Introduction

[Marian TDM 6]

Hello everyone. 

I am on this forum for a while so I decided to introduce myself and be more active on it. 

My name is Marian, 24, I trade cars for almost 2 years now (just a car or two a month). The hobby started to become something more important than my job, I love doing it and gives me moments of joy most of the time. 

There were moments when I lost money but I decided to keep going and now I am aiming for at least 10% profit on each car. Last year I made 7000 profit, not having trade insurance just buying the cars privately, paying day insurance and all the expenses before selling them. 

At the moment I just became BCA member and hopefully I will find time to actually go to Blackbushe and buy my 1st car from there. If all goes right my plan is to get trade plates and start small with some cheap cars and work hard to get more moments of joy and quit my day job. 

 

Thanks for your time reading this. 

 

[trade vet 702]

Hi Marian

 Could you possibly give us a ballpark figure on what you are currently earning in your day job.Unless you can afford it,not a good time to go solo in this job.One thing,I have to tell you is that those ‘ moments of joy ‘ you refer to may turn into ‘ moments of relief ‘when you go full time.Best of luck though,you will get plenty of good advice from the guys on here.

[Blenheim Car Sales 111]

you aim for 10% profit????  well done  best to aim high 

[justina3 518]

You wont find anything cheap in Blackbush i presume they have put you on a silver account there are people there who have a huge buying advantage who will be able to give almost close to retail and make the money up with added value of a lot and finance packages ect. 

 

but good luck he who dares and all that.

[Marian TDM 6]

4 minutes ago, trade vet said:

Hi Marian

 Could you possibly give us a ballpark figure on what you are currently earning in your day job.Unless you can afford it,not a good time to go solo in this job.One thing,I have to tell you is that those ‘ moments of joy ‘ you refer to may turn into ‘ moments of relief ‘when you go full time.Best of luck though,you will get plenty of good advice from the guys on here.

I work full time as a gas and electric engineer earning 30k a year. (installing this smart meters that most of the people are almost forced by suppliers to have them). 

 

6 minutes ago, Blenheim Car Sales said:

you aim for 10% profit????  well done  best to aim high 

Because I do it as a private seller at the moment I am trying to buy under 5k maybe a bit more for certain cars and sell for 500, maybe 1k profit. (just found a desperate seller that wanted a Skoda Kodiaq that sold me his 12plate Merc c220 82k miles for 3500 and luckily I sold it in 5 days for 4750£) 

 

4 minutes ago, justina3 said:

You wont find anything cheap in Blackbush i presume they have put you on a silver account there are people there who have a huge buying advantage who will be able to give almost close to retail and make the money up with added value of a lot and finance packages ect. 

 

but good luck he who dares and all that.

Thank you for your time. 

I actually bought few cars from there  but on someone else's gold membership. 

Was a decent profit but some were just luck. No one was looking at a RR 57 plate for 4500£ about 1year ago (because suspension on dashboard) 

I bought it and was only needed topped up with suspension oil. 

But that I am sure was luck so I won't try again. 

[Blenheim Car Sales 111]

  23 minutes ago, Blenheim Car Sales said:

you aim for 10% profit????  well done  best to aim high 

Because I do it as a private seller at the moment I am trying to buy under 5k maybe a bit more for certain cars and sell for 500, maybe 1k profit. (just found a desperate seller that wanted a Skoda Kodiaq that sold me his 12plate Merc c220 82k miles for 3500 and luckily I sold it in 5 days for 4750£) 

 

 

So you dont declare your trader earnings for tax or NI, you dont have trade plates and you i imagine  use these cars on test drives, You dont put a warranty on them either i imagine, Why dont you pay tax on these earning what makes you so special

[trade vet 702]

Second thoughts,from what you say,I think you could do OK.There is plenty of stuff to buy at Blackbushe if you are not frightened by stuff needing work.

[David Horgan 564]

1 hour ago, Marian TDM said:

now I am aiming for at least 10% profit on each car.

You cant head for 10% in this job Marion , 5k car with 10% mark up  wont pay the bills . 

, Advert bills , Mechanical work , Cleaning , Fuel to fetch it and test it , Insurance bills, that's just while your part time .

