Bluechip Classics

Morning all, I'm going full time in the new year and I've got pretty much everything covered in terms of setting up, but one area I'm a bit in the dark on so would appreciate your experience... Generally speaking, what percentage of your inventory do you turn over each month - i.e. from a pool of 10 cars say, how many would you expect to sell in a month? Appreciate this will depend somewhat on the type of stock and various other factors, but would be good to get a feeling so I can make some judgements on start up inventory based on my chosen market. Many thanks in advance, Pad

Yeah, I know!!!

Thanks Steve, should have said previously that buyer wants a manual... cheers

Interesting topic... My 2ps worth as a legitimate, part time trader who is not VAT registered is that I would have thought it would be quite a useful avenue for some of you guys to trade on stuff you wouldn't normally entertain stocking to people like me.. For example, I have a specific requirement for a 02-04 330ci convertible at the moment which I've cash waiting for and given its age I'm not sure many of you would want it and would be happy to move it on hassle free. Id be more than happy to provide trade insurance and copy of trade licence but that's all I have to show my legitimacy.. And the other thing is you only need to piss people off once on a forum and no one will sell to you again so it will self govern pretty well I'd have thought... cheers all, Pad

Thanks Steve, Does the Carpro polish behave itself in the colder weather? I used to use Menzerna which had a great work time but was really fussy when working below about 15 degrees ambient... 3M is better but still clags a bit. No heating in my unit!! cheers Pad

Thanks RS, appreciate it.. I'm a big fan of Collinite, agreed as a wax it is great value and it did last me a while, although when I was a bit of a detailing nerd I preferred to use a sealant for metallic paint to get the flakes to 'pop', but that's going a bit over the top for what I do now. I guess I've just got to the point where I need a fair few things restocking and I could continue as I was getting bits and bobs from different brands or just go down one route for ease.. to give you an idea of what my current preferences are: Wheels/Engine Bay/Interior Plastic Cleaning = Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner (diluted as appropriate) More grimey wheels = AutoGlym Clean Wheels General Shampoo = Meguiars HyperWash Clay = Sonus or Meguiars Machine polish = 3M Fast Cut & Finesse It Cleansers/Sealant/Wax = generally Zaino, but it doesn't like cold weather, Collinite, Glass = Meguiars NXT Glass Cleaner Tyres = Meguiars NXT tyre gel (smells great!) Plastic Dressing = tend to give a very light pass of autoglym bumper care tbh Leather = Zaino Convertible hood cleaning and Seal = Autoglym So you can see its a bit of a Frankenstein's Monster of a cleaning cupboard and I figured if I could cover most bases with single source and less products it would be easier to manage.. are there any other 'trade' brands I should consider other than Autosmart? Thanks again, Pad

Hi there, For those of you that prepare your own cars, do you have any good recommendations for product lines to use? I have over the past few years used 'detailing' products such as Meguiars, Menzerna, Zaino etc.. which look great but frankly it gets a little pricey when prepping more run of the mill cars so thinking of switching to something more trade-appropriate. I often see cars with Autosmart paper mats in them (yes, I know..), but is their gear any good? I'd rather stick to one supplier so I can just buy from one place rather than what I have been doing buying lots of different brands from different retailers. Thanks in advance, Pad

I'd expect it's because if some moisture has entered the car at some point, it's much harder to dry out because it's rolled up most of the time and the mould precipitates there and then grows up the unrolled part. P.s. I'm part time, not VAT registered and have a full time career. But you're welcome anyway..

Hello all, Interesting debate this; I’ve observed from the side lines and thought for a while before deciding to contribute because 1) I’m a noob and everyone knows they know nothing J and 2) I’m firmly in the part time trader category and I’m not here to stir it up or make cyber-enemies. I can see why some full time professionals might feel frustrated or aggrieved if they see part timers asking for advice and then not always playing by the same rules but I struggle to believe that manifests itself in any change to their bottom line. The total addressable market for second-hand cars is massive and quite segmented, so there is room for a lot of people to serve it. Margins are squeezed due to customers driving down prices (someone nailed it with the Voucher Generation comment) and suppliers maximising their revenue (why wouldn’t they, they also have businesses to run) and somewhere in the middle the best has to be made from it, which presumably, is the challenge and where the fun is and why people choose to run their own business! The conditions are similar in many markets and the challenges for the businesses serving them are the same too. Maybe a suggestion to reduce this frustration might be to have an Sticky about start-ups at the top of the page, so that the people that are interested in either doing part time or full time dealing have a reference point on their legal and financial obligations, along with some non-specific ‘things to consider’ and FAQs when coming in to the industry – this would probably head off 90% of the queries might even ensure that genuine ‘chancers’ stay off the forum as they are generally only interested in superfluous info anyway. Another possibility is to have a ‘part time’ or ‘start up’ section on the forum where the non-professionals can exchange information about their own challenges and exploits, with the pros dipping in as they wish to give guidance if they want to. This would also keep the professional area clean from the more routine questions. Anyway, just a couple of suggestions and I’ll shut up now J I hope this post is taken as intended and adds some value to the debate… Cheers Pad

Yep, it's like an addiction... Could be worse I suppose! Cheers pad

Hi there, no fear I won't be giving up my day job anytime soon! Can't afford to risk my house and kids food on a whim.. I'd only do full time if I had a fat redundancy cheque behind me as buffer! In the meantime, I may post some exploits of how it is going at the other end of the market that you guys operate, may bring back some memories for some! Cheers, Pad

Hi Umesh and thanks for the welcome. I agree 100% about it being about people.. I've been fortunate enough to travel extensively in my day job and I've learnt that building relationships is one of the most important things in professional life. I'm under no illusions about the difference between part and full time trading.. I've already told myself I wouldn't do it unless I had at least 12 months of my current take home salary in capital.. Half would be reserved for mortgage/bills/living and the other half for stock and overheads for 6 months... but I'm some way from getting that sort of money behind me!! Ideally I'd like to deal in modern classics, not concours but nice, unmodfied 80s/90s classics but I reckon I'd need to keep bread and butter stuff going to manage that, sourcing those cars is not easy! Cheers Pad

Hello all, Hope you are having a prosperous if rather rainy afternoon. Just thought I'd take a little time to introduce myself on this forum.. My (nick)name is Pad and for the last 15 years or so have dabbled in part time trading and brokering private sales. I'm a Manufacturing professional but my passion has always been cars and the trading has provided an outlet for that. Over the years I've traded all sorts from 500 smokers to 10-15k prestige and sports although my favourites are always 80s/90s modern classics... I never really make any decent money in my pursuits as I have to prioritise my day job but I enjoy it immensely and take a very professional attitude towards it. I recently brokered a Cayman for a private client and the buyer said she bought it from me because she felt so comfortable with me as a vendor, even though there was a cheaper one nearby in her preferred colour.. was really nice to hear! Anyway, I'm not particularly looking for advice at this stage, nor am I looking to go full time although that is something I aspire to if I ever get enough capital behind me and I get bored with the office job.. But not yet Just really here to say hello and I hope to be able to contribute in some way.. Cheers all! Pad