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If cars are your passion, perhaps it has always been your dream to start your very own used car dealership. As the saying goes, when you are doing something you love, you won’t work a day in your life! As great as that may be, as with starting any business, there is a lot of work that goes into starting a used car dealership in South Africa. To help you, we’ve compiled a step by step guide of how to start a used car dealership in South Africa.
Who is This Business Right For?
A used car dealership owner should possess certain traits to be successful. These include
– A love for cars
– A good eye for spotting a good deal
– Excellent customer service skills
– A good knowledge of cars
– The ability to work hard
What Does a Typical Day at a Car Dealership Look Like?
When you run a used car dealership, you can expect to spend most of the day attending to various tasks. You will need to be able to:
– Deal with customers
– Handle the paperwork associated with buying and selling cars
– Inspect and appraise cars
– Advertise and market your business
– Manage your inventory
– Deal with finances
– Keep your lot clean and organized
How Does a Car Dealership Make Money?
Most used car dealerships make their money by finding stock at good deals and then selling the vehicles at a higher price to make a profit. Used car dealerships also make money by selling car parts, accessories and offering services.
What are Some Skills and Experiences Essential To Building a Successful Car Dealership?
In order to start a car dealership, you will need to have skills in sales, marketing, and management. You will also need to have a good understanding of the automotive industry and the current market conditions. It is also helpful to have experience in the used car market, but this is not a must. Passion, drive and a good work ethic are the driving forces behind any successful business.
What are the Costs Involved In Opening a Car Dealership?
Used car dealerships can be started with a relatively low amount of money, making it a good business opportunity for those who are looking to get into the automotive industry. The costs involved in opening a car dealership can vary depending on the size and location of the dealership. However, some of the most common costs include:
– The purchase or lease of a property, unless running the business from home
– The purchase of new and used cars
– The cost of renovations to the property
– The cost of signage and advertising
– The cost of employee salaries (this may come later only as you expand)
Opening a car dealership can be a lucrative business opportunity, but it is important to do your research and planning in order to make sure that you are able to cover the costs involved.
What are the Steps to Starting a Car Dealership?
Step 1: A Solid Business Plan
The first step in starting any business is to create a detailed business plan. This document will outline your business goals, strategies, and how you plan on achieving them. In order to start a used car dealership in South Africa, you will need to research the market and understand the competition.
Step 2: Register a Legal Entity & for Tax
Once you have created a business plan, you will need to register your business with the South African government. This process can be completed online and will require some basic information about your company.
You will also need to apply for a special permit to trade which you can get more information on here.
Step 3: Open a Business Bank Account
In order to open a business bank account, you will need to provide your company’s registration documents, as well as a letter from your financial advisor confirming that you are the owner of the company.
Step 4: Set Up Business Accounting System
You will need to set up a business accounting system to track your income and expenses. This will help you keep track of your financial performance and make sure you are making a profit. You can use a simple spreadsheet or a more sophisticated accounting software package, many which are very affordable and available online.
Step 5: Get Business Insurance
You will need to get insurance for your dealership. This will protect you in case of any accidents or damage to your business, stock or even to customers visiting your lot. Remember the floods in April 2022 and the looting in 2021? Imagine not being covered and watching your floor stock float away, get written off by water damage or driven away by looters. Its not worth risking going without business insurance, especially in South Africa.
Step 6: Find a Location
The next step is to find a location for your dealership. You will need to find a space that is large enough to house your inventory and office space. It is also important to find a location that is accessible to your target market.
Step 7: Growing Your Business With Floor Plan Finance
The final step is of course acquiring stock for your use car dealership. You may have enough capital to invest in stock as you get started but when you start to grow exponentially as word gets out, you may find you have a cash flow problem on your hands. So how do you work around this? Used car dealership floor plan finance! This will help you to get the stock you need to keep your business growing without breaking the bank or having to apply for a business loan. In fact, our fast-track option lets you apply for up to R150k without going through the full application process to get cash in your hands faster than ever.
There you have it! Your ultimate quick-start guide to starting a used car dealership in South Africa. Keep your eye out for more in our series on floor plan finance and business tips for used car dealers in South Africa.
Check out our previous post covering the benefits of floor plan finance here
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A problem most used car dealers will face, especially in South Africa, is how tough it can be to find financingwith terms that work for your used car business. This can be a make or break factor for your used car dealership. Floor plan financing is a great option for used car dealers looking for better financing terms.
What is Floor Plan Financing?
Floor plan financing is a type of lending where a dealer can borrow money against the value of the cars and inventory they have on their lot. This allows dealers to keep more cars on their lot, and offer their customers a wider selection of cars.
Benefits of Floor Plan Financing
There are many benefits of floor plan financing for used car dealers. Some of the most notable benefits include:
- Increased Cash Flow – By financing your inventory through a floor plan lender, you can improve your cash flow by having the inventory financed. This will free up your cash flow to use for other purposes.
