EPV

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Posts posted by EPV

  1. Posted

    7 minutes ago, XFS said:

    Yes. the Chrome trim is plastic, I just wondered if it could easily be rechromed. The plastic bumper is textured, so would need to be retextured, not just repainted.

    Just trying to spend less than £500 on what is fairly minor damage. Had it been the painted part of the bumper it would have been a lot easier.

    Paint the valence/splitter the same colour as the body. I can’t see many noticing noticing that 

  6. Posted

    32 minutes ago, met said:

    I actually sold it to two young girls from Maidstone? I rarely sell cars locally, weird?

    But the upcoming changes to the LEZ will bring it within spitting distance of me and I'm a little spooked at the prospect. We'll see what happens when the dust has settled. It's such a weird market, as many people live in Greater London but work outside of London so the LEZ won't affect their commuting at the moment. But I wonder how soon before the LEZ stretches out to the M25. I had a letter from the council today asking for my opinion on making the local school a car free area at school opening and closing times. They will set up ANPR outside to fine drivers caught driving in the hour before and after school. Homeowners opposite the school will have to register their car VRN with the council. Fine is £130 with the usual 50% reduction if paid early. I'm sure like the LEZ all this will be making it's way to the shires soon enough as it's a money maker and most local councils are broke so watch out!

    Oi, get orf moi paaatch

    i bought a hybrid today, going to see what happens with it and how much interest I have with it. I doubt the farmers round my way will want it but the middle class snobs might 

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    33 minutes ago, sparky said:

    Here in North Wales economy has always been the name of the game. More chance of us stopping shagging sheep than there is of no longer buying diesel.

    :lol:

    Apparently diesel sales were on the increase last year. There are people in the country that have no idea about low emissions zones, never mind the notion of not buying an oil burner. There are people out there who love a 3 litre derv with all the toys. 

    Granted in central London things are different. 

  9. Posted

    5 minutes ago, tradegirl said:

    James, knowing the history of the car is one thing. How many owners, how long the last owner had it for, how many services and when the last service (prior to ours) was. That's one thing, and it's understandable. Asking on a tidy FSH, 2 owner, 10 year old car if I bought it at auction or not, is irrelevant I think. And a little rude in my opinion.


    The history is one thing, whether it ended up at auction because the owner traded it in, or whether it was px'd or bought from the seller themselves, the end result is the same: the owner still gave the car up. Mark took that Astra as px and it was a nail. Is it any better that it was px'd directly from the owner? It's still a nail.

    . 
     

    If you're offended by people asking where you bought a car from you may wish to re-evaluate how thick your skin is. It's a commonly asked question, mainly for the reasons given above (most people think auctions are where old knackers end up) and they want to believe that their next purchase has been driven considerately, washed with filtered water from the Himalayan mountains and powered by unicorn farts. Tell them it came from a part exchange, or a main dealer part exchange that you carefully selected from. It's really not rude.

    I'll tell you what's rude;

    Someone ringing three times on the bounce, one minute after the next, then sending a message via chat, all at 3pm on a BH Monday, asking to see a car that day. When they receive a reply an hour later from yours truly, apologising for missing their call and when would they like to view the car, they read the message and then don't reply. At all. So desperate to see the car they were that they couldn't even be bothered to say "thanks but I'll get back to you"

    Or how about..

    Someone calling at 4pm arranging to have a video call at 9:30am the following morning, on a car they are very keen on, have their finances sorted, only to text at 9:28am to say they have found another car?

    Both of which have happened to me in the last few days, neither of which surprised me, bothered me or made me want to rant. I have been in this industry a relative 5 minutes, compared to most. It doesn't take a genius to work out there are some right arseholes out there, just brush it off and move on.

  11. Posted

    5 hours ago, tradegirl said:

    No Justin, for me if he/she is doing it, I can do it. What am I doing wrong? How could I improve? Is it my stock profile, is it my photos, prices, etc. That sort of thing. Whereas if the used car trade is heading to hell in a handbasket (I know it's not, but hypothetically speaking) I need a plan B.

    But of course I understand what you mean.

    And with my logic, does that mean that other traders who do everything they, but are still struggling, are doing something wrong? Probably not.

    And I'm also aware that my logic is skewed because true entrepreneurs have made money out of recessions and Great Depressions, so it shouldn't matter how well or badly anyone else is doing.

    I'm aware of this, but still...others doing well in my field helps me somehow.

    It doesn’t help you, it never will. Somebody selling 5 cars in one day, 300 miles away from you, will have no bearing on whether you are doing something right or wrong. I’m completely with Justin, no point in knowing how others are doing and comparing it to you. I like to know how my trader mates on here are doing just because, well, they’re mates/acquaintances but that’s all it is. If you’re not selling cars is it ok, if nobody else is? Will that pay your bills? 

    I had my best month last month. I’m possibly going to have my worst this month. A month is too shorter a period of time to assess your performance anyway. Three months minimum in my eyes. 

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

    1 hour ago, AdrenalineJunkie said:

    I didn't realise this would be so contentious. I have been a little bit vague with the details, for obvious reasons, but I was hoping to receive a little constructive advice. 

    And the login name I thought was ironic.

