James Bush

As its trade to trade you don't really have a leg to stand on. Its worth ringing the dealer asking to speak to the DP for some help, I don't think you'll get far but sometimes I just like to get it off my chest when I feel I've been wronged. Also worth ringing the online auction company that listed it, was it dealer auction? It is a bit naughty if they've listed it as mechanically sound and they know full well it isn't. I use to buy a fair bit from dealer auction but now very rarely buy anything, had a couple arrive that weren't as described so started collecting them myself then had a few expensive wasted days out collecting cars that were a long way short of the description. As I've talked to others about dealer auction they are slowly getting a really bad name because its seems main dealers think its fair game to "forget" to list faults and as more are getting away with it more seem to be "forgetting" obvious faults.

I've just binned off Autotrde-Mail because its no longer worth advertising stock to get some looney ringing you up bidding £500 behind book, trying to buy some shed straight out of auction £500 into book or getting 3 lots of over priced snotters offered in swap for a clean, retail prepped overage unit so...... ......has anybody else found a decent alternative? BTW I currently have a 2008 Megane 1.6 Dynamique S hatchback, 75k miles, just serviced and MOT'd, Electric Blue - f/o/s bumper scuff an r/o/s electric window inop and 2006 56 307 1.6 S 5 door, 90k miles, some history inc cambelt, clean car up for trade, sale, swap of they interest anybody?

It is odd what puts us off certain cars......I guess a couple of bad experiences will put you off any car for a good while. I used to sell a lot of BMW 1 series at one point until in the space of 6 months I had two rattly cam chains and one with a diff problem - I havn't stocked one since - then everyone you talk to lets you know what a common problem it is!!

Yep every car you sell, no matter how listed on an advert has to be sold with a warranty. The only way around this is to sell as scrap and fill in the appropriate details with DVLA. You can sell a car with known faults and these should be listed on the advert and order/form and invoice and the customer needs to made aware of them. Keep copies of everything as customers can be deceitful little sods sometimes. I sell cars from time to time with faults and always have my workshop write a report up and also give this to the customer. Unfortunately if another fault arises this has to be covered by yourself. I would either give the guy his money back as it sounds like you'll spend far to much time dealing and worrying about it to make it worthwhile or try and have a sensible chat with him, get the car back and inspect it yourself. Beetles can sometimes display signs of headgasket issues and I would double check their diagnostic, overheating or signs of overheating seem to be an issue with Beetles. I had one a while ago where a VW garage were adamant it was a headgasket and it turned out to be a faulty thermostat that was causing the water pump to overheat.

I've heard so many bad stories about Insignia's that I'll not touch one.....I personally know of one gearbox that destroyed itself at 60k miles, a petrol where the dash illumination, dials etc just disappeared and a 1.8 that head gasket went at 45k miles. All bought from main dealers and to be fair they sorted the gearbox and swapped the customer out of the head gasket one but the dashboard that has a mind of its own is on going. Never really had a problem with the Astra/Vectra diesels apart from the odd EGR valve that always looks a lot worse than it is when they start chucking loads of black smoke out the backend but cheap enough to fix not to worry me about stocking them. I won't touch a 1.7 diesel Astra though because nearly everyone I've sold or looked at has had/has got its turbo rattling and whistling away.

Its chucking it down with rain, I've made an appointment for 10am and my mobile starts ringing at 9......it's my customers and they decided they'd get up earlier so are waiting for me. Quick shower and off I go to meet them. Now lets just say they're a bit eccentric, mother, daughter and father all with pink hair and flowery dresses and shirts, and they're flitting from one car to the next and haven't paid any attention to what they've actually come to look at a very tidy C3 that I took in part exchange, more interested in the Mini, BMW, A3 all 4x 5x the price of the car they've come to view......by the way we're still stood outside and its pissing it down!! They finally have a seat in the C3, seem to like it and ask for a test drive. I drive it off site, stop up the road where I normally do to do a quick swap around, jump out of the car straight into the biggest pile of horse shit you've ever seen. I know I should of spotted it but the pink hair and loud shirts are somewhat distracting. I do the best to clean my shoe on the verge and off we go on a drive, there is a bit of a whiff and I make my apologies and in 20+ years in the motortrade I've finally made use of one of those paper mats that gets put in every car only to be found screwed up under the drivers seat. We get back from a bit of a kangaroo testdrive and they spend the next 15 minutes pretending they're mechanics - under the bonnet, tyre depth gauge out, giving the exhaust a tug (which dad soon finds out can get hot), pulling and tugging on the wheels and then give me the verdict - nah sorry mate its not what we're looking for!!!!!

Asked at our local post office yesterday and if you can provide the previous owners postcode and it matches what's on the DVLA system they would tax it at the same time. If you look at the bottom of the latest V62 theres a space for previous postcode and that's what its therefore apparently?

