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Please help me compile a list of popular cars (wanted and loved cars) that cost under £1000. That are easy to sell as they are on demand.
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You're thinking of becoming a trader then?
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Not really as a trader. Im thinking of buying cars from car auction and selling it privately.
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"Not really as a trader. Im thinking of buying cars from car auction and selling it privately. "
A trader thenn
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Any car in this price range is going to be a ropey old thing.
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there are some good cars under 1000, that are reliable and easy to run
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Haven't you answered your own question? ;-)
Golfs sell well due to the badge
Most small to medium Vauxhalls
Ford Fiesta
Clios seem to sell well.
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Please help me compile a list of popular cars (wanted and loved cars) that cost under £1000. That are easy to sell as they are on demand.
May I respectfully suggest that if you need to ask random people on the internet then perhaps you don't know enough about the business you plan to enter.
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thanks Xileno u seem to be knowledgeable but stingy with info.. ta anywayz
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broben you don't seem knowledgeable and hence the question. So are you wise to become an auto trader? I know I would not want to do this for a living. Small profits on cars with customers coming back to complain.
Where you going to be trading from?
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rtj70 i havent decided on anything. i dont want to be a trader, but from time to time i may want to sell a car or two. so i am still brain storming the whole thing
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There are far more knowledgeable people on here than me. £1000 is bottom end of the market so you want to stick with cars that have a good reputation, cheap to service, insure and maintain. Nothing exotic with big engines and I would keep away from diesels at this end of the market unless they have a good history.
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Xileno what is your issue with diesel engines? i actually prefer diesels
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At that price it's condition, not make, that sells.
Sorry to be negative, but you really shouldn't do this. You will be a trader, and therefore expected by the Sale of Goods Act to sell cars that are of satisfactory quality. This is impossible to guarantee at that end of the market, and you'll be forever having cars returned to you or - worse - being sues in the small claims court.
There just have to be better ways of making money.
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has anyone been sued in small claims court before guys? i wonder if this actually really happens. how can you avoid this happening
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>>how can you avoid this happening>>
May I respectfully suggest by not doing what you are mooching over - it's a minefield at the best of times and at the price level you are considering even more so, especially as you seem to have little knowledge of this field.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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has anyone been sued in small claims court before guys? i wonder if this actually really happens. how can you avoid this happening
I take people to court about twice a year, for one thing or the other (often companies screwing me around).
It happens.
A lot.
BTW, the public will try and rip you off.
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The best market at that price is surely 1st time buyers, so low insurance, low to average mileage supeminis that have been cherrished by an elderly owner than can be bought in without needing to be concerned for their history, serviced, marked up and sold on to 17 + year old new drivers. If a little sexy then all the better.
1.0 & 1.1 Saxo / 106
1.2 Clio
1.1 & 1.3 Fiesta
Ka
1.2 Corsa
1.0 & 1.2 Polo
1.2 Punto
Fabia
etc.
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My son has just bought a good condition 106 in this price range. The speedo failed the same day. The trader is attempting to refuse to pay for repairs!
We are heading for the Small Claims Court unless settled.
Unless the OP gets very clued up in the ways of the world, he'll last 3 months and lose a fortune..
madf
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>>The speedo failed the same day. The trader is attempting to refuse to pay for repairs!
>>We are heading for the Small Claims Court unless settled.
I really hope that you lose. Sorry. Actually, I'm not sorry. If the camshaft failed within three months, then yes, you should probably win as it probably was a defect present at the time of sale. But speedo failure - which anyway is probably just needing a new cable which will be a fiver from a scrap yard - is, to my mind, a completely different kettle of fish.
You bought a cheap old car; there was nothing wrong with it when you bought it. Now it has suffered a minor failure, albeit that it now fails the construction and use tests. I am perfectly aware of the legislation under which you hope to be protected, but if you buy an old car you buy potential problems.
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Mapmaker said "I really hope that you lose. Sorry. Actually, I'm not sorry. "
Thanks for being so helpful .
Also
"But speedo failure - which anyway is probably just needing a new cable which will be a fiver from a scrap yard - is, to my mind, a completely different kettle of fish."
It's an electronic speedo. either a loose connection (soldered joint?) or a transducer.. which is £75 new..
Also
"I am perfectly aware of the legislation under which you hope to be protected, but if you buy an old car you buy potential problems. "
So you think failure of a key item within 24 hours of purchase is reasonable.
!.
madf
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>So you think failure of a key item within 24 hours of purchase is reasonable.
Yes.
Unhappy for you; I'm very sorry to hear that your son's new car has developed a problem since he acquired it. I'm also very glad to hear that he managed to find a nice clean car in his price range.
