Starting out in the motor trade (flipping your first car).
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- If you are thinking of buying and selling cars as a side business or looking to sack your boss and become a full time trader, this series of videos will help you get started.
This video shows you what to expect when buying your first trade car, how to add value to it and how much profit can be made.
Loved the before and after results, but really could've done with a few minutes of showing you doing polishing, seats cleaning, carpets etc.
Just starting out in the Motor Trade so yes I’d have bought it for 250 and hoped to make similar margins. Thanks for an informative video.
What happend? If you don’t mind updating us
Great content, showing the process of the detail would add more to the vid I think, you’ve done the best in that situation. Polishing and a general tidy up definitely the way to go with that age and condition of car, wouldnt warrant any paint work, would of just eaten into profit margins, looking to get into this myself been detailing for years and whenever I go to most dealers forecourts I’m actually quite shocked at the presentation and condition of a lot of the cars they are trying to retail. Great work
Thanks for your comment Nick, I appreciate it.
My first business was detailing also.
Someone else mentioned they would have liked to have seen the whole process so I will defiantly add that next time.
I totally agree with you about the presentation and condition on dealer forecourts.
Cheers
It's Interesting you can still see so many old Vauxhall Corsa on the road, because of their reliability.
Hi Steven, fun little car. Amazing what can be achieved with a common sense and practical approach. Many people would look at that paint and think it needs a respay, but red paint with no clear coat corrodes at the surface turning powdery pink. Personally I would clay bar first, because it’s quick to do and makes the polishing easier. It will fade again unless the new owner waxes regularly or uses a ceramic coating. Elbow grease goes a long way, and it’s cheaper than a gym membership - top job!
Thanks Si, appreciate it.
i would have bought it for 250.00 all day, i was a detailer for 25 years so can transform a car for little money myself, the hard part is finding enough cars to make it a living these days.
Everyone is in the same situation trying to get cars is almost impossible the auctions by me with 55000 miles on it would have fetched around £600 + fees, private sales on Facebook marketplace are good for beginners,
Hard to believe its the same motor. Great content. Thanks.
That shopping cart full of garbage in shot really makes the video pop :)
Brilliant job Steven tidy little runabout this Corsa 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Great job, you done well to do it in a day I normally take a day on outside and a day inside, it's probably good advice for a car of that age to mot first before putting the time into it, just pointing out that if you are vat registered the vat is from £250- 950 sale price so would be £140 vat to pay , Great video Steve
Thanks John
Vat is more complicated than just a 20% of the difference between the sale and purchase price.
Most VAT registered dealers use the 'Margin Scheme' which is a lower rate of 1/6th of the difference. (I will do a video on this at some point).
These video's are for those just starting out so won't be VAT registered, that's why I didn't include it.
I had one of these as my first car it was a 1.0 corsa life same colour but 2 door. Payed £590
For it spent about £380 on it put all the SXi bits on it added front fogs alloys etc even some irmscher bits. Sold it for £1350 with a fresh mot 😄
Hope you and the family are feeling better now and hope you have all had a good weekend
Great little Vauxhall Corsa C,love the transformation,great content :D
Thank you! 👍
Just done one for my daughter 51000 on a 06 I give 300 and respray cost me 600 off a mate you would think it just came out of the showroom 💎
Really good video 🙂 been thinking about starting this myself. Timing chain sounds a little stretched but still a cheap car for somebody 😊
Love watching car flips. Like your content after seeing this video. I would have personally got a new gear and handbrake gaitor as the current one was worn out. Cheep fix but adds value and looks much cleaner.
Keep the content coming. Would like to see bit more detail on the cleaning process. Maybe a time-lapse.
Love it still tho. All the best.
Thanks
I’ve got a sealey mop 27 years old, just replaced it with a dewalt but it’s still going, my DA sander is the same age.
Goes to show if you look after things they can run forever.
I would def have taken a punt on it. I do a lot of detailing of my cars. Wanted to start detailing business but bad back stopped me. I do most mechanical work myself as well so I would of had it done even cheaper.
