What would you charge to store and show a car for sale?

Had a request today from a guy I met once before, he is importing a 56 Buick coupe from the US, apparently a nice car, and has asked if he can keep it in my workshop while he shows it to prospective buyers, he says he has five or six interested parties lined up already. Says it will be for 'a week or two'
Now Im hesitant as I dont have a heap of room, and it will to a small extent get in the way, but not a huge inconvenience. he mentioned 'it will look great in here, draw people into your shop' well I have all the work I can handle..so the advertising factor has no value to me..see my website below for what i do.
I think what will happen is people will turn up here to view it, and seeing I have two hoists, could usually get it up in the air for an inspection underneath.of course this will demand my time..And from my experience cars like this dont sell in a week..takes a month or two..

Im trying to work out what I should ask for.. this is probably a twenty to thirty thousand dollar car..I have a funny feeling he isnt expecting me wanting payment at all..

undercover secure parking goes for around $70 wk around here to give you an idea.and I charge about the same per hour labour.

any suggestions? I was thinking $200 the first week, and $100 a week after that, with a month maximum.after that..get it out.

 

Your fees sound reasonable. If you don't charge something it'll grow roots and become a permanent fixture in your shop. As the storage bill starts to add up he'll be a lot more motivated to get it out of your shop.

You also said you met him once before so I take it you don't know the guy too well. I'd say get something down in writing and dated with a begin date with rates and move it out date. If everything is written down there shouldn't be any misunderstandings.

 

I wouldnt do it at all.

First, if a buyer has an issue, he MIGHT blame you or think you are involved. Ok, you get out legally, but think about all the responses on here when someone says they were "taken", and how to handle it.

You will end up dealing with idiot after idiot and wont really make that much money.

If it were me, unless the seller was a CLOSE friend, I would only do it on a consignment type deal (with big commision) with a set amount if it doesn't sell.

 

Liability.

Hope your insured.....never know.....


Good luck!

 

Yep. I wouldn't do it either unless I absolutley needed the money. Otherwise I'd tell him that your insurance wouldn't cover it and that you'll p***.

 

I'd stay away. You don't seem to need the money or exposure, so why would you want the h***le and possibility of expensive problems if something goes wrong?

I'm a really nice guy, but that sounds like it's going to be far more trouble than it's worth.

 

Its money for (almost) nothing I suppose.
I guess I have to think about what sort of money would make it not seem a h***le..and thats at least 500 bucks. I will insist he has his own insurance before it comes in.

 

he carries the insurance. he handles all the business end. he pays you 35% of the asking price on completion of sale. It's a cold world out there. 35% will warm the pocket.

 

wow..35% ..really?
so $10,000 for having a car in my building for a month?no risk?no work? **** if life in the PNW is that easy..im moving!!

 

Well, what does Barret Jackson get? Ebay? Hell, ebay doesnt do anything and they get bank. $500 for selling a car is peanuts.

 

Sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. Nobody is going to go for cutting you 35% on the sale for storage unless they are complete fools. But I guarantee you get blamed if the paint gets scratched etc., with or without insurance. Tight spaces means more chance for problems. Wouldn't be worth a couple hundred bucks to me.

 

If I sell a car for someone I take 33%....

This involves listing, showing, and storage of the vehicle.

 

I would not do it either, for any amount of money.

Not sure what the laws are like there, but it were here, if anything goes wrong, you could lose your shirt, even with insurance.

 

You would have too much liability... Something needs to be stated that you are not responsible for anything that happens on your property.

Also, just a side thought: make sure it has a ***le or some legal do***ent stating that it is his.

Third - he gets no extra access to your shop or fenced area to show his customers his car.

-Too much liability if he is not close.

I wouldn't do it; but this is your situation.

 

At least he will have it inside for the current Melbourne winter. ( his advantage ) Are,nt sales allways slow in the winter ?

 

I'd be concerned about who he brings to your place of business. I agree with the others who suggest the BIG fee. You are providing (presumably) a proffesional place of business that will make him appear proffesional in the eyes of potential buyers.

