Mark101

I would drop the car - it will come back and bite you I reckon but I am no mechanic.

Thank you for your kind words and I have to admit, the neighbour situation is my biggest fear, although nothing has been said as yet, I struggle to get the feeling out of my head. I should be delighted when someone wants to view a car but instead, I just worry how it looks to have a neighbourhood stranger crawling under cars, reving the engine etc. This is one of two drawbacks over running a pitch. I do have quite a lot of land to the side of my property and with some adaptations, that would shield the business completely from the neighbours but again that is costly and not fool proof. I like your advice about the local garage venue though, thanks for that top tip. How do you other home traders manage the situation? Thanks again and what a nice warm welcome I have received.

Thanks harry1

I made my own using Excel, then added my logo - meant I could print them rather than a scruffy mechanic finger print on them. Happy to send you it by email?

I plan on paying myself a car allowance and renting one from myself to cover this issue - funnily enough, the allowance is very similar to the rental! Seriously though, if you tax a car properly whilst the V5 is in the last keepers name, will they not receive any refund instead of you?

Couldn't agree more trade vet and when I was 18 (I am 44 now) I was guilty of buying cars that A) I liked personally and B)) cars that I could run on my trade policy when none of my mates could insure a plastic pig for less than a years wage. Nowadays, I just like every car - my daily driver is a Q7 but I've just picked up one of my two retail Coopers from the garage (I do well with them before I get slammed) and that's a real hoot too, as was the Fiat 500 I swapped over for MOT. The only issue now is TAX - I used to use whatever had some remaining rent before cashing in a complete months but of course now, nothing is taxed (apart from the Q7). I am waiting on my trade plates arriving, so have winged it since I properly set up a couple of weeks back. I find the police say they don't have the resources to patrol like they used to but I bet you a tenner I get pulled!

I had a pitch and workshop (approx 30 cars, ranging from £1500 runarounds to £7,500 cars) for about 4 years (not that long I know) and I never, ever stopped enjoying the industry, the cars or my customers and always looked forward to work - I packed in because the overheads which I admit I jumped in to too quickly crippled me during a long and very quiet sales period in around 2005. When I worked alone, I made some great margins, trading from a £100 per wk open pitch and a portacabin office. My immaturity and naivety led me to believe I could take on a large 3000 sq ft workshop/bodyshop and staff it as I was selling cars so frequently and at very healthy margins - I hadn't experienced any "hard times" until then, believing that this is how things would always be. Lessons learned and now I am happy trading up to a dozen cars from home at any time all by myself and outsourcing as much as I can. Will I make as much money as I did as a recent employee, probably not - am I happier, 100%.

Regardless of how recently any car I purchase (through whatever source) has been serviced, I always send every single one to my local garage for PDI and at the bare minimum an oil service. I pay £30 for PDI (that's what I offered, I am sure he would do it for nothing because I have cars with him all the time) and about £45 for oil and filter (plus the all important stamp). I think the £100 ish is a worthwhile investment but my cars are never the cheapest (and they never were when I traded years ago either.

Thank you Both for the welcome

Hello All I have been reading various posts on this forum and I have to say how great it is that you all share your success and failures so openly, it really helps us Newbies (or maybe not so new) regarding the pitfalls, where to advertise nowadays and source stock (although no-one seems to know that right now). So I decided to register and join in the chat and perhaps I may be able to contribute some assistance as well as receive some from time to time. I originally started buying and selling cars when I was 18 for a while, more of a hobby alongside my first job until I started to find better jobs which then took over. Having said that in the early noughties, I started again on a serious level – opening a pitch initially and started making some serious cash before I invested in the workshop and the staff from next door, at which point it went a little pear shaped and I got out. Since then I have been out of the motor trade, working in senior level corporate companies at board level for some 12 years or so, that was until July last year, when I just decided this wasn’t for me anymore and have since been taking some time to consider what I want to do next. Anyway; long story short, I am a mad petrol head, I know many people describe themselves as such but I am the real deal. So after about 8 months of being messed around by my new pet hate (recruitment consultants), I decided to give it another bash and before I hit the VAT threshold (it comes all too quickly), thought I would fill my boots and buy a few motors to sell. Learning from experience, this time it will be me, no staff, just a friendly and well respected local garage whom will perform any workshop tasks and trading from home where I have enough space to trade comfortably, whilst trying not to cheese off my neighbours. Sorry for the long intro but just wanted to give you an insight rather than bombard people with questions from the off. All my best, Mark