CRW

Definitely an ego trip thing! If you drive past one are you like me and interrupt somebody in mid-sentence to just say - "one of mine there".

I pay about £14 for the two plates and less than 50p per sticker. People then seeing your name on cars breeds familiarity with your business in your area. Everyone to their own, but a new set of plates freshens anything up I find.

I have my own branded number plates carrying the EU logo, with borders and a drop down tab at the bottom with 2 phone numbers and website. Never really thought a lot about it until my mate reckons when he's out trucking, he can pick out one of my cars from about 50 metres away. Apparently something about them is quite distinct, which cant be a bad thing. Whether they will be as distinct without the EU logo post Brexit I'm not so sure! Also rear window stickers, nothing fancy, but I always thought they are quite important. Gives the car behind something to read when stuck in traffic! To be fair, I think key fobs are a waste of time. They only advertise to those who already bought from you.

Autoglym ones for me, not the cheapest but coupled with the Autoglym paper mats in the footwell, it creates a certain impression that buyers like.

We are in a world that is obsessed by data and whilst I understand its value to a certain extent, the link between data and reality in the motor trade is very different. For example, I use Google Analytics to monitor my website traffic. I have invoiced 8 this month, but in the last 28 days, of the top 6 viewed cars on my website, only 2 of those 6 have sold, the 4 others are still here. Yesterday I watched somebody in a 5 mile radius of me continually hit on a little Peugeot 108 I have in stock, so I quickly spruced the car up just in case they turned up. They never showed. Im just saying its very easy to get bogged down in data, but data and statistics don't pay the bills. You need to experiment with what works for you in your area and with your customer base. Good luck with it anyway, I hope it works for you.

Seems like I've let them off lightly. In fact, how many of you are banned from certain dealers on DA? Im currently on a ban from BCC in Bolton (name drop, not really bothered as I found them a shower of shite). A wasted 800 mile round trip a couple of years back to collect a 2010 Clio Estate, sorry, builders van. It was a shed, stinking of fags, head-lining damaged, seat damaged, it needed a new interior and was described as being in "nice condition". After inspecting it I strolled back in, dropped keys on the desk told him I what I thought and then left. Didn't even wait for an answer so they banned me. I couldn't give a toss as when I see their listings, I just think, probably another piece of crap. I did also get banned from a dealer in Somerset which was a bit more annoying as at the time it was the closest dealer on DA to me! Then, after a couple of years and without asking, I got reinstated. No idea why!

The effort this Dealer Auction vendor took today when describing the car was amazing. "Taken in part ex" That's it. Good effort!

The vendors on Dealer Auction who merely disclaim everything and waffle on about how they want paying are a bunch of jokers. The ones that don't use the diagram to show damage, or that mention nothing about the car. However, we still bid on their cars, although I generally try not to! Saying that, I stuck to my guns with the last one, car was described reasonably but they wanted paying in advance. I refused, explained why to them, they backed down and I got to check the car over and then transfer the funds. Fortunately it was a HSBC to HSBC transfer so was instant.

To be fair to Car Guru's, I have sold two or three recently without ever having subscribed, so I cant really knock them. However, what did make me laugh the other day was a Seat Ibiza alongside one of mine, with a whopping "Great Deal" message alongside it. Mine said "Fair Deal". However upon checking out the "Great Deal" the car was Category S, mine a one owner HPI clear example. Not sure that really was that "Great" a deal and certainly not a fair like for like! Then again, maybe they were a paying customer, so don't suppose I can complain!

I can see where you are coming from and I understand your figures are hypothetical, but in a way you are a little bit blinded by the fact you bought a £4k retail car for just a £1k. Fantastic if it only needs £500+vat worth of prep, but that £1k car isn't a cheap car when you spend £2k+vat prepping it. That car now owes you £3400 and is worth £4k retail, its a margin I know but its never going to make you rich. However, I understand this is a VAT thread, (that started life as a finance thread), not a margin one, everyone has their own way of doing things. VAT is just a quarterly kick in the balls!

The general public are a funny bunch. You'll sell that, then go and get another one in and not hear a squeak from anybody. Had a p/ex Mini Cooper in last week, 52 plate, 6 weeks MOT. Advertised at £995 as spares or repairs and they went mad for it. A few months back, had 2 other Coopers in around the same age and couldn't sell them for love nor money!

Thought it might. Was stressed out totally when I couldn't get the Hyundai one to go out. You automatically think the worst! Glad it worked!

In know the feeling. Agreed to buy a customers Fiat 500S Convertible last week, they are buying an ex demo one else where. Price is right and its a nice example, 2015, 21k, Red, FSH etc. About 3 days of prep when it does arrive, getting the wheels done. However customer isn't sure when new car will be ready, meanwhile i'm sweating working out my sales guff to try selling it on a soggy day in November!