Timing chain rattling so probably a scrapper but its a good start as a cheap runaround for someone
It was checked over by a very good mechanic and the dealership themselves before I collected it. I wouldn't put that much work into a car and risk it coming back on me.
@@Stevesautos A 20 year old car was taken to the dealership? I can assure you that is a rattling chain. Probably won't get worse or come back to you but at the end of the day it was an end of life vehicle. Good profit for you though
Try blowing the exterior faded black plastics with a heat gun, brings them up like new and saves money on conditioners.
But fades within a few months as your exposing the pours to the elements, with the proper treatment it can be a long term solution.
I just watched you do the most ordinary wheel paint job I've ever seen on one of your vids. Banging on about saving money.
Have you suddenly got a concious now?
@@Stevesautos oh and you forgot to add the price of rear springs and front brake pads to your cost margin.
Painted wheels aren't going to fade in a few months are they. An ordinary paint job, on an ordinary car, that sold for an ordinary price.
I think you mean conscience, genius. Conscious (concious I'm guessing) means awake and responding.
*Conscience
you really took a punt on just how well the body was going to mop up.. gair play though, goes to show what one can acheive with some tools and a place to prep them. good luck
@markbird5461 Thanks, I literally prepped that one outside the house, I will make a video on how you tell good from bad paint, thanks for the idea.
Wow I've literally only just subscribed to you and cannot wait to see more. I'd of probably not bought it myself as would of been concerned over what it may of wanted for the mot. Have tried this before and the mot cost has nearly been the same price again as it was to buy the car so I ended up out of pocket. I'm clearly not as good as you 😛
Lee, just comes down to experience and having people around you to do the work at a good rate.
There is no trader out there that hasn't been stung and bought a lemon.
This is very true, however I've given up now I've lost thousands over the years. The only car I ever made cash on was a KA, bought it for £200, kept it 6 months spending nothing on it and sold it for £300. 😂 Please do some more great videos I was glued to the corsa 👌👌
Hi Steve have just found your channel and have subscribed
Very well put together video, really enjoyed it 👍 definitely would have bought that because of the mileage, was soo low for that car.
Thanks 👍
Hi Steve good luck with the mot test and yes the car has come up really well
What a difference
I like what your doing, but there’s a BUT ! If you offset the man hours against the margins they are tiny, but if ya having fun and making a few quid great
Hey Andrew, thanks for your comment.
That was a good days work and earned nearly £500, I don't think that's bad.
Remember, this video series is about getting started from the ground up, reinvest for better quality stock and soon the margins become £1000 per flip.
But, yes it can be fun.
Cheers
Great video, I’ve subscribed 😁
Awesome, thank you!
Hi Steven,
Great video, I'm trying to get into the business my self, could you go through how you write your listing and the description.
Definitely subscribing
Hi Bilaal
Sure, I have a few video's to make but will deffo add that to the list.
Glad you liked the video.
Having just starting out I'd buy it for £250 as a punt and try make what I could on it
That's the first car I ever bought in the trade to get going.
Where in Wales are you from mate. I've done a few cars over the years, nice to see a fellow Welsh lad doing it.
I'm Newport based, and thanks I appreciate it.
Missed the expenses for cleaning products.
I normally go for mechanical spares or repair, did a corsa c a couple of years ago full dealer service history very clean but the engine was in the boot, made a few £sss on it
Waaaay too much stress
I personally find spares or repairs to be either a lot of work or just to much of a risk. I have had a few in as part exchange but only paid scrap value and I did actually scrap most of them.
What works for one person is always different to the next, as long as money is made.
Another great vid, and yes I would have bought it
You and me both!
Nice work turned out great!
Thanks mate
It started off with a left hand drive car!
or i was using the screen camera when it was facing me and the the external camera when i was out side.
You can use Tyre Shine Foam Spray for your engine bay, it turns out really nice, take care.
You can but once it dries it goes back to the faded colour or it can look oily, I use that if I run out of plastic conditioner (From Auto Smart), that puts the colour back into the plastic, takes a few treatments but works really well.
Not too many dealers sell to the trade nowadays. Off to the block unfortunately.
