The "Flipping Cars" Thread

[420sx]

No, not literally flipping cars.

This is a thread for those of us who want to share our technique for finding used cars and turning them for a profit. Some people may want to hold onto their secrets, if so- fine. But Ill share my knowledge.

I usually start by searching craigslist and the forums. In craigslist, ill use keywords like "needs work" and search all cars and trucks that way. Then Ill try putting in a maximum amount I want to spend, and use that as my only search field. In the search bar, ill simply put a space- that way every car below my maximum price comes up. From there, I look for a car that looks feasible for me to fix and turn around. I dont have a full shop- just some decent car knowledge, a driveway, a set of hand tools, and a knack for problem solving. My most recent pickup was an '00 Neon. I bought it off a coworker who was under the impression that the transmission was blown. Turns out it had a clogged cat and a broken motor mount. Got myself a decent daily driver for under $500. I could sell it for a profit, but currently Im using it as a daily while the 240 is getting the SR put in. But I will be looking for another car to pick up on the cheaps and fix and sell. Its a great way to make extra money, especially if youre young, handy, and have a good amount of free time.

I try to look for cars that are "just cars." Just a regular old daily driver. Ive flipped BMW's, Honda's, and a few others- i tend to find that modified cars carry a bit of "drift tax," so I try to either buy from someone who doesnt really know anything about cars, or from someone who's fed up with that particular vehicle. I bought a 1993 525i for $1000 and all it needed was an exhaust manifold gasket and a thermostat. Sold it for $3800. The previous owner had spent a bunch of money trying to get it up to par, and was just "done with it." I lucked out and grabbed it from him for next to nothing. But since he was a friend, I gave him $1000 of the $2800 I made off the deal.

For those of you who dont mind sharing your tricks of the trade, post up your experiences! How do you find your deals? What do you look for in a flip candidate? How do you determine if the vehicle is worth your effort, and how do you know when to cut your losses if youve gotten yourself in over your head? More importantly, how do you keep yourself from getting in over your head?

[Sublime1304]

My dad buys old muscle cars and sells them for more to turn a profit

[420sx]

Originally Posted by Sublime1304

I like turtles

Nice contribution. Thanks for that.

[EklipzGSXkid]

It's not as easy as it looks, Is one main thing I can say. I've had people stop by my garage and see the cars I build, Then say they're going to do it. They go buy 3-4+ cars and realize they have no garage, no tools, And no knowledge on how to fix or build a car, And they then get stuck with their ''investments''. If you know what you are doing, However... You can make good money and at least $25,000+ in one month if you really bust your ass buying/building/selling (Or even buying/selling alone). You can easily make a years+ pay, In not even 1/4 of the amount of time it would take you to bust your as 8-12hrs a day, Working for "the man".

Before I got extremly busy at my garage with people dropping their cars off for work, And for me to build them, I was buying 3-6 gsx's EVERY single month. (You do the math on that one). It didn't matter to me if I sat on the cars for one day, Or for 1 year though. I did not need the money back right away.

If you have money to start with, And don't mind waiting and risking the money, Then it's worth it. You only need one car to start with, And to get the ''ball rolling''. After that, There is no limit as to what you can do.

I buy cars blown up, Or with bad paint ETC, Then I build them, Paint them, And sell them for cheaper then anyone else normally would or could (If building it for themselves paying full price on all parts/paint ETC). This turns out for an EASY sale. I have an unlimited supply of parts, And tools, And garage space, So I have no worries in that area. As for paint, I do all my own paint work, And it costs me $300 to do a full color change, ANY color you can possibly think of. I get all my paint and supplies extremly cheap as I've been buying from the same place, For a very very long time.


As for what I look for... Anything that could be fixed and sold for more (Saving the buyer money, And making me money).

I buy all my cars in cash, So there are no ''pay backs'' once I sell any of them. I've spent as little as $300 on a car before, And up over $10,000 on a car before to re-sell. As long as I know it will sell when I'm finished with it, I'll buy it. The most important thing is to not buy them, And get useto them and keep them all for yourself. Other then that, Watching your spending if you need to have a limit, And need to have the money back in a certain amount of time.

