Learn me: The finer points of vehicle flipping

Ha, I missed your 2nd post (sorry). But yeah, it comes down to that $50-60/hr is the best you'll do doing this work. As to whether it's worth your time at that rate is up to the OP or whoever is doing it. For me, it's not.

Nother thing to consider...To some people this game is actually fun. So, if that is your value proposition, then just go for it. If you break even in the end, had fun shopping, horse trading with strangers and driving more vehicles than you would otherwise, you are doing good.

dculberson wrote: I feel like there's a lot of money to be made buying terminally broken cars and parting them out. Just do one car at a time, pull all the parts worth >$50/ea (look on eBay recently completed to find those), and scrap the rest. Then list all the pulled parts, and once they're listed, organized, and the big parts are out of the way, start on the next car. I see a good demand for parts for not only enthusiast cars but also mid-level prestige cars. I bet you could make $5k+ on one car, bought right. It's a lot more work than just selling the car, but it's also a lot more profit. If you wanted to spend 5-10 hours a week on it, you could do a car every couple months and make $30k, minus overhead, per year.

You Probably could start a thread expanding on this topic

I find it easier to buy ~$1500 cars. Once you're down at that price range, they don't get much cheaper, at least in my neck of the woods. Therefore, if you made a bad buy, you just end up breaking even.

I usually find $1500 cars that should be selling at $2500. I detail them, fix the little things (window regulators, coil packs, interior switches that don't work) and resell. People are aesthetic so as long as it doesn't sound bad or drive poorly, they're okay with it. Nobody cares if the water pump has been replaced 200 miles ago.

In reply to rustybugkiller:

Not a bad idea. I just bought a wrecked mr2 spyder to part out (some for me, some for sale). If I can add some time to the job maybe I'll make some detailed posts about it.

MINIzguy wrote: I find it easier to buy ~$1500 cars. Once you're down at that price range, they don't get much cheaper, at least in my neck of the woods. Therefore, if you made a bad buy, you just end up breaking even. I usually find $1500 cars that should be selling at $2500. I detail them, fix the little things (window regulators, coil packs, interior switches that don't work) and resell. People are aesthetic so as long as it doesn't sound bad or drive poorly, they're okay with it. Nobody cares if the water pump has been replaced 200 miles ago.

This is essentially the plan. $1000 profit for 10-12 hours of work or less is still pretty decent ROI in my book. Clean it, take decent pics, and send it down the road ASAP.

NOHOME wrote: Nother thing to consider...To some people this game is actually fun. So, if that is your value proposition, then just go for it. If you break even in the end, had fun shopping, horse trading with strangers and driving more vehicles than you would otherwise, you are doing good.

Agreed, I figured we were talking money here, not just ownership/fun.

STM317 wrote:

MINIzguy wrote: I find it easier to buy ~$1500 cars. Once you're down at that price range, they don't get much cheaper, at least in my neck of the woods. Therefore, if you made a bad buy, you just end up breaking even. I usually find $1500 cars that should be selling at $2500. I detail them, fix the little things (window regulators, coil packs, interior switches that don't work) and resell. People are aesthetic so as long as it doesn't sound bad or drive poorly, they're okay with it. Nobody cares if the water pump has been replaced 200 miles ago.

This is essentially the plan. $1000 profit for 10-12 hours of work or less is still pretty decent ROI in my book. Clean it, take decent pics, and send it down the road ASAP.

There's up and downsides to being on that price category. The upside is that as long as you're in the <$4k range, most people will have enough cash. Once you're up above 6, sadly most people need a loan and that's why dealerships dominate. Not that you can't get a loan yourself from a bank (at a better rate) but people are lazy and have bad credit. The downside of course is dealing with the kind of people who are buying $3k cars. It can be.... interesting.

In reply to Blaise:

Understood. There are a few reasons that I'm targeting that price point.