Lots of sales managers would take a drink from their regular traders. That's why it's difficult to make the connection
You may need to pay more on your first few cars just to build that relationship.
Looks really good mate well done
Thanks 👍
Hi Steve, this information is really helpful tysm for that. Can you please tell as a side income where i can source the stock from? Auction ??
Auction yes, also go and speak with the main dealers, they will often let you buy the part ex cars instead of paying auction fees.
"Wet dog" I have a few possibilities on why that is. 1. They had a dog whom was wet at some point
2. They stroked there sausage a lot
3. The car was Used for corn but with a P instead of C
4.bonus.i have no clue and I get blocked
This video is listed as not for children, yet here you are with a mental age of 10 year old and the comic value of a tree.
Only thing i could see being a issue is if anything major goes wrong with the car under a months time they then request a full refund as its been bought from a trader
If something major went wrong within the 30 days then I should give them their money back, as I didn't prep the car for sale properly.
The law says that the dealer has the opportunity to repair the issue or refund, it is quite a grey area, where expectation plays a major part here, I think I need to make a video about this.
More vids please! Buy more stock 👍
Yes agree with you
Nice job
Thank you! Cheers!
The problem in Ecuador for me is that a usted car needs a lot of money, to buy a Corsa like that You need around 6 to 7k dollars =(
WOW, that's a hefty price, I bet there's a big import market there.
Hi Steven really enjoyed your vid. It shows the paint cutting compound I think you used but could you please advise on the other products you use to finish the paintwork and whether you used your machine to apply these other treatments? Thanks again for a great vid, Richard
Hi Richard,
I only ever cut with the machine, after that I use clear turtle wax and just a good trade polish specific for used vehicles, nothing particular, you can get them on ebay in 5 litre cans for about £20
Nice informative video, shows what can be done, where did you get the number plates so cheap.
Ebay, every time, alwys the cheapest for plates.
Great video sir
Thanks
Good cars them corsas
Drive for ever
What about your time, cleaning equipment , electricity, tool costs , business insurance , putting fuel and oil in it ,etc etc etc plus income tax on profit and ni .
You sound very positive their Chris (LOL).
1) A days work for that much profit seems pretty good to me as a side business.
2) Equipment and chemicals you need to average over X number of cars as you will be buying 5, 10 or 25 litre at a time. I put the cost of the car wash in my sums but you wouldn't be using more that a few pounds per car for chemicals, electric and equipment (all deductible cost) and don't quote me but I believe you can claim about £25 a month for working from home which covers the electric etc.
3) Business insurance, again you need to average it out over the number of cars you sell in a year.
4) I don't think I put fuel or oil in this one myself, but oil will come under a service cost.
5) Income tax you pay on the overall profit at the end of the year, if you are reinvesting what you make into more stock, like you will do when starting out then you won't pay income tax on it until you are making an overall profit, it doesn't work out per car so would be difficult to comment.
6) NI, again is personal circumstance, there are different levels depending on how much profit you make. It also depends of if you are a sole trader or a Ltd.
Great video. I'm in the US but have a granddaughter in Scotland.
Are there similar deals in Scotland? She needs a car. I'll buy the next one you fix up if it's a similar deal.
@jerryp967 Thanks, Yes you can still get cheap cars if you know where to look in Scotland, it would probably cost you more to get a cheapy to Scotland from where I am sadly.
Flipping a car you know you can make a profit on is always better than scrapping it
I agree
great video, thanks for taking the time o post it, what MOP was that on your polisher? New sub added cheers
Hey Pablo
I find mop head colours can be different depending on the manufacturer, for this I used quite a hard one, keeping it wet, I keep dipping it in the bucket of water (yes it makes a mess but you get a good result) but my top tip is to use the right compound, here i used Ferecla g3 which is a general grit compound.
Why didn’t you change the gear lever and handbrake covers? Make it look better. And they are cheap
Because it was a cheap car, every pound counts and I wouldn't have made anymore profit by doing it, if the car was mint all around then I probably would have, but it had that dent in the rear quarter, so it had reached the ceiling value, the car wasn't bodged in any way and the customer got more for his money that his expectations. one happy customer and a bit more profit for me.
love the video
Thanks, I appreciate it.
