Buying and selling Cars for profit

[mustangLX92]

Im trying to get into buying and selling cars to make a little extra money. I would only be buying one car at a time and they will probably all be mustangs. Does anyone who does this have any tips for me. Like what to do about insurance and tags for the short period of time that I own the car before I sell it.

Thanks

[The Deuce]

I check with your DMV, or better yet somebody who owns a small used car dealership. There will likely be advantages if you try and do this over-the-table, so to speak. Sorry I couldn't be more help. A friend of mine used to do this, but CA laws are so screwy it would probably be useless info anyway.

I thought that was a good idea too and it is if.. you have the capital to do it big. You will lose money alot of times. You buy a car, fix it up to sell and then find you have so much invested in the car that you will be happy to just recoup your money. Sometimes you can get a deal and make some money, I bought a bike for $1000 and sold it for $1450(many years ago) and the year before last I bought a jet boat(for personal use) so cheap that I enjoyed it for a year and still made $1000, when I sold it last summer. Unless you are a mechanic or body man(hopefully both) will you likely make any real money.

Tips: When you buy the car, don't title it. You can have the vehicle and sell it without having to pay all the extra 'fees'. When someone buys it, just pass the title.

#2: Put as little as possible in the vehicle, every dime extra is profit out of your pocket.

If you want to turn a quick buck you will need to get a dealer license and go to the auctions. If you have time then... you can get bikes and boats real cheap at the end of the summer(sometimes REAL cheap) and then store them and come next fall make a little money on them.

Another thing... have you ever noticed how cheap people sell stuff for in the beginning of the year(I'm talking late December to early Feb.)?? That is tax time and alot of people start selling stuff, some of it real cheap. Save your money and buy stuff at the beginning of the year, then sell it and make a little.

[Mr 5 0]

You need to check state DMV law.

In my state, you can buy and sell five cars per year without a dealer license, after that you need a license and not only is it way expensive but you must have an established business, a shop, all kinds of stuff.

To sell privately, you need to buy low and sell high of course. Trick there is to find a car that needs a lot of polish and cleaning but little body or mechanical work.

Generally, anyone buying a used car has a right to expect it to be in good running condition. The fact that you had to replace a fuel pump, two tires, put a new muffler on it and replace the water pump means nothing to the buyer and you can't expect to get that kind of expense back, so you want to avoid putting much into the car you hope to sell.

It can be a great business - my best friend owns a very profitable used car lot and auto shop - but risky for a guy trying to make a buck on the side. Easy to get burned if you buy a clunker. Don't register anything and just pass title as Rick said to avoid having to buy tags and insurance. Test rides will be tricky that way but it's the only feasible way to do it.

Good luck.

[302 LX Eric]

Even a small operation like this could benefit from a properly structured business entity. Depending upon your personal financial condition, you may want to incorporate as a "C" or "S" corp., or form a one-person LLC. There are tax and legal advantages to each that you would have to contemplate but is something that you can usually determine rather quickly. This may serve you well, especially if you forsee this "on the side" business becoming a larger operation in the future.

E

[Jacsracing]

I was doing that sort of thing years back when I needed extra cash. You can get a decent sideline going if your realistic about what profits you expect to make. I found the best way was to seek out older vehicles that once put back on the block would sell for $1500-$3000 (of course your paying $500-$1500, plus parts and your labor). There are alot of folk out there that are looking for cheap transpo. There are also alot of folk with older cars that are giving them trouble, where in reality their cars have only minor problems. What you have to avoid are the basket cases...engine smokes, trans shot; rust buckets, etc. As was pointed out above, avoid registering the car. That will increment the title prefix making the car appear to have more previous owners.

[7up]

I used to buy and sell cars back in highschool a little. I would buy cars in other states and bring them back to Colorado. For some reason cars in Colorado are more expensive than in other parts of the country. I bought cars in Oregon, Oklahoma, and Florida and drove them back here. In each case a managed to make a little profit after traveling expenses and have a nice vacation. In one case I bought a Corvette in Florida for 11k when they were around 16k here. I drove it for two years and ended up totalling it, but the insurance gave me 16k for it.

[Mustangbelle306]

Too much hassle, money tied up, and then you have to deal with annoying people who want to buy a used car, but expect to get a new car for their piddly amount of money

When I TRIED to sell my 98 V6 (in 1999) she had 43K and TWO cigarette burns in the backseat (NEVER EVER let your brat friends smoke in the back!) Anyways, sticker on that hunk was $18,100 the year before (didnt pay that) and I couldn't sell that sack of **** for $8,000!!! All these chicks came and pissed and moaned about the burns...not the mileage btw, just the freakin burns. The Edmund's private party value was $12,500! I advised them to stfu and buy a new Stang for $15+. I suppose they did, bc they didn't buy mine

Sorry for that tangeant, I just feel that most people expect WAY too much for the money they want to dish out, and that's something you're going to have to deal with each time you sell one of your vehicles.