Anyone experienced with flipping cars?

[Dylank811]

Alright. Well now I have some other opinions to consider. Maybe I'll just get a CD with some bullshit interest rate.

I love how to borrow the bank's money, using the $1200 credit card that I pay off every month before they nail me with the interest rates, I have to give them 14%. But they get my $3000 for .05% interest.

[99vic]

your NEVER gonna get kbb value or close to it. i use to buy and sell a lot of cars for fun.. dx is base model and the miles are very high. id say not worth it.

what i use to look for was

1. miles.. cars with high miles never sell

2. heat and ac... obvious reasons

3. current smog within 90days (not sure where your at or if it matters).. if they dont have it chances are it wont pass and thats why they are selling it. 99% of the time

4. current reg.. shows its street worthy. and in cali. current smog has to be shown when transferring it to your name.

5. clean title.. salvage titles have to many gray areas. and people are never honest anymore. and again salvaged titles are hard to sell for that reason

6. good tires.. who wants a car that is going to need $700+ instantly for tires?

7. motor knocks or odd sounds obvious reasons

8. transmission problems.. again as stated above

if it didnt have that i would walk away no matter how clean the car was... do you drive your car with out any of that? i dont. so im not gonna buy a car like that.

power windows locks and seats are also a plus to look for. everyone likes those options

thats what i have learned from buying and selling well over 100 vehicles for fun

Edited February 9, 2012 by 99vic

[Guest grim83]

flipping cars is a real pita, but it can pay.i wouldnt rely on it as my only source of income but as a side hobby it aint too bad. if your a decent mechanic and like to screw with cars then its pretty fun plus that feeling of buying a new car is awesome and addicting, not to mention if you make smart choices with the cars (same as any other "business") its more stable than buying stocks in this economy lol. a few things to think about

- make sure you are as good at working on cars as you think you are or that you have friends that can do the things you cant for free or cheap (a case of beer is a great barganing chip)

- keep your eye on the local craigslist and other classifieds you wouldnt believe the deals you can find

- thoroughly inspect any car your thinking about buying and plan for surprises to pop up (a friend of mine got an 04 pontiac gran prix for $200 recently because it was broken down all it needed was a new battery)

- know the local laws regarding the buying and selling of cars privately

- remember that the more you do to a car to increase the value of a car the more time it will take to find a buyer (i.e. selling a car for $1000 is much easier than selling it for $5000.)

- learn how to haggle and show up with cash in hand, you can usually get someone to take a good bit less than what they wanted for a car if you can hand them the money right then and there

- make sure to inspect the title prior to exchanging money and make sure you know how to read them ( you dont want to screw up and buy a salvage title vehicle or a one that has any other issues with the title)

- stick mainly to the more popular vehicle like civics mustangs camaros s10s f150 etc, they will be easier to find parts for and easier to sell

[TRTC360]

I wouldn't do that on any car with over 100k miles unless the motor has been rebuilt, my dad does this but its easier for him as he does his own body and mechanic work, sometimes someone brings a car to get an engine replacement, the person then can't afford it and my dad simply buys the car then takes it to a scrap yard and makes an extra 100 or 200 bucks simply from the weight, of course the car has to be a total piece of shit for my dad to buy it and simply scrap it.

[Dylank811]

I appreciate the advice. I feel like I can make decisions with more confidence now.

[Dylank811]

Double post

Edited February 10, 2012 by Dylank811

[727Designs]

I do it all the time. Search craigslist for decent deals then lowball the shit out of them. Spend a little bit to get them presentable (You'd honestly be surprised in the difference a good detail job will make on ALOT of cars). Get it ready and post it for sale on a few different places. You typically have a week or two wait on return, but good money to be made if you know what you're doing. Mostly now I do sportbikes. Buy them needing fairings, throw some fairings on them and double my money.

[Dylank811]

Yeah that had been in the works. I was thinking about paying Flagstop $140 to get the car detailed, waxed, and they shampoo the carpets.

[Mtnbikecrazy55]

Ya, I would only look for cars that have minor issues, such as bad brakes or exaust or ball joints/tie rod ends, and fix and then flip em. But ONLY if they're REAL cheap.

AND, agreeing with the above, if you spend a good day detailing the FUCK out of the car, you can EASILY get 500+ more.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Mtnbikecrazy55