Huw@Tipstrade

It is a brave move to step away from Autotrader, but I do know quite a few dealers who have done so and remained successful whilst saving significant amounts of money. The first step is to get a good website!

I think changing the plates is a good idea, it dose not cost a lot and gives the car a lift. Plates often look faded and tatty after a few years ignoring whatever logos and text are currently on them, besides it's always good to spot one of your cars!

I think we can be sure if Autotrader are involved their primary concern will be increasing profit for their shareholders, most likely at the expense of dealer margins.

I'd give it a miss if I were you, a lot of punters find out about the engine problems and it puts them off. The inlet manifolds also play up. The swirl flap mechanism fails and they also end up leaking air, both faults trigger the EML. Here is a photo of mine mid-repair

Be careful with these, the M272 engine has a problem with it's balance shaft wearing at this age. EML with a camshaft position fault code is usually the first sign. If reset the light can take a while to come on. It requires engine removal and strip to repair. Google will tell you all about it, I had a 2005 that developed the problem around 70k.

I used to do pre-appointed viewings on Sunday morning but found that those who called on the day, usually the afternoon, weren't worth doing. Generally my time was wasted so I stopped doing them.