- Improved liquidity – A floor plan lender can provide you with the liquidity you need to grow your business. This will help you to expand your inventory and grow your business.
- Improved Credit Rating – A floor plan lender can help you to improve your credit rating by providing you with the financing you need. This can help you to obtain other financing in the future, potentially for larger amounts, such as when you may need to invest in larger premises as you grow.
- Increased Efficiency – A floor plan lender can help you to increase your efficiency by providing you with the financing you need to buy inventory. This will help you to sell more cars and improve your bottom line.
- Achieve Stock Plan Objectives – do you have specific stock plan goals you want to achieve in your used car dealership? Floor plan finance gives you quicker access to cash and gives you the power to make purchase decisions when it comes to acquiring new stock for the floor.
What Finance Options Are Available To Me?
Traditional bank loans or business loans can take too long to be approved and you may miss out on acquiring new stock for your used car dealership floor. Specialised car dealership floor plan finance provided by floor plan financing companies, fast-tracks your application for quicker approvals to give you the purchasing power to acquire stock as and when you need it.
Our finance partners offer a fast-track solution to get up to R150 000 cash in your hands as fast as possible to help you buy stock as you find it. Apply for floor plan finance now.
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The short answer is yes. Yes, you can. Whether you’re buying or selling a business or commercial property, delays resulting from the property transfer process can lead to cash flow issues. Property transfers can be a complicated and lengthy process and it can take months before you actually have the money. Luckily there are ways to help you through this process. A property bridging loan can be used for commercial property as well and is a good option if you need money immediately.
Fast and Hassle Free
This is one of the biggest benefits of a property bridging loan. If you are an investor or entrepreneur you want to move quickly and make sure you can get a move on with the transaction process as soon as possible. With a bridging loan, you do not need to wait for months on approvals and go through the whole tiring and overwhelming process.
You will even receive a response within 48 hours so you will know pretty quickly whether your loan has been approved or not. You will get your funds within 30 days when all the documents requested have been provided and once you receive your funds your business cash flow is immediately improved by approximately 30% which will have a positive financial effect on your property as you can make the necessary changes and improvements you want instead of waiting.
How Can this be Useful?
A property bridging loan can be used if you are buying a new business, commercial property, or part commercial/residential property. You can use property bridging for property purchase, property development, and improvement. You can also use property bridging to improve your credit profile and if you cannot wait any longer for the funds and need the money immediately.
Just like residential bridging, commercial bridging loans can also be useful at property auctions or when the property chain gets broken. It can also be a more convenient and easier way of getting the funds you need especially if you can just apply online. Commercial property includes warehouses, shopping centers, factories, hotels, student accommodation, office blocks, and apartment blocks.
Your Options
Property bridging finance in South Africa will facilitate your cash flow strategy with an Interest Only Mortgage Loan. If you have owned retail, office, and industrial property for more than 3 years you can get an Interest Only Commercial Property Loan and an Interest-Only Industrial Property Loan. At property bridging loans the commercial mortgage refinances packages can be renewed at the end of each 5-year term. To secure a mortgage bond interest only, will require the same application process as a normal bond application and is a much quicker process.
Final Words
Commercial bridge loans can be used for many types of properties. When your project is completed, you as the borrower can sell the property for profit, or the loan can be refinanced into permanent financing, allowing you to continue to own the property.
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With the current economic climate in South Africa looking more and more grim, it seems as though loans and, in particular, bridging loans in South Africa are becoming increasingly popular. Recent changes in laws around early pension withdrawals have seen a rise in people leveraging their retirement savings to help short-term cash flow problems that they’ve experienced due to retrenchment or early retirement, as well as a host of other reasons including divorce, dismissal, or even resignation.
This trend is most evident in the older population as retirement nears and pension funds may be needed sooner than later. Retirement can be a scary process, and reckoning with your pension is often a very daunting process, too. This is why there are options available to help ease the pressure and put you on the front foot of your retirement. Such options come in the form of pension loans, also known as pension bridging loans.
What Is a Pension Loan?
Pension bridging loans provide you with the opportunity to withdraw funds from your pension or provident fund in advance while you wait for your pay-out. With Pension Bridging, if you’re due to receive your pension fund pay-out within six months then you’re eligible for an early pension pay-out. This means that you can withdraw money against your pension or provident fund in advance and put it to use as and when you need it, without having to wait any longer.
Why Take a Pension Loan?
In todays financial climate it’s become more necessary to receive help via some sort of loan, whether it’s a home loan or a business loan. Pension backed loans are becoming increasingly popular, too, particularly among people who are retiring or who may have been retrenched or dismissed unexpectedly.
