stockedup!

I had a customer on Sunday who came to see a beautiful Mazda MX5 I had for sale. I spent well over an hour with him, test driving the car for 20 mins and he seemed very happy with everything. Whilst out on the drive I found out he had been looking for about 3 months and had seen quite a few cars, I was confident he would buy mine. When we got back I asked him if he was happy with the car and he said yes so I motioned that we go and do some paperwork. I was amazed when he said that he didn't want to rush into something.....he had been looking for 3 months ffs. I reminded him he had been looking for a while and he had just told me he was happy with the car.....he was hardly rushing into it. As a parting shot I asked how bothered would you be if you went away and someone else came and bought it. He was confident that that was not going to happen as the car had been advertised for a while and he was going to make a decision "in the very near future". Well, you guessed it, a chap came yesterday and bought it within 20 mins and took it straight away. The best bit, the guy from Sunday has just been on the phone wanting to come and have another look....."I am sorry sir but the car has sold"...…..you could of heard a pin drop followed by"I really wanted that car"...…..I Love this job LOL

Take no notice Gary, sparky is from Wales...….Sheep do it for them Really, I think he is on the money with it, even though the car is average miles at its age it is a smaller car and whilst miles don't bother me on larger cars, small ones need to be more competitive IMO.

Leave the MOT as it is, still got plenty on it, you can always put another one on as a close if needed

More of the car in the shot Gary

Better,but more of the car in the shot!

A new background for your photos, you may have to drive somewhere but the time taken will be worth it. Clean your foot pedals also. If you are 20 miles out in the sticks, you might want to buy stuff that is a bit different.....Subarus, Xtrails etc. I find small cars hard work with little profits tbh

Hello and welcome, I am sure that I speak for many experienced dealers when I say that this job keeps you on your toes all the time. The amount of times I have bought "a guaranteed seller" and it has sat for months with little interest or took something in a "package deal" which was relatively undesirable only to have a good do out of it the first week advertised, it can literally do your head right in! If you can give more specifics on the cars that would be great, Ideally links to the adverts then everything can be seen what is needed. Keep the faith.

If you can repair stuff yourself try looking on the salvage auctions, there are some bargains to be had. Take pics of the cars so you can show people what damage they have had to them, be upfront about it. A mate of mine does a few, amazing how little it can take to write a car off, particularly those older in years. Just a thought!

Job goes quietish in December, can usually sell a few between xmas and new year, put a few quid away every month to cope and have a good time with the family, January is usually busy!

The forum is pretty good though it would be better if dings like you could get their facts right. He said he lost £156k one year not £156k year one!!

As long as you make a good living by giving a good service, the rest matters not to me!

If he is buying good clean stuff from the block he will be paying top dollar for it so he hasn't got a cheap supplier More than likely he has grossed or part grossed what he has said, not netted out which is a different matter altogether. Any of us that have been in the trade a while have all met the lads who are always busy and making a fortune, some of them can even plait sawdust they are that good. The amazing thing is that they never seem to stick at the job and move(usually overnight)and leave a trail of devestation behind!! The general consensus on here seems to one that he is over egging his pudding, I tend to agree!

Sounds like a pure anorak, probably runs an 07 Nissan Micra Sport with a sports exhaust and coilovers and has no intention or means of buying one. He just sits on the net reading the obscure specs and phones dealers to share his encyclopaedic knowledge. AKA Sad Bastard!!

They are there all the time, we just notice them more when the job quietens down a bit. Got a beautiful MX5 on for 5k, punter comes to look at it and loves it and offers me 3k for it. I just started to laugh(Not very professional I know), it takes all kinds I suppose!

Highly unlikely unless he has a constant supply of very cheap cars which, if he has, won't last forever. To turn 80% of your stock/month is great going if you are pulling profit out of them, which he claims he is. What does he deal in? What is his stock outlay? Where does he get them from? Some great advice on this forum, no matter how long you have done the job you still learn everyday. Part time effort equals part time pay, how well would you have done with your current business if you did it part time? I have seen many people blow their nads off getting involved in something they know little about, be careful and good luck.

Of course!

I didn't say where the seats were located !

Given that they didn't show yesterday, they probably had the issue yesterday. Hope it's not too costly to fix.

If your business is dependent on selling cars on finance then that could be a big worry, also if you have significant borrowings the banks can just call them in...….bastards!! The overheads never have a bad week, keep your costs down!

"Bums on seats sell cars", goes the old saying and I believe it to be true. I have sold far more cars from getting the punter out in the car(With me driving first to demonstrate that the car drives as it should, no crunchy gears etc and the features of the car they are in) and in the vast majority of cases punters want to try it as well and build that desire. I also find that the punters are off their guard when they are on a demo and the info you can glean is gold dust(How many cars have they been to see, what has been their experience so far etc etc). Listen to the punter and use the info they spill to sell them your car and yourself.

Ebay has done very well for me for the cost,(I have been with them for years but just Ebay not Gumtree) I find that stuff that is a bit different sells better of there. I do not like Car Gurus, very underhand and total sheisters in the dealings I have had with them. Also tells a punter when a car is overpriced even though they have very little info, really sticks in my throat that one. I am also on with Autotrader, expensive but generally worth it. Out of interest, has anyone gone from just Ebay to Gumtree also....how have you found that?

Assumptive sell when you are on the test drive Dave "DO you have a deposit on you sir/madam, there is a cash machine just up the road here"

Go to the cash machine with them to get a deposit.....like we did in the good ol days!

I always tend to find if sales are a little slower than you would like you accept this type of behaviour. If you have been doing the job for a while your gut is the best judge. Nice cars always sell!

If you plan on being in this job and selling on a reasonable scale get an expert in(There are many out there offering services for around a tenner a week), they deal with the shit that the customer is giving you and tell you your obligations in law A few legal letters back to them, I find, stops them in their tracks. It also stops you from self incrimination. They think they know their rights cos some loon down the boozers best mates aunties granny worked for CAB in the sixties. You sound like a nice chap who has done all he can to help but, the customer also has to understand he/she is buying a used vehicle which will need maintaining etc and you CAN NOT be held responsible for anything/everything at all that may occur.