is a lost profit opportunity and the only people that should reimburse you are the parts factors or makers of the faulty battery IF the battery warranty is for the part and labour which I doubt.
  5. Do you have this function in one of the sub-menus: Manual Read Write of Adaptation Channels
  6. Yes, I found it out a month ago. But last week had a nightmare two hours when a customer was huffing and puffing at my desk, swapping sim cards between his phone and ipad, trying to log into Cuvva, forgot which email address he used, tried to create a new account and ultimately couldn't insure using Cuvva because he hadn't held his license over one year. Give me HPI Driveaway any day but cars need to be under 10 years.
  7. If I go to BCA on a buying spree and don't buy anything: 1) I can still expense the 76 miles there and back BUT 2) I certainly can't issue myself (or anyone) an invoice for 6-7 hours of my time. In the specific example here Dave either charges the battery supplier / maker or is out of pocket. Except the miles
  8. Which bit of money? The replacement battery was free. You can certainly claim the 88 business miles (around 54 pence per, have to doublecheck). You buy a "Guildhall mileage log book", record these miles there and deduct the £50 or so as expenses. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guildhall-Vehicle-Business-Mileage-Record-Log-Book-Ref-T43/150747245295?_trkparms=aid%3D555017%26algo%3DPL.CASSINI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D55149%26meid%3D4e86ae68ea664a78867872be1be6b549%26pid%3D101006%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26%26itm%3D150747245295&_trksid=p2045573.c101006.m3226
  9. Yes sure, From the list of systems select channel 17 – Instrument Panel, then from the several options select Service Reset Select Manual Read Write of Adaptation Channels Channel 053 (Days since last service) and Channel 055 (Service scope lock out) are the most common channel numbers on VAG cars. Manually edit the channel values (40 for example will mean 40 days after service so the light will stay on) You need the values on these channels to be 0 which tells the cluster that the service has just been completed and starts the count until the next. Edit both channel 053 and 055 values to 0 and bingo!
  10. TV, what is the logic behind this? We have actually already paid the full VAT element which is part of the hammer price. Do they mean if we recover that VAT post sale?
  11. If I was just a bit older Ladas would probably be the bulk of my stock in the gold communist years in Bulgaria where the waiting list for a new one was 12-15 years and used private sales were illegal before 1989. And you laughed all the way to the bank. It's amazing how many opportunities some dealers would miss out on because they don't like a certain model or even make.
  12. So the wrap up on this: The customer flew in this afternoon, collected the car and drove off into the sunset. It wasn't a scam. HMRC called me with the information I requested: They treat this is a personal export outside the EU if the customers collects himself. 1) Take payment of the car ex VAT 2) Take payment for the full VAT amount as a refundable deposit. 1 and 2 can be done on one invoice or on two separate invoices. 3) Obtain proof from the customer that the car has left the EU within 3 months. This could be transport documents, boat tickets, official customs documents, permanent vehicle registration on Jersey in my case. Keep this proof for 6 years from the date of export. 4) After receiving his proofs refund him the VAT amount that he paid as deposit.
  13. It does leave me out of pocket by about £240 as I won't get a penny in finance commission (my clawback is 6 months actually) but if someone is dead set on receiving a bit of discount they can probably negotiate it on my desk rather than go through the hoops of getting car finance, then cancelling. The £60 difference is VAT saving. "HMRC has explained the treatment of dealer deposit contributions (DDCs) when motor dealers contribute towards the deposit payable to the finance company, leaving the customer to pay a reduced amount. It considers these arrangements are a discount on the headline price charged by the dealer, with VAT due on the discounted amount charged, not on the full asking price" The HMRC brief on the clarification gives an example: ‘The headline price of a car is stated as £28,000, this is shown as being funded by £20,000 finance, a deposit of £6,000 from the customer and a DDC of £2,000. HMRC views the selling price from which VAT is due as £26,000 (£28,000 headline price less the £2,000 discount/contribution from the dealer).’ Businesses that have accounted for VAT on the headline price should correct the position either by making a claim for overpaid output tax, or by amending their VAT return."
  14. Anyone that can get approval for that amount by a mainstream lender shouldn't really consider car finance.
  15. My figures are good, up on last year, 59% acceptance rate, almost 90% take-up rate. approx 1/3 of my sales are on finance and I am offering £300 deposit contribution from this month until the end of Jan to hopefully help and convert some cash buyers. Some stock definitely attracts the finance buyers: prestige models, black or white, high spec, older than 4-5 years, even with higher than average miles. Annoyingly, every time I am certain a car will sell on finance it goes to a cash buyer
  16. The only thing missing here is a Parkers valuation and you'll send me back in time 15 years when I used to read that crap every now and then.
  17. I no longer find driving enjoyable in any car, comfortable is as good as it gets for me BUT after spending several hours today in this one it's certainly far removed from "hideous horrible form of transport." Will use it tomorrow as well while my own gets some recall work done.
  18. Just corrected it, thank you, this was left from the last Hybrid advert text I had copied (as one does). Just increased the mileage slightly too and changed the photo order.
  19. After reading this thread the other night I felt that the Auris in general took an unfair beating. Today I borrowed one from my stock to take it to Blackbushe (not to sell, just to drive for the day). 5 years old, 90K miles, auto. Taxed it. £0. Put a tenner of petrol in. Some is still in it after 80 miles. Drove absolutely superbly, I have to say. Like a new car. Extremely comfortable, plenty of toys, plenty of poke (1.8 Hybrid) so I can only assume that you had an old example or a bad one. Or a combination of the two.
  20. +1. In December 2016 I had 12 sales (12-14 stock) 8 were convertibles (Boxster, 3 series, A4, TT Roadster, Merc CLK and SLK). Especially the hardtop models I think are not seasonal in demand at all, plus my advertising always mentions that this is the best time of the year to buy one. For me at least it's true. Are you kidding? My cars are not costing me, they are paying me OR at least keeping some money outside the poorly paying banking system. CALCULATE DAILY PROFIT
  21. This what I pay not far from you for my "overspill p/x storage". Holds 8 cars.
  22. I remember saying here a month ago: I will never set foot in that particular auction site. Once was enough for me.
  23. Never, never, never do that again. It's asking for trouble. Especially when the numbers start adding up to more than 3.33 a month. "Yes, everything is MOSTLY OK but we have a squeak from the front wheels when we turn to full lock, what WILL you do about this..." WE ARE NOT NEW CAR DEALERS, WE DON'T HAVE THE MANUFACTURER'S BACK UP AND WE DON'T NEED TO DO WHAT NEW CAR DEALERS DO.
  24. I would’ve shown the car. Explained the EML and that that it is a minor issue but we have still booked it for Fri to get sorted. Offer to take a refundable deposit from the customer. This way you know you have a buyer lined up and if it turns out it was something serious you kindly refund their deposit in full. To Motors: I wouldn’t write an issue in the pdi check as repaired. This guarantees you a valid comeback if the customer has the same or similar issue in the next six months (misfire bank one cylinder one as an example).