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Has anyone ever looked into developing their garage site into flats, houses etc as an investment??

Good morning fellow traders Im a London based dealer and like most traders out there we’re finding it’s a constant battle to buy resonably prices vehicles from auction to enable a reasonable profit. Can anyone tell me from their experience where in the UK is the best place to buy from auction, one would assume that the south east demands a premium? Also internet of physical auctions? Preference and why please? Your thoughts on a postcard please Lee

So. A little teaser for you: I have a regular, good spec, 1 year-old, 11k miles, white, City car in stock. Nice little thing, should have no issues selling it. But I thought i'd have a little mess around with the online selling price, just to see if and how the stats could be manipulated and, therefore, trusted (or not...) We're told endlessly how we have to make sure it's absolutely in line with the Market Price as decided by AutoTrader's Log of Rhythms, or whatever, as the better the price, the more chance of a sale... So I priced it up at the figure suggested (£8000) and achieved, over time, a daily average of 144 Search appearances and just 2 advert views. "This is not so good," I thought to myself, So, I changed a couple of things and have now had the car advertised without pictures at a different price and have generated a daily average of 2608 Search Appearances and 23 Advert views. 'Vs similar ads' my Search Appearances for this car are now +1007% and it's in the green for Ad views at +512% (apologies if you don't have AT Dealer Portal stats, but this is, apparently, a good thing). And it's sold. So, the question is as per the title: How much did I advertise it for to generate such high viewing figures?

When I started in sales way back in 1983 I was told this ... " Take as much profit out of a deal as you can when you sell a car , so when they return with any problems you simply smile and put them right !" How true is that ? If you don't make profit you can't look after them - , Doesn't matter how little you've made the customer always thinks you're still making thousands anyway .. so you might as well make thousands and if they have a problem .. smile, look after them .which in turns makes them happy, repeats, recommendations ! { Was trying to attach an image but failed, failed, failed )

I read with interest all the comments , mostly negative about Autotrader , their attitude, poor response, costs , and so forth , I'm ready to get my head shot off but here goes , some questions if I can get some truthful answers .. · Are you making more or less profit from car sales than you were last year? · Are you selling more or less cars than last year? · Are you getting more or less leads from Autotrader? · Why do YOU think you are getting less leads from AT? · Who or what type of business do YOU think is taking sales away from you? · Do you feel the used car market is very buoyant out there BUT you feel you are missing out on the piece of the action ? · IF you dropped advertising on AT -Would it affect your business ( Yes I know it will save you a fortune every month on bills ! } · HOW do you feel AT can help your business (without being able to lower the prices!) I'm with you guys the costs every month is crippling , but personally I've never had issues with attitude , or response from AT team, always been helpful and quick responses , yes sometimes I don't like the answers but that's business ! final thought , is that the 'used car' market is getting crowded with more and more dealers selling especially on line, non 'legit' sellers taking OUR business away or we're trying to compete on price = less profit PLUS cars being more complex costing us more to repair = less profit again. As mostly small independents we don't have 2nd/3rd avenue of income i,e servicing & repairs, added products so totally relying on 'car sales' , where as the bigger dealers/supermarkets etc get that extra top up. Are we looking at someone to blame? Don't forget the new legislation coming into force 1st October ! Just found my September 2003 -AT Contact £92.50 per week ! #GoodOldDays

Future of the 'SMALLER' independents Looking and reading all the articles it seems the bigger are getting bigger , and the smaller are getting swallowed up by the big guys! or going bust! so what happens to us ? the smaller independents ! what is the future ? will be survive ? are we all just surviving and paying the bills ? Are we all making sufficient to keep re investing or just about hanging on ..for another year? Seems a very mixed picture out there, most who do admit the 'truth' are saying are going from month to month- year to year and cannot see a rosy future , it pays the bills ! So who can help -if anyone ? is it getting the right cars from the right place at the right price? is it the marketing platforms and that they could be bringing more leads /sales for less costs? is the small independent doomed or is there ways to change and its going to be the 'RISE' of the small independents ! Any thoughts ?

Lost in yesterdays budget announcements, is the changes in the car industry. 22. Road tax will be reformed and the money raised spent on the road network The road tax system will be revised to make it fairer and sustainable. From 2017, there will be a flat rate of £140 for most cars, except in the first year when tax will remain linked to the CO2 emissions that cars produce. Electric cars won’t pay any road tax at all and the most expensive cars will pay more. Existing cars won’t be affected – no one will pay more for a car that they already own. The money brought in from road tax in England will be spent on England’s roads from 2020. The government will extend the deadline for the first MOT of new cars and motorcycles from 3 years to 4 years. Interestingly, what could this cost the industry?Will it extend the renewal cycle for those consumers who change just before the MOT?Will Lease/CH companies look to increase their average contract period to 4-years?How much will it cost those who rely on MOT work for income?Does it actually cause a change to the price you would pay for a used car - 3-4 year old, as the existing MOT won't influence it?How did you view these changes?

Just read this article , not sure if everyone has see it by Glass's Guide -AM interesting Reading , but what do you think? By Dr Richard Parkin It’s a competitive world in the used car sector, but despite the more positive news that the industry is predicted to grow this year, many dealers are still too focused on used car margins and aren’t paying enough attention to stock turn. Richard Parkin, Glass's Dr Richard Parkin is director of valuations & analysis at Glass’s, where he coordinates the editorial and analysis team. Prior to joining Glass’s in 2012, he spent six years as a strategy consultant at Ernst & Young, with a focus on the automotive industry. To maximise profitability, dealers should be focused on the profit made per forecourt space each week rather than on the margin made on a vehicle. Glass’s studied a basket of vehicles over the course of 2013, monitoring the trade and retail prices in each month for a three-year-old/36,000-mile example, along with the average selling days. Astonishingly, the typical difference between trade and retail prices in any given month varied by as much as 25%, or about £500 for a typical B segment car. However, once the average time elapsed between trade purchase and retail sale was allowed for, the actual achieved gross margin showed a more consistent picture. Such findings reinforce our view that trade and retail guide prices need to be derived from independently moving sources of data, otherwise this true behaviour is not captured. Why used car margins do not give dealers the full picture The chart, below, shows the trend in both the actual achieved gross margin and the profit per forecourt space per week for typical B and D segment cars. Glass's stock turn graph Notably, despite a broadly flat gross margin, the financial return on the B segment car to the dealer appears to have declined by about 40% over the course of 2013, from a rate of over £500 to just under £300 per forecourt space per week for a Ford Fiesta Zetec petrol as a consequence of a steady lengthening in the time needed to secure a buyer for such a car, most likely caused by the plethora of great new car deals for private buyers in that segment. By contrast and despite greater volatility, a typical D segment vehicle did not show the same level of decline, with a gross margin potential for a Vauxhall Insignia Exclusiv remaining around £600-£700 per week throughout 2013. However, “hidden discounting†through retail PCP deals has been less aggressive in this segment. It appears that dealers are unaware that the level of profits from certain vehicle segments has been in decline, and many have not adapted. This really brings into question what a dealer should be stocking; however, it will be necessary to stay ahead of the game as once enough dealers make the connection, prices and selling days will become less attractive as retail supply increases and consumer demand shifts elsewhere. Without the right data and systems, there is a real chance that the less informed dealer will be left with only the weaker opportunities.