It's very easy to get carried away with buying cars and wanting to flip them. There are always so many good deals. This will however leave you broke unless you have tons of money, Or don't mind sitting on all the cars you just bought. I've already bought over $20,000 of cars in one month already. I sat on them for awhile, Which is why I'm saying if you NEED the money for bills or life expenses, It's more then likly a very good idea to set up a strict budget. There were cars I bought, That I also lost money on, So you need to watch out for that.

you then take the profit you made, And "invest" it into more flip cars, And keep doing it, Over and over and over.


You need to watch how many cars you buy and sell, Or you will be getting in a bit (more then a bit) of trouble, With the state. You also need to watch how many cars you sit on your property, If neighbors start to bitch and complain. There are ways around both, However.

I hope this is a contribution, But I just quick typed it out so it might not even make any sense.

[Willdue]

Originally Posted by EklipzGSXkid

It's not as easy as it looks, Is one main thing I can say. I've had people stop by my garage and see the cars I build, Then say they're going to do it. They go buy 3-4+ cars and realize they have no garage, no tools, And no knowledge on how to fix or build a car, And they then get stuck with their ''investments''. If you know what you are doing, However... You can make good money and at least $25,000+ in one month if you really bust your ass buying/building/selling (Or even buying/selling alone). You can easily make a years+ pay, In not even 1/4 of the amount of time it would take you to bust your as 8-12hrs a day, Working for "the man".

Before I got extremly busy at my garage with people dropping their cars off for work, And for me to build them, I was buying 3-6 gsx's EVERY single month. (You do the math on that one). It didn't matter to me if I sat on the cars for one day, Or for 1 year though. I did not need the money back right away.

If you have money to start with, And don't mind waiting and risking the money, Then it's worth it. You only need one car to start with, And to get the ''ball rolling''. After that, There is no limit as to what you can do.

I buy cars blown up, Or with bad paint ETC, Then I build them, Paint them, And sell them for cheaper then anyone else normally would or could (If building it for themselves paying full price on all parts/paint ETC). This turns out for an EASY sale. I have an unlimited supply of parts, And tools, And garage space, So I have no worries in that area. As for paint, I do all my own paint work, And it costs me $300 to do a full color change, ANY color you can possibly think of. I get all my paint and supplies extremly cheap as I've been buying from the same place, For a very very long time.


As for what I look for... Anything that could be fixed and sold for more (Saving the buyer money, And making me money).

I buy all my cars in cash, So there are no ''pay backs'' once I sell any of them. I've spent as little as $300 on a car before, And up over $10,000 on a car before to re-sell. As long as I know it will sell when I'm finished with it, I'll buy it. The most important thing is to not buy them, And get useto them and keep them all for yourself. Other then that, Watching your spending if you need to have a limit, And need to have the money back in a certain amount of time.

It's very easy to get carried away with buying cars and wanting to flip them. There are always so many good deals. This will however leave you broke unless you have tons of money, Or don't mind sitting on all the cars you just bought. I've already bought over $20,000 of cars in one month already. I sat on them for awhile, Which is why I'm saying if you NEED the money for bills or life expenses, It's more then likly a very good idea to set up a strict budget. There were cars I bought, That I also lost money on, So you need to watch out for that.

you then take the profit you made, And "invest" it into more flip cars, And keep doing it, Over and over and over.


You need to watch how many cars you buy and sell, Or you will be getting in a bit (more then a bit) of trouble, With the state. You also need to watch how many cars you sit on your property, If neighbors start to bitch and complain. There are ways around both, However.

I hope this is a contribution, But I just quick typed it out so it might not even make any sense.

Exactly. With flipping cars you need to know what the issue is, right when you go look at the car, and not second guess yourself.I flip alot of volkswagens because I have tons of parts and knowledge on them. BUT sometimes flipping older cars sucks because people dont realize there older cars, and stuff does break.

Im lucky, because i own a business, so i can have as many cars as I want, and sometimes the better deals fall upon me. But yes, you must watch how many cars you sell, you will get nabbed. Put them in your moms, dad, girlfriends names if the amount gets past 5.