But whilst it would be unreasonable to buy a brand new car and have it fail within 24 hours, the duties of the trader rightly reduce as the second hand item becomes older. You're paying 1,000 not 10,000 after all; and cars get cheaper as they get older for a reason.
You do not suggest that there was any fault with the vehicle at the time of purchase. The legislation deems any fault arising in the first three months to have been present at the time of acquisition. Now, if a camshaft begins to be noisy within that period, then it was almost certainly beginning to fail at the time of sale. But electronic items really do fail spontaneously.
I would not claim against a dealer for such a fault. And I hope that the courts throw out your claim. There is no suggestion that the trader was trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
The advice from trading standards (see link below) is that the onus is on the trader to prove that the fault did not exist at the time of sale. Unless you perjure yourself in court, I do not see how he can fail. After all, with such an obvious item as a speedo you wouldn't have failed to notice the problem on a test drive.
www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=6046
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>Mapmaker
Thank you for your (more) constructive reply.
The speedo was indeed working at the time we purchased it. It failed some 6 hours later...So the law is such it is assumed the fault existed at the time of sale....
We are tring to get the dealer to pay for the repair.. when we know its cost. Small Claims is a last resort (and as the costs are £50 and not recoverable , it would not be worth while anyway...).
madf
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We are tring to get the dealer to pay for the repair.. when we know its cost. Small Claims is a last resort (and as the costs are £50 and not recoverable it would not be worth while anyway...).
Costs are certainly recoverable, if you mean the costs of starting the action.
Speedo breaks, £90 to fix, £30 court costs, your claim is for £120. If you win you get £120.
If you lose you get £0, pay £0.
You can do it all online. It's much easier just to sue than to argue with stroppy car dealers.
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>>So the law is such it is assumed the fault existed at the time of sale....
Not according to Trading Standards who inform us that the law is such it is assumed the fault existed at the time of sale UNLESS the dealer can prove otherwise.
By your own admission the fault was not there at the time of sale. I remain of the view that the failure is the buyer's responsibility. Very very pfd annoying indeed, and I feel for you - we've all bought things that have given rise to money down the drain and it is upsetting and annoying - even that single mouldy apple that a market trader passes off on one.
But I feel even more for the dealer whom you are apparently bullying - against the guidance provided by Trading Standards - into making a repair that he does not need to make.
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The speedo was indeed working at the time we purchased it. It failed some 6 hours later...So the law is such it is assumed the fault existed at the time of sale....
But is it reasonable for the trader to be able to detect the fault? To do that he'd have to take the car to pieces before sale, inspect every part and replace anything that would fail within the warranty period.
You can buy cars like this, you even get to choose a new colour and a nice 57 plate for it. However it wouldn't cost £1000
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>>I take people to court about twice a year, for one thing or the other
Now why doesn't that surprise me.
>>BTW, the public will try and rip you off.
See above ;) There is no way I would sell a second hand car to Flunky even as a private individual.
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There was a lot of money to be made years ago by going to an auction, buying a car and then selling it on. It's a lot harder now. I have been to auction once and bought a Mondeo for £385 all in which I sold for £680, but after advertising, cleaning, petrol, light repairs and insuance, I only made £100 profit split 50/50 with my mate.
It's a great thing to do if you like driving different cars, but there are a lot of bad cars out there which you'll lose money on, and profit margins are low. Even though I made money on it I don't think I am going to do it again...
Forget about making any money on those cheap cars if you declare yourself a trader, as you'd have to fix the problems. There is no problem going to an auction, buying a car, deciding you don't like it and selling it on once or twice a year. If you do it more than that then you might be considered a trader.
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at this end of the market your stock turnover would need to be very high in order to make any money. Your effort, assuming DIY servicing and valeting, would be high; it could be worth it but there's a lot of competition. When I was an apprentice a colleague scoured the auction world for wherever in the country cars sold for the least and the most. He then bought at one and sold at the other (hopefully the right way round) but it was at best a part-time occupation.
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Trouble is, those very same popular cheapie cars are the ones 'Joe Public' bids on at auction. Bidding often goes far too high on them, once 'auction fever' takes hold.....
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I would avoid appearing as a trader. I used to do this until more recently although not full time.
What I did was have a trade motor policy and run 3-4 cars on rota, waiting to add myself to the V5 ( doesnt detract from value much at this price ), sticking a few thousand miles on it and then selling it on after about 3 months.
Always buying with a new or nearly new MOT and never buying something anywhere near market value. Ebay can be quite good for picking up something cheap as few advertisers present their cars well thus people dont bid so high.
