Car lot

[pompei]

Is it still possible these days to walk into a used car lot (preferably with buntings) with a pocket full of cash and drive away with a motor?  Has anyone here ever done that?

 

[pompei]

To clarify, I don't mean come back 3 days later when it's been valeted, shifted from our Hemel Hempstead premises etc...

[EssDeeWon]

Plenty along the London Road in Southend / Westcliff / Leigh on Sea, some cheaper stuff around £2k and some are more prestigious selling £10k cars.  The further out of Southend you go the better / more pricey the cars for sale.

 

Before the days of the internet it was the done thing to spend a Sunday afternoon walking the length of the London Road looking at all the stock in these numerous car sales.

 

Literally one after another...

 

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=southend+london+road+car+dealers&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=51543520,684357,1276&tbm=lcl&tbs=lf_od:-1,lf_oh:-1,lf_pqs:EAE,lf:1,lf_ui:2&rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:!1m3!1d33532.36241176228!2d0.6921849469727022!3d51.56729019062514!3m2!1i1020!2i649!4f13.1

[overrun]

We buy private 4 xtra savez! I think Bren done a buy (fucking hate that daft term) on his Vectra from one of these sketchy bomb site dealers, though?

[DodgeRover]

There was a car yard of cheapies in Chesterfield for a while called "Salem's Lot" I always thought it was hilarious but looking back it probably didn't help with their sales figures

[BavarianRetro]

You've no idea the hassle involved for a trader in taking cash these days.

[Tamworthbay]

The old Alfa 'specialist' in Tamworth was like that, you could wait and have it cleaned or just take it there and then. They always had more ropeyish trade in types than alfas sadly.

[eddyramrod]

Yes it is, and I've done it.  What's more you've read about it here, at least twice: 406 and Vectra.  The trick is, not to be too fussy.  "I want a Vectra" might not get you one, but "I need a car to get to work" might get you a nice surprise.  It did for me, both times.

[Lord Sterling]

I seem to see a lot of bomb site car sales places still around. Though many of the vehicles these days seem to be around the £2k+. There is a bomb site car sales place in Cradley Heath who does sell 3-figure motors and rarely into the 4-figure sum. He once had 2 Rover 800s, one 820 and an 827 Sterling in that place, although cheap I couldn't afford it at the time.

 

Bomb site places are slowly shutting up shop, a lot of second-hand car dealers are selling £2k+ prestige/newer-than-what-you-drive type stock as that seems to be largely what the public wants, very few people will trust a £450 car sadly due to the way we are taught to think, so dealers have upped thier game or shut up shop.

[Tamworthbay]

I seem to see a lot of bomb site car sales places still around. Though many of the vehicles these days seem to be around the £2k+. There is a bomb site car sales place in Cradley Heath who does sell 3-figure motors and rarely into the 4-figure sum. He once had 2 Rover 800s, one 820 and an 827 Sterling in that place, although cheap I couldn't afford it at the time.

Bomb site places are slowly shutting up shop, a lot of second-hand car dealers are selling £2k+ prestige/newer-than-what-you-drive type stock as that seems to be largely what the public wants, very few people will trust a £450 car sadly due to the way we are taught to think, so dealers have upped thier game or shut up shop.

I think the cost of potential repairs kills cheaper cars. A clutch and DMF can be heading towards a grand and people won't pay that on a car that's worth £400 but will on one worth £1500. It's a strange logic in some ways as if you do it in the cheaper car you are still quids in but if last year taught us anything it's that people rarely use logic in working out what's best for them.

[sierraman]

It's cheaper less overheads to sell them on the end of your driveway these days than renting a pitch.

[BorniteIdentity]

Yes. In fact a trader told me off for "coming to look at cars without money to buy one". I don't think it helps that I'd haggled him 25% before saying "Right I'll be back in the morning".

 

What's the big deal with paying cash for cars? I got a bit grumpy last year when the gubbermint were saying they were going to crack down on 'cash in hand'. It is our legal tender after all...

[Richard]

Because it's easier to chase tradesmen etc for tax than it is to make big companies pay up.

[SiC]

I did it with my Civic 5 years ago when it wasn't a very cheap snotter. Infact I didn't want them to touch it with their horrible shiney silicone crap they put on!

 

Basically I took it for a good test drive (probably a bit too long... was nearly 45minutes), came back, negotiated a price, salesman was on the phone in the yard with "his boss" (who was sitting in the other room chatting to another customer) and we agreed on a price. I got my debit card out (ok not cash, but near enough nowadays), stuck it in the machine and typed my pin. He then sorted out the 7days free insurance and using this I went up to the local post office and bought a tax disc.

 

Came back and drove off. All in less than 2hrs.

[mercrocker]

The local lot to us still sells for cash, drive away.   Fella I know just bought a leggy  Space Runner off him for about £300 if I recall.   I had a shufty at an MX5 in there today, original UK car £1200 (M reg).   Unfortunately it has some rash on the rear end of the sills but looks clean enough.    There is a Legacy of similar vintage up the back end of the lot - that's been there for at least three years.   