I think Cap's a little mean on that car. If you bought that car new, looked after it all its life and got told it was only worth £2500 you'd be sobbing. I'd estimate around the £4500 region.

Yep I think you can, I purchased a car from auction with a private plate on but with V5 to follow. After a few weeks of ringing the auction chasing the V5 I popped into the post office filled a V5 application out with them, paid my £25 and with in a week I had the V5 back. The only problem was around 3 months after selling the car I had a irate bloke on the phone wanting to know what I'd done with his private plate? Apparently he'd been told by the salesman at Motorline who in px'd the car into to just keep hold of the V5 until he was ready to put it onto his new car!!

Yep we've got one of those Ken, then moans like feck to anybody who'll listen about all the moaning customers he gets

I use CAP/Glasses but only as a guide, I try and stock low mileage high spec examples so will always pay into book. But the guides have it so wrong on all sorts of stuff. I like Alfa's, probably on my own their, but both guides massively under value them and I tend to buy them all private off people who have been to WBAC or car supermarkets where they just go off book. I see Collezione 147's regular making around £1000 over guide at BCA. I was at a local Manheim auction the other night and a grade 1, assured, Grande Punto came up, not my usual stock but it was one owner, 50k, full history, valeted, just MOT'd and serviced and wants for nothing. I paid £250 into book for it and was told by several other traders I was mad and just pushing prices up!! Still looks good value to me especially with £0 spend!! But at the same auction there's folks buying grade 3/4 stuff at book money and thinking they've got a bargain, I still don't understand some of the prices though when run of the mill Focus/Astra/308 etc are making well into book - where's the profit??

Yep I check all swappers when the come in on part exchange - it doesn't matter if they're worth £100 or £10'000. If this guy had of arrived at 3pm as arranged and not been in so much of a rush it wouldn't have felt so odd. I've a list of stories from px'ing customers who think its fair game to try and stich a dealer up. On my order form I have some text along the lines of "the car is on good driveable condition with no obvious known faults" and get them to answer true or false and not so long ago had a customer tell me it was my job to find the faults no his to tell me about them!! I tend to find most customer are decent and you can normally spot a dodgy one but this guy really surprised me - to bring it 50+ miles on a transporter then drive it the last 1/2 is taking the p155!! Name and shame......and this makes me feel even stupider.....would only give his wife's details.....Mrs Smith and their address turns out to be a caravan park in Tattersall!!

Morning, I've just narrowly escaped taking a red 54reg BMW 318, 100k mile in part exchange. I completed the deal yesterday and they guy hadn't come in his px because of a leg injury he apparently gets stiff driving it so came in his van. He gave me a good, what seemed honest description of the car going overboard to tell me it wasn't mint, had a few marks but generally a nice car so I agreed a deal on his description after a bit of negotiation. Anyways.....get a phone call very early this morning asking if he can pick the car up earlier because of work commitments so he turns up at just before 8am, he's all in a rush and has already tried to hand me over an envelope of money 3 or 4 times, things just don't seem right. I asked the keys for his car just so I can check it over and by looks is a little better than expected but what seems strange is the car seems cold - cold bonnet, temp gauge not reading etc and he lives over 60 miles away. I open the bonnet and no signs of anything wrong, so I start it and leave it running for a few minutes while talking to him, go back and check the car again and the expansion tank is full of little shiny bits - K-Seal!!! After a lengthy discussion, argument (he's a big chap) I tell him I don't want his car because it obviously has a head gasket issue, he denies any knowledge calls me a few choice names, I agree to return his deposit, £100 cash and he disappeared. Its still in the back of my mind that maybe he didn't know so there could be a chance to resurrect the deal somehow, I was only offering £800, so I jump in my car to see if I can see him. About 1/2 mile up the road there's his BMW up a housing estate being loaded onto the back of a transit recovery truck!!! He had me hook, line and sinker all the way even to the point where I was feeling guilty for suggesting he wasn't being entirely honest!! I'm in the North Lincolnshire area but the guys from Sleaford so just be on the lookout because he tells a pretty good story and obviously had thought out what he was going to do and am pretty sure he'll try it again.

I've had a customer contact me today and she's apparently passed with the Vehicle Finance Network - anybody heard of them? dealt with them? I've Googled them but can't find them - I don't want to burn the customer but likewise I'd like to warn them if they've entered all there personal stuff into a dodgy site. They've apparently called the customer and she's sent proofs to them via e-mail - all looks a bit strange to me though?!?

I don't think its CAP I think its the buyers. I'm seeing stuff go through at stupid money and I'm not a shy buyer, especially at BCA which makes me think are they really selling?

Thanks. Yep old style blue V5. I'm bought it off an old guy who I think has probably just binned the new V5 when it arrived not knowing what it was. Anyway took it to the post office and taxed it no issues, she seemed to do a lot of tapping on her computer so not sure if it will be the same for everybody because I have a real good post office who will bend the rules sometimes.