1. It reduces risk. Can't lose a bunch of money if I don't have a bunch of money into it.

2. Larger pool of potential buyers. More people can come up with smaller sums. Whether it's somebody looking for a first car for their kid, a winter beater, or just cheap transportation I can market these to a larger audience.

3. The potential for a better rate of return. I think I'm more likely to be able to double my money with minimal work on $1500 cars than $5000 stuff. Even if it's a smaller sum in the end, the rate is what I'm more concerned with.

4. People don't expect perfect at this price point. Cleaning them up and taking decent photos can really set a vehicle apart at this price, which minimizes the amount of work I'd have to do. The name of the game is having as few hours into it as possible.

STM317 wrote: In reply to Blaise: Understood. There are a few reasons that I'm targeting that price point. 1. It reduces risk. Can't lose a bunch of money if I don't have a bunch of money into it. 2. Larger pool of potential buyers. More people can come up with smaller sums. Whether it's somebody looking for a first car for their kid, a winter beater, or just cheap transportation I can market these to a larger audience. 3. The potential for a better rate of return. I think I'm more likely to be able to double my money with minimal work on $1500 cars than $5000 stuff. Even if it's a smaller sum in the end, the rate is what I'm more concerned with. 4. People don't expect perfect at this price point. Cleaning them up and taking decent photos can really set a vehicle apart at this price, which minimizes the amount of work I'd have to do. The name of the game is having as few hours into it as possible.

Yup, ROI is a good factor with the cheaper cars. Say you average $500 profit per car you flip. $500 on a $1500 car is awesome, while $500 on a $5000 is meh. Plus, I can buy 3 $1500 cars and triple my profit, while somebody else is working on the $5000 car.

One thing is that cheap cars go quick, and the ones that don't have a good reason they haven't. It's hard having an 8-4 job and flip. It was much easier when I was in college and did it on my breaks.

dculberson wrote: In reply to rustybugkiller: Not a bad idea. I just bought a wrecked mr2 spyder to part out (some for me, some for sale). If I can add some time to the job maybe I'll make some detailed posts about it.

Do an "unbuild" thread? That includes like how you found it/bought it and which parts you started to strip/how they sold etc? And we can all follow along

cmcgregor wrote: How expensive/difficult/annoying is it to title a car in your state? Buyers might have a hard time buying a car from you with a title that's signed by the previous owner. One of the perks of a dealer's license is the ability to reassign a title without paying the sales tax/title fee (in MA at least)

It's very annoying. Out of state cars require a police or BMV inspection. Also, getting a dealer's license is a no go, you have to show proof that you've leased a space capable of holding 10 cars for at least 2 months before you can get the license/plates. Taking possession of the vehicle and selling it without titling it in your name is also illegal (although how would anyone find out). You are allowed to transfer 12 cars a year before the license is required though.

MINIzguy wrote: It's hard having an 8-4 job and flip. It was much easier when I was in college and did it on my breaks.

Exactly this - between vinyl cutting and flipping cars and jetskis I didn't work a minute during 6 years of college. Yet there was always plenty of jingle in my pockets. Now, unless you had the sort of job where you could surf Craigs and forums all day, drop everything at a moment's notice, and drive 3 hours to go score The Big Dirty, and get your roommate to help you load it up all for the cost of some road sodas and McDonalds, its tough. That, and I actually make real money at a desk job, makes it hard to justify. I keep my ear to the ground, but mainly sell bikes and tools and yard equipment these days. Living in a major metro area, there is always demand for $5 weed eaters to be turned into $30 weed eaters with just some fresh gas and a piece of fuel line.

Jaynen wrote:

dculberson wrote: In reply to rustybugkiller: Not a bad idea. I just bought a wrecked mr2 spyder to part out (some for me, some for sale). If I can add some time to the job maybe I'll make some detailed posts about it.

Do an "unbuild" thread? That includes like how you found it/bought it and which parts you started to strip/how they sold etc? And we can all follow along

This. Also would like to know what cars will be the most desirable/ profitable

In reply to Blaise:

Do you make lots more money at a normal job or something else?