Fixing and flipping cars

[cp[mike]]

id say keep it 10years old max, maybe 15years to start out

be aware some states require you to register as a used car dealer if you have a certain number of car sales per month.

i agree, interior is the biggest seller, assuming the car drives fine. look for "broken" things that you know arent necessarily expensive for yourself, just labor-cost inhibitive to fix for normal ppl to have fixed - like a transmission or headgasket, or one that could use a whole direct engine swap. you can convince them to sell it to you pretty cheap, and as long as you devote a few hundred bucks and some time and you can usually make a good return... and stock engines and parts are easy to find for repairs.

one more suggestion: before you buy an unfamiliar type of broken car, double check expected repair cost. you dont want to think "it only needs a new tranny thrown in" only to find replacements cost >$2k or some shit.

[Jonas]

thats true. i worked with a guy that flipped cars, and he got a 98 intrepid for 800 bucks. he was excited because it was so cheap (and this was in like 2003). it just needed a new engine. it came with a 2.8l engine. those engines were notorious for blowing up at about 70k, and they were all getting to that age. i talked to a guy at a chrysler dealer, trying to help my buddy find an engine, and he laughed. said they were in short supply because they all blew up! the engine would cost 3k or more. my buddy scrapped the car.

[Skeet Skeet]

Me and my friend used to flip Hondas. We don't anymore because we come across a couple of cars that just broke us and we ended up having to part them out and breaking even. Not to mention we bought all the good stuff around and are just waiting for some good stuff to pop up again.

[NightmareCB7]

Im a car flipper and there is some great info thats been said here and got most of it covered.
When it comes to sellin a car, most people will look for a that looks good, thats what will draw them in. Do you home work and see whats sellin around you.
As far as how many cars you can sell, well idk about your state but I just keep the title open. Im in Indiana and the titles are as easy they come.
As far as $$ pits, if the price is cheaper then the scrap price then get it and scrap it for the quick buck. Thats what I do with my derby cars.

$150 1989 Olds needs a fuel pump and brake work to DD.



$200 1990 Civic, turns out to be a pos that needs way to much ($$/time pit) Scrap bound unfortunately, I wanted to keep it too but need the $$ more.





$50 1991 Accord, No title. Great parts for my 90 DD and makes a great derby car.


After 1 derby and will run another derby on July 4th



Traded an Xbox 360 for 198? Chevette for derby. Im about to start on it.


These are some of the car of this year.

[rexload]

Some things to think about:

- Registration and tax when buying a car is going to be another expense

- Cars don't sell overnight. You'll need a small parking lot.

- Rain/snow may be a problem when you only have so much time to work on your cars. You'll need a garage.

- You will NOT make money on Civics and Integras CONSISTENTLY. Because most people who own Integras and Civics in good shape know what they are worth - so you won't find good deals. It is very rare that you find a non-basemodel Civic in hands of some old person who doesn't know what it is really worth.
There is a big market for Civics - yes. But guess what? That is why good deals are really hard to find and there are other people watching cragslist day and night hoping to get a good deal on one.

- You won't make money on Passports, old Preludes, and old Accords. The only people who will be interested are going to be Honda enthusiasts and they won't pay more than what it is really worth.

- You will need to learn how to do bodywork if you want to do this. Because most of the time, when you find a really good deal on a car, chances it will need some bodywork.

- You may be able to make some money on NEWER cars if you can buy them with major problems for dirt cheap (tranny problems for example, as somebody mentioned) However, you'll basically need a fully equipped shop because guess what? You aint replacing an SUV tranny by yourself on jackstands. You'll also need some specialty tools and service manuals depending on what cars you are working on. Not to mention, that when a never car with a blown tranny/engine pops up, somebody usually grabs it pretty quick.

I think this will require a lot more work and effort than it seems. Sorry but I just don't think it is a good idea. You could try it though, start small - look for a good deal on a car that doesn't need major repairs and see how it goes.

[Jonas]

sticking to one brand will eventually develop a reputation though, if you sell good stuff. there was a guy that always sold accords and civics from his front yard near my local shopping mall. id see the cars every time i went to the mall. always a different car. always a civic or accord. always looked decent. i assumed by his turnover, and by his consistency, that he was worth going to. i've sent friends to his place when they were shopping.

[rexload]

I tried flipping a Mustang GT last summer. Bought it below KBB, not a scratch on it, 50K miles. Long story short, I was lucky I only lost a grand... and it sat for over a month before it finally sold.

Also when I bought my old Civic three years ago, it had a HUGE dent in the side, the clear was peeling, it had no wheels, and a blown D15 motor in it. I paid $500 for it and I thought it was a good deal. Civics really hold their value around here for example. It is hard to find them for cheap in decent running condition unless they are riced out beyond repair.