TDI or TSI? Im sure they feel they have made a move up in terms of quality, but only time will tell. Theres little to choose between the VAG TSi or the Ford Ecoboost these days, they both have question marks, but if their brand loyalty was based on Ford CVH, Zeta's, Duratec and Zetec engines they could be potentially disappointed with the longevity and reliabilty of the TSI. But then again, maybe not, its the great unknown!

Might the tell tale signs have been present to those in the auction hall? Could have been rattling its nuts off, hence why it didn't make much? Always going to be the risk with online buying. Hope you get it sorted.

Problem is finding a post 2012 Ford (Fiesta, Focus, C-Max) that isn't a 1.0 Ecoboost! Did a few 1.6 Ecoboost until turns out the don't just blow up, they barbeque you! Hoping the 1.5 Ecoboost turns out to be better in the long run.

I agree with you on the Ford, Toyota and Honda's although the only Peugeots and Citroens I touch are the 107 and C1's.To be fair though, Im beginning to group the Fords in with Germans, with their Ecoboost junk engines and the chronic powershift gearbox.

To be fair I have pretty much stopped looking at German cars. There's the big question marks over the VAG TDI's that have had an emission recall, are they as reliable afterwards or has it been updated then become unreliable so the owner has ditched it?. That eliminates about all TDi VAG cars from 2010-2014 as Im not going to risk buying somebody elses trouble. I personally think buying a used BMW is potentially more risky than VAG cars, swirl flaps, chains etc but that's just my opinion.

Was the light on when it came in to you? Is the Doblo anything like the Fiat 500 where the TPMS reset is in the dash menus? Had a couple of tpms issues recently. one being a CR-V which we couldn't cure, the other being a Hyundai i20. That one came on after doing tyres. Tried everything to get it to go out, no reset button, so drove it miles and light stayed on. Scanned it and got some bizarre readings, thought something had corrupted. Put tyre pressure up to 38, reversed out of workshop, drove down the road, tapped the cruise control and it went out. No idea whether we had to over inflate them, or whether activating cruise did it, but its worked. Hopefully something simple like that will fix yours Must be a Fiat expert on here somewhere..

. It does completely cloud your judgement when buying. You imagine the returning customer who paid £3995 four years ago for his Focus looking at the equivalent car at £6495 and wondering what the hell happened! Then the best I can do is shrug my shoulders and say "things have gone up a lot in the last few years!", hoping he doesn't ask "why?"

Last weekend I took a trip down memory lane and looked back at some of my DA purchases from yesteryear. A bad move I know. Now, I've been moaning to family and friends that its costing so much more money to stock to an equivalent level as a few years back. I know all about inflation and accept everything increases in price but a couple in particular jumped out at me. In mid 2015 I bought a 2008 Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec, good bread and butter stock, 48k with FSH. I paid £2500 for it. Hardly any prep. However, taking the equivalent car today, 4 years later, a 2012 Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec with the same miles, you aren't going to get that for less than £4500- £5000. The strange thing is I don't remember thinking I stole the 2008 Focus for £2500, I felt it was a fair price. The same car today is about double the cost to buy at trade. The other was a 2013 Peugeot 107, less than 2 years old, less than 3000 miles and I had quite a bit of change from £4000. Today I am picking up the same aged Aygo, so essentially the same car, 30k miles, 4 years down the line and £3000 nowhere near covers it. Like I said, I know everything goes up, but taking a step back, the rate of inflation seems a bit crazy, certainly in the sub £6000 retail bracket. Or maybe its just me!

Good luck!

This was a Style Climate, air con but with wheel trims in Tonic Blue. I thought mileage would have sold it alone, but to be fair I struggle to sell cheaper stuff, which seems strange. I blame it on the fact that if you have a car advertised at £2995, a private punter down the road will be selling theirs for £2495 or less. Customers know they will get warranty etc with the £2995 retail car, but if you only have £2495 to spend then that's what you spend.

Whilst we are talking about Fiesta's, I just traded one to a local dealer, 2007, 1.2, one owner, 31k miles FFSH. Had been here for ………...about 3 years. I am not joking!! It just became like part of the family. I miss it.

Fiesta's are strange cars for selling. Supposedly the most popular car on the road, I tend to get landed with them for a while (my fault I know for buying them!). Have just sent out a 63 plate one this morning, it was here for 8 months. I think the problem is there are so many around, no matter where you price them theres always another one somewhere close by that will undercut you. The category N factor on yours wont be helping im afraid.