I provide a personal, professional and discreet service. With over two decades of experience, I understand the complexities of buying and selling cars. My role is to offer impartial advice and assistance to ensure a straightforward, stress-free experience.
About Me
I have been in the motor trade for over 20 years, starting with a job as a junior salesman for a Lotus dealer in Surrey back in 2002, straight after leaving Edinburgh University. Within a few years I was buying and selling for myself, trading in what would now be described as Modern Classics, back when they were just cheap old cars. Within a few years I had teamed up with an old friend and we were soon selling more expensive sports and performance cars from a farm in Essex, alongside sourcing all sorts of modern cars for various clients, friends and family. This continued and progressed for many years, latterly from Central London, mainly involving higher end makes and models, as well as many Classic and Collector’s cars. In 2019, after a move back to North Yorkshire, I started working as a freelance buyer for one of the busiest Prestige, Sports and 4x4 dealers in the country, sourcing and buying high specification, low mileage modern cars for them to sell from their showroom. After 5 years of that I am now offering my many years of car buying experience to private buyers and sellers, to advise and assist with their car purchases and sales. Having bought thousands of cars of all different descriptions, I understand how the market works and what to look out for. I have experienced first hand the many pitfalls that exist, so can now help clients to avoid them.
The Process
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1. Initial Consultation
An initial no-obligation conversation to establish what you are trying to achieve. This would be an informal chat and I am happy to offer what advice I can free of charge at this stage. If I feel I can be of assistance we can discuss the potential costs involved, should you wish to proceed. If you are just looking to sell a car outright, I can fairly quickly establish what it might be worth and how much it might sell for so that you can decide if this might be of interest or not. If you are looking for a new (used) car we can discuss your specific requirements and budget. The more specific you are the better from my perspective, as it will help with narrowing down the search, but if you are still unsure of exactly what you want, I can offer some advice and pointers, but ultimately the final decision must be yours.
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2. Market Research and Enquiries
Once we have established exactly what you are looking for and you have decided to instruct me to help find it, I will start searching all the outlets and online portals to see what suitable cars may be available to us. I will forward details to you of any that look to be of potential interest so that you can review them and we can discuss whether to pursue them further. This will entail getting more detail on history, specification, ownership, condition etc. I can conduct all enquiries and negotiations myself, but if you want to be directly involved at this stage, that can easily be accommodated. Part exchange valuations and finance options can be explored at this point, if required.
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3. Due Diligence and Viewings
When we have found a car and a deal that you are happy with, we will usually need to place a deposit with the seller to reserve the car (normally refundable in the event we do not complete the purchase for some unforeseen reason), pending final due diligence, viewings/inspections and other loose ends. I can view cars on your behalf or we can view together / separately if preferred.
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4. Final Logistics
Assuming you are happy to proceed at this stage, we can make arrangements for the final logistics. I can often help with collection/delivery, if required. Sometimes the specific nature of the deal will dictate what is required ie. if finance and/or part exchange are involved, some dealers will require on-site signing of documents etc. In most cases payment will be made directly to the supplying dealer. I will invoice you separately for my services, usually after you have taken delivery of the new car.
Please note: This process is flexible and I can have as much or as little involvement as you want. We can discuss this at the initial stage and you can increase or reduce my input on an ad hoc basis, if necessary.