What trader insurance do you have? I’m struggling to get insurance as I have no experience in trading cars
Looks a totaly different car 👍
getting the faded paint looking like that looks good,typical red paint fades,what did you use to clean the black plastics under the bonnet,as I normally use WD40
Hey Sean
I use a product by 'Autosmart' brings up any plastics like new.
@@Stevesautos is it widely available ?
I’m starting out on my journey. How do you arrange the log book and insurance. Not being a trader I’m wondering about insurance and adding another owner on the log book
Once you have insurance in place (google motor trade insurance) you don't need to add another owner, when you logon to the DVLA website to change ownership it gives the option of registering the car into trade, you take the log book without adding an owner and then pass the same log book to the next owner.
If you buy from auction you will need a trade policy for the auction to accept you as a trader and and they will register it in trade for you, otherwise they will register it to you as a private seller.
Question ... how do you get them back to your home? Trying to start and I can go to view cars in my own personal car but literally dont have anyone who will will drive the car back home with me if I buy it.
Depends on the distance, if its a longer journey I use a vehicle transporter who charges me per mile.
This is just the video I needed to give me tje confidence to start this journey. Been thinking about it for a while but didn't think I'd be able to pick something up cheap.
For £250 my eyes would have lit up like a Christmas tree. Do you use traders insurance?
Yes mate, watch my 'what does it cost to become a motor trader' video.
What about motor trade insurance and trade plates when you starting out.. how can you do it?
check out my other video on my channel, it will answer that question for you.
Very good interesting video. Well put together with the before and afters. Lost a lot of content though? Could have shown a bit of the interior / exterior clean. But still good viewing
Thanks Martin, I didn't want to bore people with the cleaning, but will look at adding it to another car. Cheers
@@Stevesautos that's ok. It's your channel :-) hope to see more flip vids
Id probably have offered 200 to the dealer you did well though but I wonder how long that colour would last before it turned pink otherwise Id never jet wash an engine bay & Id probably have done an oil & filter change, just my opimion think you did a good job all in - wonder if ther would be any comeback in say a month if something went wrong that 400 profit would soon go 👍👍
Hey Dave
If that's what it owes the dealer then that's usually what they want for it, some times you get some real bargains depending on what it owes them, but you need to build up a relationship with them in the beginning so don't be walked over but also be prepared to pay slightly higher than you might have in mind, saying that if you bought it at auction you would need to pay the sales fee and vat on that fee which would be more than £50.
I always make sure my vehicles are checked over properly and I drive them myself for a few days to make sure, with cars like this it all comes down to expectations and as long as you prep it right then it shouldn't come back. I can honestly count on one hand the amount of cars I have had to sort out once they left me.
If there was more profit then I would have done an oil and filter change but on this type of car at this price, people don't usually care as it's just a run around.
And, regards to the colour, ford use a water base paint, so as long as you seal the paint with a good quality wax it should last a fair amount of time providing they don't take it through a mechanical car wash.
@@Stevesautos Ford? It's a vauxhall..
Great video. where do you go to buy the car?
A mixture of main dealer part exchanges, auctions or now and then I buy from ebay or facebook market place.
Hi,
Very good video mate. Im looking to start this journey myself. Did you pick this corsa from a private trader? What’s the general process - buy from auctions to selling online gum tree eBay etc?
I pick up most cars from the main dealers, for more expensive cars around the £2k mark I use autotrader, prices are higher on there than ebay.
Great video mate.. how would you go about insurance if you are just starting out? If I’m just doing the odd few cars here and there whilst I build up some capital it’s hard to justify traders insurance. Just wondering if you have any insight on that? Thanks for the content!
Hi James, have a watch of my, what does it cost to become a motor trader, I talk about insurance there.
Where are you actually getting low priced stock from these days? Everyone seems to be saying the auctions are a rip-off so how can yopu find decent deals ? Is it basically all gumtree and fb marketplace? Most of those guys are traders too.
Hey Francis
I never buy from gumtree or Facebook, I go to the main dealers and big used car dealers who have newer stock and create a relationship with them, auctions prices have risen recently, but so have retail prices so you might pay more but you sell it for a higher price.
