awc1000

cant see a problem with diesel anytime soon apart from a slight realign of road tax duty / fuel increase, neither of which will outlay the mpg gains from an oil burner, granted new diesel sales are declining but the used market will have legs for sometime, i don't see joe blogs changing his used £12k audi avant for anything else anytime soon, if anyone has 40k invested across 6 diesel units they cant sell then they are either the wrong ones or have no pedigree or were bought / marketed / priced wrong.

not forgetting them at all, the fact is there is that much traffic diverted too wbac the reality is they don't bid what you might think anymore, if you have a local one then great use it too your advantage, just understand their buying patterns and you can beat their price easily if your customer quotes them, don't forget its BCA owned and only price driven by demand from the auction, couple to that the fact that bca realise the trade does not have much appetite for wbac entrys, example- summer, they often bid only 80% of cap clean for 4x4, (ive sat with wbac managers and witnessed them buy stuff at 70% cap, it happens) they also don't like mileage cars either, beating a wbac quote is usually easy and not a problem, dealing with a customer armed with an autotrader "opinion" of a value is a bigger problem not wbac.

I certainly would not want too start out again either in today's market, it does need to be said though - some of the trade have become a bit conditioned in how they think the job should work, so many dealers do not exploit or exhaust local avenues for sourcing stock, there's an whole army of dealers who just buy auction / online and incur indemnity and transport fees of £3-400 per unit before even prep starts, not saying that's completely wrong but these units should be topping up your stock not be the core of it... just out of interest any retailers want to show on here the old method of working out what your stock profile actually currently is ?? just take your ten dearest cars - work out your average miles (add and divide x10) average price (add all 10) and average age of unit, add engine cc capacity's if you want, be interested to see what folk are running with?

doorstepper not quite lol, lets just say i was in 1983 at 17 years old, and reverted back to being a doorstepper on the dearer stuff until recently- from a very nice doorstep lol. these days just underwrite mostly late / franchise one things for sure, i wouldn't want the challenge these days of filling a pitch with stock i would be happy with, but if i did try i wouldn't be relying on just fleet stock from the block.

I'm not talking about niches, i'm talking about any car with pedigree, lower miles, low owners, proper history, decent spec, originality, granted these units are harder too find and compromise is the order of the day...but when dealers are happy too compromise on most of these factors then what do they expect? too many newer people in the job think stock comes from auction and that's how it works - period, plenty of people moaning about dead stock when it's quiet, the reality is it was probably wrong stock or bought wrong to start with, still plenty of dealers thinking every car is a retail prospect - it isn't and never has been, some dealers don't even realise what their stock profile is after they have bought it lol. heh sorry if it all sounds a bit negative but its reality isn't it, on a positive note trade-vet glad to hear things have calmed down at the block and hope you managed to buy some nice cars at the right money.

depends as ever on spec mileage and pedigree, granted the job is slower at the moment, but folk have forgotten how to or have given up on how to profile /obtain the right stock, selling basic spec cheap cars with over average miles isn't and never has been the answer, the good stuff will always be the last type of stock too slow up when its quiet.

Its always been standard practice to have the last price brigade take the p>ss if your selling cars sub two grand, they just don't go away when things are slow, i guess if they are skint chancer's they are immune to any economic downturn lol. tangovictor - i thought you were a band of 6 down in wealthy cornwall? iv'e got trade friends doing very well in your neck of the woods on anything from 5k upwards if it has pedigree, whats your main stock profile =- age/miles/price? maybe change your stock profile a bit? nice cars attract nice folk etc.

