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Need some ideas...

Want to know why he bought a car lot? He woke up, thought hey I like cars, lets go buy a car lot! And so he did. He has a regular job that has to do with oil and contracts and laws and requires him to be out of town most of the week. He's hoping that once the car lot takes off, he can quit the other job and stay home with his wife and new baby. I met him through a car club forum. He's a good guy, has good intentions, but he can be a little ..um.. not sure what the word is... LOL

I've found myself questioning stuff, like how am I suppose to figure out how to sell a car. I have never worked at a car lot before. I have no clue how to fill out the paperwork, do the temp tags, etc. I was handed a dealership rule book from the DMV and told "read it and find out what we have to do". Oh and I'm suppose to learn Quickbooks as well. He originally told me I'd be answering phones, helping customers, filing paperwork, etc. Each time I go to work my duties expand. Right now it seems he's just buying the cars and it's up to me to figure the rest out. :shrug

Pay is 10/hr ... and he said the more I work for him and more stuff I'll be doing, the more money I'll make and since I need $ to work on Gertrude, I'm pushing through it and trying to figure all this stuff out he needs me to. It's a Wed-Fri job (Sat too if I want to go in, but don't have too). He's pretty lenient about stuff. He knows I have kids so if I have to leave because a kid gets sick or whatever, he's fine with that.
 
Well it sure sounds like he is treating this more as a hobby than a business venture. It also sounds like he has the money to waste. He is asking an awful lot of you. As I'm sure you are finding there are a lot of legal issues and business rules that need to be followed that I'm sure are all new to you. Just be careful not to get yourself in a bad position should things go south. At first I thought there might be some shady things happening but it really just sounds like a guy you got the itch to give this a go but isn't really in a position to commit to it as he should. You do realize that although he may be financing the business he is asking you to make it reality. In your shoes, I would be negotiating a lot more than an hourly wage.
 
Hopefully the lot is open at least Mon. thru Sat. for sales. Nothing worse than wanting to buy a car and nobody is there to take ones money. Be sure to leave a "Be back at ......." sign on the door if you have to leave it empty....and be there when it says you will...or a bit before. I have returned after the time said there would be someone in, and they lost sales because of not being there. Might even leave a number to call so you are more available to customers. This would be a company cell, not yours.

Around here, car lots spring up over night, and in a month, they are gone. Rules are loose in Fl. from what I can tell and that really makes me shy away from the small lots. Az. required a $10,000 bond if one sold X number of cars a year. That slows down the crap. You need things there that make it look like it is there to stay and honest to deal with.

Of course, a bikini clad sale girl would bring in the male customers (and some female) and would have a womens touch.......... :thu :roll
 
Topless sales ladys might be a bit too far--lots of cleavage exposed will sell! also I would set up some kind of commission agrement before it goes too far--percent of company profit if you are going to be doing most of the work!
 
"AzPete" said:
Of course, a bikini clad sale girl would bring in the male customers (and some female) and would have a womens touch.......... :thu :roll
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A free boob painting with each sale would help.
 
OK, we used quickbooks in our computer store. It is easy to use if you know a little about accounting, like the terms.

As for you making his dream come true and the rules of the road so to speak....Well, we didn't have any of the traditional business things like a business plan, we just went by the seat of our pants. We went for 11 years and sold it and the guy who bought it had a strict business plan and almost had to close when he sold it to another guy who went back to our way and the company is back in the black. So, the traditional rules are not always important.

Note I said not always.... In the car lot business you will need to make a trip to the local DMV and make a friend or two there and get some free on the job training on how to do the paperwork. They will tell you how to fill out the paperwork the way they want it and this will make your life so much easier!

A friend in the right place will make your life easy. Like you need a friend at the bank. We needed to float a check a time or two and the bank president who was a friend would hold a check for us on his desk for a day or two. So, if you have to have anything to do with the money, you need a friend at the bank.

As for customer service...This is the reason we were in business so long and why the other stores that came and went were not. We never claimed the customer was always right, but we always gave them the best service we could. For instance we had a policy that if we couldn't fix it the customer didn't pay!

