We begin with our FREE 15 minute phone or video call, where I hear more about what you need and I introduce my service.

Once we have agreed to work together you can choose from 3 tailored service levels. Light Service, Full Service and Bespoke Service. Depending on what level you choose I can offer some or all of the following:

1.      A further more detailed conversation where I assess your needs for the vehicle and cover critical areas such as your budget, lifestyle and journeys. The process is very iterative, we will speak often and I listen carefully to your needs or changes as we move through the process.

2.      If you do not have a specific model in mind I start off by researching and then providing you with a broad list of models that will be suitable for your needs. This is a carefully selected list, showing real world examples within your budget that I have identified that will be suitable and reliable. I exclude any models, manufacturers or engine choices that are proven to be less reliable or won’t be efficient or suitable for the journeys you do or how you will use the vehicle.

3.      We then discuss the list I have provided and you can then make some further decisions to refine the list to just a few model types you are interested in and might purchase.

4.      I then go away and look across all relevant platforms (so Autotrader, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Pistonheads, Ebay and others depending on vehicle type and budget) for appropriate choices. I may also speak to my contacts in the car industry who may be able to offer you a better deal on your chosen vehicle. Ideally these vehicles will be local to you in the first instance. If we cannot find suitable vehicles locally we will look nationally and discuss the implications, i.e. distance buying and delivery. For each car I put forward I will list key features, include costs such as tax, overall efficiency and also look at the cars MOT history (if more than 3 years old) and assess online reviews of the dealer (if not being sold privately). I will only put forward dealers with good or excellent reviews.  If I have doubts or need more information, I will contact the seller/dealer and ask questions to better inform my responses to you before putting a vehicle forward for consideration.

5.      I can then help by organising test drives of your preferred vehicles and if helpful/reasonably feasible accompany you for the test drive to get a better look at the cars on offer(NB this may incur an additional cost for my time). I also have a handy guide I can give you to help you test drive cars successfully, showing what to look out for if I don’t accompany you. Please note, I can assess a car visually for you and its overall condition to a good level of confidence, but I cannot certify a car mechanically, for this you may wish to employ a local specialist mechanic, the RAC or AA to carry out a multi point health check.

6.      If helpful I can either advise you on what conversations to have with the dealer/seller or have these conversations for you, including any conversation intended to lead to a purchase. This includes advising on what I think the car is worth vs the price being asked and any key points you should haggle on or be prepared to walk away. Please note I do not (currently) advise on or introduce finance or warranty packages for car purchases. I may introduce this service in future.

7.      Once you make the purchase I can advise on things to look out for or plan for post purchase such as servicing and any items you might want to consider to improve the car or properly maintain it.

8.      I remain available post purchase for any questions or queries you might have.