He will also use you to help make the sale, "my friend here knows this car, you can see by what he does he knows what he's talking about", then he''ll ask you to back him up on his sales spiel. You will oblige because you have to, you want the car out of your space, and then there will be the "can you lend a hand here mate", "what do you think about this funny noise", "what do ya reckon I should do about this...mate".

The next thing you know, someone who out of the blue wants to bring you a really good job, but you have to turn it down because you don't have the space.

Suddenly your lousy 'few hundred' is simply not enough for the 'grief'. Charge him big, if he baulks, tell him to put it on consignment in a local car yard. You know he's already asked the car yard, that's why he's now asking you. He gets to keep his overhead costs down (at your expense) and increase his profitability (also at your expense).

Remember, business is business, you don't know this guy, so why are you doing him a favour. Also as others have suggested, you are taking on some risk as you have his car in your care. The old mechanics signs you used to see in workshops "ALL CARE TAKEN BUT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE" has been proven time and time again to have no basis in law. Keep it proffesional and charge accordingly.

Good luck.

 

Many stolen cars are shipped overseas to be re-sold. I would want proof he owns the car if it's going to be on your property.

 

I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. I hand pick the people who come over to my shop. No telling who would be at your place looking around.

 

Thanks guys,

especially Fe 26, wise advice indeed.

yeh the more I think about it, I need a fairly substantial earn out of this situation to make it worth bothering with, and Im fairly sure he won't want to pay it.

It could be just a car sitting here for a week or two, let a few guys look at it, and off it goes ..but it could turn into someone robbing me, him suing me for damage to it, god knows.

I Kinda hate that this has got me thinking like an insurance ***esor...I dont want to be that pessimistic about the future!

 

If there's a niggle of doubt in your mind - I say don't do it. Why can't he just sell it/store it himself??? I reckon he's trying to use you for cheap storage etc

 

You don't have room to spare. If you take this on, you'll have less.

Set a price that is right for you; With the h***le of people coming in the price would certainly be more than straight storage fee.

Tell him he has to be present when somebody wants to look at the car, don't let anybody in unless he is there, otherwise you become the babysitter. Get it in writing, move in date, move out date, cash in advance of move in, non-refundable.

 

10%. Easy.

 

Tyre kickers and time theives!!!!!! I just advertised and sold my Chevy, It became a full time job dealing with ****ers. Let him sell his own car and get on with earning your living.

 

Clearly this guy who you hardly know has your best interests at heart. He's doing you a favour dragging in all kinds of business for you. Maybe you should pay him for the marketing expertise he is offering.

I'm sure that's how he sees it, just from your initial post.

Tell him to.............

Ah, look, tell him what you like but I think being a businessman you'll make the right choice.

Pete

 

By asking this question your intuition is letting you know it's a bad idea.

 

Here in the States, there are a lot of storage businesses with stalls large enough to hold cars. Tell him to rent one of the stalls there, and he can show it anytime he wants.

 

I get 10% to park a car outside w' a for sale sign on it ( i'm on a major hi-way here in So. Missouri ,USA ) and 20% if i gotta park it inside,,,that's for my time & effert to talk to buyers and sell it ,,if it don't sell in 30 days ,,the seller pays me $250 for my effert ,,if i gotta talk to a bunch of tire kickers / dummys ,.,,,time is money ,,
either do it ,,and do it right for the right price ,,,or forget it !!!

 

Turn him down,you said you had equipment and tools and not much room,the more unknown people you have seeing what you have the more of a chance of being ripped off,If this dude can afford to ship the car he can afford a storage unit of his own,if for any reason something is illegal about this car you will be the one responcible if its in your shop.Cover your own ***,its his problem,not yours.

 

Not worth it, if the check goes bad or the car gets sold and you don't get paid. Or the guy who buys it thinks you were covering up somthing, it falls on you. The only insurance policy is doing it for a close friend.

 

Hide all your good stuff so you don't get robbed later.