Part-time Trader

[Rory RSC 596]

6 minutes ago, Arfur Dealy said:

 

EPV, has gotton off his arse and has made it happen for himself, he's made his own successful business work for him. These are the type of newbies I like to help.  You can't be mothered / mollycoddled into learning this trade - it has to come from within. AD 

The best way to get started is just to do it. There will never be the perfect time, you will never have enough money or enough stock or anything else but the key is getting cracking, getting stuck in and learning. learn what works, what sells, what doesn't what attracts good customers and what attracts the bad. 

Starting part time is fine, doing a few on the side is fine basically you are arranging appointments at times to suit you around your other job.

A lot of it is mindset, are you a positive person who looks on the bright side and finds ways of doing things, overcoming challenges and getting shit done or do you throw in the towel at the first hurdle and blame others. Got to be really critical in business often of yourself and identify your own shortcomings.

If partnering with someone make sure you are not both doing the same thing. There is no point. Find someone who has strengths in areas you don't.

[Darkbluecars 10]

3 hours ago, Jaime said:

EPV. I understand everything you say. I just hate toxicity. Just dont bother coming onto this thread or bother typing out a message if your just going to be like a bitter old man.

I'm sure we all needed help when we first started and that's what I'm here for.

I haven't just come on here after a day of thinking about car-trading. I've been looking and scanning through, I read the same stuff over and over but there is nothing better than speaking to actual people who do what you want to do.

Thanks for your input anyway. Really appreciate it.

I think the questions you've asked could be resolved pretty easily with a few equiries yourself, the advice you're getting from some might seem blunt or toxic but it reflects the reality of business in a very tough arena. If you don't like toxiity or confrontation you may find it a difficult job. It's one thing having a dealership behind you when dealing with angry customers it's another having them come to your home shouting the odds. If you've got family or a partner it's worth bearing mind. Most customers are fine but you have to consider you're inviting complete strangers into your home and there are some crazy people out there. 

Some dealers who have been operating for some time do get a bit impatient with new entrants as there are so few barriers to entry anyone thinks they can do it. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Darkbluecars

[Arfur Dealy 823]

17 minutes ago, Darkbluecars said:

Some dealers who have been operating for some time do get a bit impatient with new entrants as there are so few barriers to entry anyone thinks they can do it. 

And they think it’s easy money

[Firefighter Wash 1]

As a brand new trader myself I’m not entirely sure you’re approaching this in the right way, I spent over a week trawling through the forum to do what research I could before asking any questions.

I was in a partnership (not this trade) and it turned ugly, was great until money got involved, his ideas of running a business differed to mine, he ended up clearing the business account! Needless to say I went on my own after this.

I am finding this trade tricky, I get some stuff that shifts quickly and other bits hang around, main issue for me is I can’t hold enough stock due to storage, as in most businesses you learn from mistakes (normally open wallet surgery).

A good accountant is a must in any business.

 

 

[awc1000 93]

regards being salty and toxic, well its no wonder really is it because - you work for skoda which is one of the best franchise's to work for - good growth and decent wages, yet you slate your employer and begrudge them profit even after they have invested in you and employed you for four years , you also state you source stock from facebook and the like, in other words you are selling junk on the side, that's fine but yet you also claim you want to give great customer service but you are asking about warranty issues after you have started selling so i'm guessing you currently offer zero cover, you have even asked about trade insurance so i'm guessing you have none even though you mention you have / are already selling cars so you are in reality already taking the p*ss.

so when one of your customers you claim you are going to look after rings you with a problem during the day - do you answer the phone at work and take the p*ss out of your employer or ignore the call and take the p*ss out of the customer?

nobody begrudges someone trying to improve themselves or their lifestyle, find the right ethics and you will get all the help you need on this forum from a bunch of nice folk who are happy to help and know what they are talking about, you will probably have gathered by now the trade hate nothing more than people not paying their dues or not doing the job right hence the broad spectrum of comments you are / will be getting.

note - above comments are just an opinion - but based on what you have told us.