[420sx]

gsxkid- I was actually hoping to get a response from you- ive seen your posts and knew youre big into this game, and seem to do it pretty successfully. You have a lot more resources available to you than most who are looking to do this on the side. I beleive the maximum buy and sell number of cars per year is six for non dealers, and I dont anticipate flipping more than six cars in a year. Itd be nice to do one a month, but Im looking to do this "on the side."

How do you determine between a really good deal and a car thats just gonna need too much? Im looking at spending under $1000 for a car that I can hopefully double its value. I can only do one at a time, as the next car will be funded by the previous one. Im wondering if i should look into specializing on one specific car, or brand, or just look for any deals out there. Its hard to be able to tell what a "deal" is on cars youre not totally familiar with, and it can also be difficult to assess whether or not the car is within my abilities to fix. But limiting myself to "just 240's" or "just nissans" really limits the number of deals im able to find.

I typically look for cars that need mechanical work. Im not a body guy, so i try to avoid things that need real body work. I look for blown head gaskets, bad transmissions/clutches, or cars that the owner doesnt know whats wrong with it. The cars where the owner doesnt know whats wrong are the really risky ones. You could be getting the steal of a lifetime, like I did with the Neon.. but you could also be getting yourself into way more headaches than youre looking for. I try not to spend more on a car than it can be parted out for- that way if the car ends up being a bad investment, I can always part it to recoup what I spent on it.

[420sx]

And when youre in the process of rebuilding them, how do you decide what gets fixed and what doesnt? Does EVERYTHING get fixed? What about the stupid little problems? How do you draw the line between "ok this ones ready to sell" and "this one still needs some tlc?" How do you determine if a repair is worth doing? On a case by case basis? or do you just fix everything?

[EklipzGSXkid]

Ken,

I just added you on facebook. You can see some of the cars I've done on there, And the condition I buy them in. It all varies. I wrote a huge reply but decided not to post it. It's really hard to explain everything over a computer, And the post would be huge. If you are ever close by my area, You are more then welcome to stop by and I can show to you, And explain to you a bit more about it all. I'm sure others can also help you out too. I have no problem telling you anything you want to know... There's more then enough to go around, With any type of car. It's something that will never slow down I don't think, For anyone that does it and knows how to do it.

[ein]

You can get better customers/guarantees of sale when you use cars that can be financed. That is where its at. Something common 5-6 years or less old and plentiful parts. In demand parts are good too, go look what an 04 R32 sells for in pieces...

[FazdaGt]

I love flipping cars, its fun and it pays for my lifestyle

I generally buy cars that I'm familiar with and have collected parts from over the years.

Ill look for something dirt cheap starting with craigslist, and I'm not afraid to travel for the right deal.

Then I fix the necessities, and make sure the car is reliable. Some cars I find I'm in over my head in and dump them as is still needing work for a small profit.

The cars that are "nicer" I find it best to be completely honest. Id rather scare aware a buyer by telling them every small detail than sell a car with secrets. This generally has helped me build a good reputation locally and many people come to me when they need a car. Often I don't have something to fit their needs but Im quick to lend a hand in finding something for them.

good photos and having a phone number in you ad seems to be extremely helpful too, the more people can see before they get to you and the easier you are to contact makes it much easier to sell.

I'm also always very open to trades, often Ive made a ton more money by taking a trade and prolonging the selling process than holding onto the car waiting for a cash deal.

It is definitely not easy, and Ive had several friends try it because I make it look easy only to fail miserably and beg me to help them recoup their losses.

If you don't have good communication, internet, and people skills just forget it. I've found that a flexible schedule makes everything easier too. If someone is ready to buy, do not hesitate. Make your schedule work. Find an open notary. Make it happen right then or it probably won't.


that's just the beginning of insight I can offer....its dinner time though

[ThePrimerSuspect]

All mine are usually word of mouth. Someone knows someone who needs work, so I give them a price. If they go for it, I make a few bucks. If not I usually try to but the car off them. My job helps too, since I do roadside and drive a tow truck. That save me from paying someone to pick it up for me. I try to stay away from anything that needs body work unless its a steal. And I also have a guy that does heavy work (engines, trans, etc.) Pretty cheap. Always have cash ready to make an offer. That's the only thing hurting me right now since my wife isn't working. I've passed up on a lot of good stuff the past few months.

