Do any of you flip cars?

Calendyr

Calendyr

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
3,996
Reaction score
0
Do any of you do used car flipping?

If you don't know what that means, it's the business of buying cars far bellow market value because they are in bad shape, fix the problems and resell them at market value or just a bit Under.

There seems to be a lot of money to be made in that trade, best would be for someone who can do the mechanical work as well as the detailing.
 
I just purchased a Jetta for $300 with a bad transmission. $350 for a tranny, $250 to paint the bumpers and roof, and maybe $30 worth of detailing supplies. Kbb shows $2200 in fair condition. This has all the service records since the day it was bought. I do all the work myself.

I do this as a pass time in between the house flipping .

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online
 
In washington its technically illegal. I've looked up the rules and laws of getting a dealer license because of it. Its against the law to buy a vehicle with the intent to sell it for a profit. No joke. There's also a two or three vehicle limit per year you can sell.
 
Yeah read the same thing here in Cali,there is a certain amount you can sell for profit and after you exceed that amount you have to file taxes (something like that, don't quote me, lol)
 
The dealerships pushed these laws to stop what they call curbstoners which is there term for the average joe trying to flip cars for extra cash or for a living. Its bullshit. Its quite difficult for someone to obtain a license to sell used cars. Must have commercially zoned lot w/building containing office on first floor, certain size sign on location at the road with hours posted and address+business name, phone number listed in the phone book with your business name which they call at a unscheduled time to make sure you answer during business hours before they approve your license, bonded and insurance, must attend 5 hour dealer class and provide certificate of completion, must be open 9-5 at least and be open weekends, etc etc etc. Its absurd.
 
hernandez.art13 said:
Yeah read the same thing here in Cali,there is a certain amount you can sell for profit and after you exceed that amount you have to file taxes (something like that, don't quote me, lol)
Click to expand...

I don't know about california but here I. Wa its just flat out illegal to buy a car to turn it for a profit.
 
However, if you're not worried about johnny law catching you then there is money to be made if you're a good mechanic and know a body guy who works for heap. I know people who maximize profits by never transfering titles when they sell their cars to avoid the limit and to avoid paying any taxes whatsoever. If you're flipping cheap cars this is a must or you just won't make enough money to make ut worth your time.
 
I don't know about the laws here in Québec but since the government makes you pay taxes on the transfer plus a transfer fee, my guess is that it will be legal ;) Will have to inquire about it. Seems a good way to fill a Schedule when you have downtime.

I am no mechanic though, how hard is it to start Learning about car mechanics with modern cars? I am guessing that the target will be cars that are easy to fix with problems like broken alternator or water pumps. Only true mechanics would want to tackle stuff like transmissions and head replacements.
 
I wouldn't do it if you aren't already a shade tree mechanic. That's where the money comes from. What you do is familiarize yourself with a few models and more specifically models that have known problems like head gaskets on dohc 2.5l subarus and you can get those fixed yourself for a few hundred and if you're good at it you can do one in a day or some people in 3 hours or less. Or transmissions that you can swap out with a junkyard or craigslist unit for $100-$300. These problems are expensive enough to drop the price down significantly and provide room for you to make a decent problem. My friend told me one of his friends makes a living taking riced out hondas and fixing a problem or two with them and returning them to stock and selling for 3-5k.
 
So car dealers that buy a used car cheap at auction with the sole intention of reselling it for a profit, are breaking the law?

I always knew they were crooks...
 
I forgot what the law is called, not sure if it's a state or federal law but selling a car without transferring it to your name. is illegal. (I think)
 
So car dealers that buy a used car cheap at auction with the sole intention of reselling it for a profit, are breaking the law?

I always knew they were crooks...
Click to expand...

In short no.

They have the dealer license as well as a distributor license (Don't know the exact name).

Here in South Dakota you can sell 5 used cars a year with a dealer license but its the other license after that you need (which is extremely difficult to get) and the reason why you don't hear about people doing it more often. Because after the 5 with a used dealer license you need to have all this crap that follows it and permits from the county and certain regulations and guidelines have to be met and it is STRICT.

As the OP said there is money in it. If you plan on doing it illegally for the simple fact of by the time you go through everything that is required. You would have a better chance at using that capital for starting a mobile detail rig than trying to make "Profit" because so much is involved you now almost have to make yourself a dealer instead of someone trying to just make a little extra dough and then your turned away from detailing if you do it for a living because at the end of the day to much is involved hence being the reason not many do it, or do it and find out it wasn't quite the profit they thought once all the legal stuff is taken care of. Just a PITA if you ask me.

Best way IMHO to do this is just go with the simple route of a used dealer license which in my state allows up to but no more than 5 per year. That includes Vehicles,Boats,Rv's.

