Nick M.K.

Absolutely, as long as everyone knows that WBAC's initial valuation is between CAP Average and CAP Below and prices accordingly. To quote them: "We analyse more retail advertised prices every day than anyone else to make sure we truly reflect the market" I assume this to mean that they have "robot algorithms" that go through retail adverts.

CAP is, more than ever. When WBAC, WWAC etc use it to buy (and by extension - the general public when they sell) and the big auction houses use it to sell with auction volumes bigger than ever, I can't see how we can ignore it. As other people above mentioned - AT's automatic price tools and especially those by CarGurus are so mickey mouse that sometimes give me a £2K difference on a £7K car. If you use CAP and don't adjust for optional extras it will never look right to you on bigger prestige cars.

https://www.cap-hpi.com/ There is a contact form to complete here for them to get in touch and open you an account. http://extras.cap-hpi.com/caphpicheckcta

I use CAP and do my valuations through the HPI trade website. I have a package which includes a certain number of checks and valuations.

It's impossible to predict this for a small independent without knowing their stock profile, location and many other factors.

Under the Margin scheme, Yes.

Not exactly. And let's call it a Buyers fee, not Indemnity fee (see 8.4 in my post above): No Buyers fee: Buy for £10000, sell for £12000, pay VAT on £2000 margin. With Buyers fee: Buy for £10000, add £300 buyers fee, sell for £12000, pay VAT on £1700 margin. The lower margin to pay VAT on gives you your saving.

If you get a £300 fee which is VAT inclusive and you don't get an invoice for it the only way to recover that VAT is when you pay less VAT on your profit margin. When you didn't make a profit that opportunity is lost. I should've made it more clear that you don't have a choice David, because BCA don't issue a VAT invoice for the fees even if you wanted one.

Hi Kenny, Welcome to the forum. As David above pointed out no new platform irrespective of the amount of money put in it has been able to even come close to AT in terms of advert response. Even multi-award winning platforms bring only a handful of sales per month, even year and for your service to gain any kind of traction it needs to be provided FREE of charge to start and even then not everyone will be interested. I wish you and the platform every success though.

So under the margin scheme: You buy a car for £10000 hammer Buyers fee (Gold) is £302 BCA assured charge £33 You total purchase price is then £10335 and this is what you put in your stock book as purchase price. Because this is taken into account when you work out your margin you don't lose out on the VAT. As Tony F pointed out the fees effectively reduce your margin. Where you WILL lose out is if you don't make a profit on that sale because there is no VAT due to offset against. If the invoices (BCA storage a good example) have VAT separately displayed you just reclaim the VAT on the invoice and don't include it in your "stockbook" purchase price. From the Gov.uk Margin Scheme for Second Hand cars. It gets EXTREMELY confusing when you read section 8.4. Basically they are saying that Buyers Premium and Indemnity fee are two different things although I loosely use the same wording for the same buyers fee at BCA :-) 8.3 Work out the purchase price of eligible vehicles bought at auction Your purchase price will be the hammer price of the vehicle plus charges for services. The invoice you get from the auctioneer will itemise, for each lot you have bought, the hammer price of the goods and any charges for services (for example, buyer’s premium). These charges must not show VAT separately. This will be your purchase price for the purposes of the margin scheme or global accounting, and is the amount that you must show in your stock book. It should be clearly identified on the invoice you get from the auctioneer. If the auctioneer bills you for any other services, and charges VAT on them separately, you can reclaim the VAT under the normal rules. You must not add those charges to your own margin scheme purchase price. To avoid confusion, you may want to ask the auctioneer to provide you with a separate invoice for such charges. If you are in any doubt about what your margin scheme purchase price should be for a vehicle you have bought at auction, you should check with the auctioneer. 8.4 Indemnity fees When you buy a vehicle at auction, you will usually be charged an indemnity fee. This is a charge which ensures that you will have compensation or indemnity if the vehicle you have bought is later found to have been stolen or to have finance outstanding on it. You must not include the indemnity fee in your purchase price for margin scheme purposes.

And this is my strategy for the next 5 years right there. Buy cheaply the prestige diesels that Londoners (and nearby) want out of, advertise them nationally and get a buyer that will travel 100 miles or more (I am considering delivery at the moment but it's a can of worms). Throw a couple of electric vehicles in this mix to start a lucrative p/x chain and if all of this gets done on finance - even better.

I feel that soon there will be finance companies that will NOT consider diesel vehicles at all :-)

Feeling brave? Post a link here to your advert for the sticky car, open a beer and brace yourself...

Most lenders I use have the 100000 mile (at the start of the agreement) rule, Close Brothers and Blue 120K. Close will look at up to 130K miles depending on the deal and my rep tells me to call him directly on anything over 130K especially if "modern classic". First Response are on this forum, maybe they can pitch in here with their requirements.

Simon's model is brilliant (and rather brave) in that he selects very high mileage high spec models in nice condition that some buyers simply CAN NOT find elsewhere at that price point. That's why they are motivated to reserve with a deposit without test drive rather than "take the business elsewhere". I don't know of a finance company that will finance a used car beyond 120K miles (130 at a push) at the point of sale and majority of lenders will not consider anything over 100K miles. What I loved most about this post was the big grin at the end :-)

I understood this fully and very clearly the first time I looked up your website years ago on the AT forum. Wasn't disputing the MULTIPLE benefits of this unorthodox approach at all, just pointed out a couple of minor drawbacks.

I like your method of selling but it robs you of two enjoyable components in a deal. 1) Finance commission 2) That moment in an otherwise uncertain deal when your buyer is sitting opposite you at your desk, a shade of approval goes through their face and he/she says: "Yes Simon, I didn't think I'll drive off in a car today but this is definitely for me, I'll have it"...

My Motors.co.uk deal is £96 per month for up to 20 vehicles. This is the only platform that fits the £10 per car math. £5 per car even. But I still spend almost £1700 across all platforms.

No you read it right. I did too. I sell a few with this engine and I've seen the oil pressure light several times. I had to replace an engine once (on a 120i) but in all other cases the NOx sensor fault would cause it to come on, with or without EML. It somehow affects the variable oil pressure control system. They give 3-4 codes, most to do with the NOx sensor plus the dreaded "Oil Pressure Control - Static". In some cases it's even because of a collapsed oil filter inside the housing or a fault in the pressure control valve.

Be optimistic. Hope for a NOx sensor fault, replace for around £350, job done. Another common fault that causes that light is a blocked Cat, the error code usually says exactly that. Camshaft solenoids on these get blocked, easy enough to remove and clean with compressed air so if you have fault codes for camshaft solenoids look there first. Could of course be what Stalker said. But be optimistic :-)

Not "some". I'd say also work on your spelling :-).

You absolutely need to learn how to sell cars quickly and profitably before getting dealer finance. It will be several years before you get there so you might as well start with cheap stuff that you can fund with (not a lot of) your own money and sell in days, not in weeks.

Just looked at their website, very quick, very useful and indeed instant pricing.

Mitsuoka Viewt, the Micra that "looks" like a classic Jag... (David, I hope you've sold yours)