MattR

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Posts posted by MattR

  2. Posted

    11 hours ago, MCC said:

    Hi guys. As the title suggests I am a young person looking to getting into the car industry. 
     

    im currently 22 and have trained as an electrical engineer and currently working for a big food and drinks manufacturer earning enough to put me well into the 40% tax bracket and working a 4 on 4 off shift. Sounds great right? No. I loathe the thought of going to what I consider a mundane job every week and although I should be happy, I’m just not. 
     

    I have therefore decided that although against what everyone has told me growing up I’d love to do something I’m truly passionate about. That’s anything with an engine. I plan over these next winter months to develop my business plan and what I would like to achieve. As I work the shift pattern I do, I thought this may be a good way to test the waters and see if I can get it off the ground without too much financial risk, I.e still being able to cover rent and bills by having a steady income. I’m not looking to just be a regular side street dealer but a source of interesting vehicles such as classic USDM, EDM and JDM, although I’m fully aware that if it became permanent I may have to resort to this.

    The only thing I am honestly concerned about is my age and I’d love to hear if anyone else started out on their own around this time and what sort of obstacles  you faced such as traders insurance and so on. would you start from home or go straight to finding a small yard to have capacity to hold more than 1 or 2 cars at a time? Any advice would be greatly appreciated  
     

    I have started work on a website and plan on selling on most online car websites aswell as social media. I am fully aware of what a tough business it is, basically never not working and I’ll probably never be rich but I genuinely can’t stand the thought of working like I am for the rest of my life. The only downside is I may have to sell some of my current cars but hey ho beggars can’t be choosers. 
     

    sorry for the long winded post 

    40 % tax bracket at 22. Well done. do some maths before you go too far. trade insurance, advertising , premises, etc, etc, etc. Do you actually hate what you do or who you work for? If you work 4 on, 4 off, you really should just stick with it and play with this part time. once youve sold a few you will need to register for VAT. 

    I could go on and on, I think you're nuts. You'll need at least 100k to start if you want to earn anything like what you do now. but if you really want to do it, you just will.

  3. Posted

    On 11/6/2019 at 6:56 PM, Mistermuttley said:

    Well my smart repair guy has announced he has given up the business and is going to do something else (wont say what so is being a bit mysterious). I have tried a couple of others local, but one was ok but expensive and the other was ok on price but quality wasn't as good. So Does anyone know a smart repair guy local to Wolverhampton who is decent on quality and price? Might be asking for a unicorn i know!

    As an example of the decent but expensive guy,he qouted me £185 to fix some laquer peel in 2 areas on a back bumper,each area about 100mm across. And £165 to repair a scratch about 100mm but with a really slight dent to it. Both on the same car. Am i just tight?!

    Thats bodyshop money, I'd expect to pay about £100 for a full bumper respray. And likewise for a scratch repair. that smart repairer is taking the piss.

  5. Posted

    15 hours ago, Mark101 said:

    Moaning is futile. They are not daft, believe me.

    For as long as they are more important to us than we are them; either put up or shut up.

    Personally, they haven’t isolated me to ginneau pig an idea, it affects everyone from main agent to doorstepper., level playing field. Do I like it, no - is it the same for everyone, yes.

    So, my question; What has changed?

     

    I think many of us on here have moaned at AT before. It never seems to achieve anything. They are very much a 'take it or leave it company' . Annual price increases, package changes, still we stick around, and with a few exceptions, it works for us. 

    But it is the same for everyone. If you're selling bread and butter and expecting a result from any advertising platform you will need to be in a good or great price point anyway 8 out of 10 times. If I sell an expensive Fiesta, its because someone has walked on my pitch or driven past and its caught their eye. 

    If youre selling something different, unique, well specced, if its something that someone wants, and no one else has it, High price is fine. they cant get one anywhere else. And some will still click on a car which has a 'high' price marker against it if only to see why. And if the 'why' is because that car has had 1 lady owner, a cambelt change, Leather, sat nav or whatever else, they might, just might, consider it better value than the cheaper one without those bits.