ok jaime fair enough, if you already have the ability to find decent stock off facebook etc good for you, although i cant see how you can prep it, warrant it, be legit, pay dues etc and still be in profit, its easy to become a busy fool in this job, if you do settle into this job in time you will have the same opinion on the cheap stuff as the rest of us - its simply in the majority of cases junk, can you give examples of the price of cars you are buying? being positive here are the reality's of starting out legit whilst still employed elsewhere and a few answers to your questions - insurance - for you likely 3000-4000 a year as a new starter, you will need demo cover etc, your already using your tax allowance in your job so factor in 28% of all profit for tax/n.i, vat will soon follow at 1/6th of your margin - don't confuse this with profit margin, refunds on cars are now law and common so whatever you sell a car for you will need to keep that full amount in reserve to refund if needed, in short you need to be well funded even too start in this job, your employer will also take a dim view of your activity when they find out which they will at some point, its probably best if you have a hard think of whats involved and do the full costings first, i'm guessing you have a family and working in franchising you will already not have much free time? you need to also consider this, no amount of money will compensate problems at home through lack of family time, been there done that... regards real earnings mentioned by tradex i think hes pointing to this which is reality - you currently earn probably 12k basic and a further 6-10k commission, you will be seeing a lot of this as you have a tax allowance of 12k plus you have no overheads at your current job, if you want to take home 2k in this job then you best get used to the fact that you need 3500-4k profit to do so, as mentioned you will need more than one car in/ out to achieve this, plus it sounds like you are not funded either, sorry if it all sounds negative but you dont seem to be taking on board any advice. in summary - you need to do a total costings, and you absolutely need some funding, good luck.

regards being salty and toxic, well its no wonder really is it because - you work for skoda which is one of the best franchise's to work for - good growth and decent wages, yet you slate your employer and begrudge them profit even after they have invested in you and employed you for four years , you also state you source stock from facebook and the like, in other words you are selling junk on the side, that's fine but yet you also claim you want to give great customer service but you are asking about warranty issues after you have started selling so i'm guessing you currently offer zero cover, you have even asked about trade insurance so i'm guessing you have none even though you mention you have / are already selling cars so you are in reality already taking the p*ss. so when one of your customers you claim you are going to look after rings you with a problem during the day - do you answer the phone at work and take the p*ss out of your employer or ignore the call and take the p*ss out of the customer? nobody begrudges someone trying to improve themselves or their lifestyle, find the right ethics and you will get all the help you need on this forum from a bunch of nice folk who are happy to help and know what they are talking about, you will probably have gathered by now the trade hate nothing more than people not paying their dues or not doing the job right hence the broad spectrum of comments you are / will be getting. note - above comments are just an opinion - but based on what you have told us.

with respect fella we do get a bit moody on here when people ask questions like "what do i need" and "what does self warrant mean" , especially after someone has mentioned they have four years experience in a franchise, can you enlighten us on which franchise you work for and why your not happy there? on a serious note most of the answers you are looking for for can be found on gov,co,uk regarding setting up a business and your liabilitys, just factor in vat as used cars come under used goods margin rules, but i'm guessing but you already know that bit by working in franchising.

I would advise you too stay put at your franchise or find a job at a better one, if you are serious about starting out whilst keeping your current job then you already don't have time for this job, regarding staying legal - your already using your tax allowance in your job so any profit on the side you will be paying tax on plus vat eventually plus your overheads - bank on retaining 60% of the profit if lucky, don't sound so appealing now does it..... the franchise you work at who you say you are fed up with only earning a percentage of every deal will be posting annual profit results of around 2-3% of turnover just like the majority do, i'm guessing your on circa 10% a deal commission plus a basic sallary plus a company car so heho your not doing too bad ... with respect - if your asking the questions you have asked and quoted what you think is a margin then this job probably isn't for you....yet, what you should be doing is working out how to buy the franchise's p/ex cars that you work at, many ways of doing this you just havnt worked it out yet.

advanced comedy level- gold sir

what was the response when you told them that? the reality is its an auction and you pay yer money and take yer chance - that's how it's always been, granted if bca are offering a grade system then it should mean something - but we all know its a farce and holds no real value, anyone in this job who thinks they are going to start telling them otherwise is with respect inexperienced or naive, as iv'e said before the auction game is all about returning x for the vendor and disposing of ALL of the entry's by the vendor, its not and has never been about selling 80% for good money and telling the vendor the rest are fooked and we cant sell them, if the day ever comes that an auction has to stand on the goods they sell then joe public will start to buy everything anyway and the trade will be fooked even more, you cant have it both ways or all good, it has to be said the vast amount of horror story's on here regarding bca have been cars bought online unseen, a harsh lesson and as said you should be able to trust the grading system - but you shouldn't be falling for this fiasco more than once. regards DA yes its a minefield but again too many folks bid without taking due diligence, even a quick call to the vendors sales manager will always give you a clue of their real morals, regardless of the car. so whats the answer/ solution and what will change? - in short nothing, too many players and too many stocking plans and auction credit has ensured it will continue as is, well healed experienced buyers are no longer needed, only a handful of group buyers now have any clout regarding rejecting cars easily, its never been easier for auctions to shift all the stock at all the money without making so little effort. I wouldn't want to be starting out in this job now, or be a newbie to this trade, if you are - good luck you might need it.

that 1.6tdi drive train is on the VAG emissions recall, you might be lucky if it hasn't yet had its recall / update.

not just or really LHD, and i think skylines are available stateside already? there is stuff here that wasn't available in the states for various reasons emmissions / crash safety etc, a lot of these will start to leave the u.k under the 25 year exemption rule, a certain brands better models are now starting to qualify for the 25 year rule and coupled to the dollar buying a lot of sterling i'll not be surprised to see and exodus here. not the later euro spec cars yet, these are not eligible stateside until being 25 years old, currently that means 1994 and backwards, the later euro hotter spec cars 95-98 will be on the export radar soon, if you have one hang onto it for now!

still quite a lot of customers unable to view an AT add in full format on certain mobile phones, most of them unaware there is a view in full web format option.

not much call for it now for a few reasons, classics have slowed here, exchange rate poor, the few main sellers now available here in right hand drive - mustang, corvette cadilac sr. etc?there is a bit of life in british classics in lhd if they are cheap basket cases. being u.s.a based you should use it too your advantage and try it in reverse- exchange rate is good for you, and you should be looking closer at your u.s.a 25 year rule if you know what i mean, just don't tell everyone

I think regardless of the cost its an insult to a pro dealers intelligence, much rather they do something more constructive like for £75 they could give a car a cold start check and a proper test drive engine/box by a proper mechanic rather than a crap stationary report by a car parking chap, that would be worth £75 and the uptake worth employing someone to do the job. but in reality they don't want to upset the vendors by telling them their entry is fooked, both parties already know anyway!.... easier to fook us over, even easier now with the bun fight for stock since the auction credit launch. and if anyone wants to uptake the bca light check for £7.50 - i can send my lad round to yours who will do it for a fiver a car as long as you have 25+ units...

Its just opinionated speil from some bod from a finance house hoping to gain more business, and it doesn't even make sense, whatever the franchises do in the near future regarding new or late used its unlikely to involve around this particular finance house too much.

how old is the van and at what price is it advertised?

regards the franchise's audi etc the idea was to allow the customer to stay on site whilst having their car serviced under the latest servicing schemes, which can be as little as 1-2 hours, guess it all helps keep their customer on board the brand.

I think the plan is for just new build? heard the device will dual with the proposed motorway pay per use, which no doubt is a coming, sad times ahead.

I know a few folk who do this but it is very specific to what you do or sell, depends if you are looking for a return on the outlay or just a bit of kudos, what race series is it?

sounds like you have already sussed things out, some dealers don't have the luxury of picking customers or not worrying about target markets - or even the way that this job is going regards needing finance commission to make a deal stack up / profitable etc , but like me you sound like you have the luxury of choosing, i don't even think about who my market is, stick to the main priority of this job which is finding the quality stock which affords you to operate in this way and sell at a premium, the price range you mention will as you know attract a more sensible customer anyway, in summary - find the good stuff, ignore the AT price dictatorship, sell at a premium, kick the p/ex hard, choose the the right customer, earn money and enjoy the job, good luck.

70+ units that's quite an investment for 5 fellas who effectively retired. can we have a look at your website / stock? curious as to what you are selling, you mention you don't sell gti's / ST type units - granted they can attract numbskulls but they can also command well over retail prices if they have the right pedigree, i.e profit! cant think of many dealers who pass on them / this.