New Start Up

[johny1980 4]

Hi All,

Due to having some time on my hand during covid i decided to have a go at 'flipping' some cars.

In a short space of time i managed to make 2.5k off 3 cars so decided to go 'legit' and have set up a limted company as a part time trader.

I have got premises to store cars (parents farm at the side of the road), appropriate insurance, autotrader trader account, business account, accountant and 2 cars in stock so good to go.

My plan initially is to use autotrader as the paid advertise route and work around getting some of the on facebay/gumtree for free (i am considering ebay motors).

All the cars i stock for now will be low mileage (for age), service history, good mot and be in good condition from the 2 to 4 k mark. This will hopefully minimise any warranty issues but i will be building a 'buffer' for that sceanrio.

I might take some small dividends but the plan is to reinvest any profit into getting to 3/4 cars and increasing the value of the stock. I can be patient as i have a good full time (but flexible job).

So, more of a hello than anything as i have found some of the advise on here useful and look forward to contributing going forward.

However, do feel free to comment on any aspects of my 'plan'.

I do have one question for now (i am sure i will think of more).

Is there an HPI / Vehicle database you can sign up for rather than doing individual checks. I have been paying £9.99 for a full check but tbh havent looked into alternatives as yet?

Thanks - Johny

 

[David Horgan 564]

Experian will be on autotrader when you go to a portal , if your pay as you go i don't think its free , but portal customers get it free. 

good way to start , hope it goes well for you too 

[It's me 615]

1 hour ago, johny1980 said:

Hi All,

 

All the cars i stock for now will be low mileage (for age), service history, good mot and be in good condition from the 2 to 4 k mark. This will hopefully minimise any warranty issues but i will be building a 'buffer' for that sceanrio.

 

 

you are a limited company so litigation stops with you,irrespective of how much service history a car has and no matter how long the mot,it is highly recommended you put a clean fresh independent set of eyes on each and every car via a fresh mot

this would also help your case if you ever had a screamer take you to court

i think weve all bought a car from the block and a wheel has nearly come off at some time in our lives

this assumes you are not having them delivered and just chucking two buckets over them,please say you arent doing this

[johny1980 4]

20 minutes ago, It's me said:

you are a limited company so litigation stops with you,irrespective of how much service history a car has and no matter how long the mot,it is highly recommended you put a clean fresh independent set of eyes on each and every car via a fresh mot

this would also help your case if you ever had a screamer take you to court

i think weve all bought a car from the block and a wheel has nearly come off at some time in our lives

this assumes you are not having them delivered and just chucking two buckets over them,please say you arent doing this

yep i fully understand the responsibilities as a limited company and yes i have put fresh MOT''s on a few of them, i have a good relationship with a mechanic (and bodyshop) who checks anything over i am not sure about. I have been spending money on mots, minor bodywork (scratches), extra keys, fixing advisories, new services to get the book up to date etc. So, no cut corners - i am not afraid to spend and eat into the profit to sell 'straight' cars. Note the word minimise, even thought i know my way around a car, are carefully selected and picked up by myself the day(s) will come where there is an unforseen issue - i will just have to take it on the chin and deal with it appropriately 

Just picked up a Kai Picanto 2011 with 11,000 miles !

58 minutes ago, David Horgan said:

Experian will be on autotrader when you go to a portal , if your pay as you go i don't think its free , but portal customers get it free. 

good way to start , hope it goes well for you too 

Thanks, pay as you go just now as cost of portal/package not worth it unless i have more stock.

[Ratt101 15]

We use RAC dealer passport cost £2.99 per car we check

[LSP Vehicles 11]

Hello, 

Am in similar potion to you so wish you all the best :-)

[johny1980 4]

4 hours ago, Ratt101 said:

We use RAC dealer passport cost £2.99 per car we check

Just looked that up, exactly what i was looking for thanks

2 hours ago, LSP Vehicles said:

Hello, 

Am in similar potion to you so wish you all the best :-)

You to, drop me a PM if you have any questions no matter how daft you think they are

I do have another query that is not specifically car trade related.

But, when you create a business page for your business. Did you,

a) created a business page (commerce) through your personal account

or

b) Setup a completely new facebook account?

Edited July 29, 2020 by johny1980

[LSP Vehicles 11]

2 hours ago, johny1980 said:

Just looked that up, exactly what i was looking for thanks

You to, drop me a PM if you have any questions no matter how daft you think they are

I do have another query that is not specifically car trade related.

But, when you create a business page for your business. Did you,

a) created a business page (commerce) through your personal account

or

b) Setup a completely new facebook account?

Hey Johny1980, 

Thanks for the offer man, I may well do! Where are you based? We are down south in Reading.

We haven't set up any FB/websites as yet, we want to spend a little time understanding how things like auctions work, try to flip 1/2 cars at a time, do it slowly before we advertise as a business as such.  Besides, we have to wait until places like BCA open to allow us to attend to buy stock! With regards to facebook, either way , a business account has to be related to a personal account. Personally my facebook account and it's audience is extremely limited/restricted, so it wouldn't bother me linking the two.  It's just down to preference I guess. 

