Nick M.K.

I do now too. Not because of bad reliability (that too!) but because I've sold so many of the things over the years - I can't stand them. Back in 2009-2010 I was buying 2-3 year old very basic spec Astra Life 1.3 CDTI ex MoD cars from LEX in BCA Bedford. At 2-3 years old / 70-80K miles they were £2700-£3700 on the block and selling for £4500-£6K. They came with no reg numbers and needed registration with the DVLA as if it's a new car, logbook took weeks to arrive. Everyone else avoided them but they were quick sellers, always with new tyres and brakes, always fully serviced and almost always with a full tank of fuel. I had 5 sets of photos for each colour (they were all silver, blue and 50 shades of grey) and instead of a number plate I had a plate that said DIESEL (huge selling point only a few years ago). When everyone else was struggling for stock after the scrappage scheme I could buy 3-4 every week. The smell of that cloth interior makes me sick these days.

I've done it once. BMW i3 from BCA Brighouse, my advert was live around 20mins after I had won the online bidding, a record for me. Only 4 of their external photos were usable but they were very good, photo booth, white background, car was spotless and luckily I had a set of interior photos of the same spec and condition i3 so my advert looked pretty complete. 3 calls before I had even collected the car. The person that eventually bought it only got in touch after I had done my usual 100 images session so I can't say that I benefitted but at least I tried.

I have this long-standing debate with a friend, outside this forum. He thinks that all prep should be completed and the vehicle ready to go before he publishes his ad. I think that a vehicle should be advertised as soon as it arrives provided you have the ability to show it as it will look when ready. Photoshopping scratches (that will be repaired in a bodyshop) a classic example so there is no misleading involved. My thinking is that customers often spend several days looking at a car advert online before they first make their contact. It's these few days I like to save by placing my ad, then finish the prep and not have so much waiting time. Bear in mind that all my viewings are by appointment with no walk-ons.

I've had this chat with same dealer and I think that for CG to work for you you need higher stock levels. I'll be very happy to be proven wrong though.

I didn't even know they had that many...

Your car being insured and being on the MID are two different things. It gets nicked without keys, you get paid, MID or no MID. Being on the MID also does not help you as far ANPR is concerned. If it's on SORN and you drive by ANPR you'll get a fine if your plates are not displayed correctly. If it's "stock in trade" no problem.

Not bought any DSGs or Pug / Citroen semi-autos? Probably for the best.

What will you take in coins?

Maybe you have more cars advertised or I just caught their rep on a good day when signed up with them about 18 months ago. To be fair their price seemed so much lower than everyone else's that I didn't see the need to push them on the price like I usually do with everything else.

Absolutely. £96 per month for 20 vehicles (I have 12-15) and the adverts from there go free to a couple of dozen other motoring websites. Every month a have a few leads and at least one sale. By comparison my £225 per month mid-level package with CarGurus brought me 2 confirmed sales for the whole of 2017. Have given them my notice now.

My broker from Aston Scott said that although this is correct it is better if I don't add all. In the event of a car being sold and being involved in an uninsured accident with the new owner (easy to happen after 5 day Driveaway product expires) there could be a claim against the dealer as the last recorded party to have had "insured interest" in the vehicle.

I could've guessed these results even by the average time it takes me to find a parking spot for one of their sales.

Or rival start-up dealers going from pitch to pitch to see what gathers dust and what actually sold.

Tradevet, I think you are right and at the same time I think that now in this "digital online retailing age" it is different. Presentation is still EVERYTHING but now it's the presentation online that matters most, especially for something slightly rare that the buyers will travel hours for. Ad text, pictures, video (or three), reviews, your other stock they can see online etc etc. People here have said that they never do wheel refurbishment as one example but their sales are still good and their customers travel and don't walk away because of minor marks here and there. The selling happens at people's homes long before they've seen that car in the metal. By the time they first see it they own it already. In their minds. Done insurance, bought new mats, booked window tinting next week etc etc.

Scottish guy on a Tuareg :-)

Oh yes, LR16*** Good value because of the miles, nice condition too.

White Q5 from Porsche Retail?

Bingo!

Normally in the summer prices are super low. Interesting how the market became alive after March this year.

I've never sold this way but have bought a few locally responding to these ads, usually from a private mature owner who was "giving up" driving so no possibility to p/x it.

Just looked at another forum thread about MINIs and how fragile they are and it got me thinking about Makes / Models I don't like to stock. I don't mind Minis but I wouldn't buy a Skoda or Renault for example and except MX5 I don't buy Mazdas. I know they sell ok but I never liked them. Oh and old Japanese 4x4s in the £500+ tax bracket...

Wouldn't you feel too much pressure to be super successful after all this information and advice very few people had when they were starting? I can't imagine the group disappointment on this forum if one day you were to start a thread about "my last sale, taking a break from car sales" ...

I sell quite a few on eBay (classified, not auction) and my buyers from there are two types: 1) old chaps (I can't comment on the Altos because I've never sold one) 2) 25-45yo blokes who don't bring their wives with them when they buy Both types are very sensible to deal with.

+1 You should always keep things tight but as Newbie one thing comes above all else: learning. You can certainly ask questions on a forum but you'll need to do a lot of experimenting yourself, especially with advertising to find out what works for you and how. I could pick up the phone and call you right now (on the number ending 366) and tell you in a 40 minute call most of what you really need to know but I'd be robbing you of the unrepeatable opportunity to learn it all yourself :-)

I used to worry about stuff like this but now all my stock goes virtually everywhere and the truth is the response is quite unpredictable. AT performs best for me, by miles, irrespective of models. CarGurus worst. I am sure that other people here will report the complete opposite.