No reason why a trader can't be a limited company - and no reason a small trader can't work from home, in which case "viewing by appointment" seems appropriate.
Some dodgy dealers try to hide, appearing to be a private seller when they aren't - to escape the liabilities of traders.
BUT, why no address given and why number plates hidden. All things that i don't think an HONEST GENUINE trader would do.
Edited by oldroverboy. on 19/10/2017 at 12:47
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Lots of people won't give out their address automatically - I know I certainly wouldn't. Think about it, you've got thousands of pounds worth of cars parked up, possibly some of them being desirable to the undesirables. Would you just throw your address out there for them to see and come and pay a visit ?
I know of one trader who works from home in Cheshire, with some very nice cars parked up in a lovely oak barn. His stipulation for someone coming to see him is that he is sent a landline number, and he phones back on that to give the person his postcode and address. All viewings are 'by appointment'
As to numberplates, a lot of people do this to lessen the risk of 'cloning'.
If a trader is masquerading as a private seller, then it's a different matter
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One of the ones that we looked at (with a bit of research) turns out to be a block of (Council?)flats in Buckinghamshire with a very dodgy looking parking area. some of the cars appear to be suspiciously cheap too.
In no way am i saying that all small home traders are dodgy, but everything about this particular one rings alarm bells. And there are 17 cars qith a value of £250,000 ish
So, we phoned to ask for the registraion of the car, happy to give our contact details and asked for the reg number to do an mot history check before driving 85 miles..(my friend really liked the look of the car...)
No you can.t you can have it when you come and i will meet you in the street. Do't think you can come and waste my time! My neighbour said thank you, if you can't give us sufficient details that we cannot do a hpi/mot history check before we drive then it is best if we buy elsewhere.
Phone cut off abruptly!
Edited by oldroverboy. on 19/10/2017 at 13:22
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No reason why a trader can't be a limited company - and no reason a small trader can't work from home, in which case "viewing by appointment" seems appropriate.
Some dodgy dealers try to hide, appearing to be a private seller when they aren't - to escape the liabilities of traders.
As I posted, a small trader working from home, with viewings by appointment only, wants to stop people turning up unannounced.
Many small traders do have a "day-job" as well!
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It's not just about a day job. People turning up unannounced are very difficult to deal with if ouhavee another customer already there, out delivering a car, in the middle of prepping another car, fixing another car, viewing potential stock, collecting a new one, test driving a car prior to sale or popped to the dentist.
If you want proper service, the car you are interested in not blocked in by 12 others, some fuel in it for test drive, it clean and dry so you can appraise it properly and not risk of being sold anyway and/or me being 120 miles away and not having a wastes journey call first! :)
Edited by pd on 19/10/2017 at 14:40
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We bought a Peugeot 106 for oldest son (with his money) about 10 years ago from a sole trader. He bought trade ins from local dealer who would not sell them due to age or work needed.
We had to book an appointment, car was as described, drove well and he was courteous and efficient. He was working at home and had a tame mechanic who worked part time on his cars. The vendor was open honest and very helpful.
It turned out to be an excellent buy...It lasted 3 years with no problems until traded in for a BMW - nothing to do with me...!
Edited by madf on 19/10/2017 at 15:05
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"It's not just about a day job. People turning up unannounced are very difficult to deal with if ouhavee another customer already there, out delivering a car, in the middle of prepping another car, fixing another car, viewing potential stock, collecting a new one, test driving a car prior to sale or popped to the dentist.
If you want proper service, the car you are interested in not blocked in by 12 others, some fuel in it for test drive, it clean and dry so you can appraise it properly and not risk of being sold anyway and/or me being 120 miles away and not having a wastes journey call first! :)"
Kinda hit the nail on the head. When I was trading on a bigger scale I would often have maybe 5-6 cars sitting on the drive at any time, all would be ready to go but i appreciated the time to clean it, double check it and take it a little drive before viewing as cars which are sat unused for even a short time can have scrubbing brakes and possibly a low battery. I also had another business to run so I was rarely sitting at home. In order to view you really did need to call, it also saved you time as the sub £3k cars I typically held didn't sit long.
