Post: #1

So I'm looking into getting a second car. I'm looking to get a sports car that I'll drive probably only on the weekends and occasionally throughout the week. Does anyone have any experience out here on getting slightly used vehicles, driving them for a couple of months and then selling them for a little profit or beak even?

Currently, I'm looking at used (2014-2015) Corvette Stingrays. I've just been looking at Craigslist waiting for a great deal that I can't pass up. Anyone here like changing out sports/luxury cars every couple ears andhow has that faired?

Post: #2

When I was younger I learned that you should always keep a car stock. Modifications are not a selling point to the average person if you're trying to flip.

Post: #3

(06-11-2017 05:38 PM)NewDayNewFace Wrote:  So I'm looking into getting a second car. I'm looking to get a sports car that I'll drive probably only on the weekends and occasionally throughout the week. Does anyone have any experience out here on getting slightly used vehicles, driving them for a couple of months and then selling them for a little profit or beak even?

Currently, I'm looking at used (2014-2015) Corvette Stingrays. I've just been looking at Craigslist waiting for a great deal that I can't pass up. Anyone here like changing out sports/luxury cars every couple ears andhow has that faired?

You've gotta buy at the right money- this is key. Driving them for a couple of months is just long enough for them to show any faults they might have, so I'd rather move it straight on.

I know a few people who do this, and while they go on about how they made a few quid on such and such on a motor, they go strangely quiet when you ask them about how much the one the timing chain snapped on as they floored it down the M40 cost them.

If you're doing this because you love cars, only you know how much the extra thrill of a new car is worth. You have to to weigh up a car you like and trust against the risk of a new one blowing up, for 'a little profit or break even'.

Post: #4

Your post reminded me of one of my favorite blogs, One Year With a Ferrari

oneyearwithaferrari.com (sorry, can't get the url button to work properly)

Dude gets the idea to buy, drive, then sell a 1998 355F six speed. Not to flip but to just enjoy driving, knowing he would lose some money in the scheme of things. It went somewhat as planned, haha.

Keep us posted, I'm wanting to flip cars as well.

A website that might help depending on your location: bringatrailer.com
Has everything from rusted out shells to top of the line shiny cars.

Post: #5

I bought a 2005 Chevy Suburban to drive on holidays this summer, with the intent to sell it at the end of the season.

I didn't factor in the reality that I like the truck a lot, and now I don't want to sell it.

The reason I bought it was I looked at renting a suburban for a month and it was almost $5000. I bought this one for $5300 and I know I got a great deal. I looked around for a few months and when I had the chance to get this one, I pounced fast. I could probably flip it right now for close to $7000, so if nothing major goes wrong after my big trip I will likely sell it.

Post: #6

There are a number of ways to flip cars. Its really a matter of individual skill intersecting with personal bad decisions

Examples of basic flips

Low speed side flip... (aka the "My Asian Neighbor")



Hi speed side flip


Then there are some more advanced flips

End over end flip



The "Redneck too much time on your hands" flip flip



The "Just put it any fucking where" (done with a truck...high degree of skill needed)






Car flippin is a way to casually get your friends involved or even people you just met. It can be used to celebrate a sports team winning a championship



or you can plan to go flip with your "wing"



You can share your kids and get them started early on how to properly make poor decisions




It can even be done with motorcycles ( the "Ninja Ninja")



Even IRT's are getting in on it



Yes I know...I know: That's not a car and it's not a flip...but you try getting that through to them. They never listen

Post: #7

About ten years ago when the Canadian dollar was up about eight cents on the Greenback, I had friends who would drive to Florida, buy high end SUVs then bring them to Canada and sell for a big profit. I'm not sure if US buyers are doing the reverse in Canada now that our dollar is much lower but it may be worth looking into.

Post: #8

I think all states in the US require you to have a dealer's license if you flip over a certain volume. Many states require a license if you buy any car with the intention of selling it for a profit. I looked into getting a dealer's license in my state, and one of the requirements was a net worth over $100,000.

In practice, you can buy and sell several cars with little scrutiny. The number varies by state, typically 3 to 5. However, if you try to be sly about it, they will track how many you sell per year, and the fines can be quite stiff.

A major factor here is that a dealer's license allows you to buy and sell the car without having to get registration and license places. This can cost a lot of money in some states, eating up a large portion of any profit you might make on resale. If you buy a $6,000 vehicle, spend $500 on repairs, $500 on registration fees, and then sell it for $7500, the registration fees just took half your profit.

This can be a way to make a few $100 now and then, but if you're really wanting to go into the used car business, I think it is very hard. It would be nice if you could flip 10 cars a year for $2000 profit each with minimal overhead, but the regulations make this very difficult.

Post: #9

^^^ Take that advice.

I've tried to become a low level car dealer several times over. My theory is that one day my shit would explode and I'd be the next big dealership here in Hawaii. All it took for one very successful dealer here is for a manufacturers rep to walk onto your lot and like you.

I've had the lecense and was an associate member of the dealers association. To get the good deals on auction cars was so much corruption and bullshit that I gave up.

One other thing to watch out for, besides what's described already, is overextending yourself. You'd be surprised how many smaller dealers sell cars at a loss just to keep cash rolling. You could wind up owning your limit and none of them selling. Add up your bills, with no income you could have big trouble.

Be careful out there.

Aloha!

Post: #10

You can flip cars on different levels. The profit margin gets higher as you go up, but not as much as you'd expect.

If you can buy a piece of shit for 500, put a couple hundred in it, and sell it for 1800, you'll do fine. I rocked that routine for a long long long time.

The thing is, were in a cash poor economy. People can come up with 2000 bucks, but not many can come up with 6-10k cash. So unless you want to become a legit dealership, you're better off buying cheap and flipping fast. Cheap cars sell the day you put em on the market.

Post: #11

All around bad idea and a waste of time in the US if you live in a state with a sales tax. It adds 10% to every purchase and adds a 10% cost to every potential buyer, not to mention registration fees.

As well, if someone's willing to pay the 30% premium to make it worth your while, they or someone like them would have likely picked up the car in the first place.

Im of the mind that everyone that buys a used car from a stranger is a sucker, because gauranteed he offered to all his friends and family first for an even lower price than what you'll pay and they all turned him down

Post: #12

Fuck PapayaTapper beat me to it.

Post: #13

Driving cars and flipping them only makes sense if you're a higher end dealer and don't have to pay the registration and other costs.

I've seen guys make money flipping lower end cars (3-10k or so) by buying them in cash (at the low end) and then selling them on the high end for cash as well. Guy buys from person A and sells to person B but they are never on the title.

The paperwork goes to registration with the state none the wiser. Definitely not legal and carries some amount of risk, but this is the only "easy" money flipping cars unless you have great mechanical knowledge/skillset and are keeping it under the # of cars a year you can sell or you have a dealer's license. I don't recommend it, but interesting to see guys trying to buy a vehicle with wads of cash and then realizing that if he never titles the car in his name that could be easily 500-1k in gross profit in cash each transaction. Turning over a couple cars a week could be enough income for some people.