Looking into becoming a car dealer? If you’re looking for a career that doesn’t have many miles on the clock, then a career in buying and selling both new and used vehicles could be the one for you.
To find out more about what’s in store in the world of a dealer, let’s take a look at the steps it takes in order to become a car dealer.
1. Save your pennies
The great news is that you don’t need to be a petrolhead to become a successful car dealer. However, you do need money. You can guarantee that almost every single step to becoming a car dealer will cost you money. So it’s a good idea to get saving and get some money behind you as soon as you can.
2. Fill out the paperwork
When you become a car dealer, you have the option of working on a self-employed basis, provided that you’re fully licensed and registered.
To do this, you’re probably going to have to sign some paperwork and gain accreditation just to show that you’re dedicated to providing an honest and reliable service to customers.
3. Brush up on your business acumen
In the automotive business, there is a certain degree of car knowledge and customer service that is required. Although you don’t need a business degree, you do need to be familiar with bookkeeping, accounting, marketing, and management if you want to be successful in this industry.
4. Hit the drawing board
First things first, you’ll want to sit down with a cuppa and create a formal business plan before you get started. Once you’ve figured out exactly the kind of dealer that you want to be, take the time to write all this down and plan it out piece by piece. This will be the key to helping you stay on track with all of your projections.
5. Find your feet
When you’re first starting off, you might just keep a few cars in your backyard, depending on how big it is, then you’ll be able to build on this from here. You could expand, rent a place, create a website to serve as your location, and really get the ball rolling. Your location could be the key and getting set up and smashing those sales.
6. Start selling your cars!
Now that you’re all set-up, all you need to do is get your cars out there. When it comes to getting your vehicles ready for sale and when you’ve got interest, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve covered the following basics:
- Ensure that the car has passed its MOT, check any advisories and that it’s all ready to go.
- Car valet. Making sure that the cars are crystal clean is always a good one to give more appeal.
- When you’re ready, list the car on as many car selling websites as you can.
- Photos are the one. By having clear photos and a list of all the information, you really could be doing yourself a massive favour.
If you’ve set up you’re own car dealership and you’re curious to find out how much a couple of your cars are worth, you can find out right here by using our FREE online car valuation tool! If you’ve got cars you need to get rid of, we can always help you scrap them too.
