tradegirl

This is why I like hearing about traders who are doing well (not the liars). Because if others are doing well, it means it's still in our hands. That aside though, I wish I had a plan B, because I'm honestly quite scared. If a recession hits now, my life won't get off the ground before I'm 40.

I don't understand the mentality though. England is hardly going to become a third world country overnight. If you spend an extra £3-4k upgrading your car (taking into account the value of your current vehicle) it's hardly going to make a difference is it? Or going on holiday. The only thing I understand is the housing market slowing down, because a drop in prices could lose you thousands.

At least if they'd get it over and done with, and we'd all deal with whatever comes next.

Hardly. Dead as a dodo. Only 8 advertised, so I can't really judge the market with my stock numbers. Although not all are on AutoTrader. It's really quiet barely any phone calls, but then we sold 3 cars Weds-Weds £5k-£7k. Granted, 1 was our mechanic's car, but I still count it as a sale. Feels like I'm sitting around a lot, and just dropped the price on 2 cars, even though the one is already priced low and is mint.

Yeah we always do a new MOT on cars regardless of how long they have left. And yeah I imagine on that price bracket, 12 months is a must

@Mark101 do you re-MOT after 3 months?

£3300 loss on an accident damaged Focus Ecoboost. Engine was shot, traded it in to WBAC, unsure how sound the engine was in the end £3200 loss on a Jeep after repairing it for 4 years. So that was essentially tens of 1000s lost if you think how many times we could have rolled the money over.

Thanks everyone. Mark101 had mentioned the Titan before, but I never bothered. So basically Brisk and a wet vac, or else this Bissell if I feel like treating myself haha. Jesus, what have I come to when a wet vac feels like a treat??

Anyone ever used this? Lately I can't seem to get seats clean, even if they're not particularly dirty/ Never used a machine before, just pure elbow grease. This isn't the cheapest at £129, plus the warranty is void if you don't use their product, but it's got good reviews.

Jason, I will recheck prices. No, it's different people on 2 different cars. Funnily enough all of them are on FB...which probably says a lot. No enquiries on other platforms though.

Dead apart from timewasters wanting £1500 off £7k cars. All of them,

On CG free, and July/August was mental with them. Sold 2 cars through them so far, which isn't bad considering it's free. But the leads have suddenly stopped the past couple of weeks.

For finance and mileage?

There's the problem. When it's hit the fan with work like it did a few weeks ago, payments bounce. Only 2-3 times, but that's 2-3 times too many. David, it's not, but when you've relocated from whiter than white Worcestershire, Walsall/Birmingham area seems a bit dodgy. Or maybe I'm overthinking it.

Ok thanks @MattR I understand now. We don't offer finance, and with my credit score I don't think we'll be able to any time soon. I'm not sure our cars are bread and butter stock though. They're not small cars. I need to get a website up, and make sure the online presence is up to scratch.

@XFS what is bread and butter stuff? Our stock is £6k-9k normal every day cars. Same stuff we've always stocked, but now it's in a higher price bracket. Before £5-6k was our most expensive car, now £4-5k are our cheapest ones. Maybe that's the reason, I don't know. We've never had a problem until now. But no one knows we're home based until they actually call. Even then, very few people have a problem with us being home based. @jason doyle motor sales I need to market myself a whole lot better.

@NOACROSS it's 1 junction up from Birmingham on the M6. By the sounds of it I have a lot of work to do. Website is number 1, then I can get customer reviews. I need to see what AutoTrader needs to be able to get reviews on that too. Thank you everyone, it's put my mind at ease. It's something I can control if I do what's needed and do the right work

I should have phrased this better: how much does location affect sales? A car advertised in an affluent area like Bromsgrove vs a car advertised in a not so affluent area like Walsall (Birmingham and the Black country have a lot of shady traders and goings on), will the customer be put off by the location? I know it's quiet almost everywhere, but I'm worried that advertising cars in Walsall isn't helping.

And an angry plug at that if you steal a good one, technically you're rodding them.

It depends on how good the deal is, and what you're into.

Lol I'm a little confused, but fair enough.

Erm...keep my trap shut about the repair or about vaping?

Haha, vaping helps with stress? I'm thinking cocaine might help with that, and it might make me more productive

....sorry. Well done on kicking the habit though. 3 packs a day Obviously you're a grown man and I'm not giving you advice, but there's news coming out about vaping health risks. So...be careful with that too. Of course something is going to get us all. For me it's stress and sugar!

SC, it's a low mileage 2014 plate, not a scratch on it. Getting the alloys refurbed as we speak, so it will truly be immaculate. At £9k, I think it's only fair to the customer and myself not to show him/her a cigarette burn? Or maybe I'm overthinking it. @jason doyle motor sales I'll go on an invisible mending crash course before I get thrown out! Mark, the car doesn't even smell of smoke, nor had signs of it, so I'm unsure how it happened. You're right though, rarely get fag burns now. Vaping looks stupid IMO (no offence to anyone), but at least it doesn't ruin the seats!