[NightmareCB7]

BTW if you really flip a car, its the easiest way to get the exhaust out. LOL

[skilzz]

whoa man some ppl make it seem hella hard

its a fact that civics and integras are hard to find for a steal but my answer to that is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. i was 20 miles out in the middle of nowhere the other day(i actually was lost lol) found a 95 EG coupe 145k 500 bux. and my asking price is 1800 right now just to get it out of my parkin lot qwk

[crazymikey]

If you want to make quick cash consistently, you have to buy cars super cheap, like $50 to $500, and sell the cars for under $2000.

People want bargains, or just want cheap wheels that don't need major repairs.

Personally, I stay away from cars that need tranny work, just because it's such a hassle and time consuming. I'd much rather do a head, but most of the time it's not really worth it either.

If it needs like brakes, water pump, radiator, bodywork or something, then I'll be all over, because those are easy fixes.

[rexload]

Here is an idea

- Look for older cars that are in running condition but have serious problems with the paint : i.e. badly peeling clear coat, bad fading, etc.

- Learn to do basic body work and learn to do the $50 paint job. Invest in a polisher and polish the shit out of it.

- Invest in a good camera and take magazine quality pictures.

-Sell cars on eBay. Pictures of a car with super shiny paint = lots of potential buyers. People see shiny pictures and they can't resist and will possibly pay more than the car is worth.

[gloryaccordy]

I think OP needs a few rebuilds under his belt before getting into the car flipping game. If you don't know what you're in for it's incredibly easy to get in over your head.

[GeoffM]

The Passport is not a Honda, its a pos Isuzu, stay far away from it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Passport

I know it's an Isuzu. Why does that make it bad?
Also, kbb on it is $1800. Even if I bought it for asking value and sold it as is and sold it for $1500 I'd still come out ahead.

automatics will be easier to sell if they are working well. especially since the average person that knows nothing about cars prefers automatic. from my experience most people that drive manual transmissions know a thing or two about cars, and they are going to be more critical of the car you are selling.

I know, but here's a question:
I've heard many many times that changing old fluid can ruin the trans. So, for each car I'll be faced with the decision of change it and make it look good risking the trans, or leave it old and crummy.

Let me tell you, from my experience, that a clean interior is one of the biggest selling points of a vehicle. Make sure you take the time to vacuum and shampoo it, use a spray deoderizer inside and armor all the interior.



Stick with imports to flip, unless you go with cheap common American cars like Cavaliers/Sunfires, Neons, Escorts etc.

Good luck.

I figure I'll be spending a ton of time detailing. But if it gets me a profit, it'll be worth it.

That's my plan. Not only are those american cars super cheap, but I know nothing about them.

if it runs and looks decent, it will sell. you are better off with a good looking car that will blow up in 500 miles than a car that looks like ass that will run forever. i hate to sound shady, but just make it run well enough to get someone to buy it. wash it, wax it, vacuum it, shine the tires. if it can be driven away, and it looks nice, it will sell fast.

I figured as much. There were several cars on CL that I would've personally bought, but due to the rust they would be losses.

I guess this depends on your mechanical ability



Buy cars with common probables for cheap

Only buy "newer" cars


Ex...
Newer Explorer with a bad trans 2k for car trans is 1k sell for 10k
Newer x type with bad trans 2k for car trans 2k sell for double
Subarus with bad headgaskets you can get for cheap
Acuras and Hondas with junk auto trans you can get for cheap
BMW with bad trans or headgaskets cheap
Newer Nissans with junk 4 cylinders
Newer Nissans with bad cvt trans


Don't waste time with 20 year old Hondas... MOST people would rather buy the newer car for the same price

EX they would rather have a $3000 10 year old American car in decent shaped then a $3000 20 year old Honda

I see your point

id say keep it 10years old max, maybe 15years to start out

be aware some states require you to register as a used car dealer if you have a certain number of car sales per month.

i agree, interior is the biggest seller, assuming the car drives fine. look for "broken" things that you know arent necessarily expensive for yourself, just labor-cost inhibitive to fix for normal ppl to have fixed - like a transmission or headgasket, or one that could use a whole direct engine swap. you can convince them to sell it to you pretty cheap, and as long as you devote a few hundred bucks and some time and you can usually make a good return... and stock engines and parts are easy to find for repairs.

one more suggestion: before you buy an unfamiliar type of broken car, double check expected repair cost. you dont want to think "it only needs a new tranny thrown in" only to find replacements cost >$2k or some shit.

How do you check the expected repair cost? Website?

thats true. i worked with a guy that flipped cars, and he got a 98 intrepid for 800 bucks. he was excited because it was so cheap (and this was in like 2003). it just needed a new engine. it came with a 2.8l engine. those engines were notorious for blowing up at about 70k, and they were all getting to that age. i talked to a guy at a chrysler dealer, trying to help my buddy find an engine, and he laughed. said they were in short supply because they all blew up! the engine would cost 3k or more. my buddy scrapped the car.

H swap

Im a car flipper and there is some great info thats been said here and got most of it covered.
When it comes to sellin a car, most people will look for a that looks good, thats what will draw them in. Do you home work and see whats sellin around you.
As far as how many cars you can sell, well idk about your state but I just keep the title open. Im in Indiana and the titles are as easy they come.
As far as $$ pits, if the price is cheaper then the scrap price then get it and scrap it for the quick buck. Thats what I do with my derby cars.

