9:30 am, July 12, 2025
When Cazoo first arrived on the automotive scene with brash claims of transforming the motor trade, car dealers across the country rolled their eyes and gave a collective sigh.
‘Yeah right. We’ve all heard that one before’ was the prevailing mood – and so it proved, with the company exploding just a few short years later amid mounting debts and sky-high losses.
And while the capitulation certainly did not attract too many throughout the industry, some retailers were at least able to empathise.
That is because years before Cazoo arrived, with its outlandish claims and loudmouth marketing, another retailer had a dream of making it in the world of online car sales.
Long-term Car Dealer contributor James Litton actually tried to set up a similar venture – albeit on a much smaller scale – way back in 2007.
Working from a farm in Devon, Litton turned his back on a long career working in franchised car dealerships to set up the Internet Car Lot.
Like Cazoo, the business aimed to sell used cars online and like Chesterman, Litton found the experience to be a bruising one.
Appearing on a recent episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, Litton said: ‘When I first met James [Baggott] many, many moons ago, I had a business from 2007 to 2011, where I tried to sort of do internet-based sales.
‘It was called the Internet Car Lot but I was doing it in Devon and I was working from a farm. In 2007, I don’t think the car buying public of Devon were really ready for this kind of internet based sales!’
He joked: ‘I was like Alex Chesterman before Alex Chesterman became Alex Chesterman, apart from I was doing it on a very tiny scale.
‘Like him, I blew a load of money – and so I would say that I do hold a lot in common with him. I gave that up and I went back to working for Mercedes Groups.’
The experience proved to be an invaluable one for Litton, who then spent the following years working back in the franchised market.
It was not until the end of the Pandemic that he decided to once again step out on his own and set up another independent firm.
Now specialising in classic cars, Litton is enjoying more success this time around with his latest business – ICL South West.
He is now handling 20 to 30 cars a month and is loving the experience of working for himself once more.
Explaining how the latest venture came about, Litton explained: ‘A few years ago, just as we came out of Covid, I took the plunge to hopefully atone for the mistakes of the past and go working for myself again – as is the addictive nature of this job.
‘Working for yourself there’s a lot of flexibility that comes with it. I’ve got a busy wife and two young kids and all that kind of good stuff that middle class and middle age comes with and it helps support that.
‘Right now, I’ve got some retail cars with a site. I’ve got some classic cars with a site, and then I do some wholesale trade to other dealers.
‘I’d probably get through 20 to 30 cars a month of varying shapes and sizes. Nothing very lucrative, but it’s the working for yourself thing.
‘The dopamine hit of buying an old banger that takes 500 quid is as much as it’s lovely selling AMG GTs and all that kind of good stuff.
‘There’s something weird and wonderful about buying old cars and selling them for a profit for yourself. So that’s what I’m doing these days.’
The Car Dealer Podcast, sponsored by Carwow, sees an industry guest join our hosts to discuss the motor trade’s biggest headlines of every week.
A full list of the stories discussed can be found here.
You can listen to all episodes of the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A special live recording of the show is taking place on September 24 in Oxfordshire. Polestar MD Matt Galvin will join Vicky Hart from Waylands, as well as the Car Dealer Podcast team James Baggott, Jon Reay and James Batchelor on stage at the Podcast Live event.
You can book your tickets below and find out more information about the event here.
Tickets to Car Dealer Live 2025 are refundable up to 60 days before the event. The schedule, event contents and panelists are subject to change at any time.
