metcars

It's a shame that Car Dealer Magazine can't do a "So you want to sell cars ....." type sticky for newbies?

Plus, the chance to sell them something else! Kerching

I reckon more money changes hands at BCA Blackbushe in a day than coutts bank? I bet the toilets aren't broken in Coutts, and you can sit down while you write your cheques!

....... even worse when you consider how much we have to pay for the privelege. Not just the buyers premium, but remember all those payments being settled after the sale you'd think they'd lay on dancing girls and limo's! There are very few 'wholesalers' of any product that would treat their customers as badly as car auctions. Sorry I forget that you might get a bacon sandwich and cup of tea after spending 20k?

That's true

Is Bedford one of those branches that on the face of it should be getting decent stock, but in fact is just used to 'punt' carp, a bit like Paddock Wood?

..... still none the wiser?

Unfortunately, you cannot trust the auction houses to be as honest and accurate with their descriptions as we have to be with ours!

You're a 'full time' student?

Totally agree, You do what you do best, and they do what they do best!

..... you get another one of those "I really like your car, what's your best price, I will deposit funds in your paypal account, i will send someone to pick it up as I'm too busy at work" type emails. Again!

MANHEIM PRICE PROMISE! "Price promise. We undertake to be the best value, that's why we publish all our prices"

Umesh, a 'cheap one' is going to need work to perform. Even if you dont spend a fortune 'dressing it up' for offroading, it will at least need to be reliable and you'll have to make it that way. At the cheap end of the market, regardless of what make you choose, rust is going to be the big problem. As far as 'spanners' go, you'll be getting them dirty. Breakages are part of the fun? The people that offroad, and who's opinions I trust, have good things to say about the ability of those little Suzuki jeeps, for the money they are hugely capable.

Asda car park?

I've usually got an old mk2 Mitsi Pajero as a daily driver. Outstanding for towing and winter driving. I've owned a few, I had my last one 10yrs, and it was up to 250,000 miles when I moved it on. I'm not really into the 'off road driving' thing, tearing about in gravel pits or creeping up mountains seems a recipe for disaster when you need the car working on Monday. But its attractive having a strong reliable vehicle that you can rely on to get you practically anywhere and back home again. Including fishing trips and being able to get a washing machine in the boot from Makro! But to answer your question, modified LR's are not really 'cheap' fun cars. And if you're used to driving your friends LR then you'll appreciate the advantages of a proper 'low box', diff lockers and event tyres. That probably rules out an old rav4. Those little suzuki jeeps have a strong following and are hugely capable but like LR can rust to pieces. Try and find a Mitsi Pinin without rust and EML on too. What sort of offroading are you looking at and do you own spanners? :-)

......and its just had a main dealer cam belt!

Auctions work for me. They're not perfect by any means, but .....

How about using sawdust to quieten down a noisy gearbox!

I assume the customer is expecting you to pay for this latest huge repair? What if you applied a little 'inertia' to the payment process?

Agree! Also, getting your car MOT'd every year doesn't count as a full service history!

The thing I've seen is a tray about the size of a cat litter tray. You set off the chemicals and stick it in the car overnight. Comes with a warning sticker. In the US they have something similar to kill 'bugs and critters'

I've got a focus here at the moment that has a strong stale smoke odour. To be fair its the worst I've had, guy must have been in a family of chain smokers. Now, I seem to remember there is a 'chemical thing' you can leave in the car overnight to get rid of the smell, anyone used it?

+1

This! Build it up again, many of us have had to do it at one time or another. If you think things are bad wait until you get divorced! lol

This makes interesting reading? https://tech2.guru/vauxhall-m32-6-speed-manual-transmission/ Is the van your own personal transport of 'stock'?