EPV

Welcome aboard, best of luck with it.

I sold another car via text yesterday, collection tomorrow. That makes 4 cars in the last 6 weeks I have sold via text messaging when I haven’t spoken with the person until they arrive to view the car. Not saying you’re entirely wrong, text messages allow a degree of anonymity that people can hide behind but you’re not entirely right either. People buy cars by text. By messenger. By email. People cock on deals when they have seen the metal and driven it. People are people.

It’s not new mate, it’s new to you. People have been selling cars on Facebook for a decade. Me personally, I will be investing time heavily in it in the new year.

Been close to winning a couple of those recently, they do seem to command strong money, even in quiet auctions...

2011 320i estate, M Sport Business Edition, white, manual, 50k, black leather, heated seats, wrecked 18" alloys and two bumper corners scuffed and 4 bald tyres. £1000 behind cap clean would do. 2 bumper corners done, alloys refurbished in dark anthracite, full valet and mop and it would be gone within 3 days of advertising it. I could sell 15 a month.

This is most amusing.

Occasionally people say to me when they’re looking at a car “it’s had paint” to which my reply is “it’s an 8 year old car in very good cosmetic condition. I’d be amazed if it hasn’t had a small repair here and there. It’s a testament to the previous owners that they kept on top of things like that. It is however, HPI clear and has never been written off” And I leave it at that. If someone wants to crib a car because it’s been maintained and repaired then they can do so but I won’t be listening to them for very long.

Good advice there, and welcome to the forum. I stock 5-12k and my finance penetration is very low really, people can borrow cheap money at that price point so don't worry about stocking £4k stuff and not getting any joy.

You are digging up 2 year old threads. If you are genuine and who you say you are then you’re doing yourself no favours. You look like you’re spamming to me

Whatever works for you TG. Good luck to you.

Exactly. I didn’t mean to sound high horse at all but when someone has had enough problems dealing with straight cars, buying stuff from a place like copart is a disaster imo.

Used to? Have you seen what’s on there lately? It’s a scrapyard.

Nothing as long as you can avoid the police it seems. Each to their own but I wouldn’t be going anywhere near stuff like that. There are so many opportunities to buy decent stuff, from proper auctions. Why would you buy from a place like copart? I looked on there once, it was a glorified scrapyard and I haven’t been back there.

I read the first line and thought "why?" Merry Christmas Tradegirl, you seem to have had your fair share of bad luck this year but I do have to wonder whether some of that is self inflicted. Copart is no place for a proper dealer IMO, certainly not one that is having difficulties of varying order.

It has been known for things to go over my head!

Is possibly the weirdest advice I've seen on here. I would say the polar opposite personally, which just goes to show how we can all differ wildly! Automatic Mercedes sell very well for me and I struggle with Automatic BMW's unless they are SUV's. Manual Mercedes seem to be the anti christ round my way.

Well it wouldn’t do, if it was obvious from the advert and price paid than it was a retail car. In any case, the correct invoice is as AD suggested above, properly worded etc.

No there isn’t but there is plenty wrong with trying to negate a punters rights and selling a retail car as SOR is a very obvious way to do that. It doesn’t matter to me you understand, it matters to the authorities.

Quite right. If you're not the remotest bit bothered about what you sell as long as it's got profit in it, then power to you. I like certain cars, or more specifically I hate certain cars so I refuse to buy them on the basis I can't sell something and make someone else want it if if my hear isn't in it. "Yes sir, here we have a lovely Kia Soul, aptly titled because mine died when I bought it. It has no specification, absolutely nothing going for it other than you're here now so you may as well buy it" NOACROSS you'd vomit heavily in your mouth if you saw what I've just put proxy bids on for tomorrow's finest

I rarely pay much attention to either. Sometimes a grade 3 is a "what the fuck were you on when you assessed that" and a grade 4 is a mop and a few touch ins from a grade 2. The assured reports aren't much better. I've bought over 60 cars online this year, from all over the country and had serious issues with just one. As you say, each to their own.

Anyone who wouldn't is a poof

Sorry but this is wrong. I occasionally drift outside of my "zone" very occasionally but my zone consists of German, estate or SUV, high spec, leather. I would never sell an Astra or Fiesta with cloth seats. You need to like what you sell imo, to some degree. That doesn't mean only sell what you really like but if you find small cars with cloth seats and no toys soulless (like I do) then don't convince yourself you can grow to like them. Fine, if you don't care, will sell anything, don't like cars, don't like driving etc then it doesn't matter. But to say niches only work if it's performance or exotic is wrong. Lucas, if you hate manual cars, don't sell them. There's a garage local to me that has been going for 40 years, they only sell Automatics, only ever been Automatics, only ever will. Follow your nose, as Mr Dealy says. Which is why the internet is such a great invention when used properly. Last week I bought 4 cars, from Manchester, Mansfield, Wimbledon and Colchester. I was in my PJ's at the time.

You could always fix them and sell them? Controversial I know and call me old fashioned but I consider mechanical recon as part of being a trader!

At the end of the day, it’s down to everyone’s own perception of risk vs reward. The chances of TS catching up with you and then actually taking you to task over advertising cars SOR when they are also advertised at retail money, is slim I expect. The risk is small. The reward is, more money from sensible customers who are either repairing the car or taking it abroad so don’t care about if its roadworthy. But if, IF trading standards did decide to take you to task i’d imagine it would be excruciatingly painful. I think as a trader you either retail these types of car, write an honest advert and sell to sensible customers, whilst knowing you are still running the risk they will turn into a screamer. Or you sell it as a proper SOR, for SOR money and sleep at night. As I said, it’s all down to our own perceived risk vs reward.

I don't think that's what Stalker meant, I think he meant a local auction as in a small one, full of privates and iffy traders who buy and sell any old shite