jimreidvehicle

GreenGiant you are a legend! We have now been without Autotrader for over 2 years now, and apart from a slight slow down in stock turn and sales we are actually making more money per car sold! Why be busy fools and slaves to The Autotrader regime ??? There are some real alternatives out there!

Hey Maz! Welcome to the forum We dropped AT two years ago , sick of the price increases and the lack of value for money, so good on ya! Motors incorporate a large number of other websites, inc Sunmotors , driving.co.uk car site, village autos etc but some of the smaller ones you may not know about..... Carcliq , FindsYouCars.com , carbuyingadvisor , compucars, there are loads more! Most do some type of trial offer , best of luck Jim

Hi , we did the same however a wee bit earlier in December we have received a receipt confirming payment, but as you say , you no longer get the triangular tax discs. Its maybe worth a wee call to our friends at DVLA to chase up

Once the first week of January is over and we are all back to normal working hours then boom it all takes off , so be ready or you will miss the train!!!

Hi Tony Best route is most likely a Road Risk Trade Policy but believe you may need to prove that you are a dealer or Vat registered have a trading licence etc Jim

Yes, your understanding is correct! Most light commercials are vat qualifying and therefore you will be charged Vat when you purchase it, you then reclaim this vat during the month of which the invoice is dated, you will receive this vat back or it will reduce what you are due to the vat man that quarter. You then charge out Vat on the invoice you give your cur toner who buys the van from you! Make sure your vat registration number is in the invoice along with the detailed amount and rate of vat, this will allow your customer (if vat ) registered to reclaim the vat from the Government! Sometime you can get Margin scheme vans, these are normally traded in by a self employed yet non vat registered person , you would treat this purchase and resale the same as a margin car. Jim

GG- Not being an AT customer anymore, I got fed up being ripped years ago! I don't fully understand what problems you are experiencing, is it the data that Glass's hold that is the main problem or the description of the data held? Is there going to be a knock on affect to retail customers with this? With spec being so important now you have to have this stated 100% correctly online as we all know as it can be a deal breaker. What is the MAIN problem as I understood that no changes were being made until the new year, sounds like that is not the case? Jim

Now this is something I did know, however we do levy a charge for Credit Card transaction when buying a car which puts most people off! But yes some very scary rights given to the person paying by credit card!

Gavin you are a star , can you ping an email and I'll reply with details jim@jimreidvehiclesales.co.uk, cheers!

We have had a fantastic response from the Morortrade both on this Forum and our own Forum about our new mentoring programme! Most dealers looking for assistance just cannot believe that it is available FREE, and that there are dealers out their happy to give up some of their valuable time to help other dealers......well there are! We have recruited 12 mentors in total so far (although if you have relevant experience or feel that you can help dealers with your experience feel free to contact me to be added to the Mentor list) and we have an ever increasing list if those looking for help! Those looking for assistance range from Independents that have been in business for a number if years but are looking to link up with someone similar just so they can pick up the phone to share and discuss issues or just get a second opinion, to some young dealers just at the point of setting up in business or just newly started and find they want a helping hand, and everything in between! So if you are looking for a friendly but experience mentor available just for a general chat or you are desperate for help to start in business or save your current one , feel free to email me jim@jimreidvehiclesales.co.uk and we can add you to the list! We may not have all the answers but I think giving the experience on the list I'm sure we will come close! And it's Free! Jim

So does it show on HPI as an outstanding finance agreement? You can seemingly check to see the amount is outstanding via the High Court (England) worth a check under the Bill of Sale ! Did he hand in the V5c then? I thought the whole pint of a logbook loan , that the lender held the V5C until it was paid? could it not be the fact that it has been paid yet not updated because the old loan company is out of business? Did the customer sign anything with you agreeing to sell the car as the owner of the vehicle? Jim

I'm sure we can manage that

So who is shortlisted & who is going? Great night had by all last year, it's such a shame we are going to miss it this year. Good luck to all involved and well done to all the guys and girls and Blackball Media who will treat you like superstars .