So go do your research on how many you can get away with legally the easy route and always keep an eye on the ones which will turn big profits that don't need much minus the detailing aspect of it. So in turn look for the mechanically sound vehicles (trucks,work vans) that have been badly neglected on the cosmetic side of things and do the detailing aspect to increase value and make profit. Depending on abilities this can be thousands of dollars if you can find the right deal at the right time with major exterior/interior problems most people can't or wont fix that we can. might take a month to get it to your standard..But if you have a garage just work in your spare time on it in chunks and get it perfect and then you can add say..+$1000-2000 (depending on make) for an excellent above avg condition vehicle. Be wise on which ones you go with as your limited to the number of sales per year. Hope this made it a little more clear on someone trying to do this to make profit. With plenty of research of my own prior to this post it seems this would be the only way to make profit and I have been considering it myself now. - Tory
 
For a second there from reading the topic I thought people are literally flipping cars.
 
T3 AutoDetails said:
In short no.

They have the dealer license as well as a distributor license (Don't know the exact name).

Here in South Dakota you can sell 5 used cars a year with a dealer license but its the other license after that you need (which is extremely difficult to get) and the reason why you don't hear about people doing it more often. Because after the 5 with a used dealer license you need to have all this crap that follows it and permits from the county and certain regulations and guidelines have to be met and it is STRICT.

As the OP said there is money in it. If you plan on doing it illegally for the simple fact of by the time you go through everything that is required. You would have a better chance at using that capital for starting a mobile detail rig than trying to make "Profit" because so much is involved you now almost have to make yourself a dealer instead of someone trying to just make a little extra dough and then your turned away from detailing if you do it for a living because at the end of the day to much is involved hence being the reason not many do it, or do it and find out it wasn't quite the profit they thought once all the legal stuff is taken care of. Just a PITA if you ask me.

Best way IMHO to do this is just go with the simple route of a used dealer license which in my state allows up to but no more than 5 per year. That includes Vehicles,Boats,Rv's.

So go do your research on how many you can get away with legally the easy route and always keep an eye on the ones which will turn big profits that don't need much minus the detailing aspect of it. So in turn look for the mechanically sound vehicles (trucks,work vans) that have been badly neglected on the cosmetic side of things and do the detailing aspect to increase value and make profit. Depending on abilities this can be thousands of dollars if you can find the right deal at the right time with major exterior/interior problems most people can't or wont fix that we can. might take a month to get it to your standard..But if you have a garage just work in your spare time on it in chunks and get it perfect and then you can add say..+$1000-2000 (depending on make) for an excellent above avg condition vehicle. Be wise on which ones you go with as your limited to the number of sales per year. Hope this made it a little more clear on someone trying to do this to make profit. With plenty of research of my own prior to this post it seems this would be the only way to make profit and I have been considering it myself now. - Tory
Click to expand...

Here in wa the used car dealer license and all the other bs is all you need. It allows you to sell as many as you can.
 
That's how i found about some of the info I know. A guy used to hire me and pay me $150 to compound, polish, and wax the car he was selling. He would just tell me to make it shiny again. I was just happy Detailing on the side. Took me about 4 hours to do the car. After I was done he would just say thank you and give me the $150. He then took it to those quick car washes to remove and residue in the exterior and have them do a quick interior.

Then sell the car for $1000+
 
I had a dealer license in Utah. Not really difficult to get, you take a 5 hour class, get bonded, a lot with sign, register your name and apply. 2-3 weeks later you would have your dealer license, then you apply for a business license from the city.
None of it is buckshot like it has been said. You make good profits if you're willing to go through the trouble of doing it right.
The state wants to know who you are in order to work out issues that inevitably come up with titles etc.
On th other hand, I flipped cars for a while after I closed my business. Highly illegal in Utah. $10k fine and/or up to 5yrs prison on the FIRST offence. When my son was born, I stopped doing it. Too much risk. Not just of getting caught but if someone is testdriving your car and the wreck, you don't have insurance on it and most likely haven't even registered. Your opening a can of worms.
I do "flip" cars legally though. That is, I buy a car for a super price and register it, drive it for 3-4 months and sell it. By that time, I've fixed any issues it had and detailed the crap out of it. You can do 4/yr here and not get in trouble.
Unlike common believe, you don't have to buy a wrecked or broken car and fix it to make profit. If you know what car to look for and what they go for. I would look at hundreds of ads in a morning and spot the killer deals, make an appointment, check it out and buy if the car and price were good. Stop by a car wash on the way home and get new pics and post it for a profit. Most time I'd sell within a few days and I'd start over again.
Anyways, just my two cents.

Sent from my LG-P769 using Tapatalk 2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top