Casper 272 Posted September 12, 2019 14 minutes ago, Jack Regan said: Had some Gypo's come in 15 or so years back in a 3 litre omega , wanted to chop it in cause they was doing beer runs to France and been tugged in it coming back through customs and couldn't use it no more cause its card was marked so to speak ....dealt with em, can't even remember what I sold em , few days later another lot came in looking for a big motor , you guessed it to do beer runs to France , I've got just the car lads , don't know how I kept a straight face selling it to em . thats cheered me up 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.T 39 Posted September 12, 2019 9 hours ago, Mark101 said: It also depends on the quality of the storage. Red diesel is diesel with a dye, that's all but, often found in farms, plant yards etc where storage of the stuff isn't anywhere near as clinical as a busy petrol station and tends to sit around longer. In boats, diesel bug is a big issue when leaving the boat moored without an additive - trick was to brim the tank. That said, imagine a half full rusty bowser at the back end of the cow shed - that isn't going to be too healthy. I would agree with you there Mark, we used to run our steam cleaner on red diesel bought from a local heating oil supplier in 205lt barrels. When tipping the barrel up one day to get the last bit of diesel out, all I got was a horrible black sludge in the bottom with bits floating in it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Horgan 564 Posted September 12, 2019 Had a guy bring an Audi in for px , We priced it up , did the deal and he said I'll pick it up next week . Ok Next week comes and the Audi he bought was looking like a different car Parcel shelf GONE Brake Discs Changed from the new ones to Knackered ones back and front , Continental Tyres were now Ling Long Chinese Ditch finders Head Rests GONE , Spare Wheel GONE Engine Cover Gone . Floor Mats GONE He had sold them to his mate he said, because it was being part exchanged . I kept his £1,000 deposit and sent him home , never saw him again Thieving Twat 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 704 Posted September 12, 2019 21 minutes ago, David Horgan said: Had a guy bring an Audi in for px , We priced it up , did the deal and he said I'll pick it up next week . Ok Next week comes and the Audi he bought was looking like a different car Parcel shelf GONE Brake Discs Changed from the new ones to Knackered ones back and front , Continental Tyres were now Ling Long Chinese Ditch finders Head Rests GONE , Spare Wheel GONE Engine Cover Gone . Floor Mats GONE He had sold them to his mate he said, because it was being part exchanged . I kept his £1,000 deposit and sent him home , never saw him again Thieving Twat Nice one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casper 272 Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) 26 minutes ago, David Horgan said: Had a guy bring an Audi in for px , We priced it up , did the deal and he said I'll pick it up next week . Ok Next week comes and the Audi he bought was looking like a different car Parcel shelf GONE Brake Discs Changed from the new ones to Knackered ones back and front , Continental Tyres were now Ling Long Chinese Ditch finders Head Rests GONE , Spare Wheel GONE Engine Cover Gone . Floor Mats GONE He had sold them to his mate he said, because it was being part exchanged . I kept his £1,000 deposit and sent him home , never saw him again Thieving Twat I had something similar years ago think i was still wearing short trousers at the time lol Landrover 90 had spot lights nice bull bar at the time when they were popular radio cd fitted nice alloys when the time came for them to collect discovery at the time it was a different car and total as standard Took £500 off the px price an still made a healthy profit selling it to a landrover specialist funnily enough i seen the same car on ebay last year still going strong .. Edited September 12, 2019 by Casper 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.T 39 Posted September 12, 2019 Back on topic now. Andy I think you're mistaken as ALL customers are completely honest and never do what you're suggesting, and it's a proven fact that consumers suffer from a condition similar to Alzheimer's when presented with nice new shiny car to buy. It causes them to forget that when they started their diesel car this morning from cold it smoked more than a Mamasan at a cheap Thai brothel. The favorite one at the moment would appear to be switching the EML light off just round the corner before bringing their car in, with the device they bought on Ebay for £15. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 704 Posted September 12, 2019 This was not a punters trick but a salesman’s incompetence and it was me.This guy was looking to upgrade his light blue metallic C Class Coupe.( not many in light blue )So I valued it and off he went.A few days later I am talking to another punter and I see a light blue C Class Coupe parking up in the same spot over the road.The guy comes in and I say ‘ you have come back for that Merc then and he says yes ‘.So I write the deal down for him and he says,thank you can I pay for it now please.I then pass it over to a salesman and go back to speaking to someone else.Our sales guy comes out and interrupts and says ‘ are you sure about this deal’ and I just say ‘ just get it done’.A few days later I am down country at the block and I get a call saying that the Merc has gone out and that the punter must be a good friend ! The swapper was 3 years older than the one I had valued and it was a different punter buying the same car. I can’t remember how much we blew on it but it was in stock a long time and had a birthday......Appologies if I have mentioned this one before. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XFS 70 Posted September 12, 2019 6 hours ago, trade vet said: You have just jogged my memory.We bought a wagon load of repossessed 406 diesels described as ex hire cars out of Belle Vue.They turned out to be ex taxis ( private hire ) and most of them needed fuel pumps. ? A lot of the tractors nowadays must be as complicated as any diesel vehicle and they survive their life on red diesel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 704 Posted September 12, 2019 13 minutes ago, XFS said: A lot of the tractors nowadays must be as complicated as any diesel vehicle and they survive their life on red diesel. I agree and our golf club spends over 10 grand a year on red diesel for the mowers.Mind you they also spend a lot on maintenance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casper 272 Posted September 12, 2019 I spoke to a fuel supplier at a haulage event who supply's oils white diesel and red he told me red diesel standards are stricter than they were say 10 years ago with modern diesel engines in excavators tractors etc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BHM 994 Posted September 13, 2019 Years ago two customers came to view a car although only the husband got out of their p/x. We did the test drive etc. and I said I wanted a quick look at their Vectra p/x. I thought it a little strange as the missus never got out of the car but when I opened the door I could see she was heavily pregnant so thought nowt about it but decided to abandon the cursory 200yd test drive. Anyhow deal done with husband’s assurance the car was perfect. When I got in the Vectra to move it the passenger side had inches of water in it - the usual blocked scuttle panel requiring the usual interior strip-out & drying out. Cheap repair but a pain. Funnily enough I had similar with a Saab 9-3 from a Dealer Auction vendor. As I drove away & rounded the first corner I heard a sploshing sound & water splash over the passenger floor mat - they’d floated a dry mat on top of the water to get the car away! How kind of them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rory RSC 596 Posted September 13, 2019 13 hours ago, J.T said: The favorite one at the moment would appear to be switching the EML light off just round the corner before bringing their car in, with the device they bought on Ebay for £15. Constantly got to be on the look out for that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frankieola 22 Posted September 14, 2019 Worked at a city central dealership where space was tight, was common practice to get the customers to drop off their cars at the NCP across the road on day of handover. We had a number of spaces on the 2nd floor. We were supposed to go over and reappraise the PX cars on handover whilst customers were sat in showroom with a coffee, this didn't always happen. Anyway, on this occasion I went over, looked round the car and all looked OK, didn't actually start it or get in it but looked OK. After customer had gone and a near perfect handover, went to move the car..... Can you tell where this is going? Got in the car, went to start it, nothing, no lights, must be flat.... Back to the showroom, get the jump pack, back to the NCP, open the car, open the bonnet........ NO ENGINE!!!!! CCTV showed it being towed into car park by a white van, customer denied all knowledge and then stopped answering the phone, it went legal for a while and I think the powers that be just decided they were getting nowhere. I think if was only the fact that I used to sell a fair few cars that saved me from getting the sack but I got a final written warning over it. Was regularly brought up though and I used to die a little bit inside every time. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blenheim Car Sales 111 Posted September 14, 2019 and we are said to be the crooks !!!!!!!!!!!!! no engine ..................... that beats all my px issues by a wide margin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pmpants 14 Posted September 14, 2019 Years ago we had a copper call wanting to part ex his old Chrysler Neon auto, I knew nothing about them so gave my best mate (and at the time lodger) a shout, he warned me to check the head gasket, the guy was 45 mins from us but took well over two hours to get here, he loved our car (after checking it thoroughly), I started looking at the px, popped the bonnet just as my mate turns up, as he gets out his car in his Chrysler Jeep polo shirt I go for the coolant bottle lid, my mate calls over "they have to go really badly to be any sign in there", I opened it carefully and what seemed like a gallon of mayonnaise came gushing out covering everything! Obviously the customer didn't know anything about it!!! Strangely enough the only customer who ever nicked the tax disc out their px was another copper soon after I started. He left the px on the road behind a hedge, I re checked the car quickly before doing the handover and then later he said he just had to pop to the car to check something..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Contracts 68 Posted September 14, 2019 There must be something with coppers, sold one a car a while back, he traveled for 2 hours to get to us and made a point of driving our car at least 30 minutes at various speeds, when we got back he spent over an hour going over it. We took his CRV PX for a drive but it was getting into the rush hour and he suddenly announced he needed to get home so his wife could go to work. As the car seemed as it should deal was done and he was waved on his way. 2 Days later our trader picked the car up, within 10 minutes he was back, the car genuinely felt like the wheels were square over 40mph, turned out the prop shaft and drive shaft were knackered (as diagnosed by the customers local garage 6 months before he px’d it) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 704 Posted September 14, 2019 1 hour ago, pmpants said: Years ago we had a copper call wanting to part ex his old Chrysler Neon auto, I knew nothing about them so gave my best mate (and at the time lodger) a shout, he warned me to check the head gasket, the guy was 45 mins from us but took well over two hours to get here, he loved our car (after checking it thoroughly), I started looking at the px, popped the bonnet just as my mate turns up, as he gets out his car in his Chrysler Jeep polo shirt I go for the coolant bottle lid, my mate calls over "they have to go really badly to be any sign in there", I opened it carefully and what seemed like a gallon of mayonnaise came gushing out covering everything! Obviously the customer didn't know anything about it!!! Strangely enough the only customer who ever nicked the tax disc out their px was another copper soon after I started. He left the px on the road behind a hedge, I re checked the car quickly before doing the handover and then later he said he just had to pop to the car to check something..... I have seen punters do that and then swap the tax disc for a Guinness bottle label. