Platform for high value private car sales

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Yeah, total begrudgery… how come I didn’t think of this millionaire maker idea.

He’s going to really rub us begrudgers noses in it real soon. I was hiding behind asking business model questions to disguise my begrudgery.

Totally called out on it.

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123557954#Comment_123557954

Not really sure what you're doing on this thread. The sarcasm is not helpful and you seem to be a little over invested.

goochy

What about my car inspection point ? No car is going to come up fault free and people are not going to buy a car that has faults . When buying from dealer you assume its fault free and often only find our afterwards it might not be perfect

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123558172#Comment_123558172

The idea is that any faults are remedied by the seller and retested if necessary so the car will only be accepted on the platform if fault free

Buddy Bubs

All works in theory but is beginning to sound very niche and can see this very badly struggling for volume to be a viable business.

The reason most people sell their cars is they dont want to do the work or incur the expense of getting them back up to 100% working order.

carsfan2

it sounds like a great idea and it appears you have a lot of angles covered already but I do wonder if our market is big enough to generate enough volume and I am struggling to see where the profit is in it for you.

goochy

This sounds very messy

littlevillage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123558209#Comment_123558209

The above post +100%

I think @carfinder might have the seeds of an idea, but its pretty niche and unlikely to get off the ground. Also if you think about it Carzone.ie offers that exact service through its network of local 'trusted' (cough) car dealers already.

In fact DoneDeal are also already going that way too, they offer 'Greenlight' which is a vehicle check of some sort... and they have links to finance companies on all their ads…its only a matter of time before they start offering full payments handling services and vehicle delivery services etc. through partners.

But at least @carfinder has done well with the number of posts on boards.ie that his topic has generated, bravo 👏 now onto the next

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123558461#Comment_123558461

Its far from certain that the business will be sustainable but, that said, the dealer margins appear to be generous and I believe the sector is ripe for disruption. I really welcome the critiques posted here though, its great to have my thinking challenged

fonecrusher1

Its a decent idea but as others have said its too small a market here it seems … for 'high value' cars which is what the business is centered on. Could be wrong.

And I have to say giving honest constructive feedback is not begrudgery. If you want people to just respond with polite blind optimisim then theres no point in looking for input.

Regardless best of luck with it.

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123559970#Comment_123559970

Not asking you to share but do you have your financials done up as to how many cars have to change hands using this platform to break even or to start making a profit/pay yourself wages?

goochy

Yes good last point. No point asking advice and expecting everyone to say go ahead it will be a guaranteed success..

best Of luck

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123559970#Comment_123559970

Just to confirm OP does your finance provider, reputable insurer, and nationwide chain of garages actually exist or are they also a part of your thinking?

What did they say about your platform?

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123560026#Comment_123560026

Most of the costs are variable and are only incurred if transactions actually execute - so revenue and costs are mostly aligned.

Fixed costs to create and maintain the platform and the various integrations are where we can lose money if we dont get some volume. But that said, a few hundred transactions per annum will keep the "lights on"

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123560299#Comment_123560299

Yes, finance provider, warranty insurer and garage chain all in place. They dont have much to say about the platform - our engagements have been around process flows and contractual terms

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123561545#Comment_123561545

So you have everything in place and ready to go bar process flows and contractual terms but you need to ask a few random people on the internet for input and advice?

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123561864#Comment_123561864

Contractual terms are agreed. Process flows are being worked on (really hard work erspecxially when integrating with 3rd party components of the value chain). Im delighted to get constructive critiques of the business - there are limits to the information Im willing to disclose publicly which impacts on the discussions here but im very happy with the level of engagement so far, some great comments and some obviously thinly veiled sarcastic comments that made me laugh

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123558190#Comment_123558190

How perfect are you expecting €10k cars to be? Because every car that is a few years old has paint damage or other scuffs. No one is going to respray a car or fix a leak before they sell it.

User1998

To be fair I do SOR quite a bit with a local garage. They prep the cars to their standard at my expense and also take their own commission. As long as the cars aren’t excessively bad and only need a slight bit of paint and minor servicing I end up getting just as much as I would have selling privately without any of the hassle

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123563767#Comment_123563767

Not expecting a €10K car to be in perfect condition. Scuffs and paint marks are things that the buyer can usually see when buying. Leaks are unacceptable and no car should be sold that has any unrepaired leaks of any kind.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123595298#Comment_123595298

The reason why most people sell cars is to avoid maintenance. There are feck all private sellers who are going to spend thousands to sell their car, especially when they have no liability once it's sold.

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123598089#Comment_123598089

Do you think most 2nd hand cars need thousands spent on them? I'm hoping the site attracts sellers of high quality cars. The sellers of scrap that needs thousands to be spent on them can use done deal

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123598548#Comment_123598548

Sure a simple set of discs & pads and an engine service would cost thousands on the type of cars you are talking about

artanevilla

Question, I'm a private seller with a car I value at 15k, i.e, if i were to sell privately I would get 15k for.

If I were to list on your platform, how much would the car be listed for if I want to be guaranteed to get my 15k net at the end.

goochy

15 k isn't high value no offence

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123599202#Comment_123599202

For a car? No, it is not! In fact, you're unlikely to get what the OP describes as a "high quality car" for that price!

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123599235#Comment_123599235

€15k definitely isn’t “high value” for a car these days, but there are plenty of cars for €15k and below that are absolutely high quality. Particularly Japanese imports.

goochy

Think €30 k would be good min price

carfinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123598625#Comment_123598625

Ok. So your car is worth €15K private sale. What price is that at a dealer?

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123599711#Comment_123599711

No idea. All I know is I have a car that's worth 15k and that's what I want for it.