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So I'm looking for some advice and pointers from people in the motor trade in particular sales. Always find myself trawling the normal places for what next and often see things that seem a priced at a point where there's still some room to make some money. Considering taking the leap and starting up a little venture.

What would be nice to know from anyone who has a knowledge on the subject would be the duo's and don'ts. Things that they wish the knew from the off to make things easier, more profitable etc

Any advice more than welcome

Best Regards Steve

Don't get greedy would be my advise, I've been in the trade for 20 years and a lot of salesman i know would rob his granny, they all start off with the best intentions but then start cutting corners to make a quick buck and then wonder why they get a bad name and have very little/no return custom. Bare in mind that a vast majority of cars are for sale for a reason (often because of an expensive bill coming up) so you may be buying someone else's "lemon" make sure EVERY car you sell has a top notch warranty from a 3rd party company otherwise you'll be footing the bill, so allow for a few hundred quid on each sale and include it in the price/your profit.

Thanks for the reply and for the advice. Would you be able to suggest one of the top notch warranty companies? I've read online so not sure how true it is however that by law a minimum of a 3 month warranty has to be given, do you know if that's the case? Any advise on best place to go for motor trade insurance

Really appreciate any pointers

If you didnt even know about 3 months then I would suggest you reconsider


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HYFR wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 25, 2017 3:35 pm

If you didnt even know about 3 months then I would suggest you reconsider


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It's learning a new industry. Nothing wrong with not being knowledgeable on a subject if you're willing to learn.

But, it's a low margin, high risk business ...


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If I were you I would start with some low level stuff. Small low cost small profit options and start private as I think you can sell up to 10 cars a year before you have to register as a business. I'm happy to be corrected on that one.
I've thought about doing the same when I retire as a top up to my pension. However I know nothing about the mechanics of cars so would have to pay others to put things right which would eat into profits.I wish you luck

No such thing as the 10 cars a year thing, if you intend to sell for profit regularly then you immediately become a business, especially in the eyes of our good friends over at hmrc. When i was looking at trade policies they all wanted proof of a minimum (i think) 10 cars sold a year so maybe that's what you were thinking? I decided i didn't want to get into car sales for many reasons so it's not an issue with me. As regards to warranty, most are pretty <beep> to be honest, i see it from the customers side in my workshop and most warranty companies wiggle out of it somehow, I'd recommend meeting the broker for your area and sitting down and going through each policy available from the companies and deciding for yourself. As mentioned above, it's a very risky game to get into, if you're seeing cars advertised low then chances are it has a problem you'll ending up having to fix , why would someone sell a car cheap????

Stevie1982 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:01 am

Thanks for the reply and for the advice. Would you be able to suggest one of the top notch warranty companies? I've read online so not sure how true it is however that by law a minimum of a 3 month warranty has to be given, do you know if that's the case? Any advise on best place to go for motor trade insurance

Really appreciate any pointers

as well as the 3 month warranty, under trading standards anything that breaks within six months of purchase is deemed to be broken when you bought it and it is up to the trader to prove otherwise, a 'tick box check' is not sufficient evidence.

Just an example of the crap you'll be up against, a customer recently purchased a 320d bmw for £6k off a trader i know and it came with a "super dooper warranty" that covers all "major" components, 3 weeks into the new ownership the dual mass flywheel is noisy, even though we all know it needs to be changed asap it still isn't covered under the warranty because it hasnt "failed/broken". The trader made £850 profit on the car after i carried out a service and replaced 2 tyres, replaced the rear discs and pads (although he moaned and only wanted the pads replacing in typical trader style) then he spent the day valeting and getting it showroom shinny. Now he has a decsion to make, does he have his name dragged through the mud all over the internet and have the hassle of trading standards sniffing around or does he just pay the £800 to replace the dmf and clutch? (It's booked in next week and he's paying) Now I'm not saying he isn't doing ok out of it and he does make a profit on the majority of sales but he's also said that it's not a job for a family man, he has viewings most evenings up until 8pm and works Saturday and Sundays all day, not my cup of tea that's for sure, hopefully that gives you an insight of your possible venture.

I'd argue that if you look properly you can find the right car with profit in it, you buy a shitter without knowing/understanding the consequences then naturally you'll end up the wrong side of profit.

Half the success of having a good 'profitable' business is doing the right kind of business in the first place. I have to say though, it's pretty easy to disguise minor issues when selling a car and if the margins are small anyway, it doesn't take much to be in the red. Thats why most car sales businesses have their own mechanics.

I don't think i'd get into full time car sales unless I was really handy with a spanner. I know my way around things and can roll my sleeves up if I need too, but I certainly couldn't have an engine out!

The trouble is you just don't know what's been hidden unless you strip it apart, i see a lot of issues with engine lights that pop on a week or so after purchase and you just know it's not a coincidence, sometimes it's just a simple fix, sometimes it's the variable viens and it needs a new turbo (vag in purticular) and no matter how good you are, you won't see it coming unless it's stored a fault code. The amount of customers that don't want to spend a grand to fix a problem is rising and they just go and part exchange for a new car, then it's someone else's/potentially your problem.100% agree you can do well out of it and i know a fair few wealthy traders that have been in the game for many moons, i personally wouldn't recommend getting into it unless you have a good solid mechanical background and access to your own kitted out workshop, good with valeting and have very thick skin, but that's just my opinion of what I've picked up on, you don't know unless you give it a go.

Fun and games wrote:The trouble is you just don't know what's been hidden unless you strip it apart, i see a lot of issues with engine lights that pop on a week or so after purchase and you just know it's not a coincidence, sometimes it's just a simple fix, sometimes it's the variable viens and it needs a new turbo (vag in purticular) and no matter how good you are, you won't see it coming unless it's stored a fault code. The amount of customers that don't want to spend a grand to fix a problem is rising and they just go and part exchange for a new car, then it's someone else's/potentially your problem.100% agree you can do well out of it and i know a fair few wealthy traders that have been in the game for many moons, i personally wouldn't recommend getting into it unless you have a good solid mechanical background and access to your own kitted out workshop, good with valeting and have very thick skin, but that's just my opinion of what I've picked up on, you don't know unless you give it a go.

Great advice, thanks

Guys thanks for all the great advcie, pointers etc. I'm testing the water at the moment, weighing up the pros and cons to see if this is something I want to get into. I've built a company up prior albeit for someone else. They made my job position redundant after 10 years and the main key to our success was buying right.