MattR

Never take responsibility for something that is down to the customer such as sending off the yellow slip. I always give it to them to deal with. Likewise, I always take responsibility for making sure the new car is registered to them - I dont want parking tickets because they havent bothered to send the V5 off. But he cant ask you for the money. His banking is his responsibility. Tell him that in a very straight to the point 30second conversation. No need to apologize for his ignorance.

Work out where your customers come from - as a home trader you know they arent walk ons. if your basic AT package is 500 that should be covered by 1 deal, the most expensive advertising I have is the one I havent had an enquiry from in months and thats autovillage at £30 per month. Autotrader is my cheapest at £1200, consistently generates me at least 8 deals a month.

do you have an 8 year old child who looks like him?

i'd do it for half of that

get it checked out by your mechanic. And talk, dont text. He wants texts for 'proof' in a small claims court.

Mark, very hard to say no, but I took the 'call when you're on the way and I'll hold' decision following a whinging google review from customer who had booked to look at a car and I sold it just before he arrived. I've stuck to it ever since (about 3 years ago).Fortunately it is unusual for anyone to travel for longer than 2 hours to me so I've only had a few occasions when a walk on has looked at a car someone is on the way to see and they have appreciated the situation. I take their details and promise to call them with the outcome, which I do. as a rule the appointment tends to buy, but I did have to call one walk on back who gratefully rushed back and bought.

Ouch. Think my first year loss was about 9k. thats a learning curve. but it was a nice tax offset the next year...

I dont take a deposit until I've seen a customer and theyve seen the car - no 'holding deposit' over the phone for me. I dont want to take a car off sale for 3 days based on a telephone conversation and miss anyone in between. theres only 1 beneficiary to deposits in advance of viewing and thats the customer. Ive encountered them before where theyve admitted to putting holding deposits on 3 other cars, just to reserve them till they get around to viewing them - thats at least 2 disappointed businesses. It also seems to speed up how quickly they can get around to seeing the car - strange that. My only concession is i'll put it 'on hold' while theyre travelling, but they have to call to tell me they are getting in the car or train NOW. But then I dont offer an extensive video like Simon does whereby I think he is absolutely justified in doing business his way.

very, very good bread and butter cars, I've sold lots of picantos and sportages with no comebacks. sensible punters too. Dont think theyre expecting to sell many of them, I suspect you've just had an encounter with a kia employee!

It needs to come back to the OP, if only to ensure a leg isnt being lifted. PDI or no PDI, if this went to a court (and if I was a punter who had just seen a 6k car do this, I'd push it all the way if I had to) its only going one way. So get it back, find the fault, repair or refund. I see the reason to play hardball before the facts are known, but be prepared for expense.

if youve rung them, they will see a missed call from you. If they choose to do nothing, thats down to them. when they ask for it back, give it and count yourself lucky you didnt have to deal with them when the MMT plays up....

If you're doing everything tight, nothing to fear..... But we all slip up from time to time. Dont hide anything from them, they normally ask to look at a few of your cars so make sure everything is MOT'd, no bulbs out or bald tyres or EML, and make sure advertised mileages are exact - trading standards love coming on to your pitch and seeing a car advertised with 60000 miles when its done 60592, they do regard that as worth a slap on the wrist. and dont say full service history unless its done every year - most of them dont understand variable servicing like the Germans do in my limited experience of a TS visit.

On the brightside your overheads and recon should be low. If Autotrader is your only major outgoing I'd think you could make a go of it. Only 10 spaces may make it harder, although we would all like a 100% turnaround every month its not always as easy as that. Get going with it though, in my experience you will need to get a couple of months under your belt before the doom and gloom of december gets us all.

Dear JGW. I would be happy to provide a consultant role to assist you in growing your business. I can enlighten you with my knowledge and ensure success. All for a small fee....

Another newbie with attitude. Good luck.

Not aware of any IPT etc changes. And theyre only ever 2-3 %.

mine went up, but by about 7%, and that was a renewal at the end of June. Maybe time to get shopping around?

just her pass certificate from the week before! I sell lots of small cars so young drivers all the time. most of them are fine

Yes, because I think thats the right way to do it. I qualify them as best I can, but sometimes, one will slip through the net. Last week, young lady, in with Mum and Dad. A pre booked appointment, so I'm ready for the drive. Dad asks about service history, which it doesnt have. This seems to bother him, but they keep looking around it, then ask about her driving it. I'm blunt at this point, and say it doesnt have a service history before the test drive, that will be the same when we get back from the drive, will that be the issue then that stops you buying the car? He says no and she drives the car. And when we are nearly back very nearly has an accident. they then 'need to think about it' and then decide not to buy it because 'its quite big' and has no service history...... So I risk my well being, my insurance premium, and my car for someone who thinks we are just here for a trip out. The sad thing is, I'm now more likely to be harsh and blunt to someone who doesnt deserve it because of this. My Rant Over!

I think if you have a pitch, people expect you to be there, thats my experience with having one. A lock up unit would be more appropriate. Just be aware of costs - its not just rent, its business rates, insurance, utilities and normally a contract for a minimum 12 months. So I would guess that could be £1500 per month if you need something big enough to hold a dozen vehicles.

Ive just had one back in for a viewing with their mechanic, he told them they would get one for less privately. I agreed. He'll regret saying that when they have him looking at 10 cars next week. Never get my head round why the mechanic says that, he's there to say if its OK or not.

Answer professionally, and mildly apologetically. If someone calls when you are closed, or about to, its fine for you to offer the drive in your working hours. That may be the reason the review came in - from the info you have given, you may not have done. The billies think we are salaried big garage employees who are paid to sit in the passenger seat of a car no matter the time or day of the week. Explain you are closing in a few minutes to have a couple of hours with the kids before bedtime - anyone who fails to understand that wouldnt be wanted as a customer by me. Then offer to see them on Saturday morning 'i'm there at 930', which gives them the chance to drive it then. Better than saying 'are you buying today?'. Because the savvy ones who specialise in wasting time would say yes to that then walk after wasting an hour of your time

i think corsas are hard work now, especially nearly new ones. no kids out there have saved any money so if they want a corsa its PCP time. and when theyre older, the only way to sell them is cheaper than a fiesta, and 'great news, no cambelt to change' )just a very rattly chain.......

which should give you a good crop of focii next spring?

Sold a Saab diesel into Ireland a few years back. Liked my car and my location because the 'skylink ' bus from the airport had a stop directly opposite my premises. I was good enough to 'put it on hold' when he'd messaged me a copy of his plane ticket for the next morning!