@@Stevesautoswhat happened to your website - wanted to get in touch if poss.
May be nice making £400+ for a day's work ,
You need to let your followers know ,about your legal obligations being a car trader ,The warranty you need to give with the vehicle,
With that Corsa ,you could hear the chain rattle on it ,
You should actually advise certain vehicles to avoid when starting out ,
Especially if there thinking of doing everything legally,
As you may know them Corsa are renowned for head gaskets and timing chains ,,
That motors a warranty claim waiting to happen ,
Hate to burst your bubble, but you don't need to put a warranty on any car you sell, it is not a legal requirement and to be honest a car of this age a warranty wouldn't cover anything as it would be age related.
You should have confidence in your stock by preparing them well and you will know that you are liable for major and existing problems for 30 days but it also comes down to customer expectations, if it were a £10k car you would expect more than a £600 car.
And in general they are not prone to head gaskets, especially at this mileage, and you clearly don't know your engines, that is how these corsa engines sound, when they were fairly new you would always hear dealers at auctions trying to put public buyers off by telling them you can hear the chain or tappets. This had no irregular tapping noise and I checked the MOT from a year later and it passed with zero advisories, and that's down to prepping properly and spending a little more to make sure it's perfect.
I have never sold a dud car.
If it’s £250 I would have bought it. Did you buy it from a dealer or at an auction?
It would have been nice if you have mentioned the material/equipment you used to clean the car.
Thank you
Bought from a dealer, I will do a full video on cleaning cars and what to use.
thanks for the comment, I appreciate it
Hi Ste, what do you think about buying a car from a trader 300 miles away with really good customer autotrader feedback but only 5 feedback on Ebay, or just distance buying in general?
Cheers man
Hi buddy
Firstly, you need to ask what guarantees the trader will give you, so because you are buying at a distance will the dealer give you the assurance that the vehicle is as described, when I sell to a distance buyer I will do a walk around recording a video, this is a good opportunity to cover myself as I can point out any issues or minor defects, it's also a good record of how the car left me in case of damage in transit etc.
As long as there is no bad feedback that is a good indication they are reparable, you can always have a local garage give the car a once over, no dealer will turn you down if you book it yourself and pay for it, or you can get someone like the AA to check it over.
What is there any paperwork with the car at all? I cannot believe you got that much for an 03 😂
No service history, just a few minor receipts, if you take the time to present a vehicle right, people will rather buy a mint looking older car than a tatty newer one.
What do you do about the logbook? Does it go into your name then to the new owner, you sell it to
Hi Dave
When you become a registered trader you just notify the DVLA that the car is now in trade using the logbook telling them that you have possession, you don't send it off as you hand it to the new owner and then register it out of trade and put it in the owners name using the same log book.
Car dealers don't rack up owners on the logbook if done properly.
New subscriber.. 👍👍
Welcome aboard!
What about the tax and insurance cost??
Hi Andrew, have a look at my other video about what it costs to set up as a motor trader, you need to work out how many cars you sell through the year and divide that into the insurance to work it out for each car, the more you sell the cheaper it is.
Tax, we use trade plates so we don't tax each car, but again have a look at the other video where I tell you the cost.
Its difficult to sell non ulez free vehicles
Depends what part of the country you are in.
@@Stevesautos midlands, nobody wants to get charged a fee to go bullring
tried it ,not that easy , should have had you tube back then could have done that
Where did you buy the car I’m looking to get into flipping cars but don’t really no where to find the vehicles
Go to the main dealers and ask them if they are looking to trade out any part exchanges they have and save themselves the auction costs.
@@Stevesautos go to a vauxhall dealer? An ask them if they have any part exchanges to trade out? Will I need trader plates to do that? Please explain how to get this done.
What other cars do you have for sale.
I would of bought it took a chance if it was too far gone just scrap and take the small hit, he who dares wins lol
Be hard pushed to find a car for £250 now.
if you know where to look you can, but they are fewer than they used to be
Hey, did you pay the road tax and motor trade insurance?