 

[johny1980 4]

I am up in North East Scotland near Aberdeen. I was keen on not declaring as a proper business for as long as possible but people where starting to notice I was shifting cars etc. So, I just said feck it one day and was up and running fully legit after a few days. The most important bit was getting an accountant who did all the LTD setup. There was no point setting up as a sole trader as intended, as a learnt any profits would immediately be 40% due to my main employment tax band!

[Casper 272]

On 7/29/2020 at 4:37 PM, LSP Vehicles said:

Hello, 

Am in similar potion to you so wish you all the best :-)

 

On 7/29/2020 at 12:07 PM, johny1980 said:

Hi All,

Due to having some time on my hand during covid i decided to have a go at 'flipping' some cars.

In a short space of time i managed to make 2.5k off 3 cars so decided to go 'legit' and have set up a limted company as a part time trader.

I have got premises to store cars (parents farm at the side of the road), appropriate insurance, autotrader trader account, business account, accountant and 2 cars in stock so good to go.

My plan initially is to use autotrader as the paid advertise route and work around getting some of the on facebay/gumtree for free (i am considering ebay motors).

All the cars i stock for now will be low mileage (for age), service history, good mot and be in good condition from the 2 to 4 k mark. This will hopefully minimise any warranty issues but i will be building a 'buffer' for that sceanrio.

I might take some small dividends but the plan is to reinvest any profit into getting to 3/4 cars and increasing the value of the stock. I can be patient as i have a good full time (but flexible job).

So, more of a hello than anything as i have found some of the advise on here useful and look forward to contributing going forward.

However, do feel free to comment on any aspects of my 'plan'.

I do have one question for now (i am sure i will think of more).

Is there an HPI / Vehicle database you can sign up for rather than doing individual checks. I have been paying £9.99 for a full check but tbh havent looked into alternatives as yet?

Thanks - Johny

 

All the best to you both welcome to the forum . Good luck with the new ventures 

[LSP Vehicles 11]

43 minutes ago, Casper said:

 

All the best to you both welcome to the forum . Good luck with the new ventures 

Thank you Casper!

[Frankieola 22]

23 hours ago, Casper said:

 

All the best to you both welcome to the forum . Good luck with the new ventures 

Exactly what Casper said, Welcome to the forum and good luck.

Where are you getting your stock from at the moment? 

[LSP Vehicles 11]

1 hour ago, Frankieola said:

Exactly what Casper said, Welcome to the forum and good luck.

Where are you getting your stock from at the moment? 

Hi Frankieola, thanks.

With regards to us, we have literally just started (spent weeks reading through the forum), we have yet to buy our first vehicle, currently enquiring about a few, but scouring FB, Gumtree etc. we are researching, learning about values etc

I did read on here somewhere there was a "how to be a dealer guide" but can't seem to find the link if anyway could point me in the right direction.

Thanks

[Dave2302 387]

11 hours ago, LSP Vehicles said:

"how to be a dealer guide"

It's all on the forum here somewhere, and yes I think there is a newbie guide done by CD Magazine, well worth it.

Answer this question honestly, it is not a trick question ...........

How many of the vehicles you have personally owned over the years have you made a profit on when you have sold them ?

Just sayin

Buying good stuff at rock bottom and completely "above board" is the only way for anyone to make money long term these days, I certainly wouldn't be starting a business right now with all the uncertainty so I wish you very good luck

[LSP Vehicles 11]

2 hours ago, Dave2302 said:

It's all on the forum here somewhere, and yes I think there is a newbie guide done by CD Magazine, well worth it.

Answer this question honestly, it is not a trick question ...........

How many of the vehicles you have personally owned over the years have you made a profit on when you have sold them ?

Just sayin

Buying good stuff at rock bottom and completely "above board" is the only way for anyone to make money long term these days, I certainly wouldn't be starting a business right now with all the uncertainty so I wish you very good luck

Thanks, I shall have trawl through see if I can find.

Honestly, I’ve never owned a car longer than a year or so and have only lost money on one (talking into account any maintenance/repairs I’ve had to do on any of them).

we saved up some Mahoney for this “venture” and obviously every business has its risks which we are prepared for. Initially, it doesn’t take a huge amount of capital so the intention is to start steady along our day jobs and see’ show it goes.

Personally, I think now is a pretty good time for a start up wanting to ease their way in.

The way we see it, if it doesn’t succeed, at least we’ve tried :-)

[Billy Joe Public 2]

HTH

[Dave2302 387]

On 8/1/2020 at 1:49 PM, LSP Vehicles said:

I’ve never owned a car longer than a year or so and have only lost money on one (talking into account any maintenance/repairs I’ve had to do on any of them).

Well that's exactly what I was getting at, you do at least have the right track record.

I speak to many guys who start trading and are struggling, and they have never made a profit on anything, so my theory seems to be that if you can make a profit before you start Trading, then you are very likely gonna make a success and I wish you good luck.

I first bought a Car at age 16 an old MOT Failer, a Twin Cam Fiat 124 Sport Coupe ......................

