Who here has any experience in flipping cars off craigslist...

I buy, fix and sell 240sxs on CL.

It isn't very profitable when done legally and is time consuming.

BUT - guess who gets to cherry pick parts for their personal car whenever something nice comes around.

>3 You get noticed for selling too many cars and they bust your ass.
What? Bust me for what?

Selling too many cars without a dealer license

What, you think you can run what is effectively a BHPH out of your garage with no red tape?

I have a friend who worked all the way up the ladder from fixing broken cellphones and repackaging them in OEM boxes as refurbished to real estate, you will make no fucking money at all buying shitboxes to fix and flip. If you do, it'll be a margin of a few hundred at most and you'll put more hours and money into it than you want unless you are a total cock about it fixing with salvage parts, forged maintenence logs and a Maaco paint job. Your profits will only appear buying intact luxury vehicles between 5 and 10k for less than they should be selling, make a few minor fixes and sell for 2k more. There is no market for garbage. It'll all be lucky steals from mechanical illiterates who don't know an alternator causes problems when it goes bad. Nothing else will make money.

Dealing without a license

links to any currently for sale?

...

>craigslist

Nah.

If you're going to be flipping cars, go to auto auctions. You get much better deals and you don't have mess with sordid owners (unless they have some stupid reserve).

I flip cars on CL occasionally. I stick to the same types of cars because I know the prices of repairs and labor hours off the top of my head. I'll green text you some of the things I know

>most cars that need fixed usually go for the normalk cost - cost of repairs. most of these people just subtract the cost it would take for them to repair it
>this means little to no profit
>if you're going to drive these cars around for a few days/weeks (to meet buyers, test shit etc) you will need insurance
>constantly buying insurance will pop up some red flags
>you may get popped for dealing without a license (each state usually has a maximum limit)
>if you miss a problem, it will eat into your profit
>you will spend a lot of hours on labor, washing, taking pics, meeting people etc. Your $/hr will end up very low and not worth it
>finding those perfect cars can literally take months

How have I made money most times?
>I know the 4-5 cars I flip like the back of my hand
>I only do one every couple of months
>I work at a small auto shop so access to tools/lifts reduces labor time by a TON and I get shop discount on parts
>I do motorcycles too, but they are VERY THIN on profit margins

Basically, unless you have your own shop, and can drive the cars on shop insurance (it's a blanket policy, you don't have to claim every car that comes it. It's also VERY expensive), don't waste the time. You'll make the occasional score (which could be worth it) but it's not a full time job/big money maker if you work out of your house.

Auctions are dead. Every middlea easterner and pacific asian has opened a used car dealer and killed that market. Cars go for more than what you can find on forums/CL/etc

One of my coworkers did it. Gotta deal with weird shady people all the time, like one time he sold a car and the guy got it impounded 2 days later but it was still in his name, he got it out and the guy claimed he got mugged and the car stolen yet again. Then lots can report you to state patrol if you don't have a dealer licence but you're buying a lot of cars.

I flip cars for a living while going to college.
Nothings keeping you from doing it.
the most important thing is to know the car your going to look at. know the problem's that will keep you from selling the car.

-poor cucks buying your flips love interior. make sure it's clean and presentable.
-make sure the vehicle can do a test drive without haveing issues.
-make sure you don't get trapped with a non smogging car if you live in an emissions state.

straw sales are your friend.
I only flip pre-75 cars because i live in cali and fuck smog and mostly flip foreign cars.

good luck.

Very possible if you do it as a weekend thing. But you need to have connections and be really good at inspecting cars. It's a good way to get paid to wrench part time

>What's to keep me from buying something for $1k and selling it for $2k the same day?

You need the title.

If you flip more than five cars then you get classed as a used car dealer and need to be licensed for that. Or penalty. Once you are listed as a dealer, various consumer protection laws now apply to you where they didn't before. Unlike private sale of your car, your sales may now be subject to state income tax.

Just how many cars do you think OP is really gonna flip right away? I very much doubt outgoing volume will be an issue.

The biggest money maker is buying broke cars with high mileage engines, blown, damaged in bad shape Engines.

Dirty engines go into a diesel bath, that shit is miracle Juice.

Otherwise, Most of the cars are cars that are Hidden effed up, Kind of like Auctions, the cars that go there are cars that cost more to repair then they are worth (unless You need the big parts).

Also BEWARE!
Years ago, when I was really young, 18 or 19 and I was trying to buy a car, the first guy was trying to take the Cash off of my hands when he had no Title, You get what im saying?

No title NO MONEY, fuck them and their complicated stories, No Title No money! You all hear me? Dont even listen to any shit, No title no money.

I use to do it a lot in the UK, buy a shitty car, drive it for a month, polish it and then sell it and get another car, I got a letter from trading standards because they thought I was selling cars without a trading licence

Land of the ''free'' lul

Land of the (((free))) you mean

Most states shut you down around your third one in a year.

So if I'm looking at a truck that was at auction for 1800. 1995 Toyota t100 with 120k on it. Should it be suspect of being shit?