If you want to guarantee selling it, buy something mid-range, from major car maker and present it immactulatly. If you can find a useable convertible, mpv or 4x4, these can be easy to sell as always a good demand for them unless knackered.
Dont give up the day job tho!
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what are the returns like? or what where they like?
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what are the returns like? or what where they like? <<
Best viewed as supplementary income rather than main income.
I used to make about £200 on a £600 car, £1000 perhaps £250 but you absolutely have to know your buying something that doesnt need any work other than a good clean, otherwise your profit could be wiped out instantly.
I know a local garage who sell the odd cheap car for a few grand and whenever he gets a cheap trade in for a few hundred, he lets me know.
I got an '86 Cavalier with 50k and full history, plus years MOT off him for £125.
I stuck some tax on it and sold it for £425 the next month. The guy just wanted a car to get him to work and I made a quick £200.
Another trader was given an H plate Cavalier 2.0i GL and he didnt want it so he sold it to me with 2 months MOT for £85 and the next day, a friend of someone I knew gave me £200 for it. All i did was wash it.
Its about contacts more than anything.
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>>Its about contacts more than anything.>>
As a used car dealer friend of mine (who has been in the trade for many, many years) will readily support.
He has, as part of his business, a tie-up with a main BMW dealership taking PX cars off their hands that are a shade too old for the showrooms.
The buyers get cracking cars and he makes a modest profit. He doesn't demand any more than that and, as a result, has more potential buyers than most of his ilk would anticipate.
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What's for you won't pass you by
typo you pointed out edited in for you - PU
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Hope thats not the same used car dealer I know who buys BMWs from Bedford and Northampton BMW dealers!
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No...:-)
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A "safer" tactic is to target rural week-day auctions (where there are fewer punters) and buy poorly presented cars, run them through a car wash and put them straight into an evening action in an urban/city area the following day, where a combination of more punters and hopefully a slightly more attractive car means the car will sell for more than you paid.
Open a volume account with the auction houses to reduce fees. Profits per car will be low (~£50 to ~£100), but do a dozen cars a week and it becomes worthwhile.
But you need the logistics in place (transport, trade plates, insurance, accounts etc) before you can do this.
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where's Bell Boy when you need him?
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He left, gorn, is no more.
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He left gorn is no more.
You sure you're not getting confused with Yorkie?
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At £1000 you are in the dark underbelly of the used car trade. Most serious traders will not be playing about with £1000 cars. Too much liablility and too little margin - its not worth the effort. Money is fairly cheap these days, so most respectable punters will be looking for cars at £3000+.
At £1000 you will be attracting a lot of undesirables - do you really want them to know where you live? Knocking on your door at 10.30pm on a Sunday because the 'charge' light has come on driving back from the pub (and he's got a few of his mates in the car with him for 'moral support').
You might find a few 'diamond' cars, but a lot will be clunkers that have never seen an oil change. Unfortunately the mythical friendly main dealers who let local traders have their tidy p/x's are very few and far between. Most of the big dealer groups have contracts with the major auction houses and pretty much everything will go to them. If they get a good offer on a motor then they will sell it to you, but they won't give it away (they'll probably want more than they were expecting at auction) and you DO have to be a legit trader (premises, VAT no. etc) - the reason being that they will want it to be a genuine 'trade sale' and no possibility of a come-back, you saying it was a retail sale etc. Their used car manager will want the car gone and no come back.
I have said on here before to 'specialise' in something - could be Mercs, BMWs, small-autos, Jap sports cars, 4x4's (well, perhaps not) etc etc. That way you build up your product knowledge and establish a local reputation. Selling random Corsas, Saxos, Clios will be a right pain.
I did once have some take me to Small Claims. I did some work on an Impreza WRX - knew the bloke (youngish lad) very well. It needed a timing belt. I suggested a new tensioner as well (£100 extra, but a good idea). Anyway, he was short of money so no tensioner.
Year later he sold the car to a mate of his. Timing belt then snapped 14 months and 17k miles after I had done the job - tensioner problem. New owner takes me to SCC!! - gets very threatening. I just said 'bring it on'. Anyway, he kept on with it, went to court. I turned up and I won! Does waste a lot of time though.
25 years ago my father and I could make a good living from a smallish workshop and a forecourt of medium-low priced used cars. But the world has moved on. Independent repairers are working 12 hour days and struggling with modern technology. Everybody wants the cheapest car - or an 'offer' (0% etc.). Flogging shrapnel is not easy life. Its not case of buying something cheap at auction, valeting it, and adding £500, its really not.
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