 

I have on occasion been tempted by oddball stuff that he has had such as a 205CJ and the occasional Escort van.   The story goes that the geezer owns the land but can't build on it owing to watercourses underneath so just sits in the portakabin playing cards with the other sheepskin and punting the odd motor.   His mate has run a tidy X-Trail for a year or so but every time he parks it up the price board goes on the screen!    

 

I went off him a bit when he told me he was having to flog his Bentley (if I was interested) and told me his address.   I biked up there out of interest only to see the inevitable mesh-grilled 300C.   

[greengartside]

Yeah there's still places like this around, I have seen a few near me that sell cars from a few hundred up to a few thousand which can be bought and driven away the same day.

 

One guy in Bury St. Edmunds that I used to deal with many times - always used to just do straight swaps one after the other so nothing monetary wise changed hands. In fact, two of the cars I had off him I actually bought off him in the first place, so it was like a 6 month test drive!

 

I do keep looking at these guys in Cleckheaton - www.tradecarscleckheaton.co.uk

 

Or these guys in Manchester - www.tccarsales.co.uk

[Cavcraft]

I believe a lot of bomb site car sales don't sell bargain basement cars is the amount of dickheads you see on social media and Judge Rinder complaining about stupid piddly things. These morons will get what deserve one day when there's no cheap cars left got them.

[messerschmitt owner]

I went to Fareham on the train last September with debit card and viewed a five year old Transit - was driving it home an hour after being picked up at the train station, having thrown a day's insurance on it and taxed it online.

[Angrydicky]

Plenty along the London Road in Southend / Westcliff / Leigh on Sea, some cheaper stuff around £2k and some are more prestigious selling £10k cars.  The further out of Southend you go the better / more pricey the cars for sale.

 

Before the days of the internet it was the done thing to spend a Sunday afternoon walking the length of the London Road looking at all the stock in these numerous car sales.

 

Literally one after another...

 

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=southend+london+road+car+dealers&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=51543520,684357,1276&tbm=lcl&tbs=lf_od:-1,lf_oh:-1,lf_pqs:EAE,lf:1,lf_ui:2&rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:!1m3!1d33532.36241176228!2d0.6921849469727022!3d51.56729019062514!3m2!1i1020!2i649!4f13.1

The best one is that cheap car place along West Road in Westcliff. Loads of sub-£600 knackers around 10-20 years old.

[AMC Rebel]

I've done it, but not for a while.  There's a place round the corner that sells stuff from 999 up - but I wouldn't fancy any of their stuff.  I reckon I could rock up with the money and drive away though - although these days debit card might be the better/easier option.

 

There's a place in town where I looked at a 306 - it had a fresh MOT but the rear beam was seized solid and the tyres were marginal at best - but I am sure if I'd bunged the guy the £500 he was asking he'd have been pleased to see the back of it there and then.

[EssDeeWon]

The best one is that cheap car place along West Road in Westcliff. Loads of sub-£600 knackers around 10-20 years old.

 

Do you know my dads black mk2 Granada 2.3 LX (the one photo'd in New Road) ended up in there a year or so after he sold it, probably about c.1991 I remember spotting it parked behind those big high railings up across the front.

[robinmasters]

Not many years ago (8?) I bought a £300 Montego from this place,  which used to have a portakabin and ~10 cars for sale before it became a pallet-of-bricks storage corral.

 

For cash. Drove it away after a cursory walk round.  

 

Bastards didn't even offer me a cappuccino. 

 

The Montego was worse than you're thinking it was.  Much,  much worse. 

 

[Alexg]

Well I work on a used car lot. I'll take up to £7k in cash and have most of my stock ready to go, so yes.

[Timewaster]

Mid 90 my mates Golf Gti shat is gearbox bearings for the second time so he needed to get to work for a couple of weeks while his dad rebuilt it.

Armed with a wad we set of to the Stanground end of Peterborough and it's many questionable car lots.

Amongst all the usual crap we found a 2.8GL Granada on a T with a few weeks ticket up for £300.

Spoke to the guy and the conversation went basically "If it starts we will give you 250 for it".

It started. 250 was handed over and off we went.

Joke was on him though. He burnt at least another £250 in petrol getting to work and bazzing about in it two weeks.

[surprisingskoda]

It annoyed me no end that when I went to see a 2 grand subaru a few months ago, which had been advertised online for ten days already, and I phoned ahead, that it was neither there when I arrived, nor when it did show up some 15 minutes later with the owners missus, I had to wait for it to be washed, and that before the test drive I was told it couldn't be taken away that day, as they had to service and valet it first.

 

What was even the point in advertising it then?

 

I wasn't for making the 1.5 hour each way drive again and told them so, even still, it was one big bill of being a nail so we walked. And bought a better one off a far more ignorant, useless, unscrupulous and dishonest dealer.

