metcars

Something for nothing?! Interestingly, he made a few references to the 'Autumn review' so plenty of scope for bad news yet. He giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other; Insurance Premium Tax is going up

I've toyed with the idea of vans. I've got a bunch of Polish fella's at the end of my road who have about 6 in various states of repair and appear to be turning them over on a regular basis, I dont think the council have noticed yet, or anyone has 'dobbed' them in Seriously, they appear to be a lot of money at auction for what they are, Shabby, intergallactic miles and no history; but I guess youre buying usefulness rather than kerb appeal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33277626 Surely it would be simple enough to fit a gadget like this to passenger cars. Regardless of whether you're a speed demon or not, and I'm guessing we are all law abiding citizens, can a case be made to at least limit all new cars to 70mph other than emergency vehicles? And for those special cases of 'track days' and 'autobhan use' (vastly overrated and not fun) a factory level software limit can be removed that invalidates insurance if caught on UK roads? That might sound harsh, but we are being force fed the idea that 'speed' is a huge problem and surely this could save vast amounts of money and resources by the police and council but still keep jobs? For car dealers, the potential to be an absolute nightmare to sort out?

Mechanical or bodywork? Must admit that i sometimes twiddle spanners if it saves me money. I had to put a clutch in a Fiesta a week or so back as it owed me a lot and wouldnt carry a workshop bill. I also turn my hand to bits of bodywork which I actually quite enjoy and is almost like therapy

​Like you still can on BCA Although the old BCA search was in my opinion the best of all of them and still superior to their latest 'janet and john' effort

How do you print out your watchlist in '‌lot' order?

Sorry guys I think I just broke it! Or is it down for 'maintenance' again?

I moaned about both BCA and Manheim. The priority needs too be on the search engine. Also maximising the number of search results displayed instead of a 'janet and john' version with huge pictues of cars in case you dont know what a Mondeo looks like

IMO selling trade to trade is a tough way to earn your money! If you can source quality stock at 'stinking cheap' prices then just retail them, why give the profit to someone else

I wonder who will be the first supermarket to be 'online/home delivery' only? I give it 10yrs max

Just out of interest what did they p/x it against?

Yes. But in my experience these 'trade buyers' only buy for their selected 'clique' of retailers. These guys buy vast quantities of vehicles and spend telephone numbers. But, at a more realistic level most motor traders offer 'the full auction experience' for any willing to pay the fee. I have some mates who are earning a few extra quid handholding private punters through the buying process!

My current 'smoker' is on DD, just out of interest, do you have to cancel the DD when the car is sold, or is that done automatically whe the new keeper bit is sent?

I've got to pick up a car for myself to use for a few months. I'm happy to register in my name etc. But what are my options regardeing ved. I assume that I can walk into the post office and buy tax in the usual 6/12 months chunks. Whereas online I can also pay be direct debit. I doubt the car will be in my possession for 3 months so direct debit seems the cheapest but bearing in mind I lose a month when I start it and again when its sold its not so attractive. Anyone found the cheapest way to do this?

I always find the customers that need to see a car outside of working hours are usually customers that actually buy. I wouldnt say that its a regular thing for me but I've sold to guys on shift work after 12pm and before 6am. When your phone goes off late at night its likely to be drunks but you can't always tell

What about the variable speed limits on the Heathrow section of M25, weren't they supposed to have active camers now?

I'm a "one man band motor trader" since I got divorced from my business partner!

Like i've said before, its all about the number plates! The police and DVLA are completely focused on a system that is lead by the ability to check out the owner from the number plate. The idea that a vehicle, driven on trade plates could be in a grey/'trade' area is irrelevant. Its going to get worse

You're right. I'm probably worried about nothing

But I'm assuming that if the cars have been on the website for a few days prior to the sale, the vendors will know in advance of the sale what cars are popular and what ones aren't. I suppose we would have to be pretty naiive to think that these website dont provide any info for the auction houses! After all, its no big secret that large vendors arrive early before their sale, I suppose they could be talking about Golf or football, but more likely playing games with reserve prices, especially when they can view all our 'watch lists' and view counts etc.

No, supermarket trolleys tend to be driven by idiots in a hurry

I'm guessing that car auctions can monitor activity on their website listings. They must be able to tell what cars are attracting interest and what cars are being "watched" by users, then pass this info onto vendors to decide on reserves. With this in mind, would it be prudent to appear disinterested and not watch any vehicles, to keep the reserves prices down. Might ask for a pad and pencil for Christmas

Seriously, bearing in mind how many years its been going on, do you 'really' think DVLA havent noticed what we're up to?

They're just tightening up on things. Some unscrupulous people dont bother registering cars to escape fines etc, coppers are getting wise to it, trade or not. But there's no actual legal "exclusion" for trade to drive cars with no registered keeper, just that historically police werent bothered. But with the whole system being based on their ability to track offenders details through ANPR technology its hardly surprising they get the 'ump. I remember in the old days they used to turn a blind eye to traders driving untaxed cars, look how that turned out

Don't shoot the messenger! The old defence of "its ok, I'm trade" doesn't stand up any more. Just as a general 'heads up', if you are driving a car thats showing no current keeper, for whatever reason, you'll get a tug.