betginge

I think with all the SUV's and MPV's on the market the estate car has taken a hitting, But likewise I still sell them and will buy them. I have noticed that they seem to be getting cheaper to by at the block near me. 3 series tourers are a nice thing and passat estates are always a winner to.

I have just had to let a member of staff go before Xmas ( horrible me, worse then Scrooge). Really he talked himself out of his job when trying to blackmail me for the umptinth time. Borrowed money that go out of control, started at £50 a day before payday to £100 to 150 and so on over the months, then went to wanting £500 for Xmas and pay back 20 per week lol. Kept being late, and not even showing in, when you challenged him he would never admit he was in the wrong and that he had an emergency and could not get hold of anyone. Daft thing was he was a great worker who we had no issues with for over a year but the last 6 months were hell, worrying if he was going to drop us in the shit everyday by not showing up. We wrongly thought that getting rid would cause big issues for us. In the end the final straw came when he wanted to borrow that £500 and then asked for his holidays over Christmas and when told he had used them all over the year kicked up fuss and wrote some childish comment on Facebook. That was it, I realised that a small hardship to us would be worthwhile if it meant getting shot of him. I got him in the office over this comment and spat he had over the holiday pay where by he stated that if I don't give him the holidays he would be leaving. Ok then pal, get your tools and leave, still thinking I would back down he packed up and went home. He then rings 2 days later asking for his job back. Errrrr no Some workers do not realise how well they have it, he was well paid to but didn't realise until it's to late what he had. He is still asking staff members if I will take him back but that will not be happening. Got new mechanic two days later who is on more money than his previous job but less than what I was paying the other fella. Works hard too.

Get the sales in wile you can According to the experts as reported by car dealer magazine we are in for a rubbish year and a slow down for 2017. Might be the case for the main agents who are registering cars like there going out of fashion. But in the real world of the local used dealer I cant see anything on the horizon to suggest otherwise. I am off until 3rd Jan, Dont get much time off so i am milking it for a few days. Next year for us a big year with a new site to stock and run, so few days of peace before the madness begins. 2 sales on new year eve, not bad White stone, Now if you got two in on new years day I would be very impressed.

How weird is this we did sell a car on xmas day, however technically it was not on site, the customer rang up about it. The car was with the farther in law who was borrowing it. (Only cheap banger mondeo TDCi) They popped over and he dealt them within 10 mins. full asking price. Metcars. did the punter come back and deal on boxing day ??

Hi all (Picture this Jonny) Customer is approved for finance and ready to roll, the only issue is the driving licence is lost, Now i don't want this customer going home trying to find it and think about the deal over a brew and a nice chat with the wife. Now i Know you can check a licence via the .gov. site but only if the customer first goes on and issues the check code, But the customer would need to know there drivers number, which is on the card that's lost. ??? How do we get the number, Can the customer ring dvla and obtain it along with a check code ??? The idear being to keep the customer on site, get the details, file over to finance and wave them off into the sunset. ( Ideally in one of my lovely motors) Lee

Same issue with me on a civic part ex, a crappy old shape 3 door civic 2001, owes me nothing. was told to stick it on gumtree the local youth are really into these old civic's. Well they were not wrong whacked on for part ex to clear £395 must of had 20 calls, ive had 4 lads look at the car wasting my time everyone said they were buying it, off they go never to be seen again. 1 or 2 yes, but 4 buyers going quiet ??? Anyhow it went this morning, young lad with his dad, deposit paid, collect tomorrow. Was in to minds to advertise it as its an old banger but just shows some old cars are worth sticking out there still, in fairness it did drive exceptionally well. also sold a fiesta today, 5 door in maroon, YUK !!!! think they buyer was colour Blind. Nice little earner.

1. Agree with Above, Franks should be Avoided Like Plague 2. Stop letting staff members take the piss out of my good nature 3. Frank is definitely a Bastard

I know two other people called Frank, both are a pain in the arse. Moaning, Mithering Lying Bastards Top Tip, (To Be Frank) Don't Trust a Frank

Me too, done a golf gt, a bmw 3 series and ka since Friday. Got punters on a 5 door fiesta thats well prices, and a banger civic, old 3 door shape Ive had nothing but boy racers on biddng me in the balls for it. One rang earlier on to ask why it was so cheap, ''Whats wrong wit it'' Nothing I reply, just cheap part ex to clear. Ok Whats the lowest on it then pal ??? HANG ON A MIN, YOU WERE MOANING IT WAS TO CHEAP A FEW SECONDS AGO

Heard things about the gasket fix, does work to a degree on some types of HG fails. Also agree the wynns or tin of wynies as i call it for the lifters is a good. always flush the oil with an additive on the vauxhall engines that are prone to non regular oil changes due to long life oil used, which punters think lasts for 500 years.

It will be the forte cleaner thats done its magic. great stuff that cleaner

Slightly off subject but a trade lad used to bring us ex police cars from BCA for mot and prep. You would not believe how much drugs we found stuffed down the seats on nearly every single car. Let me tell you now the police do not check these cars correctly Mostly weed, but also coke, and even crack once. Needles to say it all went in the bin.

