XFS

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Posts posted by XFS

  1. Posted

    24 minutes ago, Arfur Dealy said:

    The advert says it’s in perfect condition 

    It would be a bit of a mission to get it here from Bulgaria and the chances of it not being damaged in transit....

    Also, it’s for a left hand drive model, so the tow hook cover plate is on the wrong side.

  3. Posted

    1 hour ago, Screenman said:

    Textured paint a doddle for any smart repairer, chrome trim just paint it black and it will never be noticed.

     

    9 minutes ago, EPV said:

    Get a new Bodyshop i’d Say. 

    Not as simple as it sounds. This is a 18k car and needs to be essentially manufacturers spec.

    painting the trim black would look ok, but this would mean painting ALL the trim on the car black which is no easy task and would end up more expensive than buying new parts.

    The only practical solutions are replace the parts or a high quality repair to the damaged areas specifically.

  4. Posted

    20 minutes ago, EPV said:

    Paint the valence/splitter the same colour as the body. I can’t see many noticing noticing that 

    If only. It would mean painting front trim and side trim also :(

    It started of as a car with a fair bit of profit in it to.

  5. Posted

    Just now, EPV said:

    My smart repairers paint plastic trim/diffusers. Bumpers are plastic of some sort of another, i can’t see why it can’t be painted. As for the “chrome” trim it’s probably plastic not chrome and will be best replaced. 

    Yes. the Chrome trim is plastic, I just wondered if it could easily be rechromed. The plastic bumper is textured, so would need to be retextured, not just repainted.

    Just trying to spend less than £500 on what is fairly minor damage. Had it been the painted part of the bumper it would have been a lot easier.

  6. Posted

    So, this morning I hops into a Merc ML350 to take it round to the bodyshop for some minor refurb. Despite having a reverse camera and parking sensors which go off like an air raid siren if you get within half a mile of anything, a low lying wall which has never moved before decided to proceed rapidly towards the rear of the car and then quite blatantly and deliberately cause some minor damage to the rear plastic bumper valance and trim.

    I have priced up replacement parts at £400 odd plus VAT. Then there will be £100 odd plus VAT in labour as I really can't be arsed myself.

    My question..have any of you experience off or knowledge off having plastic trim repaired and chrome trim rechromed? My bodyman doesn't do and doesn't know anyone who can. 

  7. Posted

    10 hours ago, tradex said:

    As I said in another post, the value is in the late gear.

     

    ..... the older cheapie gems all have gold bars in their boots and Faberge eggs in the gloveboxes. 

    I am aiming for the over 50's cash buyers who are comfortably off and probably voted for Brexit, and have bought stock which hopefully appeals to my target buyer in terms make/model/spec/milage and provenance. But we will see.

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    I,ve just come back into the trade after a couple of years. As we know, it’s all in the buying and buying decent stock has always been hard work, loads of miles, loads of wasted journeys looking at misdescribed shitheaps and loads of time standing at the block and spent online.

    Its taken me two days to stock up. 70k spent, 5 cars bought, all grade 1 and 2 and all appart from one at Cap below.

    Its been to easy. And that is what worries me. It’s never been easy to buy before, so that leads me to believe it’s going to flipping near impossible to sell. I should be excited. Now I,m worried that I should have kept my money in the bank and stayed out of it.

  9. Posted

    8 hours ago, TangoVictor32 said:

    But there have been incidents when it isn't instant or isnt paid within 2 hours.

    The small print clearly says "faster payment bank transfers can take up to 2 hours but usually are much sooner* "

    * it can take longer if any checks are done.

    Yet a lot of people think they are instant. "I sent money to myself or my mum and she got it instantly"

    Yes they are only instant if you have sent money to that person before. But can take bloody ages if the banks do a check which they DO regularly in order to monitor fraud and crime!!

     

    I did say in another topic on here that people dont read properly :lol:

     

     

    Almost invariably recognised U.K. banks, Barclays, Lloyds, RBS etc are instant or even if there are security checks, very quick.

    The banks which can give problems are HSBC or Santander.

    I always ask customers who bank with one of the foreign banks to either make the payment before they arrive or allow for having to hang around until the payment clears.

     

  10. Posted

    2 hours ago, David Horgan said:

    When you get busy and sell to more customers , you seriously haven't the time for bank transfers , as much as I like them for being free I cannot justify not having a card terminal .

    Today 3 customers all together , two finance applications , both wanted to pay deposits on card  , The other guy wanted to pay debit card and go , Card terminal was hot to take £12,000 + and enable the customers to collect and go .

    I haven't got the time to check payments have gone in , cant be asking people to wait for clearance as I want them gone too , Got things to do eg ; next customer , prepping , tel calls , emails , loading stock , and all the other jobs we all have in this industry . 

    The more business you put through a card terminal the more companies want your business and will lower their rates A LOT to get you on board . 

