RJEauto

We decided not to use AT initially but with the double up coming up I've bit the bullet and decided to go with a 5+1 for now. For the offer period we'll utilise 10+2 and see how we get on.

We're up to 6 this month but all with decent ish margins so I can't complain for our second month and the time of year. Very quiet with enquiries and viewings though and would've liked to have done at least 8 -kelly-

Looks really good! What floor paint did you use?

Evening all, Firstly, thank you so much for taking time to have a look. We both really appreciate it. We will try and take all of the advice on board. Why is it that it always makes sense as soon as somebody else says something? I personally rather the photos inside, we don't have a massive pitch and it would be difficult to photograph a car without loads of other crap in the background which would be inconsistent. However, I am aware we have poor lighting and that magnolia wall isn't helping at all. We have new bright lights ready to go up and I'm going to look at painting the wall white. The point made about the personalisation i.e. photos of us and the site is really great and something we're definitely going to do. I have included some photos of our site so you can see what we're working with. Thank you all for being so helpful and providing some great feedback. -Kelly-

We've got two and neither of them are high

Hi All, Our website has gone live today and I've loaded around 50% of our stock. If you have time, please can you have a look through and provide any constructive criticism / honest feedback, whether it's about the website, content, photo's, stock, prices etc. There's always room for improvement and I'd really like to get some unbiased feedback before we start advertising the website over our social media accounts. http://www.rjeautomotive.co.uk/ Thanks -Kelly-

You're right, just difficult to find them! I better start looking harder I think

Thanks both. I knew buying would be the hardest part just wasn't expecting it to be this hard. I can't understand how some people can afford to pay the prices they are paying.

Hi All, Really struggling this week to buy any worth the money stock, anyone else having the same issue? We're using A4C, Dealer, Sytner, Local Auctions and trawling through private ad's and I've only managed to buy 1 in the past 10 days, was hoping to buy 4/5! We can stock around 25-28 here and we're currently only holding around 19. The majority, priced between £2500 to £6500. I work backwards on everything so I've made a spreadsheet where I can input my screen price, prep&collection costs and that will give me my max bid. Not sure if I'm pricing too cheap or trying to be too greedy with my margins but I'm struggling. Watching between 40-60 daily online, probably bid on 10 p day avg but no luck! Anyone else in the same boat or have any guidance? Thanks -Kelly-

Yes it wasn't definitely valuable. It should be in the rules that every newbie must read before posting. Benji is definitely braver than me! However, as brutal as you all may be, every bit of advice is honest and helpful, nobody can argue about that. -Kelly-

Pleased to announce the Meriva went out yesterday for screen price!

Well done, sounds like a great month! How many do you stock? -Kelly-

I bought Ryan a Karcher Wet & Dry 3 years ago. Until we opened in October, he was full time mobile detailing and it's never let him down. WD2 is cheap too if you don't want to spend a lot, WD4 is better if you're happy to spend over £100

Just spent a substantial part of my morning reading all 10 pages of "I nearly bought an Astra" and it was worth every minute

I feel like I need to read the thread "I nearly bought an Astra" Can't find it using the search. Can somebody please post the link?? Thanks -Kelly-

Funny you say that. I have so many of these calls and once said "no I don't drive, don't believe in cars, never been in any accidents" to which they replied why are you selling your car on Gumtree then? Also recently had a personal car advertised there and the increase in cold calls to my mobile is insane!!!

We use a local broker - FR Ball. Through them I believe our policy is with Axa. When we started I tried Bollington for a quote as well as the local broker and the local company came up close to £1000 cheaper. Definitely shop around for the best price! -Kelly-

We're currently using a trial of Xero, works good so far. It's cloud based too ready for next year's tax changes and it can pretty much do your VAT return for you

Thank you all for such a lovely welcome and already some great advice :-) Well I'm hoping I didn't spend too much on the Meriva but assuming it's screen priced accurately then the margin is great for us. I've made a fancy spreadsheet so I can never get carried away on a car in auction, at least not too carried away. Don't worry, Ryan won't be able to stay away for long, he'll feel left out! Thank you all again for being so welcoming!

3 so far in our second month so not too bad so far!

Must be beginners luck! The manager at the dealership even said, I quote "I think £875 off is very fair"

Thanks both The workshop is great, reduces the red line when we're not selling but also means we can buy stock that needs mechanical work etc. Done my first end to end stock purchase last week on a 12 plate meriva diesel, picked up from the DA site and soon realised 3rd gear was crunching. Managed to renegotiate a 875 chip and my mechanic did most of the work, we'll earn more from that now than if it was as described on collection. Although Ryan reckons he never would've got 875 off the price and said it my womanly charm Granted it's hard work, it's long hours and risky business but sense of achievement is great. Although all we do now is work or talk about work

Hi All, Newbie's here from South Wales. My partner, Ryan, has always been in and out of the industry. He's mid-twenties now and his father has always been in the car trade. I work in finance so no car expert! We've opened a small independent site just over a month ago after a friend (now landlord) decided he was calling it a day with his site here due to another big job opportunity and family commitments. Pretty much one stop shop here, workshop with tyre bay, 2 ramps, sales pitch and showroom and a detailing bay as that is Ryan's true passion and existing business. Not here to get rich quick or work 8-4, we're both realistic and aware of the sacrifices. But we're young so you've got to take a chance and work hard while you can! Mainly will be myself using the site but I will try and contribute where I can :-) Any advice is taken on the chin and greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kelly