Bagheera

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Posts posted by Bagheera

  2. Posted · Edited by Bagheera

    1 hour ago, NOACROSS said:

    I like an i10 (not that I actually like anything). Sold plenty, good build quality and can’t remember any issues ever. Have pretty much all been autos though, as we’re in old people-ville  

    However, I was in a new one the other day, and I’m not so sure it’s as good and felt a bit cheaper. Same with the i20’s. Might just be me and my aversion to change. 

    From my research, there was an instrument cluster fault on the early 2011 face lift models and a few were changed under warranty but haven't read about anything else :) This one's a 2011 manual. 

    1 hour ago, David Ayers said:

    Is thread going to be as long as Benji's "I nearly possibly maybe might of could of bought an Astra?"

     

    Might well be, especially if you keep adding to it with unrelated comments :rolleyes: What's the length to beat?

  3. Posted

    6 hours ago, justina3 said:

    I would rather have two i10s over the mini any day. 

    Stats imo count for nothing last ones I seen had the Corsa in the top 3 second hand best selling cars, I would wager it would be in the top three most refunded car also. 

    I've heard mini's are very unreliable, its just this one is very low mileage, with a full mini history so worth a shot I think. Thanks for replying.

  4. Posted

    11 minutes ago, tradegirl said:

    No experience with i10s, but i20s have been popular for us, and never had any mechanical problems with them. Granted, the ones we had all had low mileages. But they're generally cheap to run, and buyers seem to like them.

    Thanks for the reply, really helpful!  I know some of it will be trial and error but I like to get as much info as possible before taking the plunge. Been to see the Mini, think I'll get it at the right price and apart from a dent and a scrape in the bumper it's tip top.  Taking a look at the i10 over the weekend so could have two cars by next week......

  5. Posted

    I have my first two cars lined up for purchase, both private sellers.  One is a mini, the other a hyundai i10.  I know the former is very popular but is the hyundai i10 a car that sells well?

    How do you guys know if a car does well, is it just experience? Is there anywhere online that will give you that sort of information?

    Thanks.

  6. Posted · Edited by Bagheera

    52 minutes ago, EPV said:

    My advice is unless you know what you’re looking for, don’t bother going. I have bought and sold over 120 cars as a relative newbie and i’ve been to one auction in my life. I buy purely online, have only ever had one true lemon (and my loss should have been half what it was but I wasn’t clued up enough to know what to stop spending) 

    Another forumite whom I talk with a couple of times a week sells 30-40 cars a month and despite attending auctions in his early days, buys everything online. 

    Some wouldn’t dream of buying online. I personally haven’t a clue for the most part about what to look for and smell etc so it’s a waste of time going. If you enjoy the cold, standing around for ages, listening to miserable old souls or bullshitters, you might like an auction. I can’t think of a worse way to spend a day. 

    I did, however, get on me bike and bought a fair few private’s in my early days. That helped me along a lot. 

    Thanks for that, much appreciated.  I'm hoping to finalise my trade insurance next week. Until then I can't go too in depth on manheim's site but I do like what I see and can see the benefits of online auctions.  I'm thinking I'll stick to petrol for now and smaller cars to begin with.  I've also been offered a few cars privately recently through my work (they had no idea I was interested in trading), so may follow up and see if I can get a bargain.  One is an auto mini with 28k miles, could be a good earner at the right price form what I've seen on hpi valuations.  Thanks again for your reply, really appreciate it.

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    Morning all.

    Went to my first proper auction this week. It was open to joe public but mostly seemed to be traders there.  Most of the cars sold & sold for trade price or just over although a handful were only 'provisional' and are going back in to auction next week presumably because the vendor wants more!  

    Anyway, I plan to go back next week with my 'target' cars, these are cars that I've checked online and have a fairly clean mot history or at least advisories that have been sorted or only minor that I can fix.  I won't be buying them just yet, just seeing whether I'd be in with a chance of getting them at a good price.

    Any way my questions are:-

    Is it the norm at auctions to have a look at the paperwork/service history if you get there early enough and ask?  (These are sold as seen)

    I'll have my max bid price before hand based on what i see online but before I go but what are the basic checks you guys make that might make you adjust your bid or not bid all together?  I'm thinking tyres, dipstick, coolant and oil cap as well as engine lights, discs, pads. Anything else I'm missing?  Difficult to see suspension parts so I 'll rely on MoT history for anything on that.

    Am I right in thinking that you only need to Hpi check cars that you take in  p/x or buy privately and not ones at auction as the auction house does this? 

    And my last question for this round :D is on Insurance.

    If you take out a traders policy, are you only covered on the vehicles you add to the MID or are you covered to drive any vehicle?  Is the MID system only there to stop you getting pulled by the Police regularly?  I understand from my reading that I should add my trade plates to the MID system but just not clear on the rest

    Thanks in advance for any help.

     

     

  9. Posted · Edited by Bagheera

    1 hour ago, beckly car sales said:

    yep, i did realise that,is hpi retail price reliable?