    98% of our sales are debit cards for either deposits , finance deposits or total sales , 2% is bank transfer or cash and normally its the small stuff "PX and such " that's a cash or transfer . 

    We DONT take credit cards for car sales though the exception is  for "service invoices eg , tyres  , selling polishes  , Cloths , Number Plates and Engine services , repairs , diagnostics and such ." then I don't mind Credit cards . 

     

    So the answer is , depends on how busy you are as to if you can manage without a terminal . Wouldnt entertain the weird types of card jobbies personally , cash , transfer OR a bona fida terminal from eg Barclay card and the rest of the others , Payzone , transax etc 

    Just my view mind . 

    I understand what you write and for a business turning over several cars a day, dealing with finance, employing staff etc, I would guess a card reader is essential. But the OP stocks 3 cars. 

    I personally try to avoid anything other than the bare necessities because I don’t want complications or additional overhead, I simply want the customer to turn up at the appointed time and make their payment. The next one won’t be due for a couple of hours, so there is plenty of time. I guess if I ever stocked more than a dozen cars or allowed walk- ins then I would have a card reader to.

  11. Posted

    19 hours ago, Arfur Dealy said:

    Never needed a card machine in 30+ years. Bank transfer 90% of the time because its free, or cash for those who have just sold theirs and have a wad.... Not interested in a card machine, definitely not interested in those who only pay by CC..... 

    +1

    Bank transfer is so easy nowadays and free.

    But I guess it depends on the type of customer you are targeting.

    I suppose nowadays people do buy cars on CC

  12. Posted

    Looks to me like the judge mishandled the case. You could appeal and also make a complaint against the judge to the JCIO - Judicial Complaints Investigation Office.

    As for the alleged fault with the car. There are all sorts of anomalies there, not least that there would not appear to be any proof that the fault ever existed.

    Judges have a duty to be fair and procedurally correct and are not immune from being held to account for misconduct.

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    Thanks for the replies.

    I guess not relying totally on this for my income, means I do have the luxury of not being under pressure to sell, which is essential if you want to pick and choose your customers I guess. Although having said this, I found previously failing to make a profit on a car really hurts and I don’t really remember the cars I made a big profit on, but I do remember very well the Porsch I lost money on. I have it as a screensaver on my phone to remind me.

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    7 minutes ago, justina3 said:

    Nothing wrong with target markets, i myself love the newbies as everyone else hates them we swallow them up. 

    Offer them a good service when they brake things which is often, and when they have done there first year with the black boxes they come back and upgrade.

    So bread and butter for me please nothing sporty nothing fancy c1/107/aygo fiesta / clio punto fox, golf, astra 

    You can also fix these with a bread knife and when you sell the same thing day in day out its quite rare to come across a problem you havent seen ten times over, so fixes are cheap and quick. 

    Also allows to slightly over pay in the auctions when you have 20 very similar cars its easy to make a tweak here and there buy the odd £100 which makes all the difference when your buying.

    Boring ....very but works for us.

     

     

    That’s a great reply. Interesting to see what works for others. 

     

    47 minutes ago, David Horgan said:

     

    How do you not sell locally , wait till the invoice is filled in and ask them to leave because your too close 

    I like all people providing they have the money to spend , not bothered about what they wear or if they are affluent or not . 

    Regards kids , well "man comes in and likes the car " ,  but wants to bring the wife/ girlfriend back  "it happens " they come back with two kids , at what age are they asked to leave ? 

    All the best in your chosen selling model though , hope it works well 

     

    Deposited appointments only. No walk ins or unappointed people.

    I am maybe exaggerating a little, but I tend to avoid selling to neighbours/people in the same Village or anyone I known.

    I say outright, please be aware, my place is not child safe or child friendly.

     

     

     

  15. Posted

    1 minute ago, Mojo121 said:

    That'll work wonders for the friendly car dealer image :lol:

    What went wrong last time?

    I have certain cars here and I think "little old lady will have that" "1st driver" "maybe someone looking to lug stuff around" ... I'm very very rarely right so I've stopped guessing. I just like easy-going customers that aren't entitled picky arseholes.

    Nothing went wrong, just got fed up with the space I had, couldn’t find the right set up, so took some time out in the sun.

    Lol...I,m not friendly, I,m a miserable C*nt.

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    I see loads of tales of woe on the forums.

    Who are your target markets ?

    Im in the process of setting up again with the same target market as previously.

    I am only interested in affluent pre family individuals or post family/kids all gone people.

    Dont do families, sub-prime, finance, time wasters of any description. Kids are simply not allowed on the premises. Try and avoid local customers to and won’t sell to anyone I know socially.

    Rules out the majority of potential buyers I guess, but previously I rarely needed more than one per car.

    I am pretty brutal in assessing customers....if I sense a pest, they don’t get further than an email or phone call.

