a friend and i were thinking of having a go at buying a few auction cars and cleaning em up to sell on
can anyone point me in the right direction as far as getting the cars from the auction to home/place of sale...i assume trade plates are needed? but can a part time trader get them and how much do they cost? or would it be best to have a trailer
any pointers or sensible advice is welcome, our hopes would be to buy and sell a few cheapies while keeping our day jobs and work up to more expensive cars and full time if things worked out
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Steve this has been covered before, try doing a forum search, but I am not sure what keywords to try!
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=34431&...f
Above is one thread that may be useful, although it is primarily looking at the insurance side.
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Bit difficult to make much money from auction buys at the moment - seem to be either junk or overpriced (in my part of the world - Midlands). Bear in mind that low interest rates mean that the market for 'cheapies' is a bit thin - not much profit but a lot of liability if you declare as a trader.
I think the thing is to specialise. I have bought/sold a fair few Mercs over the years and not much else. You get to know the foibles and what sells and what doesn't. You could start out with Polos/Golfs/Jettas or something like that...?
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If you are planning to start selling cars from your home your neighbours and the local council may be, quite rightly, concerned. I wouldn't want to live next to a car sales business....
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as said earlier think carefully its a tough job and requires dedication over the call of duty.Keep it as a hobby and it may still be fun look in the back section of autotrader for a part time traders insurance quotation as it has never been cheaper,with regards trade plates if you can prove you need them to run a business part time or full time and have a clean nose then you cannot be denied them, see your local dvla taxation office for the form,the cost is one years (over 1542?cc) engine size currently £180/90 cant remember sorry and too late to go outside and look.
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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Once you get the trade plates then Custom and excise start knocking on your door plus Inland revenue ,health and safety etc
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Once you get the trade plates then Custom and excise start knocking on your door plus Inland revenue ,health and safety etc
Yes, there is quite a lot of that to deal with (tax office etc). Never had H&S come round though?
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If you have not done a risk assessment for H&S then if somebody gets injured your insurance is void plus you will be prosecuted.The holding of trade plates means you must comply with all relevant regulations.Its a bl!!dy minefield trying to stop legal.
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The way business is currently, I understand that EVERY dealer/trader/franchise/garage, is a part timer, just now!!
VB
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If you have not done a risk assessment for H&S then if somebody gets injured your insurance is void plus you will be prosecuted.The holding of trade plates means you must comply with all relevant regulations.
Done that - but never had a visit.
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They only smarm on you when somebody cuts a fingure and claims industrial injuries compensation.
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Martin, I'm glad you have posted this. My neighbour is a full time trader and he makes a nuisance on our neighbourhood. They have made the area from quiet to engine revving noise everyday. Now he has upset everyone on the neighbourhood. So think carefully before you start trading. You might end up loosing the good friendship with your neighbours. You're effectively bring more crime and nuisance to the residential area.
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A bloke a quarter mile up the road from us trades in Mercs and parks several of them on the (narrow) road, two wheels on the pavement. He must spend a fortune on wing mirrors and resprays, so the moral is don't upset your neighbours.
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As a bare minimum you will need:
(a) Some sort of trade insurance. This is a must - even dabling in the odd car is a complete pain without it.
(b) Trade Plates are not difficult to get even if you only trade every now and again. As long as you are pretty legit they will issue them - remember it is not in the DVLA's interest to encourage illegal road use of cars.
(c) You can't store untaxed cars on the road. If you try it and get reported you may lose your trade plate status too.
(d) If you plan to buy from auction you'll need the relevant accounts to reduce the buyers premium from rediculous down to just daft.
(e) If you're trading you need to keep proper records as if you're a company or sole trader. If you break the VAT threshold you need to know how margin VAT works.
(f) Check out your obligations under the sale of goods act.
As others have pointed out the world is full of used cars at the moment so you'll need to find your niche. Buying and selling cars can be fun as a car enthusiast dabbling every now and again as I have done like many here for my own enjoyment on occassion in the past but there is nothing much fun about a below freezing auction hall trading £25 throws all day over a knackered Mondeo day in day out.
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Never bought and sold cars, but i do sort of run two businesses. The main one started off as a hobby two years ago, but turnover next year should be over £4M (funding permitting).
Having spotted some negative comments toward HMR&C, i would say get some impartial advice. Just googling "starting a business" ought to give some pointers (haven't tried it myself, too scared to see what i've missed).
If this is your first business venture, consider:
How serious are you? If you're thinking of getting trade plates, then some sort of business bank account is probably required otherwise you'll be forever paying for things in two halves.
What sort of business - partnership, limited company? Ltd co is £150 to set up and has it's own identity. OK it's more admin but it's detached and should act as a buffer against "i paid for the last valet" etc.
Hunt out your local business link. There's probably a website. You may get some help, even grants but you don't know until you look.
And more car specific - find a niche and stick to it. Something that you know and something that will sell. e.g. Japanese imports, 4x4's etc
Don't try and avoid HMR&C. It is really not worth it.
Or of course you can use folding and hope for the best and try to explain your way out of it when they catch up with you.
TOP TIP - one of our sites is a horrid 1960's house in a v posh area of Bristol. We let a local car dealer to park up to two cars on the drive. His cars are off the road, our property appears to be occupied. Everyone's happy (until the house gets dropped in two months time). So, find a presentable but empty property, and ask the owner if you can leave the cars there.
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sensible post mare and good advice.
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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