Dealer Reveals It Costs £1,605 A Month Plus VAT To Run A Car Business From Home Before He Sells One Car, And Says He Saves At Least £2,000 Against A Unit

Picture a car dealership and most people see a showroom, a row of shiny cars out front and a salesman with slicked back hair. A UK dealer called Chris says you can skip all of it, and he has put numbers on what it really costs to run his business from the family home.

A home garage workshop wall with tools and a workbench

His answer is £1,605 a month, excluding VAT, before he has sold a single car. Chris, who runs the Car Dealer Chris channel on YouTube, says he saves at least £2,000 a month compared with renting a commercial unit.

“You Don’t Necessarily Need A Car Showroom”

Chris says it is 2026 now, and a showroom or commercial premises is no longer a must. He runs most of the business from his phones. The first cost is two iPhones that he already owns, with two unlimited SIMs at £25 plus VAT every month.

He keeps a holding compound about five minutes from where he lives. It is only for storage and he cannot operate from it. It holds six small cars, plus a couple more outside, and costs £220 a month plus VAT.

The Compound Is For Storage, The Deals Happen At Home

When a customer calls about a car, Chris says the car is in the holding compound. He then brings it back to the family home, gives it a clean and meets the buyer there to try to do the deal.

He generally stocks around 10 cars at any time and could hold five more at the compound. All the detailing and valeting happens in what he calls the famous green garage behind him. He says that saves him about £1,000 a month on valeting and detailing.

The garage is at his parents’ house, and he lives close by. Water and electric, he says, do not cost him anything.

Insurance Costs Him £3,200 A Year, Friends Pay Over £12,000

Chris pays for a goods in transit policy that covers cars on the back of his transporter truck, at the home address and at the compound. He pays £3,200 every year, in full.

Some dealers watching will think that is cheap, and he agrees. Friends of his who operate from commercial premises, he says, pay in excess of £12,000 a year. That gap is one of the biggest benefits of working from home, he argues.

Auto Trader Is The Big Bill At £1,100 A Month

Advertising is the cost he says pains him most. Chris pays Auto Trader £1,100 a month plus VAT for seven live adverts and a website. He says that is the cheapest package they do. You can buy individual adverts, but he says you do not get the same exposure as you do with a package.

It is expensive, he says, but it works and he sells cars from it. Other options include eBay Motors, Gumtree and social media. Social media is working for him right now, because he is buying and selling cars to his YouTube subscribers.

Fuel, Mechanics And Body Shops Add More

Fuel comes in at an average of £700 a month over the last three months, including diesel for the recovery truck and mainly petrol for the stock cars.

Then there is preparation. Chris went through his last 20 invoices from his mechanic, and the average bill including VAT was £280. He says that surprised him, but it fits the type of cars he sells. They are low mileage, clean vehicles, and the usual work is discs, pads, a big service and maybe new tires.

He also went through the last 20 invoices from his body shop and his smart repair man. The average was £480 including VAT. He says he can claim the VAT back.

The Bottom Line Before He Sells A Car

Chris adds it up and says the monthly total, before preparation and fuel costs, is £1,605 excluding VAT. In the scheme of things, he says, compared with other people’s setups, it is not bad.

There are downsides. Not everyone wants to buy a car from a residential address. But he says his videos help, because many customers have already seen how he works, how he prepares cars and what he looks like before they arrive. He gives the example of a buyer named Simon, who bought a Focus a couple of episodes ago.

The compound can be messy, damp, leafy and awfully cold, he adds, but for £220 a month he says you cannot grumble.

Why He Thinks A Unit Would Cost Him More

For comparison, Chris looks at a unit in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in a nice area. He says you would probably pay at least £1,500 a month plus VAT, plus business rates, plus electric, plus water, and potentially another member of staff to run around.

That is why he believes he saves at least £2,000 a month. He says he does not need to sell tons of cars to make it work, while dealers with commercial premises need to shift a lot of metal and rubber.

He plans to keep things as they are and review them into next year. He is honest that it is hard work. “What you put in is what you get out,” he says.

What Anyone Starting A Small Car Business Should Weigh

If you have ever dreamed of selling cars on the side, Chris’s numbers give a sensible checklist.

– Price your fixed costs first, including phones, storage, insurance and adverts. – Ask what the right insurance policy is for stock and a transporter. His costs £3,200 a year, and he says others pay far more. – Factor in advertising. His package is the largest single bill. – Average your repair invoices, as he did, so you know what a typical car costs to prepare. – Remember the VAT treatment. He says he can claim back the VAT on mechanical and bodywork. – Check local rules for running a business from a residential address.

Chris says working from home is not easy and, at the moment, it has never been harder. But his figures make a clear case that a driveway, a garage and a few phones can do the job of a showroom.

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