Full time then the bills multiply quite considerably . VAT , Rent , Power , Services for the cars , MOT's , Repairs , Accountancy , Bank charges  ,   and lots more . Then you will have more than 10% in costs to sell the car , 

There's no shame in profit when your working for yourself , 

Don't let this phase you though Marion , I made my daughter do it the hard way , Started with a £1,000 C2 , 1 earned a profit , then 1 became 2 , became 3  and so on and now shes into a 200k stock value and makes a good living that makes your Gas work look like a Saturday  wage , I'm a cruel old fashioned type though .

Get on with it , dont let anything get in your way and remember PROFIT is the key , don't be shy to hold your hand out and take the money because you will be working hard for it . 

Edited August 24, 2019 by David Horgan

[trade vet 702]

5 minutes ago, Blenheim Car Sales said:

  23 minutes ago, Blenheim Car Sales said:

you aim for 10% profit????  well done  best to aim high 

Because I do it as a private seller at the moment I am trying to buy under 5k maybe a bit more for certain cars and sell for 500, maybe 1k profit. (just found a desperate seller that wanted a Skoda Kodiaq that sold me his 12plate Merc c220 82k miles for 3500 and luckily I sold it in 5 days for 4750£) 

 

 

So you dont declare your trader earnings for tax or NI, you dont have trade plates and you i imagine  use these cars on test drives, You dont put a warranty on them either i imagine, Why dont you pay tax on these earning what makes you so special

Come on,give her a break.Where you whiter than white when you started out.I wasn’t when I was door stepping aged 17.I paid plenty of tax in my day job though working 7 days.

[Blenheim Car Sales 111]

cynical old git now thought i am

[Casper 272]

Thanks for the introduction..  Id like to wish you  good luck all the best ..

Keep us updated .. 

[TangoVictor32 90]

3 minutes ago, Casper said:

Thanks for the introduction..  Id like to wish you  good luck all the best ..

Keep us updated .. 

When forum members say good luck to newbies sometimes I wonder do they mean good luck from the bashing on the forum from a selected few 

15 minutes ago, trade vet said:

Come on,give her a break.Where you whiter than white when you started out.I wasn’t when I was door stepping aged 17.I paid plenty of tax in my day job though working 7 days.

Well he does want someone for a grand to do all the donkey work for the expansion to a bigger site... Is that a grand before tax or after 

[Casper 272]

14 minutes ago, TangoVictor32 said:

When forum members say good luck to newbies sometimes I wonder do they mean good luck from the bashing on the forum from a selected few 

Well he does want someone for a grand to do all the donkey work for the expansion to a bigger site... Is that a grand before tax or after 

I genuinely wish everyone all the best . And good luck in both business and in general life and future . 

Hope it goes well for you Marian .. and all the ladies and gents here . 

As for the newbie bashing is that not just a forum thing so good luck with that as well there a friendly bunch really  

Edited August 24, 2019 by Casper

[Mojo121 229]

32 minutes ago, trade vet said:

Come on,give her a break.Where you whiter than white when you started out.I wasn’t when I was door stepping aged 17.I paid plenty of tax in my day job though working 7 days.

Good comment and very true. It's hard enough competing with those that don't, never have and never intend to. If you can't beat them (which is illegal now) ...

[Blenheim Car Sales 111]

1 hour ago, TangoVictor32 said:

When forum members say good luck to newbies sometimes I wonder do they mean good luck from the bashing on the forum from a selected few 

Well he does want someone for a grand to do all the donkey work for the expansion to a bigger site... Is that a grand before tax or after 

he will be paid £1000 through my offshore tax haven in Panama of course

[Marian TDM 6]

1 hour ago, David Horgan said:

You cant head for 10% in this job Marion , 5k car with 10% mark up  wont pay the bills . 

, Advert bills , Mechanical work , Cleaning , Fuel to fetch it and test it , Insurance bills, that's just while your part time .

Full time then the bills multiply quite considerably . VAT , Rent , Power , Services for the cars , MOT's , Repairs , Accountancy , Bank charges  ,   and lots more . Then you will have more than 10% in costs to sell the car , 

There's no shame in profit when your working for yourself , 

Don't let this phase you though Marion , I made my daughter do it the hard way , Started with a £1,000 C2 , 1 earned a profit , then 1 became 2 , became 3  and so on and now shes into a 200k stock value and makes a good living that makes your Gas work look like a Saturday  wage , I'm a cruel old fashioned type though .

