umesh

Jack, Come on .. thought you were a sales man ! Stick all the details here so we can all see them .. what you need , and possibly a link to your website/details/pictures and if anyone on here gets a customer we can try and sell it for you ! !

I have on my invoice if the customers modify the car in anyway and the problem /warranty is related to that then its not covered ! the have to be fully responsible for their actions. I've even included i.e. towbar/ hand free systems ( I know most have bluetooth now ) as I had an issue a few years back when the customer had a towbar fitted and caused issues with electrics , nothing to do with the car but poorly fitted by an amateur. we have to cover selves from these !

James, I did ask autotrader about the 'valuations' and like you believed that the prices shown are low due to car C & CAT D Cars bridging the value down, I'm told this is NOT the case , when CAT C-D Cars are highlighted with VRM , There are removed from the valuation tools so does not affect the 'retail' prices, obviously if some sellers don't use the VRM and its a CAT C/D in the wordings etc then this cannot be picked up for valuation purposes and some will slip the net. Hope this helps! GG you're a genius ! free tips always appreciated.. must check it out ! I look forward to your next tip ..... advertising cars on all platforms for free !

When I started in sales way back in 1983 I was told this ... " Take as much profit out of a deal as you can when you sell a car , so when they return with any problems you simply smile and put them right !" How true is that ? If you don't make profit you can't look after them - , Doesn't matter how little you've made the customer always thinks you're still making thousands anyway .. so you might as well make thousands and if they have a problem .. smile, look after them .which in turns makes them happy, repeats, recommendations ! { Was trying to attach an image but failed, failed, failed )

OK Some of you wan't to stay anonymous [ for your own reasons , privacy and all that .. or part time MI5 functions] but personally I think it would be good if everyone on here showed their Name / web link / email / tel no as a minimum ? may be picture if you want and twitter name ! just so that every can get to know a bit more about the other business ? Any Thoughts ? umesh

I had similar a while a go , but after a conversation with the buy I agreed he could plug and check , he had been caught out with this previous purchase was was a bit cautious .. i left it to him to have a look / plug in etc .. after about 15/20 minutes he said I'd like a drive , I asked him if he was happy with the 'read out' etc , All ok a few things but nothing major if it drives OK I'm buying ... 10 mins later sold ! [ I also put on the invoice that he had done his own diagnostics and was happy to proceed with his findings etc ] But in your case Max, its all down to attitude ! as Jim says potentially a lucky escape !

Utter rubbish !

A Must , must listen about the secret of #facebook marketing ! Awesome Jim,

'Under selling' How many of you are underselling your stock ? Strange question you may think? I've come across this again a few minutes ago with a customer I've been trying to source a car for, this time it's an Audi dealer selling a Q5 , BIG group , and bizarre how they must price their cars, I guess it's down to individual sites etc, however a quick look on their own website and prices all over the place. This particular car , Just arrived in to stock ( unit stocking suggests 07-09-15) No pictures on the website as yet , website says 40,000 miles - Actual Mileage 46,000m - Full spec not shown but has few more than what's mentioned ... advertised at £22000 - Customer told can have it for £20850 !! Big discount for a new car into stock for whatever reason ! now the numbers GG £19850 Retail £22650 ATM £19626 Retail £23550 CAP £18500 Retail £21900 One owner , full dealer history car , will come with full 12 Months Audi warranty , Now is it me or are they under selling the car ? Good colour Daytona grey / Black leather ! IS this why everyone is trying to compete with these deals ? or saying its quiet when you have a car similar but marked up at I believe higher price ? Has the dealer undervalued his own brand or do they know something we don't ? Any thoughts ?

Personally I'd avoid working from home - I feel you need to have a break away , I wouldn't like customers coming to my home - Home is home & Business is business, especially if you have an issue with a car and they turn up at your home middle of the night demanding ! There are both pros and cons guess you have to decide what you really want ! good luck

just make it easy for the customer ... sometimes putting barriers up just stops the sale , ...... have to judge each one on its merits but i believe 90% who test drive buy .. the 10% ..well its all part of the job! can't win them all ..!