One major benefit of taking a loan against your pension is the cash flow injection that it brings to your current financial state, which in turn can turn the tide on any outstanding debt you may have and ultimately reduce your monthly payments.
Another advantage to this is because the loan has your pension as security, there is a greater possibility of leading institutions offering more competitive rates on these loan charges than they would typically offer on student loans or personal loans.
There are great benefits to gaining early access to your pension funds via a bridging loan in the fact that there’s zero risk involved, especially when you go through a provider like Pension Bridging.
There can often be a significant risk of losing your hard-earned retirement funds when working with unregulated institutions that charge unscrupulous amounts of fees and interest. This is not the case here, as loan charges and costs are regulated and governed by the National Credit Act and Financial Services Board, regulations in South Africa.
This Is Your Time
Managing your money and saving for your twilight years has never been easier. If you’ve not begun thinking about your future after work, this is your time to start.
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Being involved in an accident is a terrible experience. And then struggling financially afterward is also horrible. This entire process can be emotionally draining as these financial claims can take years to get settled, as claiming from the Road Accident Fund is not a quick process. Fortunately, a Road Accident Fund bridging loan can help. It can give financial assistance when you are waiting for RAF payouts and need the money urgently.
A Lengthy Process
Claiming from the RAF can be a very long and tiring process. It can be emotionally draining as you do not
only have to deal with the financial issues but can have emotional and physical trauma as well. On
average, it takes three to six years for the RAF to pay out a claim.
With the assistance of your lawyer, you must collect evidence to support your claim. This will include
documents like accident reports, witness statements, and medical records. It’s essential to be thorough,
so this step can take a few weeks or months. Once the documentation is ready, your claim can be
lodged using the appropriate RAF claim forms. Your claim will be registered on the official RAF claim
system. This can take up to a week.
The RAF will investigate your claim based on your evidence. They get granted 120 days to do this.
Unfortunately, the RAF investigation may miss the deadline by weeks or even months. When the 120-
day investigation has ended, your attorney will issue the RAF with the summons. Now your case is going
to be pursued in court. Now a trial date can be set. Again, this can take months to set up.
Depending on the circumstances, the whole trial process can take even longer. Even after your claim has
been settled in court and the RAF is ordered to pay your compensation, this process can take months
and you have to wait even longer to receive your funds.
Financial Assistance
But there is some good news. A company like RAF Bridging loans will be able to assist you financially in
these stressful times. Road accident Fund Loans can help you while you are waiting for your RAF payout.
To apply for an RAF claim advance, you must have a settlement agreement or court order and provide
them with your attorney details.
With RAF bridging loans you can get an advance of up to 75% of your claim value and a three-day
approval. You apply online, sign the loan agreement and you can get your money within 3 days. In order
for you to get an advance on your RAF claim, you have to use a lawyer to lodge your claim. When you
are going through stress and emotional trauma an attorney can make things a little bit easier. They can
make complicated matters easier and more understandable; they can negotiate more money and they
can even approve you for RAF advance funding.
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Doctors and hospitals are there to provide medical care and life-saving interventions for patients, but unfortunately sometimes things go wrong. This is particularly true for government hospitals in South Africa where standards of care, hygiene and equipment are below what is acceptable. While doctors simply cannot prevent negative outcomes for every single patient, they are required to adhere to a strict code of ethics and standards of practice to prevent putting patients at risk.
Who do you submit a medical negligence claim to?
If you have been a victim of medical negligence by a doctor or hospital, you will open a civil case at the High Court to claim for damages. You will either be suing a doctor or a hospital. When suing a hospital, the hospital or State (if a government hospital) are held liable for the negligence of staff employed by the hospital.
What constitutes medical negligence?
- the healthcare provider or hospital was legally responsible for providing the patient with care
- the healthcare provider or hospital breached their obligation to provide a level of care that meets regulatory standards
- the breach in care resulted in serious injury or death to the patient
- the injury to the patient resulted in financial loss and emotional trauma
Common cause for claims include:
- inadequate patient records
- failure to disclose risks to the patient
- failure to follow correct treatment protocols at the correct time
- poor monitoring of patient (development of infections, worsening condition, secondary health issues, death)
- birth injuries
When are you legally able to submit a medical malpractice claim?
When you sign your admission forms, you often sign an indemnity or disclaimer thus waiving your right to sue the healthcare provider or hospital by knowing all the associated risks. However, if the above misconduct causes can be proven, you have a good chance of opening a case against the healthcare providers or hospital.
How soon must you make a medical negligence claim?
You must submit a medical negligence claim within three years of the incident occurring.
Damages you can claim for
- Medical expenses
- loss of income
- compensation for chronic pain, emotional trauma and suffering
if you need to sue a doctor or hospital we are able to connect you with a medical malpractice attorney. If your medical negligence claim has been approved, we can also give you an early cash advance while you await payment.