Get on with it , dont let anything get in your way and remember PROFIT is the key , don't be shy to hold your hand out and take the money because you will be working hard for it . 

Thank you for the great advice.
Hard to find someone around to boost my motivation.

[Casper 272]

4 hours ago, David Horgan said:

You cant head for 10% in this job Marion , 5k car with 10% mark up  wont pay the bills . 

, Advert bills , Mechanical work , Cleaning , Fuel to fetch it and test it , Insurance bills, that's just while your part time .

Full time then the bills multiply quite considerably . VAT , Rent , Power , Services for the cars , MOT's , Repairs , Accountancy , Bank charges  ,   and lots more . Then you will have more than 10% in costs to sell the car , 

There's no shame in profit when your working for yourself , 

Don't let this phase you though Marion , I made my daughter do it the hard way , Started with a £1,000 C2 , 1 earned a profit , then 1 became 2 , became 3  and so on and now shes into a 200k stock value and makes a good living that makes your Gas work look like a Saturday  wage , I'm a cruel old fashioned type though .

Get on with it , dont let anything get in your way and remember PROFIT is the key , don't be shy to hold your hand out and take the money because you will be working hard for it . 

Well said David you a decent bloke and helpfully to everyone . 

Glad to see you daughter is also doing well in the motor-trade 

I was an auction buyer for a few years and still buy the odd car for a few friends who started in much the same way as your daughter buying astra vectras

old fords etc from home then a little garage workshop with a small forecourt they now own two and employ about 13 people and sell a lot of audi bmw merc now in the 20 years I've been involved in the motor trade I've seen many do this and I've also seen many try and fail who had forecourts etc

though I'm a great believer that you get what you put in in life and business it makes a difference when you enjoy what you do . 

I find my difficulty just now id trying to find decent men or ladies to do work on cars to many grease monkeys out there I wish now I did more training in my younger years .. your set up seems good David with your son etc in the business although I guess  it has it moments .

All the best .. 

oh and aim higher 10 percent is not a lot 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Casper

[David Horgan 564]

1 hour ago, Marian TDM said:

Hard to find someone around to boost my motivation.

I'll never put you down Marian , find a job you enjoy and you will never work again . 

I always treat work as a giant hobby 

 

1 hour ago, Casper said:

set up seems good David with your son etc in the business although I guess  it has it moments .

Hi Casper 

Yes my son is a fully trained tech , nothing phases him 

daughter is like me born to sell .

Moments lol, we actually get on well . 

Reason is we run two firms , Me and Son , then me and Daughter , They get on very well but have their own firms . Simples 

[Casper 272]

28 minutes ago, David Horgan said:

I'll never put you down Marian , find a job you enjoy and you will never work again . 

I always treat work as a giant hobby 

 

Hi Casper 

Yes my son is a fully trained tech , nothing phases him 

daughter is like me born to sell .

Moments lol, we actually get on well . 

Reason is we run two firms , Me and Son , then me and Daughter , They get on very well but have their own firms . Simples 

Yeah I get you mate you get what I meant.  I get on great with most of my family although at times we have our moments ie the odd disagreement but its back to normal 10 minutes later ..

2 hours ago, Marian TDM said:

Thank you for the great advice.
Hard to find someone around to boost my motivation.

Like David Im here to help people where I can anytime I can . David I agree you have always helped me out when I've asked for advice on here so I will vouch for David and can say he wont ever put you down ..  

Edited August 24, 2019 by Casper

[Marian TDM 6]

21 minutes ago, Casper said:

Yeah I get you mate you get what I meant.  I get on great with most of my family although at times we have our moments ie the odd disagreement but its back to normal 10 minutes later ..

Like David Im here to help people where I can anytime I can . David I agree you have always helped me out when I've asked for advice on here so I will vouch for David and can say he wont ever put you down ..  

I am a bit stuck at the moment, I use parkers and autotrader for valuation before making offers on private cars but most of them online have quite high prices. I really need to find a better/easier way to source cars.

[Casper 272]

19 minutes ago, Marian TDM said:

I am a bit stuck at the moment, I use parkers and autotrader for valuation before making offers on private cars but most of them online have quite high prices. I really need to find a better/easier way to source cars.

