Nick M.K.

I am a reasonably new member of this forum but I've done the job a long time (not as long as you but long enough). You'll be pleased to know that both me and my accountant are very good in our respective fields. It was another forum member that wanted details of your court run-ins with BCA, as I said earlier I'd rather take £66 and concentrate on what earns me the most than take corporations to court over £264.

In short - NO. If you accept the rejection the customer is entitled (what an ugly word!) to a full refund AND you have to collect the vehicle from them unless your invoice or terms and conditions specifically state otherwise. If you don't want to accept the rejection you can only offer a repair as a gesture of goodwill.

Why bother? I got them to pay me something. Leave the court action to people with more time. If someone knows something in a certain field I'll listen. I am sure you will too.

I too could've done with one back in the day but didn't have one. Would I go back 13-14 years and do it all over again? On my own? Hell yeah... Remember what Steve Jobs used to say: "The journey IS the reward!"

Yes of course. From day one pretty much. I am still welcome on their forum too :-)

You need to learn a hell of a lot but part exes is up there, yes :-)

For now I am shouting about it. Hopefully they pick up on it.

You don't like the commissions? I'd do every deal on finance if I could. In fact I've seen AT adverts that say "only available on finance" in the attention grabber.

I bought the first in Nov 2017 (64 reg, 4100 miles!) for £17K. Cap Clean was £19K, I don't remember what below was but it would've been more. Private seller. Second in Jan 2018 for £16900 (15 reg, 35K miles), Cap Clean was around £16400 so overpaid a little. There were only 5 in the whole of BCA Then in Feb 2018 there were at least 30 i3s so my next one came in at £16K (15 reg, 20K miles) which was approx £1500 under Cap Clean, again not sure what below was. Then the killer. A 60K miler (huge miles for this car, 64 reg) for £12K with Cap Clean of over £14K. It was in retail condition too. And the last two in March and April, £16K and £18K respectively, similar miles around 20K, both 15 reg but one much higher spec then the other. Interestingly it's the lower spec car that gets more views at the moment... Go figure... Also I'll tell you what I bought today: A 65 reg Abarth, 19K miles, stunning spec, black wheels, EML on, Cap Clean £8700, mine for £7900. Not quite Cap below but normally they go a fair bit above CC.

It depends on your stock profile as well, not just the price bracket. A few years old prestige car with high spec typically goes to a finance buyer who "always wanted one" and is kind of tired of waiting to save the money for it. Something like a diesel Astra will usually sell to a cash buyer. Both could be priced at £7-£8K. I think in the £3-4K bracket it's important to be able to take part exchanges. People just want out of their Clio 1.2 with the leaky sunroof and you saying "yes I'll take it" gives them a huge reason to buy your car. Also, a £100 Clio could sell overnight for £500 and make the whole deal that much better. For you. Even if you scrap the thing you still don't lose.

This was the official legal advice. I'd rather trust Lawgistics than not. They were, until recently. New office, new phone number and new claims handling system now.

In the past I've specifically asked Lawgistics how easy it is to take BCA to court. They said it is very easy but usually when one company takes another to court it is expected to stop trading with it, buying from it or supplying it. So you go to court, win or lose - your account privileges will go. Agree about the fobbing off though.

Interesting points in this forum thread. Some say it's not worth the hassle at all to chase BCA for tyres, others say you have to go through all the hoops of getting the full invoice value paid out including threatening court action, which in case you didn't know entitles BCA to close your buyer account... BCA said that they will contribute to the cost of two brand new tyres. Since the old tyres were already half worn (and more) I am happy with a contribution. I don't expect an auction company to pay my full tyre bill. What I wasn't happy with was the time it took and the amount of evidence they required after the MOT fail. Not to mention the size of their "contribution"...

I don't specialise. I like Mercs but if I went to buy a Merc and I see a bargain Audi I'll buy it. 1200-1300 cars a day at Blackbushe, there are always 2-3 exceptional buys among all the crazy high prices there.

My stock is 3-10 years old (sometimes older) and that's what I aim for, yes. I avoid Grade 1 as everyone wants them and gives me no scope to add value. I also avoid cars that need a lot of bodywork as both bodyshops I use are not 100% consistent in their finish quality, not even 90% unfortunately. EML on? On a 7-8 year old BMW? Sure. If the chain doesn't rattle I will sometimes take a chance depending on the fault code that BCA provide or if buying privately I scan everything.

I wish they were an option but they are not and it amazes me how some dealers simply WILL NOT consider buying a car that doesn't come with the report...

Or to quote another start-up forum post: Learn to walk before learning to walk on water :-)

Just out of interest Trade Vet, when were the Klondyke years? Was it before I was born? I turned 40 this year.

Ben, the grading is (half) useful when you are buying online and almost irrelevant when you buy in an auction hall. While I am a huge fan of online buying I would not recommend it for a starting up dealer. Our job effectively is to buy Grade 2 cars at CAP Below or under. If you can do that consistently you can do well.

Call them directly on 01480 455500 and order them over the phone. Order one PDI inspection sheet pad while you are at it.

Absolutely right. I wish there were forums with as much info as this back in the days when I was starting up. Would've saved me a million pounds. Literally a million. Expensive f***** education :-) If you take nothing else from this discussion at least take this: Buy a pack of £6 warranty booklets from Lawgistics and give one out with 3 months / 3000 miles warranty with a low claims limit (£300-£600). This gives you a very cost effective way to answer your customer's question about warranty. If your cars are half decent there will not be more than 1 in 20 valid claims which means you will be paying out or fixing stuff worth £300 (to £600) for every 20 sales you make or an average of £21 per sale when you include the £6 booklet cost.

Do you actually go through the branch to make a claim? They have a new system which goes through a customer service desk in Manchester and these are the people I've been speaking with.

Ah yes, with you on this one. Sometimes said time waster will actually call to enquire again :-)

I do really well out of 3 car models that sell fast and with a very nice margin. I often buy them at ££££ below book in an auction hall full of dealers that don't know what I know. Otherwise why let me buy them so cheap. The models are: now sold of course.

Would the NOW SOLD make the potential customers not to call you? Would it not be better to have them call you first so you can tell them you've sold one but you have a much much nicer one which you can let them have for a price similar to the first.?