[Arfur Dealy 823]

20 minutes ago, awc1000 said:

regards being salty and toxic, well its no wonder really is it because - you work for skoda which is one of the best franchise's to work for - good growth and decent wages, yet you slate your employer and begrudge them profit even after they have invested in you and employed you for four years , you also state you source stock from facebook and the like, in other words you are selling junk on the side, that's fine but yet you also claim you want to give great customer service but you are asking about warranty issues after you have started selling so i'm guessing you currently offer zero cover, you have even asked about trade insurance so i'm guessing you have none even though you mention you have / are already selling cars so you are in reality already taking the p*ss.

so when one of your customers you claim you are going to look after rings you with a problem during the day - do you answer the phone at work and take the p*ss out of your employer or ignore the call and take the p*ss out of the customer?

nobody begrudges someone trying to improve themselves or their lifestyle, find the right ethics and you will get all the help you need on this forum from a bunch of nice folk who are happy to help and know what they are talking about, you will probably have gathered by now the trade hate nothing more than people not paying their dues or not doing the job right hence the broad spectrum of comments you are / will be getting.

note - above comments are just an opinion - but based on what you have told us.

LIKE 

[Tony911 79]

I think all the advice he is getting is not what he is looking for ladies and gentlemen, he is going to tell everyone to piss off and not message on his post if not being helpful

[Jaime 1]

WOW.

You lot have got the wrong end of the stick. 

Who said I am going to sell junk on the side? All cars will be fully prepped and put right before sale. My vision is going to be completely away from some of the dodgy traders that are out there.

In terms of warranty, I understand what warranty is but I am wondering how to go about it in the best way in terms of setting up my own car selling business. I.E asking you guys about it in my first post.

In terms of my experience, I've had about 4 years worth of selling cars. I've also had approximately 3 years worth of service advisor experience too. I told you my background because otherwise I would be getting questions like "what experience of the motor trade have you got"?

And Tony911, I never told EPV to F*** off. I actually appreciate his advice as I said thank you at the end of my post. YOU tend to be an issue however. Stop making things up and get off this thread if you dont want to put in some sound advice.

One good point mentioned from AWC100, having a customer ring me with a issue they have on a car I sold them whilst I'm at my main employment. That is something I may find hard to manage. 

Arfur Dealy, when did I say or think it was going to be easy money? I honestly think some of you just make things up again. Your not related to Tony911 by any chance?

Storage is an issue I will have as I only have my driveway which will fit only three cars in plus my wife's car and my car. As I said, it will be a financial strain to get a unit or a forecourt. As I said though, it's going to be part-time so I will only be stocking 2-3 cars at a time. Once one is gone, get the next one.

[Arfur Dealy 823]

43 minutes ago, Jaime said:

 

Arfur Dealy, when did I say or think it was going to be easy money? I honestly think some of you just make things up again. Your not related to Tony911 by any chance?

You didn’t and I didn’t say you did. I was stating a fact.

If I was you, stick to putting your pointy shoes on in the morning and take a wage. 

[Mark101 536]

I completely under estimated the amount of time this job requires, not to mention the buyers who think you're their personal 24 hour conceirge for the next 3-6 months.

This job is tough, rewarding but tough.  I couldn't imagine how I could possibly do it part time, I work full time 6-7 days a week and I still run out of time.

I love what I do but I am knackered - can't wait to get home tonight but back in for 9am tomorrow to hand over 2 cars to quite a challenging family, really nice, top people but clearly from an employed background, with so many last minute - can you just and changing times at the last minute thinking I have all the time in the world.

Good luck to you.  Read this forum at length because every one of your questions has been answered dozens of times.

What area are you in by the way?

 

[Tony911 79]

1 hour ago, Jaime said:

And Tony911, I never told EPV to F*** off. I actually appreciate his advice as I said thank you at the end of my post. YOU tend to be an issue however. Stop making things up and get off this thread if you dont want to put in some advice.