  18. Posted

    7 hours ago, akhtar said:

    tangovictor, the funny thing at auctions is A car that retails at £2500 sells in hall for £2200 pluss fees + delivery. so even when i stop bidding at £1500. there are other big traders who keep taking it up. My trade insurance is due for renewle mid april. I really do not feel like renewing.

    You are looking at the wrong cars. Most of us couldn’t or wouldn’t bother competing for the cars everybody wants.

    There is no easy road, you need to learn what to buy and to do that you need to learn about what you want to buy. 

    At the start it’s risky and time consuming and you will lose money, but then you will gain the knowledge to make a profit.

    I am at a different end of the market from you, but I know what I have a chance of buying because I know what to take a risk on and what to avoid.

    EML on puts people of, but there are certain cars you can gamble on because it’s nearly always a quick and easy fix. Things like Small dents in nearly all panels gets a poor grade and lowers the price, but if you know your stuff in terms of whether the dent guy can fix them easily, then it may be a very cheap repair.

    There we’re certain models of convertible I would buy with the roof inoperative because I knew what the likely cause was and how cheaply I could fix it.

    Can you fix minor scratches without spraying, can you compound polish a car? Do you know how to get rid of smells?, can you clean a roof lining? Can you make a decent repair on a leather seat?

    There are many things you can do yourself to add value and that’s where your money is.

    Standing at an auction and trying to buy a ready to retail car and expect to make a profit on it? Why do you think you can do that? Why would any of the established guys let you. Oh, here you go old chap, you take the profit on this one. Not going to happen.

  20. Posted

    Another thing. I don’t know how complex this case is, but if it’s important...ie a lot at stake, it may be worth running all the paperwork passed a solicitor even if you are representing yourself. The outcome of many cases rest on paper and procedure.

    For example, has the plaintif complied with everything is respect of sending you copies of the relevant documentation within the timescales etc.

  21. Posted

    Assuming it’s a County Court. My experience is that it’s pretty informal for civil cases. If you are absolutely sure of your facts and the legalities and feel you can present a good case, do it yourself. Some judges allow lay persons quite a lot of leeway. It pays to be well dressed, respectful and never get angry or confrontational and never, never argue with the judge. My view is that if you are able to represent yourself, you have a better chance of winning. Civil case rest on the balance of probability and who the Judge believes as well as evidence. A good impression counts for a lot.

    Also, if the other party is being represented, be wary of them, you may we’ll meet up in the ante room before the case. Don’t let anything slip which helps the opposition. Their agent may be very friendly and try to get a handle on you, just be careful what you say.

    proceduraly, the judge will keep you right. You will probably be in a small court room sitting at opposite sides of a table, it will be very informal.

    if you feel you want to represent yourself but are a little unsure of certain aspects, you could take a lawyer along as advisor. They would sit with you, but would only be there to advise on legal points not represent you.

    Good luck!

    • Like 3

  22. Posted

    There are no magic formula really. The basics are the same for every small trader. You have to have some idea what is likely to sell in your situation and how to market your stock to people likely to be interested. And most importantly you have to know what the likely selling price of the car you are intending to purchase is, what you are likely to spend on making it saleable standard, and then make sure you can buy it at a price which leaves you a sensible margin. If there is no margin walk away. You will waste a lot of shoe leather walking away, if your doing it right.

    We are all essentially fishing from the same ponds, some people have the knack for catching fish, others do not. Patience and persistence is key. And once you have caught the fish, it’s no good to you unless you have a ready market to take it to.

    I don’t mean to be brutal...I,m sure others will be. If you have not figured it out how to catch some fish in 2 years, then maybe it’s time to put the rod down and find something more suited to your talents.

    • Like 1

  23. Posted · Edited by XFS

    I suppose forums are a bit like the pub. Get away from the wife for a few hours of macho bullshit fantasy and then go home and be normal.

    The difference is what is said in the pub is forgotten as soon as you go out the door. What is written on a forum swirls around in cyberspace forever and can give an entirely false impression of who the person really is.

    This forum is viewable by the public. 

     

    36 minutes ago, Dave2302 said:

     

    Absolutely spot on 100% agree, XFS should take a look at the videos she did when she was younger ....................

    :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

    If the Wee Free’s up there catch you watching those type of videos, you’ll be burned at the stake....mainly so they can have them.

  24. Posted · Edited by XFS

    So, are you guys ok with builders wolf whistling and making lewd comments when a girl with a short skirt passes by and stuff like that? ie. she is wearing a short skirt so it’s open season?

    Maybe I have misread something. I thought I was pretty normal and had a normal adult viewpoint. 

  25. Posted

    I don’t really like the tone of some of the comments on this thread. Hopefully, the lady in the picture or her family will not see this. 

    Its all very well having a laugh and mocking the car, the photo, the place, the impression the add gives, but not the Lady, she only posed for a picture.