GET STARTED IN CAR DEALING

A VERY OLD BUSINESS

Car trading is one of the oldest business ideas. It still
maintains it's appeal. But, although many people aspire
to such a business, few actually start. It's not really a table
top type business, but it is something that you can start
with not too much difficulty if you sketch out a basic plan.
Needless to say, there's plenty of demand for car trading.
Millions of potential customers every year! The big
franchised dealers have got all the big opportunities
cornered, but the thing to do is to look out for riches
where the small trader can begin. Often, it's not necessary
to be involved in any mechanical work at all.

SETTING UP

Unfortunately, car trading is not a business where you can
start with a few pounds capital. You're going to need
some investment. That said, it can be less than you might
think in the right circumstances. œ500 would be sufficient,
but more would obviously be helpful.

A few car dealers have started by re-selling their own car
for a profit. And, depending on how attached you are to it,
it can be a possibility.

You can certainly work from home, but a telephone will
be essential.

When working from home you should be very careful not
to make it obvious that you are dealing in cars. It's not
strictly allowed under planning regulations. You won't
generally cause any problems if you only handle one
vehicle at a time, which is quite enough.

Consider the legal implications of car trading. You'll
need appropriate insurance to drive all cars - a special
trader's insurance is available. Also, any cars you drive on
the road, or even keep there, will need insurance, tax and MOT, whether you are using them or not (but not if they are on your own property).Also remember that it's illegal to knowingly sell a car in an unroadworthy condition. Having an MOT certificate is some evidence of legal mechanical conditions, but not necessarily roadworthiness.Take some time to research the various ins and outs, because motor vehicles are some of the most regulated possessions ever.

BUYING STOCK

Once properly set up, you can start to think about buying a car to trade in. A single one will do to start. Now, there's no need to think about getting some old banger and 'doing it up' as some dealers do. In fact, unless you have mechanical knowledge, or will pay someone to work on cars, it's not a good idea unless you're absolutely sure of safety.On the contrary, it is possible to make money without doing anything to them. Perhaps just cleaning them up will be enough. Many established garages buy in cars and resell at an immediate profit. It's all down to careful buying. Basically, there are two ways of buying cars in for resale that involve minimum problems:

AUCTIONS

The 'easy' source of cars for resale. They are held all round the country. Check your local papers to see what's available.What you buy will depend on your finances. There are some auctions that sell only late model cars (up to four years old) where the vehicles are ready for instant resale.
This might be a possibility.

On the other hand, there are auctions which sell old cars
for œ20 and œ30 that are almost guaranteed to be worth
œ100 in a resale. Ideal for a bargain basement business.
But remember the safety problem.

It's best if you can take a mechanic to an auction, because
most don't offer much, if any, warranty. If you don't have
a vehicle mechanically checked, then you are buying very
much on a risk basis. With careful buying, auction cars will
virtually assure you of a profit. The amounts vary, but it's
usually 10% minimum (that's œ400 on a œ4,000 car) and
can be up to 30% sometimes. Start with one car to see
how it goes.

PRIVATE

The second method of getting in cars is to buy privately.
This is good if you have a sum of cash available to outlay
now.

Consider that all over the country there are people who
want to sell their cars quickly for cash. Maybe they need
the money or have brought a new car. If you can come
up with the money quickly, then you can get a big
discount.

Place advertisements for cars wanted in local newspapers.
Respond to enquiries. Remember that you're expecting
a big discount to give immediate cash.

Value the car by reference to advertisements in papers -
the going rate. Or try the 'Black Book' which is a trade
guide to prices available which you can get once
established.

Then think in terms of offering the seller about 30% off
the retail price and negotiate around that. I will work for
people who need fast money and don't want to wait.

Do what you can to ensure the vehicle is the property of
the seller. The registration document is not proof, but if
their address is on it, and they can prove that they live
there, it's a good pointer. But, of course, it is a risk.
As I said, you might get 30% off. So you can, with
aggressive negotiation, get a œ3,000 car for œ2,100!

DOING CARS UP

The best thing when operating as a small trader is not to
become involved with doing cars up. As I said, there's a
safety risk. If you have to pay someone else to do the
work this will probably make it uneconomic. Until you
are established and can afford to pay someone skilled,
then the most work you should do is to give your
purchases a thorough clean inside and out. Strip off
every bit of grime. It's amazing what value a good clean
up will add. You're probably talking in the region of
œ100 to œ200 for even a small car, and that's in addition
to the profits of buying cheap.

SELLING ON

Sell on your stock as soon as possible, because it's
depreciating all the time!

The best ways of selling trade cars are undoubtedly
classified advertisements in newspapers. Or, even
better, those regional car selling magazines. You can
advertise quite cheaply and they are usually circulated to
thousands of interested buyers in your area every week.
Don't rely on advertising in window cards, or Sunday car
sales and the like. It's almost certainly not worth it.
In selling, pitch your price quite high. Compare to
similar cars and pitch higher for the age and mileage.
Prospective buyers are almost certainly going to make
you an offer and it's nice to be able to accept this with
only a small cut in your profit margin!