Matt tells me that this car has now been recovered in Luton, but not before his insurance has now paid out!

Hi Sparky This is a subject close to my heart as we took over a motorsport centre and converted into our workshop & Performance Centre in April 2013, so just over 18 months ago. Now every one will have a different view on how a workshop is to be run but we wanted it to reflect what we did in the Sales Department, which is look after customers 100%, treat them fairly and keep in contact with them continually to ensure they are always kept in the loop. The cost of equipment is high especially finding out what is the best diagnostic equipment to use and what type of cars you will attract. A good CRM/Invoicing system integrated with stock levels and parts and being able to produce reports, job cards and an easy to use booking diary system is a necessity! So once you have the equipment and the computer software and CRM you then need the staff to run the place, now in our part of the world (North East Scotland ) one of the hardest staff members to get and retain is a good technician who is not only experienced and knowledgeable but also capable & efficient, this is mainly down to the fact that most of the go through their training only to move to the oil industry as the lure of offshore work and big money! You will also need someone to run the show a real knowledgeable person front of house who can communicate well not only with customers but also have the respect of the guys on the shop floor, without this you will struggle! We still use a third party for MOT's but organise them for customers and also retain the fail work and the advisories. So as you can see it's not going to be easy, you will have your days when you think what the hell have I done, but the rewards when run properly are fantastic also when you get compliments from customers saying its the best ever experience then you know you have broken the back of it. Just be careful to ensure you have the proper system to price jobs, always give an estimate rather than a quote! and use good quality parts from a good supplier. If you would like any help feel free to give me a call or email jim@jimreidvehiclesales.co.uk .

Just thought I would share the fact that we have set up a small Mentoring Group for Independent Car Dealers if anyone on here is interested in becoming a Mentor or being mentored then please contact me jim@jimreidvehiclesales.co.uk Even if it's just to have the availability of someone experienced in the trade to pick up the phone to rather than use a forum this is maybe for you! There has already been a large interest in this , but if you contact me I can email you the information and links. kind regards Jim Reid

Yes I'm just in the process of setting up this FREE mentoring programme already had interest from suitable industry mentors & independents requiring help! There is a real need out there and we should all have enough experience within a small group to help each other with the only cost being time. Happy to talk to anyone looking for help or would be interested on becoming an unpaid mentor! I can't explain the kick you get from unselfishly helping someone who is in real need. I enjoying sharing ideas and processes that we use successfully with others! I may even post on the Forum the Mentoring Programme if that was ok?

If I was in charge I would:- Offer all car dealers the same low package on classified advertising via pay per lead this would help drive down costs for dealers and offer more selection of used cars being advertised online! All used cars online, now that would kick start a revolution! Offer FREE mentoring and assistance for all independent car dealers who are struggling. Let that be advertising, selling, buying or the whole process! Offer free help on FCA changes and legal advice! Make it law that car dealers have to be nice to each other and that they are at least civil to each other starting with returning phone calls, describing cars correctly and being honest to each other! Each retails car dealer would have to be on a 5 star rating scheme run independently so that customers knew the good guys from the bad! Insist that ALL Car dealerships closed on a Sunday to give their staff a well earned break! To the Government , drop VAT on used car sales as I along with many other used car dealers are fed up paying tax twice on profit (vat & corporation tax) Instead of interfering with Gap and Warranty sales why not ensure those larger PLC's who bully customers into inclusion sales are dealt with! THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST .....I'm sure there is more but as I'm enjoying a rare Saturday off I'm away to walk my dog;-) Jim

