Would this put your off? Builder quote

I wouldn't notice tbh. But I guess if he can afford a nice car then his business must be successful, and if he did a shit job it probably wouldn't be as successful.

I also wouldn't think he was lying about the vulture thing. We are having an extension, trades scout out planning permissions then hound you with leaflets, unsolicited door knocks etc. I can well imagine they would scout out jobs if they spotted a competitors van somewhere where work hadn't appeared to have started yet.

I'd think he was a bit of a flash harry

Oh thats typical MN for you.

"I don't like oranges"

"My husband works in a shop that sells oranges, are you saying he's a twat?" 🙄

I don't like swanky cars so it would put me off a bit.

I honestly don’t know how you got that from what I said. I meant he is obviously making good money. I am not especially, although I am okay. So I would have done better running a building company.

He works hard, I’ve asked him to do several jobs because him and his team meet a good standard, and of course he does deserve it and the nice things he can buy. He is from Poland originally and has built up a great company and reputation here and should be proud of that.

I’m not sure how me being mildly envious of his car means I don’t think he deserves it.

My old man and one of my boys are in the trades. Both are booked up with work and sometimes quote using one of the nicer motors if they are in them at the time. They have had comments about earning to much and being dealers.
What surprises customers when asked how they can afford these cars and they are cheeky enough to ask is the fact the cars and money are the little old wife's at home. Im the bread winner but you wouldn't know that when getting a quote. You cant always judge someone on face value

I’ve learned not to assume that someone driving an expensive car has a lot of money, and vice versa, so I wouldn’t read too much into it

White vans are a huge target for theft - even unbranded ones. I wouldn't be driving one around and leaving it on the street unattended if I could help it, personally.

DH is in the trades and his van was broken into multiple times - he never stored tools in there though so they were always out of luck. Now he has a car (not a 75k one though ) and it never gets targeted at all.

It would put me off

Why ? Do you think they don't deserve their money or have nice things ?

Given how many anonymous white (other colours are available) vans there are in the UK ...

The builder I use does this! Always just makes me think I chose the wrong career 😊

I suspect that his competitors trawl planning permissions and offer to quote for jobs rather than follow him round.

His paranoia would concern me.

Yep OP, I'm with you. I'd think was charging too much and it would put me off. I'd much prefer someone turning up in a "well loved" van that's obviously seen some hard work in its time.

I’d just prefer a tradesman to actually turn up, both to quote and do the job

I read a fairy story about that once.

I don't know anyone who chooses a builder on quote alone so I think he's being ridiculous - he should concentrate on getting good word of mouth

Most people get 3/4 quotes anyway

How? I find it almost impossible to get even one.

Tbf earlier on i did say dealer might be one of my conclusions id jump to, but only because i only tend to use localish tradesmen and where I live that would be a reasonable assumption 🤣 a £75k car round here looks very out of place 😬

A lot of decent vans kitted out with tools will cost a lot more than fancy cars too.

With tradesmen, the good ones, they are always busy and usually going from one job to another so I'd expect to see a good one with all the tools of the trade around them, especially as depending on what it is they might have to faff about a bit to do the quote. With our latest work he actually had to knock a bit of wall down to see the issue.

That's fair enough - but absolutely nobody else on this thread has said they expect a tradesman to arrive in a van for purely practical reasons.

I don't need to imply that some people are being snobby either - some posters have openly admitted that they think that a builder with a fancy car must be a crook or doing dodgy dealings

No probably not just tradesmen, depends. With tradesmen, the good ones, they are always busy and usually going from one job to another so I'd expect to see a good one with all the tools of the trade around them, especially as depending on what it is they might have to faff about a bit to do the quote. With our latest work he actually had to knock a bit of wall down to see the issue.

Personally its not for snobby reasons like you appear to be alluding to 🙄 its because turning up in a fancy car doesn't give me the impression they are particularly busy or good, or maybe they only like the big money easy extension on new build jobs instead of actually knowing how to solve problems that might crop up on older properties.

Spot on

I had a landscape gardener turn up to give me a quote in his gaudy white land rover with private number plates and it put me off completely. Plus the fact he was a complete arse and I didn't trust him at all.

Those of you who think a builder with a fancy car must be a crook or a drug dealer - do you think the same thing about doctors or lawyers with fancy cars?

Or is just tradesmen who must be doing something dodgy to earn good money?

I think I’d presume he was a successful builder. Nobody gets successful by being rubbish (excluding Dylan Mulvaney!)

I’d have more faith in a successful contractor than some dude turning up in a 1997 rusty Renault with a mismatched bonnet or door.

that’s assuming I’d even noticed his car or his number plate. You’re way overthinking this op.