new car dealer need advice

[sam62 1]

hi every body  .am new here . i have around 30 years experience in this industry  selling used car most not in the uk but i sell and buy cars from home since 2005 here in the uk but really stoped  in 2008. i want to start again now as a proper used car dealer investing £120000 using a proper dealers facilitie...   warranty and arrange a finance for buyers . am looking for forecourt  to rent around the area of northwest wigan chorley preston bolton .i used to buy cars from ebay or from  main dealers where i live in chorley when i used  trading from home selling 1 or 2 cars a month. any advice on how and where to buy cars from for a trade price a part of the auctions and main dealers?? i want to trade in cars prices from £4000 . whats the profit i need to add on the top of each car? whats the best way to value the  cars please? how many car i need to sell a month to cover all my expenses and whats the profit i should earn a year for my 120k investment? i want to employ  1 staff only and rent a forecourt not more than £15000 a year . many thanks for all of you guys and any advice really appreciated 

Edited December 29, 2015 by sam62
no

[Rory RSC 596]

I have shared this before taken from a glasgow based trader on another forum :-

 

An understanding girlfriend
Rent of a yard
Autotrader bill £850 a week 
Ebay motors bill
Glasses guide
Trade insurance
trade plates
Buisness insurance
Magazine advert
staff (i have 4 and i need them, i couldnt do it without my 2 right hand men who basicly orginise my life for me)
2 x mot stations to use
2 x paint shops to use
2 x auto electricians to use
2x repair garages to use
A diesel specialist
a good scrap yard your friendly with
Merchant services 
Your own transporter
CCTV Equipment
Overflow space - as someone said for me to have 120 cars ready to retail i need another 30 getting prepper and 20 sitting in hand over zone i also have a dead zone for cars i want to forget about haha )
Credit consumers license for finance
trade acounts with bca, manheim, central, sma , interstty and good trade sources for cars, Its easier to sell well prices cars justnow than it is to buy them.
A good accountant.
a good selection of tools
A snap on booster pack, nothing else cuts it for me.
Your own diagnostic and battery recharging equipement
A complaints procedure
a warranty company who will actually pay out.
Friends to help you
A decent internet provider as autotrader dealer edit needs it.
A firm but fair attitude, the public with try take the piss out of you at any opertunity


thats just the basics i can think of there will be tons more, Good luck with it.

[andymc1973 199]

With the greatest of respect if you're having to ask questions should you be investing 120k of your own money?

[sam62 1]

rs car sales thank you very much for the info. but do i need really all what you have listed for small car dealer ? am investing £120k only. 

andy 1973 yes they are my own money   thank you for the question

[BORO PAUL 0]

how many cars do you want to stock ? will depend on how many staff you need

if your average buy is 4k thats 30 cars for your 120k ,

you will need a minimum of 2 people helping you and all of the above listed

Edited December 29, 2015 by BORO PAUL

[Max Branning 149]

I dont see why you would need to inject 120k to get a business off the ground. Rent a small unit to get going on an easy in/out lease. Get maybe 10 cars on the go and let it go from there. I would say 50k would be more than enough. As things start to move then reinvest to build.

Dont try to run before you can walk..!

[sam62 1]

max branning  thank you very much for the advice .can you explain to me what you mean by RENT A SMALL UNIT TO GET GOING ON AN EASY IN OUT LEASE ? what in out least means ? if you have 10 cars for sale you wouldn't sell a number of cars if you have 20, and if you have 40 cars for sale you sell more than you have 20 cars. am right?

the question is where i would stock the cars apart from auctions and main main dealers px ? am really wondering how to get cars. thank you very much for any advice 

BORO PAUL thank you very much for sharing us . what do you think my monthly expenses will be. let say my yard rent around 1200 a month and my trade insurance around 1000 a month to cover cars on road only. what other expenses i need to consider . do i need really insurance for whole the  business   ?

 

[SC Derby 259]

Trade insurance is not £1000 a month, more like £300 I would say.

Yes you do need to insure your stock, what if the place burns down?

Rough monthly costs I'd say, for 120k worth of stock.

Advertising anywhere from £500 to £3,000 depending the route you take

Wages for staff £1200-£2000 again depending on quality of staff

Valeting - guessing you will outsource this so £1k a month maybe?

Insurance (road cover, stock, public liability, employers liability) £500 a month

Rates £500 per month?

Rent £1200 per month

Utilities £200-£300 per month

Wages for you £XXXX depends how much you want to earn

Already at 8k, maybe £10k a month without any of the other costs  that crop up such a vehicle prep, garage bills etc.

 

then every 3 months the VAT man will knocking for circa £6-£8k?

Edited December 30, 2015 by See Cars Derby

[sam62 1]

thank you very much  SEE CARS DERBY for sharing your experience here. if my cost around 8 to 10k a month how many cars i need to sell every month at least to cover the cost and what the average  profit i need to on the top of each car i sell  ? what  profit i  expect for my £120k investment plus my wages ?  

[It's me 615]

is £120,000 enough to start up from scratch and fill a large pitch and service everything?or would 10 cars and an easyish in out without needing to go limited be a better solution,only you can decide but £120,000 wont go that far if you start with a bit of land with planning and not even a caravan and even that brings all the agencies in including the local plod who might insist you have a full cctv so as they dont need to attend but can come and view your discs at their leisure as they do

just my thoughts

[sam62 1]

thank you very much S AND B  for sharing your experience here.am looking for a small yard really not a big one but not easy to find. 10 cars to start with not bad idea . i can increase the  cars gradually 

[BCC 9]

..

Edited November 20, 2016 by Blakedown Car Company

[Caro 0]

Hey people!

I have a question. I bought a car , old timer Jaguar and it was burned to the bottom. My father and I are proud owners of the small company for old timers repairing, we started few years ago. Now, our paint supplier shut down their business due some issues with paint substance. I've been looking trough the google ,looking for something that works for a cars and doesn't have poisonous substances in it. So far I have found this :   https://www.hoecker-polytechnik.com/en/products/paint-mist-extraction-systems-surface-coating-technology.html 

Friend told me that they are really good but I didn't want to contact them before I check with somebody else, does anyone have experience with them?

Thank you very much!