Want to be a trader?

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MOTOR TRADER?

Apart from a bob or two ,what will I need.?

Well contrary to popular belief you will not need a sheepskin coat nor a mullet or a cockney accent. You will however require;

1. To be registered with your local council as a trader.

2. Premises with sufficient land from which to trade.You may be able to trade from your home address,however you will need planning permission which will not be easy especially if you live in a residential area due to noise pollution ,extra traffic etc.

3 .Motor Trade Insurance to allow you to drive any car,and Public Liability insurance for your premises.Both of these can be obtained at excellent rates from  One Sure Insurance.who specialise in Motor Trade Insurance.

4. Trade plates to enable you to move non-taxed cars around. You must have motor trader insurance and premises in order to obtain these.

5. If you expect your annual turnover to exceed £67,000 you will need to be registered for V.A.T.Remember this figure is turnover not profit ,so you would only be need to sell 7 cars at an average price of £10,000 to be eligible for V.A.T.

Right, so now you have named and registered your fledling company,you have taken out your Motor Trade insurance and Public Liability Insurance.you have your trade plates and you have registered for V.A.T. All you need now is some stock to sell,so where do I obtain my stock?.

                       A common source for Car traders are Auctions.You will probably need to open an account with an auction house. You will need to spend some time at auctions if you are relatively new to the business in order to obtain a "feel" for the true value of a car, and as you do not get a lot of time  to examine these vehicles, there can be a risk if you are not sure what you are doing.There are now several internet sites on which trading takes place and these are becoming increasingly popular.You can use the Internet to get access to a whole range of vehicles of all makes and age. As a new trader it gives you a better chance of finding the vehicles which you can sell on.There are three types of Internet site.Firstly there are Part exchange sites whereby a dealer will e-mail other registered dealers via a web site detailing cars they wish to sell.Then there are Re- Marketing company web sites which enable you to go on line and purchase vehicles from big dealer groups or from car lease companys.Most of these vehicles will be 3-5 years old and typically will be ex fleet stock.These are instantly available at a fixed price.Some of the big auction groups have invested in the technology to bring "live" images from auctions and once registered you may purchase at the click of a button.

                      Considered by many experienced dealers to be one of the best sources of buying stock at trade prices is from main dealer franchises.It will pay to try to establish a relationship with sales managers of such dealers as they are often restricted by the terms of their franchise as to which vehicles they are allowed to sell on,also you will have plenty of time in which to inspect the vehicles prior to purchase and to check its history.

                       So now you have some stock to sell, Good luck!