I'm buying a car of a private punter and he only has the old style V5, I'm selling the car onto another customer who was in at the weekend so need to tax it. Can I still tax it on old style V5 at the post office? Thanks

Had the same thing last month.....Merc B-Class auto, got it back and after MOT'ing, servicing and the rest of the prep it came up with the dreaded "transmission fault visit workshop". After a few days of agonising it went back to auction where it lost me £650 after fees and all other costs or I could have had it repaired at around £800 - £1200 and hope to have broken even. My thoughts were I can turn that money around a coupe of times while I was just waiting for it to be repaired.

My enthusiasm for the sale drops when their 1st question is what's your best price? I always answer along the lines of if you want the cheapest it's not the car for you, if you want one of the best then we can talk a little further. It either gets a response along the lines of calling me a dickhead or they ask what I mean and then I go onto explain my preparation process and the highlights of the car - 1 owner, fsh, etc I had a similar call over the weekend on a 1 private owner, 60k, full beemer history, 320 ES and the car is all but immaculate. He went on to tell me how he could buy the same car £1000 cheaper 20 miles away. As the conversation went on he'd already been to look at the car and it was a little rough, 85k miles, 4 months MOT etc etc so not the same car. He made an appointment to come and view mine, never showed up and when I followed him up yesterday he'd only gone and bought the other car - I did remind him what he'd told me on the phone and he said he was going to tidy it up over time!! It always sticks in the back of my mind when this happens that why do I bother MOT'ing and servicing every car, referbing the alloys, touching in the stone chips, doing the bumper scuffs etc etc but then when I go to visit another local dealer who just sells them as they come and the amount of customers that turn up, get out their cars, walk around for 2 minutes pointing at all the dinks and scuffs and then drive off that I win more than I lose doing the job right!!

I went to collect a part exchange from a main dealer today and I'm glad I wasn't a customer because their was a bit of a frosty atmosphere - when I'd finally got to chat to the general manager he'd done his nut because they'd blanked all weekend but had plenty off footfall - apparently they had completed an order with a customer but he went outside to get his wallet from his car to pay the deposit and wasn't seen again - now I've heard some excuses from customer but never had one do a disappearing act on me!!

Morning, my price rang is similar up to around £7000 and I was increasingly getting asked for finance so I got myself FCA regulated. It looks a complicated process but its fairly straight forward once you get into it and the helpline is surprisingly helpful. If you're a bit slack with paperwork I'd leave it alone because when it comes to reporting time it can be a bit of a nightmare unless you have everything to hand. The only other thing to check is, is it worth the money? Are you going to sell enough cars on finance to cover the cost of FCA registration and the fees? Like everything else it this trade I have some months where everything is sold on finance and then a few months where I hardly take a prop. There is an option to become accredited to a finance company and sell under there registration, I know a couple of guys who've looked into this and found it very hard to get somebody to work with, add to this zero finance commission, being tied to one finance company and there underwriting criteria and it doesn't look as attractive.

1 sold - Ford Focus 1.6 LX - 30 days in stock - 55reg minter with only 40k and FSH and not had a serious enquiry - on Friday I reduced it by £150 and could have sold it 3 times over today - just shows how price sensitive customers are at the minute. 1 guy in with £1500 - £2000 to spend on a Mondeo size diesel no older than 2007 and no more than 80k miles - I tried to educate him but he wasn't listening and told me he's worked the last 20 years as a produce buyer for Del Monte so knows a thing or two about negotiating - he'll end up buying some death trap just out of an auction and onto the forecourt Couple in with a Punto Evo - looks a nice car but they have 2 great big hairy dogs that looks like they've being living in the back of it and the car stunk - they was looking at a new in stock BMW 320 so I told them politely that I didn't want there part exchange Packed up at 2 - and went to watch the mighty Scunthorpe United tear Crewe apart!! 2 Appointments this morning and then off at 2 to play golf - it's quite but I don't let it get me down :-)

Last month I had two customers in the space of hours turn up with there blue disposable gloves, rag and torch one seemed to know what he was talking about but the other, after been left alone for 45 mins thought the head gasket had gone on a 407 because the coolant was a funny colour and smelt odd. Confused I went outside with him and he pointed me in the direction of what he thought was the expansion tank only to point to the washer fluid where the previous customer obviously liked to fill it up with cherry smelling screen wash!! Both bought the cars

My insurance covers for unaccompanied demo's but I've never done one yet, I normally get a good bit of info out of them on test drive and always persuade them to take it a little bit further than they originally wanted. It amazes me how many of my local dealers only take them a couple of miles though town and never get out of 3rd gear. On a side note, what's the worst test drive you've been on? Mine has to be a mid-20's lad in a Z3 who I asked to pull over and stop because he was scaring me so much - drove it like an absolute nutter!!

"just need to check the insurance" normally from 40 year old couple that could insure a Ferrari for £300 a year!!!