Bought a 260K 2007 VW Touran TDi today from the block, looks like its done 90k lol, lovely clean car. Clearly been a taxi and not the sort thing i would buy, but £500 ??? No brainer, Might clock it and give it the Wife lol she think I have splashed out big time. On a serious note it drives lovely, and the sort of thing I can flog to a taxi firm £995 trade sale. There can be money in high mileage cars, last week i hesitated on a 2010 passat TDi with 170k on it, few stone chips but overall clean car for mileage, it did £1200 sold. Kicking myself now.

Sold a Chevrolet Karlos today on a 2006 plate, these really are worthless pieces of crap but a cheap runaround for someone that still looks modern ish. What more do they want lol from a PX to clear. Daft thing is it sold in 24 hours of going on sale, and via facebook so no add on autotrader #winnerwinner_Chicken_dinner

If your Wife is giving you grief, spending your money on F*king shoes etc, Quick Fix Take a Spade To the back of her Skull and bury her under the flags, I saw it on brookside, Not yet gave it a try myself but any day now

107 & C1's seem to sell fast when have them on the books, Never get any Aygo's they seem to command more money which is odd as there the same car made in the same factory. I find 5 Doors sell better if that helps

There are just not enough DVSA inspectors to go around giving fines out for defective vehicles, they are more interested in commercial vehicles and inspecting hgvs etc than the average joe on his way to work in his fiat panda. You may see some action taken in the big cities to make a point but in reality the DVSA are over stretched due to massive cuts which have seen a big drop in staff numbers and others being pensioned off. The chances of spot checks by the local inspector these days are very slim than they were five years ago. They rely on the public now to shop dodgy mot tests or unfair outcomes via the hotline so dvsa pick them up there on the appeal system and send a inspector to check it over. The caravan test was also to include trailers over a certain weight but it was a non starter, there is a check in the current mot test for tow bars, making sure they're secure and no corrosion etc. We do have to check electrics on 13 pin Euro style plugs only, normal UK 7 Pin are not tested with our machines. As you can guess have never once tested tow bar electrics or ever come across a 13 pin trailer socket

I am tester and run a VTS station, have to say we here this rubbish every year of introductions of new testing equipment and it never happens. To make this work a mot station would need to update its smoke head unit at thousands of pounds and the dvsa will not run this without resistance. If it was to be introduced it would be done with 1-2 years notice when the Euro Vi Diesel comes in as all the diesel testers will need to be updated then, can't see this coming into the test before 2019 and that's if they run with it. Department of transport used to issue these press releases threatening mot stations to upgrade the testing equipment to fully automated lanes, saying they were going to make it mandatory to upgrade, many did at the cost of £20-£30k and now after 8 years of its coming in soon, turns out it's been dropped. I saved thousands as I did not believe their propaganda. Some more of Departments transports big ideas that never happened Caravan testing to be introduced kwik fit carrying out the mot training refreshers, lol yes this was looked into

Well that answers my question Many thanks First Response for getting back to me, You will be hearing from me soon. Be interesting to hear other dealers views on FR or issues they may have been having now they have joined the forum

Cheers Sparky I cant seem to pin down what the vehicle age criteria is, The reason i ask is I am thinking of using them and I have a nice clean 59K Zafira petrol on a 2006 06 that's ideal for sub prime finance customer. None of the other sub prime lenders go that far back but was told FR do finance older vehicles. I could deal this zafira out easy if the finance for sub prime is there for a decent retail Price. If not it will be cash retail and will have to drop the price to compare against others locally and will take longer to shift. anyone has any further info be grateful

Hi Guys can anyone tell me what the vehicle age criteria is for first response, I know the mileage policy but not how old of vehicle they will finance and what term etc. Also be good to hear reviews from dealers of the service, commission kickbacks, and reject rates. Lee

White used to be known as 90 Day White, as that's how long they used to stay on the pitch. Not these days, white is money maker

Sounds a plan, I buy a lot of cars then block them with some good results, no annoying customers moaning when there brake pads are metal to metal after 3 months wanting a full refund as i've sold them a death trap. Some cap / glass prices are crazy, Corsa D's are an issue for me, trying buying a clean one at cap in my local auction, you can't. And the issue is even when you get one for right sort of cash the retail cap is miles out, I would love to achieve some of these retail cap prices but in reality is doesn't happen.

The daft thing is the big firm's that always win these awards never contribute to this forum, OP as the exception to this rule. Although they are mentioned by us from time to time, normally in the Dealer Auction Tales, they are happy to stitch us up with clonkers some of the big firms, Good job we're on to them . No I will not be attending, Although one day I dream of being nominated, even if it's for the quietist dealer award, A Prize is a Prize

Letter sounds fine to me, not sure about the consent for removing the cluster. Remember this is the customer's car, that line comes across that he needed to ask you to do what he wants to his own vehicle. Maybe just stick to the point that he removed the cluster which could cause damage, he was not technically trained and has interfered with the vehicle which is why you're not prepared to have the vehicle repaired yourself, but are willing to cover the cost of the part he suspects it is ect as mentioned (or Refund) I suspect he will want to keep the car and have it repaired, I don't think he wants to go down the refund option once he is aware you have sold his swapper and you can take £750 off him which he is going to find it difficult to argue against without taking you to court at very high risk of losing that point.