These are some of the car of this year.

Your post in the "Post pics of your latest purchase" thread was kind of an inspiration

Some things to think about:

- Registration and tax when buying a car is going to be another expense
I hadn't thought about that. Good point

- Cars don't sell overnight. You'll need a small parking lot.
I only plan on having one or two at a time. There's enough space on the side yard that faces the school road. And we've been using that yard as a parking lot for a year


- Rain/snow may be a problem when you only have so much time to work on your cars. You'll need a garage. I have one. The furnace is nice in the winter. But that doesn't matter, because I'm not going to do this in the winter.


- You will NOT make money on Civics and Integras CONSISTENTLY. Because most people who own Integras and Civics in good shape know what they are worth - so you won't find good deals. It is very rare that you find a non-basemodel Civic in hands of some old person who doesn't know what it is really worth.
There is a big market for Civics - yes. But guess what? That is why good deals are really hard to find and there are other people watching cragslist day and night hoping to get a good deal on one.
I didn't see a single Integra on CL. The civics I did see somebody knew what to sell them for.


- You won't make money on Passports, old Preludes, and old Accords. The only people who will be interested are going to be Honda enthusiasts and they won't pay more than what it is really worth. Why not Passports? The old accords and preludes make sense, but I don't understand the Passport.


- You will need to learn how to do bodywork if you want to do this. Because most of the time, when you find a really good deal on a car, chances it will need some bodywork. Thanks for the heads up

- You may be able to make some money on NEWER cars if you can buy them with major problems for dirt cheap (tranny problems for example, as somebody mentioned) However, you'll basically need a fully equipped shop because guess what? You aint replacing an SUV tranny by yourself on jackstands. You'll also need some specialty tools and service manuals depending on what cars you are working on. Not to mention, that when a never car with a blown tranny/engine pops up, somebody usually grabs it pretty quick.
That's kind of why I was hoping to stick to Honda's, and only Honda's. The newer designs are difficult though.


I think this will require a lot more work and effort than it seems. Sorry but I just don't think it is a good idea. You could try it though, start small - look for a good deal on a car that doesn't need major repairs and see how it goes. That's what I was planning to do. But I'm a tad wary of the risks.

[GeoffM]

sticking to one brand will eventually develop a reputation though, if you sell good stuff. there was a guy that always sold accords and civics from his front yard near my local shopping mall. id see the cars every time i went to the mall. always a different car. always a civic or accord. always looked decent. i assumed by his turnover, and by his consistency, that he was worth going to. i've sent friends to his place when they were shopping.

That's what I was hoping to do.

I tried flipping a Mustang GT last summer. Bought it below KBB, not a scratch on it, 50K miles. Long story short, I was lucky I only lost a grand... and it sat for over a month before it finally sold.

Also when I bought my old Civic three years ago, it had a HUGE dent in the side, the clear was peeling, it had no wheels, and a blown D15 motor in it. I paid $500 for it and I thought it was a good deal. Civics really hold their value around here for example. It is hard to find them for cheap in decent running condition unless they are riced out beyond repair.

End of civic story?

BTW if you really flip a car, its the easiest way to get the exhaust out. LOL

That wasn't really what I was talking about.....

whoa man some ppl make it seem hella hard

its a fact that civics and integras are hard to find for a steal but my answer to that is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. i was 20 miles out in the middle of nowhere the other day(i actually was lost lol) found a 95 EG coupe 145k 500 bux. and my asking price is 1800 right now just to get it out of my parkin lot qwk

I figure I'd have to move off of CL eventually

If you want to make quick cash consistently, you have to buy cars super cheap, like $50 to $500, and sell the cars for under $2000.

People want bargains, or just want cheap wheels that don't need major repairs.

Personally, I stay away from cars that need tranny work, just because it's such a hassle and time consuming. I'd much rather do a head, but most of the time it's not really worth it either.

If it needs like brakes, water pump, radiator, bodywork or something, then I'll be all over, because those are easy fixes.

Sounds like a plan

Here is an idea

- Look for older cars that are in running condition but have serious problems with the paint : i.e. badly peeling clear coat, bad fading, etc.

- Learn to do basic body work and learn to do the $50 paint job. Invest in a polisher and polish the shit out of it.

- Invest in a good camera and take magazine quality pictures.

-Sell cars on eBay. Pictures of a car with super shiny paint = lots of potential buyers. People see shiny pictures and they can't resist and will possibly pay more than the car is worth.

I like the paint idea. I did my roof last year and it's only now starting to peel. Any cars I sell should be long gone before they start to peel
How difficult is ebay? I never took it seriously when I was car shopping.

I think OP needs a few rebuilds under his belt before getting into the car flipping game. If you don't know what you're in for it's incredibly easy to get in over your head.

That's why I made this thread

[J-specCb4]