Huggins

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Posts posted by Huggins

  1. Posted

    1 hour ago, Nick M.K. said:

    Now it’s Cap Retail plus the cost of the prep plus the profit margin plus the haggling margin plus the equivalent of an admin fee but fully incorporated in the price :-) 

    Haha this sounds about right!

    5 hours ago, Mojo121 said:

    I've spoken to a few customers and they seem to be very clued on how to arrange the cars in their search low-high and many have told me they do so when searching. To my mind it would seem important to be on the first page... maybe some will disagree?

    My method/idea: Typically when pricing a car up, first arrange low-high within 80 miles (sometimes 60 if a small car) on autotrader, select the make and models, includes that are a year or two older than mine, with mileage no more than 10,000 more than mine, similar spec and try to match or undercut a bit if margin allows. Might price mine more if it has better extras, theirs is a bad colour etc or less if mine seems less desirable - this is all learnt through trial and error, it doesn't seem anyone can give a laundry list of universally appealing + points. If possible it seems beneficial to helping the phone ring to undercut people but I will always appear above the Cat C,D,N,S stuff, above the private ads and kurbsiders (not the same market of punter to my mind) and advertise along with the other proper pitches hoping my advert and reputation might secure a phonecall... but things are hard even then so I often wonder how those who are £500+ above me (sometimes £1,000 more with almost identical cars) get on? Do they sell?

    Anyway, how do you all come up with your retail price? When I started Cap Retail -£200 was right to sell the car in a month 90% of the time on sub £5k stuff :lol:

    (Comments like "just use AT price" hahahah. Move along ;))

     

    I use a similar system to you - although as I deeply begrudge giving AT more money to promote my listings ( fist page  ) I rely on the customer having the brains to filter the stock themselves Low to High on price. Seems abit hit and miss though some stuff flys out others stick and stick!

  2. Posted

    Firstly please excuse my extreme stupidity - Maths is not a strong point and I'm new to commercials and .....it's been a long day!

    I have a commercial up for £8250 + VAT, customer has a small fiesta van wants 3k but it's has no VAT.

    How do I account for the p/x on the invoice to ensure I account for the VAT due to be collected on my van correctly?

    £8250 + vat itemised £1650 (£9900) - £3000 p/x = £6900 from customer then P/X goes on books at 3k etc?

    Final question fiesta van 2011 with 5 owners? I usually try to avoid high owners but is this common on small van abit like convertibles, in terms of they change hands quite often!

    Many thanks for any help as always

     

  5. Posted

    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.   

  9. Posted · Edited by Huggins

    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?) 

  10. Posted

    2 hours ago, XFS said:

    I have turned my best profits this way.

    The secret of buying blind is to make sure the potential profit on the car will cover any eventuality, so if its a lemon, the worst that can happen is you don't make any money. So don't bid unless the potential margin is big. Doesn't happen often!

    It generally only works with older higher value grade 3 and 4 cars. 

    Grade 1 and 2, everyone and their dog wants it and cheaper model grade 3/4 there is not enough margin for the risk to be worthwhile.

    In my experience almost every car over 9 years old is graded 3/4. Often, they turn out to be grade 2 at the worst. I find the opposite to be true with newer cars. Often a 4 year old grade 2 will need as much spending on it as a 10 year old grade 4

     

    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 ? 

  11. Posted

    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. 

  12. Posted

    7 hours ago, Mark101 said:

    You can't - unless you're a legacy customer. It is EMP + Gumtree or nothing. I know because Gumtree is a waste of time for me too.

    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!)

    6 hours ago, sam1 said:

    Update: Thanks for everybody’s advice. I’ve followed it and I’ve updated the ad slightly and taken new photos.

    http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575378759&campid=5338273189&customid=&icep_item=402056551856&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229508&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg&toolid=11111

    Any further changes I need to make, I’m all ears.

    Thanks everyone for being so helpful. You’re a credit to the site.

    Gumtree is still at 4500 and ebay 5995!

  13. Posted

    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!

  15. Posted

    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    

  17. Posted

    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.

     

     

  18. Posted · Edited by Huggins

    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! 

  20. Posted

    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

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    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. 

    1 hour ago, Mark101 said:

    I am seriously tempted to get a set of Miltek exhausts fitted but the thing is deafeningly loud anyway. Three neighbours came out this morning for a look.

    On a serious note, the car can be a handful and in the wet, probably the slowest car I have driven. I need a bigger gap to pull out (in the wet) than in a 1.0l Micra because it will simply sit and spin.

    With traction control on, you can look like a hero - with it off you're a brave man in the rain.

    This is a video I took of my final drive in my old XKR before chopping it in for a E350 cab.

     

    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. 

  25. Posted

    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!"