    My first impression is yes, it seems reliable.  Just checked a few and then checked on ebay and it seems about right. Need to check a few more though to be sure... :) 

  10. Posted

    7 hours ago, Mark101 said:

    OK, let me put it an easier way - you want £800 (not enough gross IMO but let's use that).

    Retail £4995

    Margin Target £800

    Buyers fees £250

    Transport £100

    Valet £50

    MOT £30

    Servicing £200

    Paintwork £200

    Advertising £50

    + any other costs

    Maximum Bid = £3,315

    The answer is IT IS ALL IN THE BUYING

    Thanks for posting this, I found it really helpful.

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    1 hour ago, sellect2 said:

    Buying with any margin is the real skill. 

    By the way there’s VAT to pay out of the margin and the you HMRC tax bill- I really hope you’ve not forgotten them. 

    I feel what gets to the guys and gals on here is the newbies who want all the info but appear to not be paying their dues  

     

    I'll be really interested to see the margins when I go down there.  Thanks for the heads up on those.  Initially, I will only trade maybe 1 car per month, so should avoid any need for VAT registration, if it's average 5k per vehicle should still come under the threshold with a bit of room to spare.  

     

    56 minutes ago, Tony911 said:

    Looks like you have done your homework and will be fine just don't get into bidding wars have a limit and stop as you get more knowledge of the auction house you will realise how it works. Trade plates is a must and you are a sole trader so nothing wrong with that. You seem to appreciate the advice given and take it on board unlike others. Good luck

    Thanks.  I don't know if I mis read the application but I got the impression they wouldn't issue them unless you were LTD. 

  12. Posted

    3 hours ago, MattR said:

    More realistic than Jaime! 

    Bagheera, get yourself to the auctions and find the 'problem car' which isnt too much of a problem to you with the knowledge. Ignore the auction mechanical reports, they're Boll*x.

    No planning permission required. Stand your ground on this when the inevitable nosy neighbour makes his presence felt. 

    Thanks for the reply.  

    I've been on my local auctioneers site & picked a good few cars of interest.  Looked up they're retail value and as a guide to trade price got a valuation from We buy any car although I don't know how accurate that would be, some of the cars it was valuing only £500 less than retail which won't be enough mark up once fees, mot, service are factored in + any repairs.  I'm going to head down there and see what they sell for and see what the margins are.  My fully comp Motor trader Insurance has come in around £1400 or £1200 TPO which I didn't think was too bad.  I don't know what others are paying but seemed reasonable enough.  I think that was for up to 4 cars at one time.

    Just in regards to trade plates, the application want the company house registration.  I'm going to avoid Ltd and just do it sole trader for the first year.  How practical is it to operate without trade plates?   Can you get trade plates without being ltd?

    I did see Jaime's post, and to be honest am very surprised at the hostility, and frankly arrogance that seems to be here from some towards new/part time traders. It's a shame.  We all have to start somewhere, it was true for me 10 years ago in business and for everyone here, whatever profession you're in.  I think a lot of people forget that.

  13. Posted

    2 hours ago, EPV said:

    Welcome and good luck.

    No planning permission required as you are not changing the use of the building. Keep your neighbours sweet or keep your activity on the QT and you'll have less grief long term.

    You'll come to accept that inspections are rarely worth jack shit. I have bought vehicles with a sea of green ticks on the sheet and had a DMF issue and I've bought a car that had a misfire and a 200 mile road trip magically cured the problem, never to be seen again. I expect most traders would prefer they didn't charge us £40 to have some half baked div prod about with a car and then carry out some guesswork on a bit of paper.

    As for access to trade prices, I assume you mean guide prices, these will be listed on the auction catalogue.

    Given this will be a sideline for you, you may wish to attend auctions, find something that needs a bit of TLC, that is putting off other bidders and do the work yourself.

     

    Thanks for taking the time to reply. 

    I've got an auction place near me (open to everyone) and have been once.  I'm going to keep an eye on their stock and wait for vehicles/engines that I know a fair bit about (mainly Ford's), and then see what prices they sell for and what I could potentially get for them. I'll have a look for the auction catalogue too, I did see it pop up somewhere when i was on Manheim.

  14. Posted

    Hi guys,

    First post here - I'm hoping to start selling a few cars on the side as I enjoy car maintenance and wanted something as a hobby and to earn a bit doing it.  I already have a full time income and have run a business for the last 10 years so have some experience but none in the motor trade.

    I've quite a few questions and have started reading through threads on the forum, I've also got the 'so you want to be a car trader' and read through most of that.  Just wanted to ask a couple of questions that have arisen from what I've read.

    It mentions planning permission for working from home; is this absolutely needed?  My aim will be to sell one car a month on average.  

    I've also been on manheim and registered as general public.  I notice that on some of the vehicle inspection reports that everything is ticked as good and then they'll be 'X Engine Noise'.  Is this common for cars sold there that have higher mileages or is it indicative of a fault?

    Could anyone recommend the best site with easiest access to trade prices etc?

    I'm sure I'll have many more questions but will keep reading and pop up when I do.  Thanks in advance for any help.