Any mid-sized motor traders on here?

[Partyvan]

Hi all,

I'll keep this as brief as I can.

I'm a one-man motor trader. Around 10 cars in stock at any one time, stored in a local yard.

My current process is:
1) Find a car on eBay / gumtree etc. £1000-£3000 range
2) Collect it (via tow car & trailer)
3) Pay for minor repairs / pay for valet / pay for MOT. I don't get too involved.
4) Sell it. Average profit is around 250%, I sell 2-5 cars a month.

How can I grow from this?

I think I'm now holding the business back by trying to do it all myself. I wish I had enough time to just focus on the procurement and sales side of it. Leave repairs and MOT logistics to somebody else. My problem with this is the thought of an employee is quite daunting (payroll, insurance and most of all trust!).

How have other people grown from a one-man-band?

Thanks in advance

[singlecoil]

Partyvan said:

Hi all,

I'll keep this as brief as I can.

I'm a one-man motor trader. Around 10 cars in stock at any one time, stored in a local yard.

My current process is:
1) Find a car on eBay / gumtree etc. £1000-£3000 range
2) Collect it (via tow car & trailer)
3) Pay for minor repairs / pay for valet / pay for MOT. I don't get too involved.
4) Sell it. Average profit is around 250%, I sell 2-5 cars a month.

How can I grow from this?

I think I'm now holding the business back by trying to do it all myself. I wish I had enough time to just focus on the procurement and sales side of it. Leave repairs and MOT logistics to somebody else. My problem with this is the thought of an employee is quite daunting (payroll, insurance and most of all trust!).

How have other people grown from a one-man-band?

Thanks in advance

What does that mean?

[av185]

Presumably he means 25%.

[blue_haddock]

Are you on facebook?

There is a cracking car sales/motor trade group that i'm part of that has all sorts of dealers on it giving help and advice.

[singlecoil]

av185 said:

Presumably he means 25%.

Maybe, but 25% of what?

[av185]

singlecoil said:

av185 said:

Presumably he means 25%.

Maybe, but 25% of what?

Presumably sale price.

[GT03ROB]

singlecoil said:

av185 said:

Presumably he means 25%.

Maybe, but 25% of what?

You're just being pedantic now....

[singlecoil]

GT03ROB said:

singlecoil said:

av185 said:

Presumably he means 25%.

Maybe, but 25% of what?

You're just being pedantic now....

I certainly don't intend to be. There are a number of ways of measuring profit, and when he said that he was averaging 250% I wondered what it meant.

[GT03ROB]

singlecoil said:

I certainly don't intend to be. There are a number of ways of measuring profit, and when he said that he was averaging 250% I wondered what it meant.

Sorry I missed the smiley genuinely!

[Partyvan]

By 250% profit I meant I sell cars for around 2.5 times what I buy them for

Eg £1000 cars for £2500.

Sorry if that's not the correct terminology.

[Partyvan]

blue_haddock said:

There is a cracking car sales/motor trade group that i'm part of that has all sorts of dealers on it giving help and advice.

Thanks what's it called? I'll check it out

[Yell_M3]

If that's all profit, ie not including all the repairs, costs etc you don't need anyone's advice. Just buy more expensive base cars with the 10k a month you're making...

[blue_haddock]

Partyvan said:

blue_haddock said:

There is a cracking car sales/motor trade group that i'm part of that has all sorts of dealers on it giving help and advice.

Thanks what's it called? I'll check it out

car sales/dealer group

[Partyvan]

Yell_M3 said:

If that's all profit, ie not including all the repairs, costs etc you don't need anyone's advice. Just buy more expensive base cars with the 10k a month you're making...

There's overhead costs not included. Main ones being fuel for collecting the cars, hardstanding rent, eBay fees, but generally yes I'm making very good money for very little work.

The advice I really do need is on how to scale it up beyond my own physical efforts. Especially in relation to staff.

blue_haddock said:

car sales/dealer group

Thankyou

[Zoon]

Get a couple of drivers, source cars in one area per day and drop them off to collect the cars.

[rich12]

So you're able to buy a car for £3k and sell it for £7500?
Just crack on with whatever you're doing and continue to keep finding these amazing cars.

[Partyvan]

Zoon said:

Get a couple of drivers, source cars in one area per day and drop them off to collect the cars.

It's difficult finding enough cars in the same sort of areas. I only buy 3-6 cars per month. I'm also wary of somebody towing/trailering a car, the insurance side of it. Also how to put them on a payroll, health & safety and all that jazz.

Also concerned about the money side of it. Don't want to send a stranger away for me with cash, and likewise me bank transfering a "seller" could in fact be a bank transfer to anyone! I know that sounds paranoid, but these are fairly large sums of money involved.

I could easily employ someone "cash in hand" but I want to do things properly, for the sake of all involved.

rich12 said:

So you're able to buy a car for £3k and sell it for £7500?
Just crack on with whatever you're doing and continue to keep finding these amazing cars.

Typically the lower the purchase price on the car, the higher the profit margin. Buy at £1000, sell at £2500 is my most common price point. My bread and butter.

It's old, niche performance cars btw, hence why I think I'm able to do so well as there's a massive variation in price.

Edited by Partyvan on Monday 10th June 16:00

[Partyvan]

In a nutshell:

I have trust issues.

I fear the red tape around employing somebody.

[Trevor555]

Stay as you are.

And that comes from me, who was in a similar position to yourself, albeit not with your profits, who went onto a forecourt with valeting bay etc..

I made more money as the trader who just had a storage yard, doing it all myself.

When I got bigger I had much larger rent/rates to pay, open forecourt so stuff started getting nicked/damaged.

A forecourt needs someone there all the time, when you're off buying/collecting.

Also with the larger forecourt there's the need to keep it full, so you'll end up buying stuff you may not have bought before, for it to sit around not selling.

I went from a stock of 10-12 cars with cheap/secure storage, up to 30-35 on a forecourt.

My yearly profit only went up slightly, and I paid an awful lot of Vat/rent/rates/new radios/damaged doors and windows.

Although radio theft isn't the problem it once was.

[Partyvan]

Trevor555 said:

Stay as you are.

And that comes from me, who was in a similar position to yourself, albeit not with your profits, who went onto a forecourt with valeting bay etc..

I made more money as the trader who just had a storage yard, doing it all myself.

When I got bigger I had much larger rent/rates to pay, open forecourt so stuff started getting nicked/damaged.

A forecourt needs someone there all the time, when you're off buying/collecting.

Also with the larger forecourt there's the need to keep it full, so you'll end up buying stuff you may not have bought before, for it to sit around not selling.

I went from a stock of 10-12 cars with cheap/secure storage, up to 30-35 on a forecourt.

My yearly profit only went up slightly, and I paid an awful lot of Vat/rent/rates/new radios/damaged doors and windows.

Although radio theft isn't the problem it once was.

Thankyou that's exactly the kind of reply I was looking for. "been there done that"

I'm not keen on a forecourt for the same reasons you list. Just perhaps a more streamlined "throughput" of cars. For example I've got a mobile mechanic now who comes to me, saving me time. I have a valeting place 5 minutes away. Ditto the MOT.

I'm just wanting to streamline things and have a broader stock.


If you could go back and do it again, is there a middle ground? Or another way?