I paid peanuts, was gonna keep it as my first road Legal Car, so I welded it up, got it into nice condition, tested it and then some guy wanted it so I sold it .............. Made a few hundred, and that was back in 1978, been doing that ever since, and I can honestly say that it isn't very often I make a loss, and if it is it's minimal, even the most seasoned pro's get them every now and again

[trade vet 704]

2 minutes ago, Dave2302 said:

Well that's exactly what I was getting at, you do at least have the right track record.

I speak to many guys who start trading and are struggling, and they have never made a profit on anything, so my theory seems to be that if you can make a profit before you start Trading, then you are very likely gonna make a success and I wish you good luck.

I first bought a Car at age 16 an old MOT Failer, a Twin Cam Fiat 124 Sport Coupe ......................

I paid peanuts, was gonna keep it as my first road Legal Car, so I welded it up, got it into nice condition, tested it and then some guy wanted it so I sold it .............. Made a few hundred, and that was back in 1978, been doing that ever since, and I can honestly say that it isn't very often I make a loss, and if it is it's minimal, even the most seasoned pro's get them every now and again

Ha Ha 124,saloons ,estates and coupes,when we started we did well with those ,they were so cheap.You just had to fill the wings with Mary Bakers.

[Dave2302 387]

Ha, bet you remember old Paddy Plod he was good with newspaper, chicken wire and Mary Bakers;)

I was a dab hand with Oxy Acetylene torch and metal plate, welding sills and floors and inner sills etc etc etc on Minis Mk2 Cortinas and Mk1 Escorts when I was 13

I was in with JC Autobreakers at that time used to cut sides out of Vans they were breaking, good source of Steel Plate to make repair sections from, long before the days of Brent Auto Panels .......................

Remember them ? .........................

Trade counter full of grease monkeys buying panels and all you got from the god Squad was "Please don't blaspheme in our premises"

[It's me 615]

14 minutes ago, Dave2302 said:

Ha, bet you remember old Paddy Plod he was good with newspaper, chicken wire and Mary Bakers;)

I was a dab hand with Oxy Acetylene torch and metal plate, welding sills and floors and inner sills etc etc etc on Minis Mk2 Cortinas and Mk1 Escorts when I was 13

I was in with JC Autobreakers at that time used to cut sides out of Vans they were breaking, good source of Steel Plate to make repair sections from, long before the days of Brent Auto Panels .......................

Remember them ? .........................

Trade counter full of grease monkeys buying panels and all you got from the god Squad was "Please don't blaspheme in our premises"

I always laugh when people say they used old duckhams cans,i found them too thin to weld

I preferred old washing machine sides or roofs from scrappers just like you

weirdly I needed a sheet of steel this week and my usual supplier has turned off my business account because I haven't used them enough this last 6 weeks so I went to the nearest large town to buy one  this factor was shut too ,so I went on ebay the prices for steel on there tell me I need to cut a roof out again,i found a car door and cut this up instead 

[trade vet 704]

2 hours ago, Dave2302 said:

Ha, bet you remember old Paddy Plod he was good with newspaper, chicken wire and Mary Bakers;)

I was a dab hand with Oxy Acetylene torch and metal plate, welding sills and floors and inner sills etc etc etc on Minis Mk2 Cortinas and Mk1 Escorts when I was 13

I was in with JC Autobreakers at that time used to cut sides out of Vans they were breaking, good source of Steel Plate to make repair sections from, long before the days of Brent Auto Panels .......................

Remember them ? .........................

Trade counter full of grease monkeys buying panels and all you got from the god Squad was "Please don't blaspheme in our premises"

Welding at 13,what a star.You must have been inundated with work.We used loads of under seal to cover Mary Bakers on sills,wheel arches and inner wings,it was normal practice.

[Dave2302 387]

My parents always hated it when I asked for stuff like a Socket Set or Welder for Christmas, rather than Bicycle, Footie Boots etc etc

[Rory RSC 596]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:07 AM, LSP Vehicles said:

Hi Frankieola, thanks.

With regards to us, we have literally just started (spent weeks reading through the forum), we have yet to buy our first vehicle, currently enquiring about a few, but scouring FB, Gumtree etc. we are researching, learning about values etc

I did read on here somewhere there was a "how to be a dealer guide" but can't seem to find the link if anyway could point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Just buy one, then sell it. Stop thinking start doing. You will probably make money, you might lose a little but you learn with each one. A few years later you will be taking £2k/£3k out of cars, Grands on finance comission and making a living.

[chrishowie 14]

best of luck, it can be a lot of fun but stock value is high at the moment and suggestions are... some are going to get caught holding the baby so to speak very soon when the economy crashes.

However for now, it is busy so make hay, have fun and expect your first screemer/i bought the wrong car/ the key fob battery has gone...!

All the best : )

[Dave2302 387]

12 hours ago, chrishowie said:

best of luck, it can be a lot of fun but stock value is high at the moment and suggestions are... some are going to get caught holding the baby so to speak very soon when the economy crashes.

However for now, it is busy so make hay, have fun and expect your first screemer/i bought the wrong car/ the key fob battery has gone...!

All the best : )

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