I have an annual trade insurance policy, and I use trade plates rather than tax all the vehicles.
Do you put the logbook in your company name?
No, I'm registered as a trader so the logbook never gets sent off, you can either send off the trade slip on the logbook or register it online as in trade.
This way the DVLA know you have the vehicle but it does not add any owners to the logbook.
Could I ask how long it took to get the car sold along with where you advertised it? Put my first car on sale and had 4 people message. 2 saying is it available and not replying after I told them it's still available, 1 saying he's interested then changed his mind then the other being a scammer. Been just over a week now. Could also be due to it being January
I think this one was 2 weeks ish, I put it on gumtree. sometimes we have cars for a month or so before the right buyer comes along, that's why you need around 5 for sale at anyone time to earn a living from it.
Don't be disheartened if it doesn't sell in a few weeks, for cheap cars the closer you get to payday the faster they sell, and yes January is slower, usually picks up after Feb payday at the end of the month.
@@Stevesautos thank you Steve. The car got sold a few days ago 😁. Exactly a month it took to sell
U were lucky it went thru mot
Why, I did everything it needed.
You don’t mention how much taxes you have to deduct from your margin, so it’s a little misleading.
Hi Richard
As this is a guide to those starting out so there wouldn't be any VAT to deduct as they wont be VAT registered, for that reason I didn't want to over complicate it where it wasn't necessary.
When it comes to income tax, I can't give you a total figure, as this is calculated from overall profits at the end of the tax year for your business as a total.
Reality is, someone starting out would reinvest the total income into the next car so technically you wouldn't account for income tax on this vehicle alone.
I don't think it's misleading as I'm looking at it from the point of view of someone just starting out in the trade.
@@Stevesautos fair enough pal
cant believe you were so anal over the condition of those plates mate but turned a blind eye to the leather gear gaitor and handbrake shroud.
lol, someone will fall in love with the car from the outside, it's a simple case of expectation vs profit, gear gaitor was about £15, for a more expensive car then yes I would have changed it, it wasn't a showroom condition car so I don't think it needed any extra spending on it.
But, yes I am anal about number plates lol
@@Stevesautos unless they get advised as deteriorated on mot i never bother with the cars i flip.stuff like leather coming off gaitors or handbrake shrouds yes as you can see them when sat in the car.you cant see a number plate from inside car.keep up the good work and flipping them over
Steven. Me and my daughter are going to start up a pert time car trading business. Do you do help on line such as WhatsApp video calls?
Will obbously pay you for your time. Marcel
Hey Marcel
I'm flattered that you asked, I don't currently do a mentoring programme, I'm so busy I just would worry that I would let people down. Hopefully I will cover most of your concerns in the upcoming video's, but feel free to ask any questions, I am happy to try and answer them or even better make a video on it to help the community.
I do have another part time work from home business that I help and mentor people, so I don't want to spready myself to thin.
@@Stevesautos Thank you for your reply. Your video is the best on RUclips regarding starting a car trading business. Many videos tell you how to buy and sell cars but not the set up process. I have set up a limited company with my daughter. I am in the porcess of arranging trade insurarne. My quotes are about £1,835 to have similar cover to yours. Setting up a bank account is proving a bit tricky as me and my daughter bank at different places. I would love a video on how to set/ calculate your bid at auctions. Do you use WeBuyany car or similar sites to guide you on the trade prices of cars when going to auctions. Most traders use Autotrader to sell and they have accounts with them to get discounts or their adverts. Again, no videos about that process, etc. Thanks once again. Marcel
@@MarcelFuret Thanks for that, good to know I'm making a difference.
I would set up the bank account in one name and then add the other person to the account afterward, it's usually a lot easier.
Your insurance sounds about right to me price-wise.
I will do a video on how to price up trade-value cars, give me a few weeks and I will do this for you, I don't use we buy anycar, they are actually owned by British Car Auctions, I will do a buying from auction video and try to put it all together.
Have a look at my latest CAT N video, might give you another avenue also.
you just wasted my time, brother sorry
Paul, you're going to have to give a little bit more information than that for me understand why I wasted your time?