Blenheim Car Sales 111 Posted August 23, 2019 I currently have 8-10 cars any one time ( if its running right) and do everything my self, all buying selling collecting, valets and all the running around, The 10 cars is just about manageable as i usually sell 7-8 and of course the process continues I have the chance of a 3000 sq ft unit and that will hold 25 cars easy, I can not see me being able to do my business in the same way ( but maybe i am wrong) I am unsure if i should take a person on, Who does all collections and valet`s and all the running around for all the pre sale prep to all the trades that i use, This person would be self employed and basically a gofer / slave who i imagine would cost £1000 a month, This theoretically will mean i am just a buyer and seller of cars and someone else is now flat out doing all the other stuff, Or should i just get everything delivered from my BCA and Manheim purchases and get an outside valet person to do individually the cars i am now getting........................ my predicament is that i see that adding up to over £1000 a month ??? am missing something Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JA Trader 58 Posted August 23, 2019 Work smart not hard. We only have 13 cars in stock ourselves. Move X Collect everything. Family member valets them. We just MOT, take the photos and do the viewings.(And most the repairs) I would hate to do all the running around even though i sometimes collect the local cars from BCA. A self employed slave is an interesting choice but what type of person is working for £1000 a month ...... Get into bed with a good cleaner and use MOVEX for deliveries might cost you more than a £1000 a month but its less worries in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rory RSC 596 Posted August 23, 2019 Can you pay a capable person £10.00 an hour to do the time consuming but not complex or demanding jobs whilst you do the jobs that net you £100 an hour ( big margin etc). I never view this sort of stuff as losing a grand or 2 on a wage, its freeing up my time to do more important, useful and beneficial stuff. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blenheim Car Sales 111 Posted August 23, 2019 yes i know my strengths are the buying and the selling i can do that....................... all the other stuff is menial time consuming unskilled labour, Thanks for your valued opinions, You are right of course what quality person am i getting for £1000 a month its has to change if i get this unit but how is still up for debate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark101 536 Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) My case: I worked out how much I was spending on PAYG valeting and realised for a little more, I could employ someone 2 or 3 days per week for not much more. So I have and my business has revolutionalised. He moves stock, handles customers (when I am busy), test drives, collects cars, parts, valets, answers the phone, fits number plates, small non-skilled mechanical fixes, inflates tyres - you get the picture. Costs me £9 per hour and he is now more or less full time, all above board with invoice plus he invoices other work on the days off, so I am covered from the 13 week employment law. Yes, we have run ins and I have lost my shit twice with him (speed and talking too much on his phone) but he is great to have around. Conclusion: I couldn't manage the level I am at (around 15-20 stock) without him now (or someone else if he goes). Edited August 23, 2019 by Mark101 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James01 21 Posted August 23, 2019 I am a one man band and also have a 3000 sq ft unit, FYI I can squeeze in 20 at a push you will do well to fit in any more. I stock 25-28 cars and do not have any employees but I have everything on site here mechanic, tyre fitter, parts stores so I do not need a driver to help run about which is a nice position to be in. I get everything delivered through Movex as it is cheaper than paying someone to go and do it for me. That said as Rory has said I spend a lot of time taking cars to get cleaned. I polish, prep and everything else that’s involved. I will be looking to take someone on soon as it’s just not worth my time doing this now as I am getting busier and busier. It may cost me a bit more money but nothing that can’t easily be made up, it’s just trying to find the right person which is a challenge. Out of curiosity do people tend to employ older or younger people? I have had semi retired drivers in the past but are younger people who can be trained the way to go? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NOACROSS 414 Posted August 23, 2019 I have 40 odd in stock. I do zero running around unless I’m v bored as I soon realised you can easily by the proverbial busy fool years ago! Valeters collect, and we always leave a dumper at the MOT station that doesn’t collect (the other one does collect). Same with the paint shop -they collect and deliver. We have three or four garages etc who deal direct with any screamers & the courtesy car is left permanently at one of them. I have one PT Polish site cleaner and two PT sales/Sunday/weekend guys plus another as needed old chap who fills in the gaps. You can’t do it on your own and you’re better off concentrating on the buying and organising & all the virtual business/answering the phone and emails. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blenheim Car Sales 111 Posted August 23, 2019 Thank you guys for your input, I think reading your replies there is no one size fits all solution, I think you have to tailor it and make it work for your own set of personal circumstances and that is going to be different for everyone I will do the maths and see what i think works for me, I really need to concentrate on what makes profit, Buying selling pics and adds, on all the various platforms, Everything unskilled i would love to have done by someone else Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grant8064 219 Posted August 23, 2019 3 hours ago, Blenheim Car Sales said: Who does all collections and valet`s and all the running around for all the pre sale prep to all the trades that i use We just get cars delivered and get most painters, valeters, mot and garages to collect and drop off from us. Mobile dent, glass and key guys visit. Not a big fan of staff when I can outsource it all to specialists but it's each to their own. You might need to rethink the grand a month if you do look for someone...not even minimum wage and you want them to be self employed as well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkTVS 209 Posted August 23, 2019 We have 25/35 cars at any one time, I do the buying but I don’t do much of the day to day stuff for the business as I run the workshop but my brother and a valeter run And manage the site. My workshop is ten minutes from sales pitch so it’s no problem for them to nip in and out. Bodyshop is about an hour round trip but we usually always have a car there so it’s just swap overs which only take one person. We also run our own transporter so I collect the cars from BCA the night I buy them so no running about collecting stuff. Works well for us but to get someone decent you would need to go a bit above £1000 a month I think. Anotger body is a great help though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 701 Posted August 23, 2019 45 minutes ago, Blenheim Car Sales said: Thank you guys for your input, I think reading your replies there is no one size fits all solution, I think you have to tailor it and make it work for your own set of personal circumstances and that is going to be different for everyone I will do the maths and see what i think works for me, I really need to concentrate on what makes profit, Buying selling pics and adds, on all the various platforms, Everything unskilled i would love to have done by someone else I would stick to what you are doing.7 or 8 per month from stocking 10 is very good.The extra costs you will incur from a 3000 ft unit and carrying 25 plus employing staff,extra insurance,advertising ( and double the agrovation) etc etc will mean you will probably need to do double the business to equal what you are doing now. Another thing to factor in is that with the onset of Brexit and the likely increase in the level of scaremongering in the media from mid September,trade is likely to be crap until early next year.When an extroadinary event takes place,( wars,9/11,miners strikes,oil crisis,) in the past it has diverted people’s attention from buying cars. Also you can’t just employ someone and regard them as self employed.If you cannot prove they are regularly carrying out other work ,you will run the risk of getting done by HMRC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blenheim Car Sales 111 Posted August 23, 2019 Good points and yes of course i had realised that just because i have 2.5 times the stock will not equate to 2.5 times the income, Its far from it, And good point regarding the Self employed person you are right of course the unit will help in many ways, Over the 5-6 months autumn and winter i will no longer be weather dependant for car cleaning, Likewise i will have clean dry and warm place for customers to view, I have a few personal older classic cars i will be not paying storage on and it add a small element of credibility to a business when you have premises, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