You have had all your questions answered but still are telling the people who have gave you the best advice not to give their input because you know best, if that was the case you wouldn't be asking. SELF WARRANT MEANS WHEN YOU SELL THE CAR GIVE A WARRANTY BY YOURSELF WRITTEN AND SIGNED FOR BY BOTH PARTIES AND INCLUDED WHAT IS COVERED AND FOR HOW LONG AND WHEN THINGS GO WRONG WITH THE CARS YOU SELL DEAL WITH THEM YOURSELF. GOOD LUCK

[It's me 615]

hey jaime 32 years ago all the big hitter motor traders used to hang in packs at the auctions and sneer at newbies

some still wore sheepskin jackets

i kid you not

now the sensible ones bid online and dont get diseases from the masses

i wish you well

 

[EPV 631]

40 minutes ago, jason doyle motor sales said:

hey jaime 32 years ago all the big hitter motor traders used to hang in packs at the auctions and sneer at newbies

some still wore sheepskin jackets

i kid you not

now the sensible ones bid online and dont get diseases from the masses

i wish you well

 

Probably the best advice you'll ever get, ignore other traders. Or more specifically, listen to a select few and ignore the rest.

[Jaime 1]

Jason Doyle and EPV. I completely understand. You get salty people in all trades, they everywhere you go and you've got to just keep away.

I might have to seriously look at online bidding as I would struggle to get to these places on time due to being in full time employment. 

In regards to tradex and his comments about making up a business plan and reckoning that I will earn less than what I am on, I would highly doubt that. I earn good money but with my own business and eventually doing this full time I would hope to be earning more than what I am on at the moment. Unless TRADEX is doing something wrong ofcourse. Please enlighten me. I understand creating a business plan but why the mention of earning less than what I am currently on? 

 

[awc1000 93]

2 minutes ago, Jaime said:

Jason Doyle and EPV. I completely understand. You get salty people in all trades, they everywhere you go and you've got to just keep away.

I might have to seriously look at online bidding as I would struggle to get to these places on time due to being in full time employment. 

In regards to tradex and his comments about making up a business plan and reckoning that I will earn less than what I am on, I would highly doubt that. I earn good money but with my own business and eventually doing this full time I would hope to be earning more than what I am on at the moment. Unless TRADEX is doing something wrong ofcourse. Please enlighten me. I understand creating a business plan but why the mention of earning less than what I am currently on? 

 

ok jaime fair enough, if you already have the ability to find decent stock off facebook etc good for you, although i cant see how you can prep it, warrant it, be legit, pay dues etc and still be in profit, its easy to become a busy fool in this job, if you do settle into this job in time you will have the same opinion on the cheap stuff as the rest of us - its simply in the majority of cases junk, can you give examples of the price of cars you are buying?

being positive here are the reality's of starting out legit whilst still employed elsewhere and a few answers to your questions -

insurance - for you likely 3000-4000 a year as a new starter, you will need demo cover etc, your already using your tax allowance in your job so factor in 28% of all profit for tax/n.i, vat will soon follow at 1/6th of your margin - don't confuse this with profit margin, refunds on cars are now law and common so whatever you sell a car for you will need to keep that full amount in reserve to refund if needed, in short you need to be well funded even too start in this job, 

your employer will also take a dim view of your activity when they find out which they will at some point, its probably best if you have a hard think of whats involved and do the full costings first, i'm guessing you have a family and working in franchising you will already not have much free time? you need to also consider this, no amount of money will compensate problems at home through lack of family time, been there done that...

regards real earnings mentioned by tradex i think hes pointing to this which is reality - you currently earn probably 12k basic and a further 6-10k commission, you will be seeing a lot of this as you have a tax allowance of 12k plus you have no overheads at your current job, if you want to take home 2k in this job then you best get used to the fact that you need 3500-4k profit to do so, as mentioned you will need more than one car in/ out to achieve this, plus it sounds like you are not funded either, sorry if it all sounds negative but you dont seem to be taking on board any advice.

in summary - you need to do a total costings, and you absolutely need some funding, good luck.

 

 

 

[MattR 177]

13 minutes ago, Jaime said:

regards to tradex and his comments about making up a business plan and reckoning that I will earn less than what I am on, I would highly doubt that. I earn good money but with my own business and eventually doing this full time I would hope to be earning more than what I am on at the moment. Unless TRADEX is doing something wrong ofcourse. Please enlighten me. I understand creating a business plan but why the mention of earning less than what I am currently on? 

