Self-employed used-car dealer: the day-to-day in 2026

Gilbert Gallego has spent eleven years in the used-car trade and does it all himself: buying, reconditioning, listing, selling and after-sales. In episode #2 of the Veiko podcast, Rodrigo sits down with the self-employed owner of FG Automóviles, in Granada, to see how a small business holds up when portals get more expensive and third-party warranties stop delivering.

Gilbert was the first person to put capital into Veiko, after a lunch at which Rodrigo said he wanted to go for it. Today he is a shareholder and a customer: he buys through several channels and does not put everything in one place. The conversation covers stock, TikTok, self-warranty, a credit facility and a blunt piece of advice for anyone thinking of starting.

How does a one-man used-car dealer work in 2026?

Gilbert is 46, with eleven years in the trade. He started in September 2015 as a sideline to hospitality work and went full-time the following year. He is self-employed and covers every part of the business: buying, reconditioning, logistics, portals, social media and after-sales. The slowest part, he says, is not selling. It is finding cars in decent condition and listing them properly.

He has never timed his week on a spreadsheet. He calls himself “pure improvisation”. By gut feel, hunting for buying opportunities takes most of the day. Then comes the work nobody sees: photos, videos, editing and social.

It used to be enough to have the right car at a fair price on a portal. Now, he says, you also have to specialise in how the car is shown.

His current range sits around 8,000–10,000 euros on the way in and up to 25,000–30,000. He sells five to ten units a month, and sometimes fewer. The premises are recent: he works by appointment, with no walk-in forecourt traffic. He used to keep cars in lock-ups and at other dealers. Now they sit together in his warehouse.

What Gilbert looks for when he buys a car

He looks for a saleable model. He would rather take a smaller margin and a fast exit than a car that sits. Reconditioning does not put him off: three weeks in the workshop is fine if he knows the unit will sell. The chain, Rodrigo says, is buy, collect and prepare. Gilbert talks about turnover while one car comes in and another goes out.

He started blind with private sellers. Wasted trips were common: the ad lied and you turned around. Auto1 has been a constant channel; he admits he has also “eaten a few lemons”. The trade, he says, means accepting that even professional processes still produce cars that do not match the listing.

What he likes about Veiko is the way of working: honest, transparent, with a quality guarantee and transport times. He would love to buy more there, but he hunts a very specific product — Volkswagen T6 vans are selling well for him right now — and “the good car flies”. So he mixes auction channels and sets a cap: working alone, he cannot inflate stock.

The same idea — do not lock up capital — matches stock optimisation. In podcast episode #1, Maxi also insisted on buying what will sell. Veiko auctions run from Wednesday to Friday, for trade buyers only.

How sales channels have changed

He started on Coches.net and Milanuncios. Wallapop came later. Today Coches.net, for him and for many dealers, has stopped being a good channel. He has cut listings from 15 to 5, the dearer cars, on the most basic package at 180 euros. Some months he sells none there.

If he sells one a month, he keeps it. At 15 cars the bill was about 600 euros.

Wallapop costs him 280 euros for 15 cars and, in proportion, works better: something sells every month. The model is online, by appointment. He has never lived off street traffic. What he has worked is reputation: more than 160 Google reviews, 4.9 out of 5 over ten years, and families who come back by word of mouth.

The channel that has changed most is TikTok, with Instagram a little behind. He shows the car on video and still has a dilemma. Without a price, the clip goes viral and the phone explodes. With a price, you have already given everything away. Even when he puts the figure at 20 seconds or in the caption, people still comment “price”. Short-term thinking, he says, will not survive two clicks to the website.

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How self-warranty works at FG Automóviles

He first bought an external warranty and experienced it as extra cost: the car breaks and you fight. Now he gives a self-warranty. If the customer has a fault in Bilbao, they take the car to their garage. Gilbert asks for a quote and mediates. If the price is fair, he pays there. If not, he repairs it in Granada, at his own workshop.

He also draws a line on perceived value: if a new part is needed, the customer contributes that share. He uses several workshops depending on the fault and keeps a courtesy car. On recording day that car was idle: nobody had an open claim. “Four will arrive now,” he jokes.

He sets the asking price from the market — Coches.net as a reference, plus Dealcar valuation and market radar — and does that before he buys. Taking the customer’s used car in part-exchange is “maximum and absolute priority”. If he wants the car, he values it firmly: the sale is already on the table and he can see it, drive it and run diagnostics. If it does not fit, he passes it on.

Reconditioning starts on arrival: structure, diagnostics, fasteners, underside. He would rather hand the car over with the service done — timing belt, dual-mass flywheel or gearbox oil if needed — than leave it for later.

A report that only shows the ugly, such as Need Car Help, makes people forget what the car still has. He talks about 2012–2018 cars: they cannot look brand new and stay at that price.

How a small dealer finances stock

Stock is financed with his own capital and a single credit facility. He could take more, but he sets a cap: working alone he cannot handle more cars than he has.

He would recommend a facility to anyone who does not use one: 3.5% or 4% a year, billed every three months, at a cost Rodrigo puts around 300 euros a month for about 15 extra cars.

He also offers finance to retail buyers. On older cars he works with Confía — formerly “the Austrian” firm — and mentions Lenrock, with a higher rate and the option to settle early. On newer units, Sofinco and Sabadell, roughly level. He would rather close at a low rate even if his commission shrinks: if the rate spikes, the customer walks to their bank.

His biggest mistake, he says, was a T6 bought in Germany through Auto1, with no air conditioning, to convert into a camper. Auto1 offered a return for 800 euros. He fitted the air himself, sold it to a conversion company and lost money. The other story is a Citroën Picasso with disabled electronics: DPF, EGR and software. The costs would not stop.

Episode FAQ

Can a one-man dealer compete with big used-car platforms?

Gilbert does not try to match fleets of 4,000 or 8,000 cars. His edge is a product he knows will sell, and a buyer looking for that specific unit rather than the first car on the lot. He competes with home delivery and transparency: if he would have to hide something, he would rather not sell.

The market, he admits, is volatile. A car that left in three days can sit for three months.

What margin is left on a car priced up to 10,000 euros?

The ideal would be 3,000 euros. Often it is 1,500 or 2,000 on cars up to 10,000. He gives a Touran 2010 1.9 TDI, up to 150,000 or 170,000 km, selling around 10,000–10,500. A sagging headliner or a timing belt can take 1,500, and you still owe a year’s warranty.

That matches a dynamic pricing strategy: if it will not turn, cut the price and move it.

Which brands does he prefer to sell?

In the episode game he picks Volkswagen — “the people’s car” — over Seat. He is a VAG specialist: he has sold Ibiza and León in volume, though he now handles less Seat and looks at Audi. Within Volkswagen he cites Golf 5 and 6, Touran, T6 and Caddy. A typical unit: Touran 2010 1.9 or 2.0 TDI. In other pairs he chose Volvo, Renault, Mercedes, Ford, Kia, Audi and Seat.

What advice does he give someone entering the trade?

Keep costs very tight. Do not freeze in analysis paralysis. Jump if you are decided. Sign up on every channel, put the hours in, make mistakes, find good workshops and pay invoices when they are due. Be honest. And do not be afraid, even though he admits some months he is terrified: sales dry up, faults arrive and the phone stops ringing.

He does not claim a crystal ball. There is uncertainty around electrics, and he no longer works a 2004 León with no emissions sticker (Spain’s DGT environmental label). The small business advantage, he says, is short stock: if you overload on an engine that gets a bad name, you are stuck.

The rule is resilience, adaptation and watching what comes. Asked to finish “being a used-car dealer today is…”, he uses one word: hard.