So, my point is make good fair policies and be honest about things. We have a car lot in Cedar City that I would go to again and again because when we bought the S10 for my daughter, he got it from an auction and told us he did and that he got it certified from the mechanics there. Then he told us where to get good financing and gave us a very fair price. This truck has been a great truck. Furthermore we know several people who have bought from him and they have all had similar experiences. One person had a bad car from him and he took it back after a week. This is not a written policy, he just took it back when he found out it failed so soon.

So, this is the type of reputation you want. Don't let this guy buy crap! There was a lot in town that I bought two cars from and he would tell me when I was looking at a car that it was crap. They were usually sold way cheap and as a project.

You should also develop a relationship with a local repair center and tire shop.

Mel
 
That's one thing he's pretty set on, is good customer service and good vehicles. He wants folks to keep coming back to buy cars for themselves, family members, etc. He refuses to sell crappy cars or "iffy" cars. All the cars on the lot he bought at an auction down in Houston. One of them was a Suzuki Forenza. Nice little car. I had to drive it from Houston to Bryan and liked it, but not as much as I liked driving that Mercedes 230!! :roll Anyway, Friday when we went down to the auction to pick up a couple other cars, they told us the title on the Suzuki had come in and it had a bonded title (something to do with an insurance company) and that the car had been totaled. The seller tried to get the car pass the auction with a bad title. :no They gave him the option to keep the car or bring it back and get a refund/credit. He took it back to the auction on Saturday.

Oh and he also pays to have the cars inspected by mechanics at the auction as well.

He also has a mechanic and a guy to detail the cars. He and I both have connections as we're both in car clubs and know someone who works somewhere that might come in handy if we need. :thu

Oh and the lot is only open Wed - Sat 10am-6pm..... for now.

as for pay...well 10/hr and if I sell a car for the price we're asking, I get $200. If I sell it below asking price, I get $100. Now if I can only get folks to stop and look at the cars. :confu It is summertime... maybe I need to wear shorty shorts and tight tank tops and go wash the cars on the lot....
 
I really feel the hours will hurt you. Those looking will want to drive the cars now, not in two days. Just my thoughts........looking as a customer type.
 
It is summertime... maybe I need to wear shorty shorts and tight tank tops and go wash the cars on the lot....
Click to expand...

think dukes of Hazzard and Daisy!

You could attract many people to at least look....

Mel
 
It's been a long time since I have dealt with a car lot client but I believe there are sales tax reports that will need to be filled out. The small lot I had as a client years ago had an experienced guy that started it and brought an experienced F&I guy with him when he opened so they dealt with all the sales tax stuff but I know something needs to be collected on the sale, then a report submitted (monthly I think) and any tax collected would need to be remitted to the state.

Call the state comptroller and they can head you in the correct direction.

For increased sales, get an outfit similar to the ones you would find at a Hooters to sell cars in..... :part
 
I forgot, there are for instance industry specific regulations. Like the monitor disposal fees that must be charged when you sell a new monitor. We just added them to the price and sent the money off to the state.

In cars you have taxes and the like that have to be sent to the state. In Utah the DMV is divided into the license part which is part of the Department of Safety and the registration part which includes sales tax and it is part of the tax assessors office.

So when you make your connections those are the ones to find people locally to know and ask for help with all the paperwork.

As stated above there are things that are agency specific and you will have to find out which agency. Oh, one agency will likely be able to tell you of others you need to go see.

If you get into financing the cars, you will need someone to help you from the banks you use. The local lot I like refers you to the banks and will give you the paperwork they need so you can go down and get the financing, then you go back with some paperwork from the bank and pick up your car.

It takes longer, but I think it is cleaner for the dealer and for me too. He uses a couple local credit unions and refers you to the one with the best rates.

Mel
 
HiJack in progress

btw Happy Belated birthday old lady.
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"RustyRed" said:
We told you about it but either your hearing aid wasn't working or the senility is setting in.
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That is what happens when you turn 50. Oh wait that is not until tomorrow soon to be old man.
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