In reply to you post. A lot depends on the age and the mileage of the car you sold, which you have not stated but I think you did the right thing, had the clutch been slipping or had it gone within a short period of the customer owning then you would have had to replace it completely free but given the circumstances you have done right by your customer by offering a compromise by supplying the parts. I think the customer (if he takes independent advice) , will accept your offer of goodwill as the clutch is worn, and as a car is full of parts that move and wear there has to be an acceptance of wear and tear from the buyer. If you are buying a 5 year old car don't expect a car with a 6 months clutch in it! If he refuses to accept this and goes for the return unfortunately you have an extra owner on the V5C unless you can convince the customer to write a letter to send along with V5C to the DVLA explaining that the car had been registered in his name and address in error, this may get DVLA to remove the details, but more often than not returned cars will have an extra owner! Best of luck Jim

GUY'S THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT DEALS OUT THERE FOR CLASSIFIED ADVERTS AND PAY PER LEAD ADVERTSING WITH NO RISK INVOLVED. driving.co.uk , sumotors.co.uk, compucars.co.uk & findsyoucars.com EVERYONE SHOULD BE ON THESE, you have to be in it to win it! Jim

hahaha loving the Uncle Jim comment :-)

Guy's we have been away from AutoTrader since Nov 2012 and look we are still here, not only surviving but thriving :-) So there is life after AutoTrader, all the technology convinces you that you cannot do without them but guess what , THEY can't do without us! Motors.co.uk have adjusted their prices since we started with them however I feel that you can have a wider spread of advertising across a wider medium and selection of classified sites, save money on your advertising bill and still sell cars more importantly! All you have to do , is do the sums! Customers don't just look at your cars on the website they look at loads of different sites before selecting your car so what makes you think they only look on AutoTrader???? Make the move ...."it only works" Jim

A very good friend of mine and active member of this Forum, Matt Butcher, his mum had her lovely new car stolen on Thursday night after they broke into her house in Hitchin Hertfordshire, please keep an eye open and if you are offered a 'cheap' or 'unwanted prize' please contact Matt 07989867949 or the Police 101 straight away. Please help spread the word! We all have trade contacts , warn them all! Thank you Jim

James Firstly congratulations again for winning such an important award, it's great to see you guys get the recognition you deserve, please pass on our best wishes to Batch also 1. What would you like to see more of in the magazine? Personally I would like to see more reviews of products and maybe some joint offers, I'm sure there are enough members of your club that we can receive some type of discount from suppliers a bit like a cooperative. Reviews of products are important but what about offering three different dealers these products to use over a period of time and for them then to report on and review, that way we can identify ourselves with the dealer seize and the possible benefits of the product along with a true review and not just an advert. 2. Is there anything we don't cover you think we should? I would love to see some more 'real life' interviews with dealers, getting their background, their experience and their reasons for staying in the motortrade. These interviews can again help compare what stages we are all at in our motortrade lives. Can we help each other share ideas, as William said above 'best practise' if we can help each other as independent companies to share industry best practise surely that helps everyone. Maybe we could have a problems page.....no not that kind of problem page but one where you can ask, 'have you had a problem with one of these cars previously?' 3. What are your favourite parts of the mag and why? I personally thing the magazine is fantastic and the only magazine I can truly say I look forward to reading monthly. it gives a wide variety of subjects and always makes me laugh with the humour used, so I don't have a particular favourite part. 4. And what don't you like (and if you say my column I'll ignore you...)The amount of adverts(especially AutoTrader ones), but understand that these are required to fund the magazine 5. Are there any features on certain areas of the business you'd like to see? Maybe a couple of pages dedicated to servicing best practise, problems issues shared etc I think your forum is great, however as you already know we run a similar Forum called 'Twitter Car Dealers' which FREE to use if you are in the trade and is strictly TRADE ONLY, the advantage of this is that dealers are certainly more frank when they post they are also happier that the public cannot see some of the information posted. Best of luck and thank you for giving us the opportunity to shape the Car Dealer Mag of the future Jim

hahahahahahah that is BRILLIANT you should take up a job in script writing or write a book! Brilliant! LOL