Originally Posted by vaughant

To me,your going into the worst possible area of the market,the cars that even main dealers struggle to sell,finance is so hard to get right now for even squeaky clean types that it often works out cheaper to buy new.
Also,at around 3-5 years old (the market I'm assuming as their ex lease) seems to be around the time where these cars start getting problems.

Sorry if it sounds negative but this is the WORST time ever to go into your own business,were heading deeper into recession if you ask me and if you want to exploit the market I'd suggest going for mega cheapies,under a grand,long mots,offer to tax etc.

You'll start getting more and more people coming to you offering p/x's that have stupid things wrong like stereos not working,bald tyres etc,real easy stuff but you can stab them heavily against your cars as I'll guarantee you 90% of these people are desperate to get back on the road.
My mate ran his business like that for years and was making so much money,he didn't know what to do with it.
Sadly he decided to put it up his nose and now has nothing,but I'm sure that won't happen to you!!!!

This isn't some keyboard warrior/dreamer talking here either,I had my own business and nearly lost everything through it,horrible times.
Trade from the house first,build your contacts up,suppliers,auctions,other traders and when your ready THINK about it,as it's a huge jump in money to keep it all going,those bills don't give a fuck if you've had a bad week and sold nothing,they still want paying.
As for insurance,trading with no premises is fine,trade plates maybe more difficult but for the minimal amount in perspective tax costs,it's worth shoving on,if your dealing in under 1.5 with power steering (big clue to what sells there) then it's only £70 for 6 months,shove a £100 on the price of course!!!

Trading can be very lucrative,I made decent money off it on the side for years doing exactly what I said above,I lost my way and went damaged which is hard to make a really good profit on unless your very disciplined and honest with yourself,less so to the punters!!!

Vans do well also,but of course can be harder to store and may need more tidying,but can yield good profits,often companies sell them on simply because they reach a certain age,not generally cos there's major probs as you'll find most vans are still in use right up til the day they get sold hence major repairs tend to get done ASAP,the vans not making money sitting idle!!!

Sometimes specializing can pay off,I've got tons of knowledge about ka's and seemed to be forever repairing them,it seemed then I was getting a lot of work through this and making good money as the jobs just got easier and easier the more I did them,they sell well too,but never buy one without a ticket unless your very handy with a welder!!!