    So I'm not going to send a protest letter into AT. It'll take me longer to write it than it will for them to throw it in the bin. 

     

  7. Posted

    1 hour ago, BHM said:

    Why? He shouldn’t be embarrassed about sacking off a chancer & the chancer’s self-appointed finance company. 
     

    Absolute Chancer, agreed. And more so the finance house. Just before JT says anything too insulting about her. I note that he hasnt so far.

  10. Posted

    A 'vehicle health check', more like a fishing trip. When it comes to warranty repairs, you need to have some control. I assume you would've known the repair would have been taking place - not many customers would've gone and got warranty work done without telling you in advance? Talk to the repairer in advance and explain exactly what you sort of behaviour you expect from them. prevents this happening. 

  12. Posted

    20 hours ago, RHA said:

    UPDATE  The driver (I.e. not the person who was actually invoiced for the vehicle) has just landed with his wifes brother to the office to "sort this out".  A long conversation with lots of chat about him not knowing it was crashed (before changing that to denial to "doesn't matter if I did- it wasnt written on the invoice". and it had driven his children and his brother in laws children around and they "could have been killed" etc etc. (happy to ignore the MOT's and 60000 miles it had done without incident).   Upshot is he thinks if it hadn't been crashed he could have sold it for 3000 more than he paid for it (yes even 60000 miles later) but he's willing to accept 2000 less than he paid.  We have met him part way to that at more than fair value for the vehicle just to make it go away but he is not interested.  Had left it with him in writing to think about but he refused to even accept the piece of paper.  Has threatened to go to the media and "expose" me. 

    Just another fun day at the office!!

     

    I'll say it again. Refuse to entertain any form of conversation with this individual unless via email or post. Make no offers and withdraw the one you have made. 

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    I wouldnt go near them. May be useful if your AT package is for less cars than you have then your non AT stock is at least advertised somewhere, but with AT's 'double stock' offer coming soon, that should cover that base.

  14. Posted

    A nice intro Kieran

    To be aware of; think of how much you need to make, especially if there are 2 of you. break that down into a monthly amount and then work out how many cars you need to sell based on your current selling experience and margins.

    Think how much money you need to have to buy that initial stock of cars and recon money to make sure they are of a standard to sell.

    You will soon become liable for VAT.

    Your main responsibility to the customer is the CRA 2015. Take a look at that, and search around the forum for more info about it and warranties.

     

    Good Luck

    • Thanks 1

  19. Posted

    2 hours ago, JohnPease said:

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    John. F**k Off.

  21. Posted

    12 hours ago, BHM said:

    At the lower end of the market some punters have had a belly full of ‘cheap’ old diesels because they’ve been caught out with a big bill & ultimately ended up out of pocket when they’ve had to dispose of said car to the knacker’s yard.

    That said, the Astra/Focus market take petrol or diesel but the Mondeo/Passat market still seems to want diesel.

    As for bigger cars/SUVs etc. it’s diesel as always for the time being.

    As for chancing buying/selling old hybrids here up north, any customer who has ever mentioned them in discussion seem to have the attitude of ‘who the fuck wants the complication and the potential bills’ and tbh I agree with them. However I think fully electric cars will be viewed far more positively than hybrids when they hit the cheaper end of the market.

     

    Agreed re the big diesel repair bills. Injectors, turbos, DMF, DPF, the list goes on.

     

    The bigger the car, the more likely it is to be diesel, I honestly dont think the punter has too much choice. When I left the new car world in 2012 about 90% of the passats we were selling were diesel. Most tiguans likewise. Diesel suits the size of the car so much better - Back then the TSi just felt flat in a car that size. So very few bought petrol. Good thing really with the oil consumption issues.....

    Wait with baited breath for the electrics to come through, but I wont be seeing them for quite some time yet in the 2-5k market!