Frank Butcher spent years on the forecourt. Now he’s on your side. Honest advice, insider knowledge, no agenda — just the stuff dealers hope you never find out.
Used Car Warranties: What They Cover, What They Don’t, and When to Pay for One
I sold a lot of used car warranties in my time. Hundreds of them. And here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ll get out of the way early: I sold plenty to people who didn’t need them, and I watched plenty of claims get declined for reasons buried on page nine of a document nobody read. Including…
Approved Used Cars: What the Badge Actually Means (and What It Doesn’t)
Approved Used cars are sold to you as the safe option. The reassuring option. The one your mother would approve of. A car that’s been hand-picked, scrutinised, polished and presented for your approval by the manufacturer themselves. Not some dodgy backstreet operation. The proper stuff. I sold a lot of Approved Used cars in my…
The Diesel Fiesta I Begged Them Not to Buy (And Sold Them Anyway)
I’ve sold a lot of cars in my time. Most of them, the customer drove away happy and I never thought about the transaction again. A few of them I still think about. This is one of those. It was a diesel Fiesta, and selling it to them is one of the deals I’d take…
Finance rejected? Why dealers say no (and what to do about it)
Finance Rejected? Don’t give up You’ve found the car. You’ve done your checks. You’ve negotiated the price. You fill in the finance application and sit back, confident. Three days later, the dealer rings with bad news: finance rejected. Your credit score wasn’t good enough. You’ve got too many applications on file. Your income doesn’t match…
3 shocking ways car dealerships manipulate you (and what to do about it)
I spent more than 2 decades in car dealerships. Not selling cars, mind you — selling the idea that you needed a car. And I was very good at it. The difference between a customer who walks onto a forecourt and walks off with the right car at the right price, versus one who drives…
Why Dealers Want You Thinking About Monthly Payments (Not the Price)
By Frank Butcher · Dealer Tactics · 29 April 2026 There’s a number that lives rent-free in my head from my days as a business manager on the forecourt. £1.87. The price of a pint of beer. The cost of not paying attention. That was my figure. The amount I’d aim to be over a…
7 Ways to Negotiate the Price of a Used Car (From Someone Who Was on the Other Side)
If you want to know how to negotiate the price of a used car, you could read one of the hundreds of generic guides online. They’ll tell you to “do your research” and “be confident” and “don’t be afraid to walk away.” Thanks for that. Very helpful. Or you could hear it from someone who…
What an HPI Check Actually Tells You — And What It Misses
I’m going to tell you something about HPI checks that most buying guides won’t, because most buying guides are written by people who’ve never actually worked on a forecourt. An HPI check is one of the most important things you can do before buying a used car. Run your own. Always run your own. Never,…
The day I made my daughter cry — and failed as a first car buyer (sort of)
This is a confession in the truest sense. Not about something I did on the forecourt. About the day I took my own advice, followed every rule in my own playbook, and made my eighteen-year-old daughter cry in a car park. Some lessons you learn from the other side of the deal. The background My…
Dealer Car Finance vs Personal Loan: What They Don’t Tell You
There’s a moment in every finance conversation where the customer says “I’ll just get a loan from my bank.” And I’d smile, nod, and think: they have no idea what they’re giving up. Not because dealer finance is always better. It isn’t. But there are things that come with financing a car through a dealership…