Come on guys .... All you guys who've been in the the trade for so long forgot the main one .. "Sheep skin coat " Good luck with the venture Jimnibob - welcome to another world , 'motortrade' ! great to see so many throwing ideas in , create a database if you don't have a system in place - spread sheet type for mailshots/ customer contacts etc Lawgistics as already been said with their standard stationery will be legal It will be amazing what else you think of as you go along .. we're all here to help - just shout !

As they say " 15 minutes of fame" probably longer for her , but think people will remember her for the wrong reasons ! #shocking Maybe she is just jealous of 'success' or successful people ! ..I'll stop now before i get carried away .............!!

I don't buy plaything from Auctions ! BUT that's pure madness - if ALL the dealers stopped buying on line the system would collapse , surely you MUST have better guarantee's than just around the 'yard !' surely the idea of buying on line is to save people time, you get vehicle transported / collected and there's comeback when it arrives to your business ! So glad I don't play Russian roulette with the system !

Sparky ' There's a family ' on FB Just after your Grand Scenic .. It can work for anything - got to to target family/ kids/ etc ! Good luck .. over to you and some sexy sweeping 7 seater pics !!

Well Jim I agree with you or Albert should I say ... ! Change ! we ALL have to change to the 'new' ways , the old ways no longer work in the same quantity, matter of mixing and getting the most from spending the least ! YOU have definitely cracked it and so, so pleased to see the results you are getting from facebook , WE all have to open our eyes/ minds up to new things, new avenues , not all are going to work but by golly when some of them do work especially at low cost / better ROI it pays dividends ! Well done again and thanks for sharing your secret!

FANTASTIC Gesture Jim, Totally agree with you 'use them why loose them' !

I buy convertibles all year round and sell them all year round ! Few years ago i think sold 6/7 convertible's in December ..did have about 8/9 in stock ! You just never know, especially if they are coupe/convertibles ( metal top) !

RS - Always looking to make new contacts and put the world to rights ! please !

It is amazing what little bits and pieces you can pick up on eBay ! SAAB Key covers , mostly go horrible as if dogs chewed them up -I've had a few of these and for £12/15 simply swap over to new covers - hey presto ! Vauxhall centre caps £6 - delivered , little touches for very little money and finish the cars off !

I read with interest all the comments , mostly negative about Autotrader , their attitude, poor response, costs , and so forth , I'm ready to get my head shot off but here goes , some questions if I can get some truthful answers .. · Are you making more or less profit from car sales than you were last year? · Are you selling more or less cars than last year? · Are you getting more or less leads from Autotrader? · Why do YOU think you are getting less leads from AT? · Who or what type of business do YOU think is taking sales away from you? · Do you feel the used car market is very buoyant out there BUT you feel you are missing out on the piece of the action ? · IF you dropped advertising on AT -Would it affect your business ( Yes I know it will save you a fortune every month on bills ! } · HOW do you feel AT can help your business (without being able to lower the prices!) I'm with you guys the costs every month is crippling , but personally I've never had issues with attitude , or response from AT team, always been helpful and quick responses , yes sometimes I don't like the answers but that's business ! final thought , is that the 'used car' market is getting crowded with more and more dealers selling especially on line, non 'legit' sellers taking OUR business away or we're trying to compete on price = less profit PLUS cars being more complex costing us more to repair = less profit again. As mostly small independents we don't have 2nd/3rd avenue of income i,e servicing & repairs, added products so totally relying on 'car sales' , where as the bigger dealers/supermarkets etc get that extra top up. Are we looking at someone to blame? Don't forget the new legislation coming into force 1st October ! Just found my September 2003 -AT Contact £92.50 per week ! #GoodOldDays

Good question , I don't buy any from auctions so difficult to answer , but if the ad said all good 'mechanically' , and its only been driven 70 miles and the fault was there I would like to think you have a good claim as its been miss- described , I think a call to Lawgistics may help with the case ! Good luck ! keep us posted

probably confuse the market even more !

Yeap I'd say same £5k !

Happens at supermarket tills as well.... but luckily they tap in what you've given and the little calculator works it all out for the cashier .... but its that 1st puzzled look that makes me smile !! as if why are you paying me more than I'm asking !!