Never part with your car against a cheque or a bank draft
that hasn't been cleared first. The only acceptable
payment for a client to take a car immediately is cash in
hand.

One snag is that traders usually offer finance facilities and
perhaps a warranty. It's possible to arrange both of these
in conjunction with finance companies and specialist car
warranty companies. In both cases, these companies will
provide you with finance for your customer (and pay you
a commission), or a warranty. Make enquiries. You might
have to be established for a while before they'll take you
on. If you can't offer a warranty facility make it clear that
your vehicles are sold 'as seen'. This will mean that your
prices are a little lower than garage type traders.
However, you still have a legal responsibility to the
customer that the car is roadworthy and as you described
it in any advertisement.

Because so many cars are on the market, selling is not
always easy. But the low prices you can buy cars for at
auctions, or for cash, mean that a profit, even if only
modest, is virtually assured in most cases, and that's
enough for a home business.

FINAL SUMMARY

Probably, most prospective car dealers and car
millionaires never get their ideas off the ground, because
they think too big. For example, they expect a posh
showroom and to be involved in mechanical repairs,
resprays, etc, is always necessary. The fact is, however,
you needn't be concerned with all this. It's much better to
start in a small way with just one car, and steer clear of
mechanical work and all the usual trappings of the car
trade. Obviously the rewards are less for a smaller
business, but they are still quite attractive for the effort.

SELLING RECIPES BY MAIL

During the past few years, a number of very
enterprising housewives (and a few man) have
established a very successful business selling
recipes by mail.

The idea is very basic. You create a new recipe
and then you advertise it in the classified
section of a magazine or newspaper which is read
primarily by housewives. You advertise your
favourite recipe for a $1, and some dealers also
request a self addressed, stamped envelope. When
you receive orders in the mail you mail them a
typewritten copy of your recipe. Or a Xerox copy.
Even handwritten copies are permissible, if the
handwriting is very legible. Along with your
recipe you include a list of additional recipes
which you have for sale. The list should tie in
with your original offer.

Let us imagine that you have advertised a secret
recipe for Danish Butter Cookies. Your list
should include other cookie recipes, as well as
Danish recipes. If your customer bakes your
Danish Butter Cookies and likes them, she will be
in a good frame of mind to purchase more recipes
from you.

In researching this article, I combed through the
classified sections of dozens of magazines
studying recipe ads. Here is a partial list of
recipes that were being sold by mail:

Four Fabulous Christmas Cookies
Delicious Frosted Brownies
Red Velvet Christmas Cake
Old Fashioned Nut Roll
Greek Donuts with Warm Honey
Cinnamon and Sesame Cookies
Aunt Sarah's Original Turkey Goulash
Delicious Coconut Cake
Italian Gravy
Texas Longhorn Bar-B-Que Sauce
Sparkling Burgundy (French Wine Recipe)
Chocolate French Mint Pie
Quick Punch
Sugar Free Fudge
Homemade Cheese
Unique Plum Pudding
Twenty German Recipes
Russian Tea
High Protein Diet Candy
Italian Candies
Grandma's Old Fashioned Bread
Polish Recipes
Grandma's Fantastic Mocha Cream Cake
Chocolate Pie
Hungarian Green Bean Soup
Molasses Donuts
Effortless, Bake less Fruitcake
Vegetarian Recipes (Cottage Cheese Meatloaf)
Delicious Ambrosia Cake
Fantastic Frosting
Man Pleasing Chili
Sour Dough Starter Bread & Pancakes
Wine - Australian Style
Famous Pastry Shop Cheesecake
Sugarless Diet Desserts
Light Moist Coconut Cake
German Christmas Cake
Cold water Dill Pickles
Old Testament Scripture Cake
Easy Delicious Cherry Cobbler
Beer Cake
Holiday Honey Balls

You will notice a lot of regional and national
recipes. If you collect recipes from a specific
country, say Finland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
they would probably sell very well. Also recipes
from New England, the Deep South, or some other
special area would do well. Also notice the
number of recipes that contain words like
delicious, tempting, and easy.

Further, recipes which are sugarless, or which
feature Vegetarian specialities would seem to do
very well.

Many housewives pay a great deal of attention to
holiday recipes. If you can time your ad so that
it happens about thirty days before Valentine's
Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Mother's Day,
Father's Day, Halloween or Christmas, you will do
very well selling these recipes.

Where do you find recipes?

Start by selling your own recipes. Ask your
friends if they have recipes that you can use.
Often they will be delighted to help you. Or you
can go to the library and search through OLD
newspapers and magazines. When you find recipes
that look promising, go home and experiment with
them. Write them in your own words, otherwise you
could be violating copyright laws.

To get an idea of what kind of recipes are
currently being sold, it would be advisable to
study the recipe section on the classified pages
of most women's or food magazines for several
weeks (their advertisement rates are sky-high, but
they sell about four million copies of their
magazines every week. I notice some ads in every
week, and they could not continue unless they
were getting stacks of orders).

Closing thought: Give your customer their monies
worth and you will be in business for many years
to come. Good Luck.

Try a few recipes included in this Promo Pack available from the publisher
of this report - an ideal start to your new
business.