The seller is middle Eastern and has a body shop not a mechanics shop.

He's probably hidden some body rust. Take it for a test drive and go over some parking stops at about 20mph see if the frame or suspension breaks.

I do this. I buy and sell about 2-3 cars a year and look at about 30 or so. Most are garbage. If you don't have a good understanding of vehicle mechanics, you get burned quick. The vehicles that I do make money on almost always need work but it's work I can do. It's rare something is finished and worthwhile.

I wouldn't suggest buying/selling in the 1-2k range as it's usually not worth the shit that comes with it. 5-10k is the best place to buy/sell in on the used market.

He repainted it. The vehicle from its vin report never left Houston. The frame looked good hardly any visible rust.

It's just when I was young I bought a jeep from a middle Eastern guy and holy shit did it suck.

Also to the guys who know a out auctions. The truck came from a large dealership, then to auction since I'm guessing it didn't get sold on the lot.. does that mean anything?

>The truck came from a large dealership, then to auction since I'm guessing it didn't get sold on the lot.. does that mean anything?
AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE

I mean, I can't help you make a profit, but I do buy mechanic's special cars for 200-2000 dollars and I fix them up and sell them to local high school kids/college students/poor people and sell them for generally about the cost of the parts + oroginal price, though I've taken a dive on more vehicles than I'd like to admit.
Local sheriff says it's illegal but since I got his son a car which helped him get a job which finally got him off dope, he really only gives me shit for giggles by this point.
I suspect if I was actually making a profit or wasn't such a cuck he'd shut me down, but I like to think of it as a public service.

Can you tell me why it should be avoided? I'm not doubting your judgement but so I know better next time.

OK. Having dabbled In it once or twice let me give you my 5¢

First car I bought was a JDM. Invested 1300
I de-riced the body and replaced a couple random cosmetic shit from domestics at scrap yard. Sold it for 1500 a week later. (For the amount of time it took, not really worth it. But I did get to hoon and abuse the car while I had it)

Second car was a 96 golf that needed a new Fan belt and hood paint for 800$.
Two days later the fan belt broke and got sucked into the serpentine belt, pulled that off too. Sold it on the side of the road to some redneck for 300$ and a ride home.

If you have wrenching abilities, it might be doable,

HOWEVER

>most countries have a rule about how many cars you can sell before needing a licence

>it just takes one lemon to fuck you up if you don't have a ton of money

>People will lie to you about the cars, you will have to lie to people to make money.

There's a reason used car salesmen are often seen as on par with lawyers in scumbaggyness

just memeing for the lulz bro
I hope you get replies from someone who knows his shit tho

It's a steal of a truck at a steal of a price yet it was never sold.
Think about that.
What could be wrong? It's probably that.

Well the kbb price is pretty even for what this guy is selling it for. I'm not informed about dealerships but don't they mark shit up high then after its on the lot too long it goes to auction.

That's my experience anyway

Also the guy showed me what he did on the truck.

He bought for 1800, selling for 2900. He painted it. New tires. New radiator. And new window motors.

Vin is clean.

Im asking for all the help I can because this is my last bit of spare cash and I have no car.

It's a relatively low mileage Toyota. How bad can it be?

Like I said to start with I'm sure the guy repaired some body problem it had, beyond just painting it - or maybe he just put a super shit paint job on it that's going to come off really really soon that happens too. The thing about trucks is that the body doesn't fucking matter so I say user should go for it - assuming it doesn't break when it takes it off a 2 foot curb during the test drive.

Think the limit is 3-6 p/y depending on state

1-2k
>Buy accord gen 6/7/8
>Gen 6/7 civic coupe
>And gen civic sedan
>Prelude gen 4
Can sell for double what you paid after fixing them
>Wrx and forester(this may just be an nc thing.
>Integra
>Crx
>Prelude gen 3/5
Can sell for 3x what you paid or in wrx's case nearly full price used(vapers have money)
Im surprised lpg never mentions this but in parts of nc wrxs never drop below 20k when working and never under 12k when salvage.

have to play the cards right and buy cheap

years ago i was an automotive mechanic and a welder would buy absolute pieces of shit for $50-$1000 and we would fix them and he flipped them for cash. he could take a $100 clunker, we put $500 into it, and he sells it for $5000. i did a good 9-10 fucking Ford Explorer transmission swaps for him

if you can get something like a Subaru WRX, Nissan Skyline, Silvia, etc for cheap like a no-start and fix it easy, you can make profit. your average car like a Camry its not even worth the time to make $200

Do motorcycles bro. They're much easier to store, transport and work on/clean up. doesn't know shit. Their profit margins can be great if you wait for the right deal. Just be on the lookout constantly on craigslist or w/e and buy that $1000 bike for $300 or that $1200 motorbike for $600.

Same poster here. On a side note, I have made money on both motorcycles AND cars. Either uptrade or buy REAL low. I uptraded a bike for a car and made $1600 by the end of it. And I have made money off bikes.