MattR

Im not sure why you would specialise to that extent. If you were to go to an auction and dismiss 99% of the stock because it isnt a Mini Cooper, it doesnt leave you much to aim at. End result, you wont bother going. We all have preferences as to what we sell, but not many will stick to a small part of a brand and try nothing else. So my tip is to consider buying anything you regard as good value.

what a lovely genuine customer you have there.

Future classic price

its quite a walk from the station - by the time you get there you may have the code!!! PS they also ask you to bring some ID.......

It was a voicemail, but the phone ringing still woke me up!

If you'd seen Karen, I'd imagine he gets up early to avoid her amorous intentions

Maybe they could underwrite some cheap shit for me!

i would have said the customers who dont do as they promised- 'i'll let you know' until 613am today when Paul and Karen rang to let me know 'they wont be going any further with the Nissan Note' Why would you think calling at 613 in the morning is a reasonable thing to do?

Let him see you in court for reporting wheel wobble at 80+. and other 'faults' which indicate aggressive driving. what sort of tool puts that in an email?

I also applied in early december, still waiting. good tip re the mystery shop...

Are you over prepping on the cosmetics? you are in a market place where it is very price driven.your competitors are, as you say, not prepping, but you would assume still selling. So there are people out there who will buy cars with MINOR scuffs, scratches and trolley dents. in fact most will. So try and work out what you may be able to 'get away with' at your current price point. But Dont skimp on mechanical prep. EPV is spot on that cosmetic prep needs to be better on 5k plus. So you may not make much more per car. But you can get a better quality p/ex which you can go again with. And you wont be in a bidding war to buy that. But do be aware that if you decide to go to 5k plus you are competing against some bigger dealer groups on smaller cars. so dont go stocking up on 14 reg aygos and expect to do any better. you'll still be looking at them in 6 months time.

I meant from BHM after you told him to lighten up. However it is lonely in my 'office'

awaiting explosion

Sounds like he's getting the car for free - and a kia ceed will have aux in points etc which is all most of them are bothered about !

As above. Technically you could also sell it as a loss, as we all will have done at some stage, however that would raise an eyebrow at an inspection

Ditto with the valeter - you dont need to employ someone to do that, find a mobile valeter who will charge you per car instead of being a drain on your bottom line every month. I pay 30 to 40 per valet. if he was on minimum wage he would be costing me the same as 10 valets per week, and I dont have that sort of turnover. You'll have plenty of other fixed costs, you don't need another.

Put simply, if a prospective customer is put off by the wings being a different shade to the rest of the car, allow yourself a gallic shrug and let them go and buy something else, they'd live with you anyway if they were that fussy.most of my stock is 8-12 years old, so will have had paint done. And 90% of customers at this age/price range is realistic enough to know that. Does it have any bearing on the reliability of the car? No. Which when they are 12 years old, is surely the most important thing. So dont kick yourself about it, it will sell!

I think if you pay one of the motoring magazines to advertise then you could be on there too? They have their reputation to consider, so if they are 'recommending' a dealer or website, they will want to know its safe for their customers. they dont want a customer saying ' i used someone what car recommended and they were rubbish and ripped me off'

I'm up for a free breakfast courtesy of Lucas. But how many of us will be standing there waiting for him?

agreed! my mrs has to clip the seatbelt on the passenger seat whenever her handbag is on it...

Down to brass tacks, selling 'no warranty given or implied' is always a gamble. generally the wrong punters, think its a bargain and ignore the warnings you give them. And as for selling it to someone who lives 6 hours away? I'd have told him you werent prepared to sell to him in the first place. sell locally (ish) if you want to sell problem cars unless your advert and invoice are explicitly clear as to what the car is. That way, if a problem like this arises, you can get a garage you know involved. What should you do? You may be ok in court. the judge may award against you, but I would think the customers behaviour could secure you a reduced refund (losses for failed collection attempt)

Local to you is newark auctions. But dont expect a fantastic return on it. Same concerns over a car with a 'trade to trade ' tag.

Entertaining as this is on a quiet december afternoon, I really do hope to have more to do in January than look at what some clown on a keyboard wants to write about 'setting up a business' seliing cars and getting a workshop

Heres hoping for a great little break over Xmas and Wishing you all a propsperous 2019, I second Mark, it's nice to know that someone else is there too

I'm sat here waiting for a bank transfer to show in my account which the new 'owners' parents have apparently sent at 4pm. If you could trust Joe Public you would let them drive away and see it in the account on Monday morning, but that just isnt the way it is.