Why do people on here dislike part time traders?

bmwguy

I read motors quite a bit and am a fan of the bangernomics thread in particular, but when someone realises a car is from a part time trader a lot of interest disappears. Is it the tax evasion element or is it just traders that masquerade as private sellers? Or maybe the fact that if people are in to make money corners are cut and lies may be told? My girlfriend is a car enthusiast (you wouldnt think it by looking at her she's as girly as they come - i'll probably get in trouble for that) and reckons she can buy and sell cars at a profit easily. The only thing is she has the idea of buying cars feeling slightly sorry for themselves, doing them up to mint condition and selling them on. So she would be selling a quality product. Theres not a dishonest bone in her body, maybe that will work against her!!Would there be a problem with this assuming any tax liabilities were done properly? I'm an accountant so can sort this out easily

Toyotafanboi

a large percentage of part time traders appear to be dishonest. looking for to make good margins but want no strings attached sales, "the best of both worlds". just my opinion.

dgt

bmwguy wrote: »

I read motors quite a bit and am a fan of the bangernomics thread in particular, but when someone realises a car is from a part time trader a lot of interest disappears. Is it the tax evasion element or is it just traders that masquerade as private sellers? Or maybe the fact that if people are in to make money corners are cut and lies may be told? My girlfriend is a car enthusiast (you wouldnt think it by looking at her she's as girly as they come - i'll probably get in trouble for that) and reckons she can buy and sell cars at a profit easily. The only thing is she has the idea of buying cars feeling slightly sorry for themselves, doing them up to mint condition and selling them on. So she would be selling a quality product. Theres not a dishonest bone in her body, maybe that will work against her!!Would there be a problem with this assuming any tax liabilities were done properly? I'm an accountant so can sort this out easily

A bit of both

biko

It's people pretending to be genuine sellers, then you find out they're just trying to flog some ****box to you that they bought for half the price themselves.
The car can still be in good condition, it's the dishonesty I don't like.

bmwguy

So its the dishonesty rather than the fact that someone actually makes money doing this, gotcha. Assuming the cars are of good quality and honest there shouldnt be a problem so. One more question, where does a person cross the line legally between being a private seller and a trader? For instance in the past I bought 3 and sold 2 cars in a year, this was about 10 years ago I'd just started working and driving and it was only because I didnt like them and wanted a change. If I had done this to make a profit (which I certainly didnt!!) would I have been technically a trader? Like is there any magic number?

djimi

It depends on how they are presenting themselves. One big difference between a dealer and a private seller is that a buyer has a lot more legal protection when buying from a dealer, whereas its more or less buyer beware with a private sale. A lot of these guys who are playing car dealer from their back yard are doing so by passing the sale off as a private sale, when in reality they should be acting as a dealer, thus looking to deprive the buyer of their legal protection. That doesnt sit right with me; its basially fraud.

bazz26

I think the biggest problem with alot of part time operaters is that they are out to make a quick buck. They probably are not registered as traders so don't pay income tax on their earnings and they are not liable under the sale of goods act or obliged to provide a warranty in the event a buyer needs them to redress an issue.

bmwguy

bmwguy wrote: »

......... corners are cut ..........

I commented that a water pump for a 318ci wouldn't be overly cheap and someone replied that radweld "sorted" a leaky waterpump they had.

From experience that's exactly the sort of muppetry many part time traders get up to. Along with various speels to explain why the car isn't in their name etc etc etc.

dgt

RoverJames wrote: »

I commented that a water pump for a 318ci wouldn't be overly cheap and someone replied that radweld "sorted" a leaky waterpump they had.

I remember the old rad of my old 406 was fairly heavy when I took it out. Turns out it was half full of radweld (or other rad sealer)

I hate it when people servicing cars cut corners

Just to add I bought at least one car off such a chap

Went out to his house with a buddy to check out an Astra he was selling, gave the Astra the all clear, while we were there was looking at a Celica he had for sale, Kevin was after buying the Astra and I was heading up to Dublin three days later to collect an Accord coupe that I had put a deposit on a few days previous so neither of us were interested in it.

The guy told us that he'd made a nice few quid off the car the Celica was traded in against (presuming he'd get €4200 for the Celica, they were going for €5.5/€6k at the time) and that he'd hope to get €5k for the Celica to make it all the sweeter.

Accord fell through so rang him a day or so after that and asked what would he give me the Celica for, €4200 he said

jjf1974

There is a fella who sells on done deal that has being imigrating for the last 4 years but has a different car for sale every week. He takes photos in different housing estates and car parks but always the same phone number and trade mark bad spelling.

fasttalkerchat

I have no problem with someone making a profit if they add value to the product. I know one local trader who buys at auctions in England, checks the cars over, maybe a service and sells on for £500 profit. He stands over cars for 3 months (within reason).

Some part time traders are taking cars off donedeal or gumtree and negotiating a good price and then listing it for sale right away for a big mark up. No comeback and no work done.