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Hi Guys, new to the trade and I’m starting in the next few weeks by selling from home. My budget for my first car is around 18-20k. I have ran a couple of successful businesses in the past but to be honest I don’t like them they just make money but cars have been my passion and joy for years. I’ve done a fair amount of research and have spoken to a few people but there is still some gaps in my knowledge that I would appreciate you guys helping me out with so firstly its been mixed advise advise on whether or not to get motor trade insurance and set up a Ltd business from the get go? For the V5C when buying and selling how do I fill out the form so i don’t own the car personally as I don’t want to add another owner to the list if that makes sense. Cheers Oli

I have been in motor trade for 2 years on part-time basis. I cannot seem to find right source of stock. i registered with bca auctions. their stock sells at retail price in auction hall then with buying fees and delivery it leaves no margin for profitnat all. I purchased 4 cars from bca on silver card and sold all 4 of them in Losses of £200 to £500. Manheim is also the same . The only Few cars I made profit on were bought from private sellers for which I had to travel 100s of miles. I have only been able to cover my losses and expenses in past 2 years. I would realy appreciate anyone could point me in right direction.I want to become full time trader once a right source of stock is found. Hope to hear from genuine traders.

Hello all! Hope everyone is well! Thought we would introduce ourselves before posting on here. We are a bodywork garage based in Birmingham, we buy cars via salvage, repair and then sell! We’ve recently started working on just our own cars as we’ve experienced a lot of headache and no appreciation when doing jobs for customer cars. Starting has been tough as a lot of people aren’t too keen or comfortable buying category cars and we still need to try and find what model cars to specialise in and that’ll sell easily even as categorised cars. Excited about joining! This place looks like it’s full of a wealth of knowledge and lots of individual personal experiences!

Hi All, Newbie's here from South Wales. My partner, Ryan, has always been in and out of the industry. He's mid-twenties now and his father has always been in the car trade. I work in finance so no car expert! We've opened a small independent site just over a month ago after a friend (now landlord) decided he was calling it a day with his site here due to another big job opportunity and family commitments. Pretty much one stop shop here, workshop with tyre bay, 2 ramps, sales pitch and showroom and a detailing bay as that is Ryan's true passion and existing business. Not here to get rich quick or work 8-4, we're both realistic and aware of the sacrifices. But we're young so you've got to take a chance and work hard while you can! Mainly will be myself using the site but I will try and contribute where I can :-) Any advice is taken on the chin and greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kelly

Hi All My names Steve and i'm an alcoholic oops wrong forum. After living overseas for a few years and been buying and selling there I'm going to be chancing my arm here (very different market to the my previous, although i did buy and sell here many years ago) I've been reading the forum for a while and it seems there are lots of well informed people here which is why I've joined, I have a question regarding trade insurance. Had a few quotes in and have narrowed the choice down to two companies, Bollington and Geffion, has anybody had dealings with either or both of these and what were your experiences ?. Prices quoted were reasonable i think considering fully comp cover, 1 years NCB, trading from home, off road parking, personal car included, and stock value up to £5k. both companies came in around £1400. with what appears to be very similar policies, the only difference being one company supplying trade plates and an app for adding cars to policy. Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance Steve

Newbie to the forum and something of a newbie to the trade. I'm part of that "build up my business part time" brigade I'm afraid, been going about 3 months and sold 3 cars (all in January incidentally, has someone died in February? The motor trade, possibly?) I've been a lurker on here for a while now so thought I'd sign up and join in. Some really useful stuff on here so a collective thanks to everyone. My website is here; www.elitepreownedvehicles and I'd appreciate some critique of my adverts, I currently have 4 up for sale, all clean low mileage stuff (which is where I focus my attention although I'm tempted to start selling some of the lower end stuff as some on here seem to do well) but I've not sold a thing in almost a month now and I'm getting a bit impatient, anything obviously wrong with these? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?search-target=usedcars&radius=1&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&model=&price-search-type=total-price&keywords=&postcode=br12qf https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253417010663 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253417010663 I've got an ebaymotorspro account, I also use Motors.co.uk (although cancelled that as I don't think it's worth a carrot) and I do also use PAYG Autotrader. Cheers in advance for any advice!

Newbie to the forum and something of a newbie to the trade. I'm part of that "build up my business part time" brigade I'm afraid, been going about 3 months and sold 3 cars (all in January incidentally, has someone died in February? The motor trade, possibly?) I've been a lurker on here for a while now so thought I'd sign up and join in. Some really useful stuff on here so a collective thanks to everyone. My website is here; www.elitepreownedvehicles and I'd appreciate some critique of my adverts, I currently have 4 up for sale, all clean low mileage stuff (which is where I focus my attention although I'm tempted to start selling some of the lower end stuff as some on here seem to do well) but I've not sold a thing in almost a month now and I'm getting a bit impatient, anything obviously wrong with these? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?search-target=usedcars&radius=1&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&model=&price-search-type=total-price&keywords=&postcode=br12qf https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253417010663 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253417010663 I've got an ebaymotorspro account, I also use Motors.co.uk (although cancelled that as I don't think it's worth a carrot) and I do also use PAYG Autotrader. Cheers in advance for any advice!

Hi all, My wife and I are looking to start trading cars part time. I am a full time employed Project Engineer and my wife is self employed operating her own established business from home. Cars have always been a passion for us both and our circumstances now mean we may be able to try our hand at buying and selling on a relatively small scale. I did my apprenticeship many years ago as a car mechanic and HGV fitter and my wife runs a successful small business from home so we feel it is worth a shot for both of us as an avenue for potential extra income. Now as far as starting trading goes, I would like to ask what it is specifically that we should ensure we have before we start trading as I want everything to be above board and legal. So far I have the list of the following to cover: Motor Trade Insurance - I have already received what I feel is a competitive quote for fully comprehensive cover, including business use for my wife's other business. Trade Plates - Are these a specific requirement for traders or can individual vehicles be taxed in the interim? Warranty - Do we have to offer warranty on sales vehicles, especially if they are sub £1000 run arounds? Local Authority - We plan on using our home as our base trading 2-3 cars per month in a ideal world and not looking at big value sales. Do we need to register with the LA specifically? Buying and sourcing - We plan to use local car auctions, eBay, gumtree and even Facebook to source vehicles for sale until we establish ourselves. Advertising and sales - Auto trader, eBay, Facebook, and possibly our own website and Facebook page in future. My main concerns at the moment are really over the trade plates and as to whether they are a necessity as we start buying maybe 1 or 2 cars in our first month. I will be looking to source locally to us and try quick flips to get into the swing of things. Also I am concerned about whether we need to offer a warranty on vehicles sub £1000 sale price or whether the terms sold as seen. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Dan Apologies I have just noticed this should be in the FAQ forum. Can this be moved accordingly?