[420sx]

Heres what Im considering currently...

Im looking at a 2000 Dodge Caravan. Yeah, I know.

Reason being is because Im looking at two of them that do not shift. I know for these cars (and neons, and intrepids) they use an electronic controlled 4 speed auto trans that has a shifter solenoid that ALWAYS goes bad. Well when I bought my neon, I thought this was my problem and bought a shifter solenoid (which is the same between all three cars), and ended up not using it because my neon has a hydraulic 3-speed auto. Im looking to pick up this non-shifting minivan for like $400, throw the solenoid in it, and drive it away. Only thing holding me back is, what if the whole trans is fuct? Not like I can part out a caravan.. But if the solenoid fixed the issue, the van would be worth at least $1800. Im just debating if itd still be worth it if i needed to put a trans in it.

Im looking at picking up a car for under $600 in the next few days. What do you guys think? Ive been combing CL all morning hah.

[ThePrimerSuspect]

Caravans are notorious for the trans just going bad too. I would be careful. I also try to buy cRs that need big jobs that I've done. Like the GM motors that blow intake gaskets. Its like a $1200 job at a shop. So someone with a 99 malibu with 100k probably isn't gonna do it. But the parts are less that $100 and in my mind, as long as a car runs and has good inspection on it its worth at least a g. So even if I just get it running and stickered I can make a quick $5-600.

[jpalamar]

^ I agree, GM V6s have intake gaskets that are known for failing. I solid days work and its an easy flip with little funds invested.

Non turbo DSMs are easy to flip if you can find a non turbo one. They usually only need a good tune up, timing service, and a detail. (I had to put DSM in the mix since you hate them sooo much)

[420sx]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

^ I agree, GM V6s have intake gaskets that are known for failing. I solid days work and its an easy flip with little funds invested.

Non turbo DSMs are easy to flip if you can find a non turbo one. They usually only need a good tune up, timing service, and a detail. (I had to put DSM in the mix since you hate them sooo much)

Dude. You dont even know. If I sat down and wrote out the whole history of my sisters dsm and everything i did to it and everything that went wrong. Holy crap man. I could write a novel. I will definitely NOT be flipping any DSM's, except maybe into a river.

[EklipzGSXkid]

Good, More for me! Ha ha. I think Twenty5psi and I have bought more then most people will buy in a life time. I know I personally had at least 200 the past two years, And I've been doing them for over 10 years......

[420sx]

Thats insane. You must know them like the back of your hand. Ive spent so much time underneath the hood of the same freaking eclipse.. I dont think I ever wanna look at another dsm again, haha.

Still got that sti shell?

[EklipzGSXkid]

I sold the rolling complete shell I had for under $1,000 to a friend. It's at my garage being he is doing payments on it (Even though it's such a small amount, I still do payments for people who can't come up with money all at once). I wasen't selling it for profit, Just to get rid of, Just like a few other cars I have currently. I know if you get a dent in the aluminum hood and you claim it, Insurance will give you $1800 just for the hood alone (Just seen this happen last month with a friend)... So, He definatly made out, To say the least. Car needed a drop in engine, And trans. That is it. Car is an 06'.... !

[420sx]

I cant beleive that.

Id have given you 2500 no problem... 3500 if you take payments! Arggh!

Next time you have an sti that you wanna sell for a grand... hit me up.

[EklipzGSXkid]

I was going to list it, But figured I'd just get the run around by everyone. I know after a bolt in motor and trans, He can easily make $20,000 profit. I'm extremly backed up the way it is, And have just been trying to unload most of the stuff that was on the back-burner. I have him helping me doing small stuff that I don't have time to do at the garage aswell, To take even more off the car. For what he paid for it, He can basically sell the headlights and instantly recover his money. If I knew it would sell I would have just listed it on here.