Despite the universal appeal of a shiny new car rolling off the production line there’s still huge demand for used cars in the UK – and that demand isn’t showing any signs of abating. If you want to capitalize on this segment of the market safely and efficiently consider the following 5 useful tips for used car dealership start-ups.

1. Obtain Appropriate Motor Trade Insurance Coverage

Motor trade insurance protects you from the pitfalls that could affect your finances negatively during any vehicle purchase, sale, repair, or other transaction that presents a potential risk. The easiest way to compare policy types and quotes from various providers is to utilise Quotezone, a motor trade insurance comparison platform that takes care of the entire process within a centralised interface. 

2. Have a Reliable Way to Inspect and Diagnose Vehicles

If you’re approaching a used car dealership strictly from an investor’s standpoint, you might not know too much about fixing and diagnosing vehicles. That’s a precarious position to be in when your primary investments need to stay mechanically reliable into order to remain viable. At a bare minimum, it’s best to already have a background that has equipped you with the knowledge needed to know which cars are the best deals. If not, you may want to consider hiring a few in-house mechanics to take care of inspections, repairs, and maintenance for your dealership. 

3. Choose the Right Location

Picking the right spot for your car dealership can make a huge difference in the amount of attention and leads you’re able to generate locally. However, sometimes it isn’t worth paying a premium just to have more conveniently located premises. Thus, it’s best to compare all of your options before committing to a location for your dealership and balance the pros and cons of having cheaper monthly expenses versus a more premium location. 

4. Consider Selling Vehicles Online as Well

If you’ve been having trouble selling vehicles locally or you want to increase the amount of revenue streams available to your dealership, consider listing some of your cars on internet sales platforms like eBay Motors. This could be a particularly effective move if you’re dealing with classic, exotic, or rare automobiles that may have a widespread global appeal but not a high level of local interest. This also applies if you opted for more isolated premises.

5. Put Extensive Effort into Marketing and Sales Campaigns

Finally, while sourcing reliable vehicles for a great price is always the first half of the equation, everything else you do won’t help to increase your bottom line if you’re not attracting buyers at a fast pace. Of course, as in every other industry, proficient marketing will help you increase sales and promote the kind of brand awareness needed to make your dealership a well-known option for car buyers in your area. Thus, it only makes sense to put your greatest efforts into refining and optimising your dealership’s marketing practices. 

Offer Appealing Financing Deals

In closing, one more tip you can use to convince more people to lease your vehicles is to offer attractive financing promotions, such as no money down deals. You may also want to look into servicing the low or no credit crowd with weekly leasing options that are based on proof of income and a substantial down payment instead of credit scores.