BCA Grades = which CAP grade?

[MrV 66]

Chaps which BCA grades match CAP clean/average/poor etc? for example I would assume BCA grade 4 would be CAP average or BCA grade 2 CAP Clean?

[trade vet 704]

8 minutes ago, benjiv50 said:

Chaps which BCA grades match CAP clean/average/poor etc? for example I would assume BCA grade 4 would be CAP average or BCA grade 2 CAP Clean?

 Ben

You don’t need to bother with grades.Work out your selling price and work backwards,you are not buying online.

[EPV 631]

As a rule of thumb grade 1 and 2 would be clean, 3 and a good 4 average, and a bad 4 and 5 below. 

But you will see clean stuff going through at below and absolute sheds making retail money. 

 

[BHM 994]

7 hours ago, trade vet said:

 Ben

You don’t need to bother with grades.Work out your selling price and work backwards,you are not buying online.

+1.  Also aren’t gradings on the cosmetics? If so you’ll soon catch a cold paying top money for a car with a knackered clutch, bald tyres & shagged brakes.

[trade vet 704]

The thing about grading is it differs around the country.We could bid on a Grade 5 online confidently from Paddock Wood because it would usually be the equivalent of a Grade 2 at Glasgow.It is the sort of thing you find out the hard way but it is valuable knowledge to have.

[Nick M.K. 574]

Ben, the grading is (half) useful when you are buying online and almost irrelevant when you buy in an auction hall. 

While I am a huge fan of online buying I would not recommend it for a starting up dealer. 

Our job effectively is to buy Grade 2 cars at CAP Below or under. If you can do that consistently you can do well. 

[EPV 631]

29 minutes ago, Nick M.K. said:

Ben, the grading is (half) useful when you are buying online and almost irrelevant when you buy in an auction hall. 

While I am a huge fan of online buying I would not recommend it for a starting up dealer. 

Our job effectively is to buy Grade 2 cars at CAP Below or under. If you can do that consistently you can do well. 

And walk on water I expect 

[Nick M.K. 574]

10 minutes ago, EPV said:

And walk on water I expect 

Or to quote another start-up forum post: Learn to walk before learning to walk on water :-)

[Ocsltd 133]

1 hour ago, Nick M.K. said:

Our job effectively is to buy Grade 2 cars at CAP Below or under. If you can do that consistently you can do well. 

You must specialise in hen's teeth and rocking horse sh*t then?! 

[Nick M.K. 574]

4 minutes ago, twerp said:

 

Come on, really ?

Maybe for the occasional 10 year old car or something with the EML on but most of what you buy fits this criteria ?

My stock is 3-10 years old (sometimes older) and that's what I aim for, yes. I avoid Grade 1 as everyone wants them and gives me no scope to add value. I also avoid cars that need a lot of bodywork as both bodyshops I use are not 100% consistent in their finish quality, not even 90% unfortunately. 

EML on? On a 7-8 year old BMW? Sure. If the chain doesn't rattle I will sometimes take a chance depending on the fault code that BCA provide or if buying privately I scan everything. 

[Nick M.K. 574]

14 minutes ago, Ocsltd said:

You must specialise in hen's teeth

I don't specialise. 

I like Mercs but if I went to buy a Merc and I see a bargain Audi I'll buy it. 

1200-1300 cars a day at Blackbushe, there are always 2-3 exceptional buys among all the crazy high prices there. 

[Nick M.K. 574]

5 hours ago, twerp said:

No way you bought your BMW i3's at Cap Below !

I bought the first in Nov 2017 (64 reg, 4100 miles!) for £17K. Cap Clean was £19K, I don't remember what below was but it would've been more. Private seller. 

Second in Jan 2018 for £16900 (15 reg, 35K miles), Cap Clean was around £16400 so overpaid a little. There were only 5 in the whole of BCA

Then in Feb 2018 there were at least 30 i3s so my next one came in at £16K (15 reg, 20K miles) which was approx £1500 under Cap Clean, again not sure what below was. 

Then the killer. A 60K miler (huge miles for this car, 64 reg) for £12K with Cap Clean of over £14K. It was in retail condition too. 

And the last two in March and April, £16K and £18K respectively, similar miles around 20K, both 15 reg but one much higher spec then the other. Interestingly it's the lower spec car that gets more views at the moment... Go figure...

Also I'll tell you what I bought today: 

A 65 reg Abarth, 19K miles, stunning spec, black wheels, EML on, Cap Clean £8700, mine for £7900. Not quite Cap below but normally they go a fair bit above CC.