Which car to buy?

Post by **rob quilter** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:17 am

Yeah, have a look around your local auction house, some bargins to be had. If they don't supply a hpi, do one before you bid (£3 on my text check). Only downside is you can't drive the car.

Another point, when you sell a car make a receipt and write sold as seen somewhere on there. Then you and the buyer sign and date it just to cover your arse.

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:42 pm

sold as seen would still need to be fit for purpose , eg if you brought a car for 10p then it breaks after 5 yards then hard luck, but if same car cost £2000 then even if it says sold as seen and the same thing happends then the buyer could still claim the cash back (not fit for purpose considering £2000 was spent).

bristol_bb4 · Post by **bristol_bb4** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:47 pm

there is a pretty good car auction near the city ground just off of winterstoke road

Post by **Gayno** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:17 pm

bristol_bb4 wrote:there is a pretty good car auction near the city ground just off of winterstoke road

Really?! Why have I never heard of this?!

Shiny · Post by **Shiny** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:27 pm

If you are buying and selling for profit, this will be deemed as a business, so you will need to be registered as self employed and declare your earnings to the tax man.

You should also take a look at this - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentc ... /DG_183047

A lot of people have dropped out from the game as people pay £500 for a piece of crap and expect it to be as good as a brand new car, so they return the car with the most minor of faults which generally eat away at any profit margin.

Post by **rob quilter** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:39 pm

There is plenty of people doing it and there's money to be made, you just have to pick small, cheap to run cars that have no mechanical faults. So long as they drive fine that's all that really matters, obviously stay away from rusty, dented cars.

Lovedoctor · Post by **Lovedoctor** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:45 pm

I would certainly go for the Polo/Lupo, or something Jap like the Micra. Anything with a good reputation for reliability. That said be careful. I thought of doing something like this only last month. A friend of mine bought a new car and had a old car she was going to get £450 (at best) and before a £50 fee from weripyouoff.com. It was a '02 307 Hdi with 80k on the clock and 7 months MOT. I offered to sell it for her and managed to get £790 clear in her hand after fees. She was obviously delighted but I think it could have been more had I not made the unwitting mistake to finish the auction a day after the clocks jumped forward meaning the auction finished at 11pm

While the new owner (think he was doing similar to yourself btw) gave positive feedback there was also a little bit of a sting - he suggested I had been a little dishonest. On contacting the bloke it appears I had listed the car wrong - I said it had cruise when it didnt ( there is a spare stalk at the wheel - i asked my friend and she said it was cruise control so I listed it) and that a wheel bearing was shot - when he took it above 50 it was glaringly obvious apparently. Considering I asked my friend if it had any driving issues she said no and I only drove it 200yds max to about 20mph I was unaware of this but he said this was the reason.

While I can understand his annoyance about the Cruise (my mistake) he was fully aware that I hadnt drive the car - I was only storing it and selling it on my friends behalf. I actually felt quite bad about it even though he has admitted he still got a great car for the price and, once the issues are sorted, he could easily fetch £1400-£1500 for it making a nice profit on a quick turn around car. I also used the 'sold as seen' comment in the advert and he was quick to point out trading standards gumpf - I believe you can only use this term if the car is being sold for spares or repair.

Anyway - if you go for it good luck with the new venture. My experience, while fun during the tidying, cleaning, presenting and of course following the auction of the car it did leave a wee bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Post by **Gayno** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:49 pm

Thanks guys.

What if I was to buy a little car as a cheap run around, tidy it up while in my posession but then deicde the car isn't for me......surely that's still a private sale?

Post by **rob quilter** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:57 pm

Gayno wrote:Thanks guys.

What if I was to buy a little car as a cheap run around, tidy it up while in my posession but then deicde the car isn't for me......surely that's still a private sale?

bristol_bb4 · Post by **bristol_bb4** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:13 pm