Buying/selling cars as a side business?

ChumLee

bobbymotors wrote: »

Absolutely correct.


As well as retailing cars I used to sell quite a few within the trade too.


EG In the late 90's Ireland's currency was the funt and the exchange rate was quite good.


I used to export probably 5 cars a week to the man in Ireland for a short profit on each one. I knew he would pay, he knew I wouldn't sell him a shed, it worked well. The roads over there are / were so bad that a 30000m Irish car would be worn out but they would pay good money for a 50000m English one.


Plus other trade sales too, probably around a 50/50 split.


My record was 13 cars in one day, 4 retail, 5 to Irealnd, 4 other trade sales.

Is that Patrick Mouse money because pre euro it was the Punt?

bobbymotors

sorry, Punt indeed...

colino

I think most consumers believe that every trader exists on the single car that is sold on a sunny Saturday when Mr and Mrs Herbert deign to put their saved £100 cash to finance their next eurobox.
Ask a chrome and glass place salesman how many cars they , individually, are expected to push each month.

WellKnownSid

The Eastenders effect. The perception that traders can buy cars for £10 and sell them on for £1000 at zero risk, getting by selling no more than three cars a year. No effort, no paperwork.

Joe_Horner

rocketship wrote: »

Okay, but why can't I just buy a car privately (one which already has MOT) and the sell it in a months time as a private seller? Assuming cars up north are cheaper?

The clue's in your own thread title "Selling cars as a side business ". If you're selling by way of business then you're not a private seller.

Claiming that you're a private seller when you're trading carries a potential unlimited fine and 2 years in one of Lizzie's hotels. The fact that lots of people do it and get away with it doesn't make a difference.

Oh, and that's before the Inland Revenue get started on you...

motorguy

WellKnownSid wrote: »

The Eastenders effect. The perception that traders can buy cars for £10 and sell them on for £1000 at zero risk, getting by selling no more than three cars a year. No effort, no paperwork.

And the perception that some £500 snotter should be absolutely perfect and that the slightest fault will make it "not fit for purpose".

And then you get the "my mechanic says" brigade....

motorguy

Genuinely not worth the hassle. If you go completely legit then you're into the realms of trade insurance (probably £2,000 first time), trade plates, autotrader advertising (probably an easy £250 a month), allocation for warranty work (so set aside £200 a car), full MOT, maybe an oil change service, probably VAT @ 20% if you're at it to any great extent, accountant probably another £600 a year, BUT you have to compete on price with Back Street Barry who buys at auction on monday night, doctors the car up to hide any faults, sticks it on gumtree with a disposable SIM number, selling it because his "wife doesnt like it" and will meet you at Tescos. Makes £100 which supplements his dole money and thinks hes Arnold Clark

EdGasket

It's just far to much hassle now to even change your car regularly as a private buyer. Gone are the days when you could hop in a car and drive it home and sometime later tell your insurer. Now you have to tax and insure it before you can even drive it home! There are huge costs with that; costs you will most likely never recoup when trying to sell it on because any prospectibe buyer will also have those costs to take into account. Forget it. Find something else to buy and sell like car parts, or maybe flowers or jewelry.

WellKnownSid

EdGasket wrote: »

Gone are the days when you could hop in a car and drive it home and sometime later tell your insurer. Now you have to tax and insure it before you can even drive it home!

Ha ha yes - the good old piece of paper saying 'Tax applied for' on the windscreen!

It surprises me the number of adverts in the paper I see with 'taxed until xyz' on them... expecting people to pay for tax they cannot legally use.

EdGasket

WellKnownSid wrote: »

Ha ha yes - the good old piece of paper saying 'Tax applied for' on the windscreen!

...and not forgetting the insurance certificate that said "any car owned by the policyholder". Took advantage of that a few times lol.