I source most stuff from auctions . As do my friends in the trade and associates as well as part exchange there is a few online auctions you can use but most you have to be ltd or vat registered . 

Did used to buy some from a main landrover dealer but the guy left who was our contact and think it all goes to dealer auction now .and also a Volkswagen dealer but it changed hands so it much harder to get into dealers now for part exchanges 

There is a hpi free car price guide online

you can always use the we buy any car etc to give you an idea what you should be paying but expect to pay slightly more as most of there stuff goes to auction ..  

when buying to sell on use the Arnold Clark px price checker and expect to pay a bit more buying private 

most dealers will have the cap and glasses price guides well online apps now that they use   But in your position this might might work what i suggested  above 

when you register as a trader at the auctions with trade insurance etc the trade  catalogue has guide prices on it 

Look out on gumtree there a lot of badly presented cars that come up well with a polish a new set of trims and number plates 

If your able put a full 12 months mot on everything as it reassures your buyers  

hope this helps .. 

oh and aim higher 10 percent is not a lot but keep at it 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Casper

[trade vet 702]

2 hours ago, Marian TDM said:

I am a bit stuck at the moment, I use parkers and autotrader for valuation before making offers on private cars but most of them online have quite high prices. I really need to find a better/easier way to source cars.

Relying on Parker’s............maybe you are not quite ready to set up full time after all.

[Casper 272]

26 minutes ago, trade vet said:

Relying on Parker’s............maybe you are not quite ready to set up full time after all.

Its not something I use but I guess a lot of buyers will pick them up in tesco etc and tell us all there px is worth x amount our cars are overpriced by x amount etc 

always remember guys at the auction laughing between Themselves when the sharp dressed want to be car dealer had the phone In one  hand and parkers car price guide under there arm .it wasnt me honest . I'm not knocking them for using parkers but never take a book one in to an auction . Looks unprofessional .. 

[Marian TDM 6]

7 hours ago, Casper said:

Its not something I use but I guess a lot of buyers will pick them up in tesco etc and tell us all there px is worth x amount our cars are overpriced by x amount etc 

always remember guys at the auction laughing between Themselves when the sharp dressed want to be car dealer had the phone In one  hand and parkers car price guide under there arm .it wasnt me honest . I'm not knocking them for using parkers but never take a book one in to an auction . Looks unprofessional .. 

Noted that. 

7 hours ago, trade vet said:

Relying on Parker’s............maybe you are not quite ready to set up full time after all.

Hopefully I will pick up quick. 

10 hours ago, Casper said:

I source most stuff from auctions . As do my friends in the trade and associates as well as part exchange there is a few online auctions you can use but most you have to be ltd or vat registered . 

Did used to buy some from a main landrover dealer but the guy left who was our contact and think it all goes to dealer auction now .and also a Volkswagen dealer but it changed hands so it much harder to get into dealers now for part exchanges 

There is a hpi free car price guide online

you can always use the we buy any car etc to give you an idea what you should be paying but expect to pay slightly more as most of there stuff goes to auction ..  

when buying to sell on use the Arnold Clark px price checker and expect to pay a bit more buying private 

most dealers will have the cap and glasses price guides well online apps now that they use   But in your position this might might work what i suggested  above 

when you register as a trader at the auctions with trade insurance etc the trade  catalogue has guide prices on it 

Look out on gumtree there a lot of badly presented cars that come up well with a polish a new set of trims and number plates 

If your able put a full 12 months mot on everything as it reassures your buyers  

hope this helps .. 

oh and aim higher 10 percent is not a lot but keep at it 

Thank you very much for taking the time and offering me advice. 

I am happy because I joined this forum and actually speak with you guys. 

When I came in UK 4 years ago I couldn't even speak so everything that I am doing on the side of my job gives me joy and motivation.

[Casper 272]

1 hour ago, Marian TDM said:

Noted that. 

Hopefully I will pick up quick. 

Thank you very much for taking the time and offering me advice. 

I am happy because I joined this forum and actually speak with you guys. 

When I came in UK 4 years ago I couldn't even speak so everything that I am doing on the side of my job gives me joy and motivation.

Your very welcome and thank you for taking the time to reply .. much appreciated..