As for the covering of reg numbers, I admit I used to do this before the Mot check facility became active purely to protect against cloning which is still very common in the UK. I no longer do it so that potential buyers can check the test history before calling if they wish.
However the home/small car trader industry is blighted by rogues and cheats, the vast bulk of those I know through more than two decades in this trade are total fly guys. I was never reliant on the income from it, it was merely a sideline to my main business which generated most of the stock but I was still fully insured and carried a set of trade plates unlike 95% of so called home traders. Be wary! If they don't have trade plates or insurance then you are not covered to test drive the car, your own insurance doesn't cover this unless the car is in a private sale and has a current full comp policy running and even then some insurers won't let you drive another vehicle.
If you're looking on tight budget below £3k then private sales are actually the best way to source a good car. But you do need your wits about you. First thing you say when you call is "I'm calling about the car" if they answer with "what car?" Then you know they're a trade pretending to be a private seller.
Next thing you ask is "how long have you owned it and is it registered to you at your current address?" If less than a year then walk, best if they've owned it 2yrs or more and if it's not registered to them or the V5 is missing then again they're a fly trader so avoid.
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Test drive insurance can be a bit of a pain. I have full accompanied cover but non accompanied can be difficult. I've got an online facility where I can do fully comp for a driver for £4 for 24 hours so if someone seriously wants a long test drive on their own I just do that and they can then drive the car home on it if they buy it and sort out their insurance at leisure later.
It is surprising how many people I basically have to force into a test drive though.
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Test drive insurance can be a bit of a pain. I have full accompanied cover but non accompanied can be difficult. I've got an online facility where I can do fully comp for a driver for £4 for 24 hours so if someone seriously wants a long test drive on their own I just do that and they can then drive the car home on it if they buy it and sort out their insurance at leisure later.
It is surprising how many people I basically have to force into a test drive though.
No chance I'd let someone drive off unaccompanied, I'm not that trusting. No hassle these days for punters to organise insurance online on their phone or my tablet before they head off anyway but I do see the convenience of temporary policies, I've used them before on borrowed commercial vehicles.
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I think that we are missing the point here in that.
It is nice to know that a business trading as a business is in fact a legitimate business, and that someone allegedly selling cars at up to £30000 does in fact have a legitimate business. the case I described above where my neighbour called and was willing to give his details to travel 85 miles and told he could not have the registration number to do a hpi/mot check set alarm bells ringing. More research using the company name only throws up some reviews that... make me want to throw up. They were so Glowing there was a fire risk....
Perhaps the guy was legit, trading from a council block, i checked having done some research and found out a fair bit.
Anyways am now steering him to pay a bit more to a kia dealer who has something that appeals and is still in Kia warranty.
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I think that we are missing the point here in that.
It is nice to know that a business trading as a business is in fact a legitimate business, and that someone allegedly selling cars at up to £30000 does in fact have a legitimate business. the case I described above where my neighbour called and was willing to give his details to travel 85 miles and told he could not have the registration number to do a hpi/mot check set alarm bells ringing. More research using the company name only throws up some reviews that... make me want to throw up. They were so Glowing there was a fire risk....
Perhaps the guy was legit, trading from a council block, i checked having done some research and found out a fair bit.
Anyways am now steering him to pay a bit more to a kia dealer who has something that appeals and is still in Kia warranty.
There's good and bad sellers among all types - the phone call should have been enough to avoid, regardless of whether he was selling a single car, a small trader working from home or a business.
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Haven't been here for a long time but strikes me that there is more to this than meets the eye.. I sent my husband out to buy the new car after the chevrolet as it was easier just to tell him what i wanted he ordered it and appear the submissive missis.
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