 

Because its hard to earn more money, especially if you are looking to split it in half with your partner. used car business with no self employed experience, 2 staff and stocking from scratch? Making 70k in the first year? good luck. Not what you want to hear, but you'll be lucky to have a tax bill in your first year. 

[Rory RSC 596]

There aren't that many used car dealers who are absolutely loaded. 

[sellect2 19]

Out of interest what level of funds do you have available?

and have you declared any “self employed” income as yet? If not when do you plan to start declaring? 

 

[Arfur Dealy 823]

19 minutes ago, sellect2 said:

Out of interest what level of funds do you have available?

and have you declared any “self employed” income as yet? If not when do you plan to start declaring? 

 

19 minutes ago, sellect2 said:

Out of interest what level of funds do you have available?

and have you declared any “self employed” income as yet? If not when do you plan to start declaring? 

 

And, this should have be done right from the start. It's a secondary income and should be declared, not only that, the people who do it are undercutting us, robbing us of our income and giving us all a bad name... 

[justina3 518]

All your questions have been answered so I need not repeat the answers. 

One point I will highlight you mention your looking into on line buying, I wouldn’t as a newbie I would be putting in the leg work and watch everything like a hawk. 

Once your comfy in that environment then progress to on line buying. 

Lastly think long and hard on what you want to sell our very own mrv is struggling with this very issue and it’s an often overlooked problem. 

[Jaime 1]

To be honest, with all these comments that I am reading you all seem negative. I'm starting to just get fed up and will try to work things out for myself.

I do have the ability to find decent stock on Facebook etcetera but it does take a while hence why I am looking at auctions next to get stock quicker and easier.

I will leave it here and prefer to avoid the negative atmosphere that I will probably get blamed for.

[NOACROSS 414]

11 hours ago, NOACROSS said:

Part time can be OK for learning (and taking a bath) and can add a bit of dough to your pocket if you're lucky.  You COULD build a business up doing this long term, especially if there's two of you but it'll be very long and tough.

My advice is, go with your gut but I think you'll find you're better off where you are with a regular wage, benefits, holidays, sick pay, pension etc.  Most start ups will fail and others will go backwards for a few years at least.  Some will hit the ground running, but they will have taken the risks and gone all in.

This game is MUCH harder than you'll ever imagine. It is nothing like working for a main dealer.

Good advice above, and the main one I can see is 'get on and do it and make the mistakes yourself'.

Good luck to you if you want to try and, at least part time, you won't be betting the ranch on it all.

I think when you're on here a bit down the road having started trying/selling/making and pointing out your successes and failures, you'll get plenty of help and guidance.

Negative? That’s you buddy and your interpretation. 

Sincerely. Good luck though. Sayonara

[Arfur Dealy 823]

3 minutes ago, Jaime said:

To be honest, with all these comments that I am reading you all seem negative. I'm starting to just get fed up and will try to work things out for myself.

I do have the ability to find decent stock on Facebook etcetera but it does take a while hence why I am looking at auctions next to get stock quicker and easier.

I will leave it here and prefer to avoid the negative atmosphere that I will probably get blamed for.

Before not coming back. Make sure you aim your pointy shoes towards the nearest telephone to declare to the HMRC of all the additional income you’ve earned.

[sellect2 19]

Perhaps hit a nerve. 

 

Im happy for people to be doing the job, but let’s have a level playing field- pay your dues and get all the help you need. 

[Tony911 79]

11 minutes ago, Arfur Dealy said:

Before not coming back. Make sure you aim your pointy shoes towards the nearest telephone to declare to the HMRC of all the additional income you’ve earned.

True

13 minutes ago, NOACROSS said:

Negative? That’s you buddy and your interpretation. 

Sincerely. Good luck though. Sayonara

I think this Jamie chap doesn't either understand English or is just a teenager trying to find his way. Where is Lucas with his advice? If you can't handle the truth on a internet forum don't know how you going to handle real life situations. Good luck and all the best

Edited May 3, 2019 by Tony911