[Formula Autos]

There's a bomb site car lot in Whitehaven that seems to specialise in sub £1500 motors. He seemed to do fairly well the first year or so he was open, but now has a lot of "landmarks" on his lot.

 

A neighbour of my parents scrapped a C-class Merc a few months ago, and that ended up on this car lot. In fairness it looked a hell of a lot tidier, but it's still a car they were given scrap value for that he had up for about £850. Everyone's got to make money, but I think this sort of thing's getting noticed now, and as it's a small town word spreads fast. That could be why he's now struggling to shift his current stock.

[rantingYoof]

I note a lot of dealers offering a car as 'just serviced' and with '12 months MOT', which turns out to be not the case as they are waiting for the car to be purchased before doing either.

 

Being quite cynical and maybe overly judgemental, I don't like this. I prefer a dealer to get it serviced, with a stamp in the book/receipt, and have MOTed it before putting it up for sale. On the flip-side, dealers operating on a stack-em-high sell-em-cheap approach with bread-and-butter £1000 - £2000 cars will probably use your £100 deposit to pay for the MOT, and they won't want a freshly MOTed car sitting on the forecourt for a month or two if sales dry up.

 

There's a walk-in dealer in a village near me who is a bit more pragmatic. I think he MOTs a car if it has less than three months or so, openly admits to not dealing with any advisories and shows you these before you purchase, and if a car has five months MOT and is offered with a full MOT, you can opt to pay a little less and take it without it being MOTed. He deals in bread-and-butter stuff, too (his own words).

 

The world of car dealing entices me, which is quite strange as I am categorically not a salesman or someone who would get along in a competitive commissions-based environment. Put me to work in Car Shop and you shall watch the destruction of a man.

[D Spares & Tyres]

This is the modern problem

 

People just see that he paid say £150 for it then put it up for £850 and just think, greedy bastard he made £700 out of me.

 

No. He won`t be on a salary, some weeks he may earn nothing some weeks he may do well. How much time and effort was put into the Mercedes to fix it? I don`t know what was wrong with it or how much it ended up owing him but I would be willing to bet on him not making too much on it. Factor in rent of pitch, any employees wages too and I bet this chap earns far less than you.

 

Not a dig at you Formula 1, yours was the just the nearest example but the general public don`t seem to want to see anybody else making money out of the things they don`t want anymore, like the attitude of an uncle of mine who will put a hammer through anything he takes down the tip just so someone else can`t have it

 

Its not worth having a pitch selling cheap old cars anymore,  the public are too much like hard work these days. Everyone thinks it is the dealers that are crooks and yes there are quite a few dirty tricks and unscrupulous sellers out there, but the customers can lie and cheat too except with no legal comeback on them however nobody seems to think it is wrong to try and swindle a dealer.

[smellypoo]

I bought my first car from a dealer on Romford Road, East London which had (and probably still has) a number of ropey car dealers along it's stretch - in my experience they're all 'well dodgy' and valuable lessons about life and car-buying were learned from spending money at such a place. Generally the cars I see at secondhand car dealers now tend to be overpriced and invariably clocked, many with badly repaired accident damage, with 'iffy' MOTs and service histories where the ink from the rubber stamps is still wet - there might be the odd 'honest' dealer out there with decent, fairly priced cars for sale but finding one (particularly in East London) is nigh on impossible - but they need to make money to survive and they do survive because people will buy from them.

 

I've often had to travel to get a good car and at the cheaper end of the market, I'll trust my own instincts over the perceived 'safety' of buying from a dealer, buying a car privately rather than face the depression of mooching around car lots looking at turds. It might be a different story if I had mates 'in the trade' who could pass on trade ins etc before the polish-up and massive mark-up, but I don't. I did buy from a dealer not that long ago, but it felt more like a private sale - Polish chap was selling cars alongside his car wash business and had some reasonably priced and good condition cars on offer. Probably says more about the sales approach of that particular place than it does about all car lots.

 

On the other side, the buying public often don't know or care about the realities of running a business (why is everything so very expensive? - well, you're probably trying to buy something you can't afford and aren't taking into account that the car lot itself has running costs) or buying/maintaining a car.

[lisbon_road]

I bought one today.  A Chevrolet Lacetti 1.8 auto estate, 08 plate, 36K miles.  A bit over priced at £1700 but still a bargain for a Vauxhall Astra, as that's what it is. It is for some people coming from abroad to work here for a year only.  

 

All a bit crazy: empty showroom, no-one there but lights and radio on.  Found them eventually.  Easy job though, and decent enough - chap was from Albania and said he'd sold seven cars yesterday.

 

Dodgytom - I agree and always hated that attitude of smashing stuff being taken to the tip.  When my old grandfather died, we got the house clearance people in and they wanted to smash the furniture to show that they would not be able to make any money out of it.  My father had grown up with the stuff and he knew it was worthless and didn't need to see that.