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SC Derby 259 Posted September 14, 2019 the no engine story has made me genuinely LOL. Imagine the ribbing/banter you'd get for that... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NOACROSS 414 Posted September 14, 2019 8 minutes ago, trade vet said: I have seen punters do that and then swap the tax disc for a Guinness bottle label. TV - I'd forgotten about this! My old man and the other old days traders used to use beer mats. As the colour of an in date tax disc changed (for anybody reading that doesn't know: this is how the police would be able to look out for and spot un-taxed vehicles in the old days) then they would produce a like coloured beer mat swiped from various pubs... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 704 Posted September 14, 2019 2 minutes ago, NOACROSS said: TV - I'd forgotten about this! My old man and the other old days traders used to use beer mats. As the colour of an in date tax disc changed (for anybody reading that doesn't know: this is how the police would be able to look out for and spot un-taxed vehicles in the old days) then they would produce a like coloured beer mat swiped from various pubs... I never used beer mats.We used to doctor old tax discs to make them look current. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casper 272 Posted September 14, 2019 (edited) 51 minutes ago, trade vet said: I never used beer mats.We used to doctor old tax discs to make them look current. Remember my dad telling me about the beermats .. and about the first car they bought think another one he said was stout beer labels as in the 50s and 60s they were round and looked like a tax disc I remember as kid I would wonder what colour the tax disc would be for the year ive still a collection of tax disc holders in my parents cupboard somewhere collected them as a kid as well as pens and key rings and air freshners sad but true . Remember thinking id made it when i got my own printed tax disc holders then they lay in a box half the time I never changed them and think i bought 1500 at the time so was never getting through them bet theres a few of them in drawers lol Edited September 14, 2019 by Casper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BHM 994 Posted September 14, 2019 (edited) 57 minutes ago, trade vet said: I never used beer mats.We used to doctor old tax discs to make them look current. When the emissions-based road tax came in some cars had very high tax compared to similar cars. One such ‘beast’ was a Meriva with an older engine. Punters used to look at the tax discs to see the tax so in the end I employed the Tippex & black Biro - sold to the next punter who, as he handed over the shilling, commented “It’s cheap to tax this car”! “Sorry pal, I’ve no idea, the tax came free with the car so is your responsibility”. Edited September 14, 2019 by BHM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casper 272 Posted September 14, 2019 (edited) 43 minutes ago, BHM said: One such ‘beast’ was a Meriva with an older engine. Punters used to look at the tax discs to see the tax so in the end I employed the Tippex & black Biro - sold to the next punter who, as he handed over the shilling, commented “It’s cheap to tax this car”! “Sorry pal, I’ve no idea, the tax came free with the car so is your responsibility”. I know the road tax is emission based . But something I often thought about was say take an 55 plate Peugeot 307 1.6 Hdi with 129g/km of emissions take a similar 59 plate Peugeot 207 Hdi with 119g/km the 55 plate costs £125 to tax for 12 months being 129g/km the 59 plate cost £30 to tax for 12 months being 119g/km to me it looks like the same 1.6 hdi engine right up till a late 2010 where they changed it 110g/km costing £20 The mechanic the does our work also said he's even put a salvaged engine in a newer 59 207 from an 05 307 so my question is what did Peugeot do to lower the emissions on the newer cars for what effectively looks like the same engine even down to covers etc although i may be wrong someone more technically minded than me will know the answer .. Edited September 14, 2019 by Casper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Contracts 68 Posted September 14, 2019 They were all at it as the fleet market is CO2 driven for BIK which is a small part of the VW Dieselgate scandal. I believe manufacturers were presenting cars for testing with modifications to the ECU just to pass the set test limits at the lowest possible emissions and Max MPG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Ayers 171 Posted September 14, 2019 58 minutes ago, Casper said: I know the road tax is emission based . But something I often thought about was say take an 55 plate Peugeot 307 1.6 Hdi with 129g/km of emissions take a similar 59 plate Peugeot 207 Hdi with 119g/km the 55 plate costs £125 to tax for 12 months being 129g/km the 59 plate cost £30 to tax for 12 months being 119g/km to me it looks like the same 1.6 hdi engine right up till a late 2010 where they changed it 110g/km costing £20 The mechanic the does our work also said he's even put a salvaged engine in a newer 59 207 from an 05 307 so my question is what did Peugeot do to lower the emissions on the newer cars for what effectively looks like the same engine even down to covers etc although i may be wrong someone more technically minded than me will know the answer .. Sortware? Gear ratio? Tyres? Aero? Remember the old Astra Eco4 from 2001/2. They were only £30 a year tax, and @ 80mpg. Everything else in the range was a lot more to tax and a lot less economical. It was different to the rest of the range for all the above. Quite rare (for an Astra) My paintman still can't kill the one I sold him for £300 5 years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites