SouthernTrader

At least I’m not the only one who gets it then. I’ve updated the adverts to say the cars are not always stored on site - see if that encourages a phone call. I don’t want to miss out on sales and can accommodate most weekend viewings with notice but I guess I’m never going to be able to accommodate people who are just out going from dealership to dealership “looking” with my current set up

Morning everyone, just wondering everyone’s experiences with customers not reading adverts I've recently moved into a office facility on a shared office building, I have a storage yard where I store all my cars but it’s not an appropriate or professional setting for viewings. ive recently gone to an AT package where my office address is advertised and within a week I’ve already had 2 people phone telling me they’ve turned up but can’t find my cars and are surprised to be outside an office building. Does anyone else have this problem? my adverts clearly state by appointment only but it’s the bottom of the description and I guess people are not reading that far. What’s everyone else’s thoughts?

Are Mannheim or Aston Barclay any better? I’ve only ever done BCA myself

Thanks guys, I spoke to them this morning and am going to get all set up with them in the coming days

Morning, I’ve been self warranting for a while now but looking to get proper booklets and get a slightly more professional look. Ive seen A1 recommended a few times but there seems to be 2 companies of a very similar name Any experience of either? Cheers

@Hargy If you are doing the job right and preparing the cars to a good standard then I think you are under-selling yourself and losing out on profit by doing that, why not try asking for more you can always drop the price? If it’s cheapies I guess the difference isn’t so great. @EPV No whooshing noise after all!

They look really smart Nick. Thanks for replies guys, I think Ferric Grey is the one to go with

That’s the thread. The car is a silver 1 series with bog standard silver 5 spoke bmw alloys. I was thinking a nice dark grey refurb would make the car stand out from the crowd. Thanks @EPV just googled and the Ferric Grey does look very nice particularly on darker cars. My fault for buying a silver one

Wow, that’s ridiculously long waiting time. I’ve had a couple before and my local Vauxhall dealership booked me in within the week. Personally, I’d be back onto them requesting an earlier appointment. Or maybe show up in person and try with the service manager

Hi guys, Ive got a BMW 1 series that I’m looking to make stand out a little by having the alloys refurbished and painted a different colour from the standard silver. I remember reading a thread a while back where someone put up pictures of an Audi or BMW where they’d had them done in a darker grey colour. anyone able to point me in the right direction of the thread of any examples of ones you’ve had done with success before? I can’t seem to find the thread Cheers

Possibly EPV! I recognised most of the responses were taking the mick but I read that as a genuine response.

Why would you sell a retail car at private rates?

Just an update on the situation. Mechanic stripped it out and fitted a new LUK clutch and flywheel and now it’s perfect - no vibration at all. can only assume the parts were faulty even though I’m told it’s very rare. old parts are going back for a refund so not a bad outcome in the end.

Did he buy it?

Yep, David that’s my feeling. Spent a good chunk of money replacing the parts and now I’m back to square one. I’m going to get it back to the mechanic for another look and hopefully it’s just something simple - rarely is though I find! thanks for the input guys

Hi there, yep it’s had a new release bearing as part of the clutch change Weird thing is it’s a very similar feel to when a release bearing is on its way out

Hi guys, Hoping someone can help me out here. I’ve got a BMW 118d, done 90k, just had a new LUK clutch and DMF as the last one was noisy. customer has reported a vibration right at the top of the clutch. Got it back in and there is a vibration felt through the clutch right at the very top of the biting point. Changes gears fine and no noise now but just this vibration. If you sit at idle it’s most noticeable right at the top - just as you are dipping the clutch or bringing it up to bite Anyone got any suggestions? Any help is much appreciated. Apologies if my description is poor!

@Nick M.K. Hi Nick, you mention the quality of your images and I remember seeing them on a previous thread and thinking they were superb. Im sure you’ve been asked this before but what kind of camera and set up do you use?

Hi @Mark101 When you cancel Ebay will you be going back to AT or trying something different? How was Ebay? Im considering giving AT a break and going with EBay for a few months to compare the two results

Do the right thing and refund him. It would be different if he’d viewed and test drove the car and then left the deposit, in that instance I’d agree with not refunding it.

I’ve had the same before, it was virtually word for word what you’ve received. They send you a bogus email from Paypal saying funds received in your account. They will then contact you trying to arrange to collect the car but obviously when you log on to PayPal nothing is in there. I’ve sold cars to people who’ve never seen the car in person but every single time it’s been after a phone conversation and a bank transfer - not an email sob story. Steer well clear of anything along those lines

As a new trader I think you’d have more luck raking through the private adverts and looking for cars that have been undervalued. You get all the time you need to look at the service history, check everything and ask any questions you might have, plus you can normally tell what kind of owner they are - if you know what I mean. Especially if you’re only doing a few it’s a good source and you’ll learn a lot. Probably less likely to make costly errors too. Just my two pence anyway Good Luck

I love stories like these, something a bit older which not your normal stock profile, can be the best profits. I had a Rover 75 Connoisseur last month which I paid £425 for and sold 2 days later for £1795. My MOT guy laughed at me when I drove it in. I also took in an 2002 Audi A4 3.0 V6 Quattro which I paid over book for as it’s only got 50k on the clock and one owner from new. I thought it has the potential as a “future classic” but a few traders I’ve spoken to reckon it’s not worth much....time will tell I guess

Morning Jaime, I started off like you selling cars as well as working my 9-5 job, until eventually I didn’t have enough hours in the day for both and my cars were making me a good wage so I left my job. There is so much on this Forum, like EPV says it’s a gold mine Some brief advice from being in your position would be: Its going to take a long time doing it part time to build up your pot - longer than you think. You’ll make mistakes, get come backs, buy the wrong car etc. Just try and learn from these. You will need to work 7 days a week and most evenings. Logistically fitting it in around a 9-5 with sourcing, buying, collecting parts, taking cars to MOT and valet, then viewings you’ll find time is always against you Sourcing good, trade price stock is hard work. Can you get some PXs from your job? This would be a great potential option You’ll need a good mechanic you can trust. I work alone and wouldn’t work in a partnership but that’s just my preference. In terms of legalities all that information is freely available from a Google search so I won’t get into that. Anyway that’s my experience/opinion Good Luck

Hi Contracts, currently stock wise is up to £6k