Huggins

Excellent - I've just come back to check on this. Thanks for all the tips - really appreciate it. Great forum this - just hope I can contribute something useful to return the favours.

... I wouldn't be extolling the virtues!!

Whilst waiting for my phone to ring , I've noticed that the rear box on one of my BMW's is looking very black in the photo's! Tried some wire wool and brasso with limited success, it's an ex-lease car so exhaust probably hasn't been touched for 4 years, looks like it needs to be soaked overnight to aid cleaning , any advice on the best product / method.

I can't remember the last time I had a genuine call on a car for sale....must be getting on for 2 weeks since i've sold a car. Yet trying to buy you'd think the market was red hot!

Thanks Contracts that makes sense .

So I don't have to sell business to business - provided the buyer is made aware of the VAT element of the sale / sales price?

Looking at branching out into some commercial vehicles potentially. Say I market a van for sale at say 5k plus VAT aimed at business users, is there any law which stipulates that I can't advertise the same vehicle at 6k including VAT to attract joe public ? (provided I breakdown the VAT element on the sales invoice and hand it across to the VAT man?)

Yes exactly as you said - I just came back to add that I've had newer cars in horrendous condition on a grade 2/3 with a list as long as your arm and additional damages or previous, not noted. ..Whilst we're on topic what's the general consensus on WBAC entries - as we know they don't check much mechanically when they buy them in and I've often thought they are a dumping ground for the public stuck with problem cars. However at the end of the day they can't all be bad - but I've so far avoided buying any from the group. Do you take the gamble with them ?

I read this thread yesterday and having convinced previously convinced myself my purchase from BB was going to be alright, I broke out in a cold sweat reading the advice. My purchase was an in hindsight a very foolish roll of the dice. It's a rare motor so I took a chance on the basis it was a 1 owner with good history etc BUT it was grade 4 with the overage "look at the basic photos" report only and sold as seen and 7k and I was the only bidder! Turned up today and I emerged with my eyes squinted to minimise the retina damage from the horrendous bodywork and not to mention the noises from the engine and gearbox. In this event it turned out to be a peach but I won't be this brave / stupid again.

so they come as a pair now then! Ebay is OK for unusual or cheap stuff I find. Gumtree is a total waste of time (this reinforced my initial suspicions before signing up!) Gumtree is still at 4500 and ebay 5995!

For me its the location of those photo's that I would suspect is putting people off. As others have mentioned above you need to find somewhere more rural / picturesquefor the shots. Public car park photo's always seem abit "scammy" to me! Doesn't look a bad truck tbf. p.s I agree that gumtree is crap - off topic but does anyone know if you can get out of the ebay + plus gumtree that I decided to give a ago in November 19 on a 12 month contract? would aim to keep the ebay going and put the additonal 50 odd quid saved a month by not having gumtree towards the rip off merchants that are the Autotrader!

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll remember the Brut tip! Final question when paying a transport company to drive to the car to the customer, am I supposed to ensure it has sufficient fuel for the delivery or I assume they factor in some juice there costings? thanks

Many thanks for all the replies everyone. I don't usually get involved in delivery, make customers come to me but as it's a slow month for me I'm relenting! I like to think I've got a pretty good nose for the punters and potential scammers - I've had few chancers trying it on over the years and know of few dealers who've been conned recently , makes one a little overly paranoid at times!! For anyone interested the car is a well specced golf. Regarding transportation I've lined up a company to deliver - the car will be "plate driven" - what's the etiquette with fuel for in this situation?! Thanks again

Thanks Earunder - excuse my ignorance but "DSR, CSR'2015 and ROW" ?

Morning all, I usually try to keep sales as local as possible for obvious reasons. Have an enquiry from a customer over 200 miles away, wanting to take delivery and pay via bank trans. How do those who are more experienced in this safeguard against getting scammed? I used to think a BT was un-reversable but read on here one that had been drawn back recently? also in terms of verifying the occupant and address without looking overly paranoid! I'd intend to use a transport company once to deliver once funds have been received! I have the name, address and a landline number for the customer but I suppose that's not to say it's bulletpooof ,as the "genuine account holder / resident " could be on holiday etc?! Many thanks for any help.

Go for it if your young and fancy free. Some of my best days were the early days when I had my finger on the pulse of what people wanted and wasn't afraid to take a risk. Now I find I over analyse the pitfuls and potential for huge repair costs / problems which out weigh the potential profits and have therefore become wary of the " interesting cars" I built my business on the interesting stuff at the time Nissan 200sx / Imprezas etc. Have you looked into the JDM import market, it still intrigues me but I've never had the bottle and or sources to buy remotely from Japan! I have now gone much more mainstream which is boring, ropey profits but also big bills looming down the line on newer cars. Not a single call last week aside from the one about the golf I sold the week before which now needs a new dual mass clutch, bang goes the profit from that one. Long story short I dream of a 9 - 5 with a steady pay cheque and minimal stress, which has certainly been a big part of being self employed for me for the past 7 years (at least) of the 14 i've been going for. The problem with the trade is you can get stuck in a rut where you occasionally "have it off" which keeps you hanging in there for longer than is good for you!

Nacman it was the claims line which is based in Manchester ( may have changed as haven't used them for almost a year now)

I've had some very nasty grade 3 cars delivered by BCA in the past. Once they have been delivered you have to speak to Manchester Head office (if you use there own transport) rather than the actual auction. In my case I got a very patronising woman who clearly knew nothing about cars! She kept saying we refer to the "beauty pictures" when talking about the very inaccurate online photo's! I've back 2 in the past which turned out to have been taxis and got some small amounts of comp on others but not before jumping through alot of hoops and constantly doing all the chasing. It is a worry the muppets they pay to do these inaccurate reports! I hope it works out for you NacMan

Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. I don't have any spinning up problems with these away from a standing start etc. Great tyres for the car - imagine they will transform your cars characteristics in the wet .

So what's the key to a dry sideways pull out with no TC.. without stacking it! Plant throttle to get it unstuck whilst turning.. then what? You can get an X pipe on these for sound and keep stock rear pipes,probably cheaper option. Having said that if the neighbours are hearing you start it up, then it sounds like it's already been tweaked?!.. as these are pretty conservative exhaust noise wise from the factory, especially at start up / idle. Great vid and some nice open roads in your neck of the woods Mark. Where was camera fitted? Rear window? Captured exhaust note well. Which camera is this as its good quality footage.

Haha Rory yes this is the concern! I tried one back in the day in a 200sx and ended up facing the way i'd came! I suspect I have a heavy right foot, a lack of finesses and not enough talent to turn off the traction .

.. Surely you could outrun a Punto with a light throttle until you got off the mark?! Are they "manageably driftable" for the inexperienced with the traction off or are they a real handful and tend to keep the TC on?

Welcome NH motors - your post made me laugh. Ref the slightly off topic XFR chat - are you guys brave enough to turn off the traction control ? I fancy having a go but am fearful of ending up facing the wrong way. Do these cars "bite!"

Mazda6 2.2 diesel - had 2 over the years both had major issues / big bills. Honda Accord 2.2 cdti- very expensive DPF problems Alot of stuff from the brands that "used to be reliable" scares me now due to the tech and potential for huge repair bills.

Roughly how much is 5L of Brisk from the Autosmart rep please?