    Can you post any photos up? I love rubbing one out to smashed up Ferrari's even better if there's bloodstains on the windscreen

  13. Posted

    19 minutes ago, sellect2 said:

    We asked the Motor Ombudsman for its view, and it reiterated that official, lab-produced economy figures are for comparison purposes only and not indicative of what will be produced on the road. Said a spokesman: “Unless the adverts or salesman made some kind of commitment that he’ll achieve these figures, then I don’t think he could rely on the comparison figures as not being as described.” So the short answer is no, rejection isn’t feasible.

     

     

    Maybe not complete cobblers??

    (extract from internet-auto express). 

    Ok mate. 

  14. Posted

    2 hours ago, tradex said:

    Guide figure consumption sir, when brand new, not with 10 years, 100k, multiple owners with missed services, cheap tyres, pattern parts, non standard test fuel, laboratory conditions, tracking out... 

    Exactly. The figures are put on our AT adverts whether we like it or not. Anyone asking the question gets a “it’s depends” type answer from me. I don’t believe for one second anyone would be able to reject a vehicle on the basis of being mis sold a car that doesn’t hit the stated MPG figures but it’s just common sense to manage people’s expectations to save grief down the line when they return 40mpg instead of 50mpg that the manufacturers stated. 

  15. Posted

    7 hours ago, sellect2 said:

    I would never quote MPG figures in an advert, or verbally. If the car does not achieve the figures you quote the customer has a potential to reject the car! Not as described!!!!

    Absolute cobblers. 

  16. Posted

    17 minutes ago, tradegirl said:

    Nick, I'm not talking about ad boosting. I mean just posting cars on Facebook Marketplace (which is free). I have 5 cars on there at the moment, 1 positive rating. No comments that I can see...?

    Even worse than boosting. Marketplace is a jumble sale for cars. 

    I reckon FB works if you use it properly like Rory does, spend time and effort gaining followers, targeting adverts etc. Boosting them doesn’t work for me and is a waste of money other than to gain followers which may help long term. It’s a long game with FB. It’s not for quick sales. 

    2 minutes ago, NickGCS said:

    We use it successfully, it’s about building your audience before boosting posts of individual cars IMO. 

    Promote your page first with a boosted post & keep it interesting, not just repeat posts of your cars for sale, engage the audience & build a following 

    interaction posts are good, competitions, and we quite like before and after photos - if you were getting wheels refurbed for example 

    a slow process but well worth it

     

     

    Or this, basically. 

  19. Posted

    29 minutes ago, friar said:

    So is it safe to buy do you think?

    Thanks.

    Safe?

    Its got nothing to do with safety. 

    As assessor has quickly walked round the car, seen so much damage and thought “fuck that” and put U down on the sheet and moved on. 

    In other words is worse, possibly a lot worse, than a grade 5. 

  21. Posted

    3 minutes ago, NOACROSS said:

    Ha - brilliant.  I'd confront him with that info for a laugh.

    It's funny- the nutters come out in force when it's quieter times. I think it's actually that you just pay little attention to them when you're flying.

    Precisely that. When it’s busy, the proper buyers get all the attention. When it’s quiet, you convince yourself the messers are buyers and can be talked into buying something they have zero intention of buying. 

    • Like 2

  22. Posted

    My advice is unless you know what you’re looking for, don’t bother going. I have bought and sold over 120 cars as a relative newbie and i’ve been to one auction in my life. I buy purely online, have only ever had one true lemon (and my loss should have been half what it was but I wasn’t clued up enough to know what to stop spending) 

    Another forumite whom I talk with a couple of times a week sells 30-40 cars a month and despite attending auctions in his early days, buys everything online. 

    Some wouldn’t dream of buying online. I personally haven’t a clue for the most part about what to look for and smell etc so it’s a waste of time going. If you enjoy the cold, standing around for ages, listening to miserable old souls or bullshitters, you might like an auction. I can’t think of a worse way to spend a day. 

    I did, however, get on me bike and bought a fair few private’s in my early days. That helped me along a lot. 

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    I think everyone wants to know this before starting out don't they? How realistic is xyz per car? How many cars can I sell a month if I set my margins to xyz? 

    It's understandable but firstly, no one ever openly discusses margins in public for several reasons, most of them rather obvious. A less obvious one being that if you are pulling good money from nearly every car then people don't believe you. So it's best to find your own way, be happy with what you're getting and don't be bitter and jealous of those that are doing better than you and try to find ways of increasing your margins if you're not happy with what you're getting.

    But £800 gross on a £6k car isn't particularly ambitious and to be honest, likely to lead to disappointment long term unless you're doing serious volume. Advertising, VAT, Tax etc will catch up with you and that's before you account for prep, warranty claims, the odd refund and some good old fashioned sticky cars that won't move no matter how many of their legs you chop off.

    • Like 3

  25. Posted

    40 minutes ago, jason doyle motor sales said:

    hey jaime 32 years ago all the big hitter motor traders used to hang in packs at the auctions and sneer at newbies

    some still wore sheepskin jackets

    i kid you not

    now the sensible ones bid online and dont get diseases from the masses

    i wish you well

     

    Probably the best advice you'll ever get, ignore other traders. Or more specifically, listen to a select few and ignore the rest.

    • Like 1