Rory RSC

I have done quite a bit of research in this area. The lenders you mention are good for sub prime but you also need a couple of the black box type company's who have pin code boxes fitted to the cars. You need to sell the cars at max advance whether that is calculated using cap or glasses varies lender to lender. Good stock profile suggested with the family favourites I would just be looking at stocking really basic models and average run of the mill stuff. Plenty of 7 seaters. It it is paperwork orientated and these sort of places make sure the customer has everything done and all proofs with them on the day, if they haven't the application does not get progressed ( my understanding) I see the customer expectations for aftercare being hard to manage. They are not going to want to spend any money or have any money to spend fixing their cars when things go wrong. Growing sector, spending equivalent to an autotrader bill on marketing I think would work and I think you could do very well. I would go for it and for me personally I would not completely rule out moving into this sector via separate business name and premises in the future.

I use hpi and for the benefit of having driveaway cover i think it is very good value. I did did call up to negotiate a rate a short while back and found them to be quite helpful and flexible and certainly had a saving at the end of the call. In contrast to my other bills HPI is not one that massively concerns me and I feel value is represented.

I'm in the office buying (trying anyway) online. Going to try and catch this live. For the auctioneer what further improvements with online buying do they see taking place ? Ie videos of cars / every car going assured etc Have a good show guys!

Is 7-14 days currently working for you ? We all want the shortest time on deposit as it helps cash flow. 99% of my stock is MOT tested and Serviced and fully prepped ready to drive away which tends to speed things up. I would hold a car for a couple of weeks especially if the customer was buying something That had been sat for a while but would rather that was the exception than the norm. Have you tried asking for larger deposits ?

We let customers place short term holding deposits of £100 for up to 48hrs that are advertised as completely refundable. If they turn up and simply dislike the colour or anything else about the car they get it back. I think we have had 3 people decide car is not for them and the good has far outweighed the bad. Normal deposit if they have seen car in person then yes absolutely not refunding it because of the loss of opportunity to sell elsewhere.

The main flaw with Icontrol is the prices it says you should buy a car in at. Tell your autotrader rep to load it up and sit and watch a bca sale with I control on. I hazard a guess that you won't be able to find a single car go through any sale for what I control suggests you should pay .

Tends to work quite well for me. You do get the odd customer who still leaps out of the test driving having said they are ready to buy today and said they love the car best they have seen who suddenly still has more to look at but that's just the nature of the job. Same token when someone is wanting to test drive the car and we have already laid a deal out . We ask directly if the car drives as your expect (which is where we know, or hope, it will) are you ready to leave a deposit/ do a deal today. I actually dont mind helping people who are just browsing if they state their intentions and explain they are just narrowing down what car they want. If it's quiet I don't mind getting them behind the wheel as that lack of pressure sometimes makes them return especially after they get pounced on in the main dealer environment.

Much quieter this week but been busy buying plenty of stock in. Fingers crossed weekends a good one.

Which business is it sparky? everything is pointing towards video being the best way to get some Facebook reach but I have tried to make a few videos and despite hitting the highs of an A level in media studies I just cannot get them to look like anything I actually want displayed on my Facebook/website.

Clickdealer. Just pick rick up the phone, ring them and their site will look fantastic for your stock. I'm sending you a PM with links to 3-4 places that use their websites that I think look great.

Anyone going this year ?

Thanks guys. Onwards and upwards.

If you have dyslexia then getting someone to write up the site is the best bet. We all have strengths and weaknesses and if we can people to assist with the parts we struggle with thats half the battle. Try clickdealer if the other website companies are not getting things done quick enough for you, with some of the nice stock you have a clickdealer site will look brilliant.

Couple of cars so far. Do any of you guys get real waves with the Zuto / CF24/7 stuff? Done 6+ in last couple of weeks prior to that nothing for ages. Funny old game.

I have replied stating the facts as best as possible. Its not made much difference and will give me a kick up the backside to get more people reviewing. I don't even mind a bad review if we have failed or let a customer down but touch wood we usually do resolve things before that type of thing happens. Nice to have somewhere to sound off anyway, onwards and upwards.

Askhole A person who constantly ask for your advice, yet always does the opposite of what you told them!

I think lots of advice has been suggested for this businesses website via here and AT Forum but not much has changed. I also think the person who has written it has possibly got a problem with writing maybe dyslexic or something so would not want to be so harsh. If that is not your strong point get someone else to help.

Don't Hold Back

Someone called Nathan phoned yesterday and enquired about a car we had advertised. A nice 1 series good price, good condition. Mentioned he had once been in the trade. Had a px and asked for a ball park figure, I asked how much he was looking for. 100k 07 A3 S Line. N4WMS Booked around 3800 clean. Retail £5395. Chap wanted £5500 and not a penny less. I said I would be unable to offer that kind of money for the car. Chap then said if he was a cash buyer what price would he get the 1 series for because he sure as hell wouldnt be paying the screen price. I politely explained the car was getting a lot of interest and I was unwilling to drop the price. 30 mins later a review pops up on google by author Nathan Sutton stating 'Patronizing sales staff, car not as described and awful after sales service'. I am sat thinking I have no record of any customer called Nathan Sutton so off I search. Still no customer. I have no ongoing complaints or issues with any customers full stop. So because a grown male adult didnt get his own way he left a false poor report on my business and I cant do anything about it. Basically I just wanted to moan because I am still annoyed about it today!

Agree with SC. This guy sure as hell would not be complaining if the car had flown an MOT and it was sat on his driveway with £200 profit in it

Yes just had a very busy period and my webstats were the highest I have ever seen them.

Had the busiest bank holiday weekend I have ever experienced. 14 cars sold Saturday/Sunday/Monday. No idea what kick started things but it just went crazy busy. Love the motor trade when I am selling, its busy and just can't beat the buzz.

The warranty is now done via autoprotect I think isnt it? Clutches despite any checks done on them will now be deemed to be a wear and tear item.

Completely agree with you on this one Wood. Their bronze check is laughable.

Thanks really fancy giving this a try.