Car traders

[Iceman299]

Anyone on here a registered car trader?
I'm contemplating doing his as a way to earn a bit of money around college. Just curious to know about the process and what to beware of etc

Any info is appreciated

[Orta]

I've dabbled in this but never officially declared as a "trader". The difficulty comes in having trade insurance/plates. Then somewhere 2 keep the cars. Then having somewhere to source cars from, then somewhere to Advertize the cars.

I made a bit of money buying from auctions and selling on eBay. But I'm talking £50-150 (record being £275 on a t plate escort). You come up totally buggered when u realize the banger you've brought home needs a £200 part and there goes your profit.

I did it for a couple of years as it was a fun hobby before I had the Rallye to work on but in the two years I made a profit of £214.56 (I keep meticulous records) so not really worth it for money!

[Grant]

As above, I've often thought about this, and for the reasons listed above, never bothered.


You need trade plates if you are to do it properly, or at minimum a trailer and a means of towing it. Trade insurance is quite pricey, and profit margins are small.


Could be done, but IMO as a 'buy one every couple of months, do it up and sell it on' type of thing, it would work out financially ineffective.

[Adam-m-h]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy...220414.pdf

This might help.

Insurance
http://thinkmotortrade.co.uk/?gclid=CKL-...wgod7mMA6w

[silverzx]

Without going into to much depth I've never sold a car for a loss (although the 205 might go that way one day) with some cars potentially doubling my investment.

If you have the space, "swag", contacts etc definitely have a crack.

You can't really go to far wrong if your sensible with your purchases, though everyone has wised up to public auctions these days so your best bet is sniffing around local news papers and websites for cheap cars from old people. Tidy them up, service, MOT, sell, repeat.

You will have complications with insurance and declaring taxes though so probably best to do your research before hand.

Alternatively you could juggle selling your "daily" with having a spare car on the drive ready to replace it should you be left carless after a sale, this solves the tax/mot/insurance issue. Most insurance companies will have a clause saying you can only transfer your insurance X times in a year though.

[Iceman299]

Thanks for the input guys.

The only reason i'm thinking about it is i get bored with cars and usually get a new one every few months. I generally atleast break even and make a little profit, including travel costs and insurance amendment fees. The downside with using your own insurance, as already mentioned, is you can only change cars approx 3 times a year.

I'll try looking into trade insurance, seeing what the rough cost will be and take it from there i guess.

[silverzx]

Thanks for the input guys.

The only reason i'm thinking about it is i get bored with cars and usually get a new one every few months. I generally atleast break even and make a little profit, including travel costs and insurance amendment fees. The downside with using your own insurance, as already mentioned, is you can only change cars approx 3 times a year.

I'll try looking into trade insurance, seeing what the rough cost will be and take it from there i guess.

You won't get trade insurance under 25.

[Toms306]

You can, but its ridiculously expensive.

I looked into it last year, but with that, taxed etc it wouldn't be worthwhile. You also have to offer warranty on the cars, so if a gearbox blows 2 months after you sell it its your responsibility.


However I'd be interested to know how it works doing it for a hobby, one a month or less. As I quite like the idea of getting a 'new' car, fixing/cleaning/servicing then selling it on as I have done a few, obviously a small profit would be good. But worried about doing it often for legal reasons.

[Adam-m-h]

I'd try and find some one with a trailer or recovery truck and as previously said buy one spruce it up, mot if needed and sell it on. My mate has a bit of land he uses and he buys on ebay or auto trader but he uses his normal insurance as he can drive any car 3rd party and he just the seller not to cancel their insurance till later on or next day so he can get home.


Also swampy might be able to help Abit more on this subject I've seen a few post suggests he's "in the trade"

[Iceman299]

Im 28 so insurance wouldn't be a problem. I also read about having to offer warranty, that part could soon negate any profit.

Up and until now i only change cars purely out of boredom lol
I've only had the mr2 for a month and i'm selling it with a celica having already replaced it lol good thing we have a private carpark where we live!

Edit: yeah you can get lucky sometimes and the car can still be insured so you can bring it home 3rd party. But lately, in my experience, people buy a new car and transfer insurance before selling the old one. Then you have to either pay £25 admin fee or ~£30 temp insurance

[powerandtorque]

Edit: yeah you can get lucky sometimes and the car can still be insured so you can bring it home 3rd party. But lately, in my experience, people buy a new car and transfer insurance before selling the old one. Then you have to either pay £25 admin fee or ~£30 temp insurance

Careful with that, as you're probably actually driving uninsured given that you're the owner of the car, regardless of whether there is or isn't another policy on it.

Generally speaking, 3rd party cover driving other cars only applies if you're not the owner and there is an existing policy covering the vehicle.

[londondan86]

I do trade cars. Both myself and my business partner have a registered company. So far we are nicely into profit having only turned around a dozen or so cars this year (we both have full time jobs and families)
Trade insurance is great!! We paid £1700 for both of us on the policy where we can add an unlimited amount of cars, both for private use and trade.
Trade plates are also a must as is somewhere to keep whatever you are working on.
As for warranty, as we are not currently reading from a forecourt as far as we can tell we are not liable but as we are genuinely not out to rip people off nothing has even remotely come back negative!
Beware though! Be prepared to looses money as well as make profit as quite often cars are not all they seem!!!
On my phone at the moment so if you need anything explaining in any detail I'll put the grey box on in the corner.

[r3k1355]

Thanks for the input guys.

The only reason i'm thinking about it is i get bored with cars and usually get a new one every few months. I generally atleast break even and make a little profit, including travel costs and insurance amendment fees. The downside with using your own insurance, as already mentioned, is you can only change cars approx 3 times a year.

I'll try looking into trade insurance, seeing what the rough cost will be and take it from there i guess.

You won't get trade insurance under 25.

I got Trade insurance at 22.
I think the company has changed hands/changed names and stuff now, they seem abit more professional than when I first found them

If you're wanting to give it a go then buying a breaking is usually easier, unless you've got massive amounts of Swag and can sell ice to an eskimo.

or buying up broken RX-8's and doing the Tow-fix.

[Iceman299]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll look into trade insurance costs for myself etc and take it from there i guess. Not looking to make a killing, just as a hobby and make a few ££ in the process

[maxlee]

if u have trade insurance if you have a crash there is a high chance they will ask to see your books
if you can not prove that then its game over also its hard to find a good company that will insure you if under 25
you need to really look in to it mate i have had a copper telling me i'm not insured after i told him i was going to my mates for a tea
then he re read my paper work there is loads of bits people don't realise if there not a real trader the insurance use to to take you money then catch you out later as its not there fault you lied didn't ask about some thing