Anyone make a living flipping?

X2.... Amazed at how much people spend putting cars together.. that said.. if you have the mind-set for flippin' it's totally different. Some $$ profits will be big some small.. You look at Craigslist and what people are asking for their rides.. there is no way they are going to sell.. and you see them sit month after month.

I don't understand those that say it isn't possible. If you have the skills and talent.. and you can find your nitch.. anything's possible.

ok.. off soap box..

 

i haven't tried it with "vintage" cars but years ago got into flipping cars on a regular basis until one blew a rod on the way home and ate up all the profit from a couple of previous sales.

Right now I wouldn't attempt to do vintage cars locally but have had serious thoughts on doing pickups that can be sold for a cash price that for many buyers wouldn't involve having to go to the bank for financing. As someone said, soap and water, tune up and having presentable tires and good brakes.

 

Not a thing, it is just a psyc thing. Like I said if I call on a craigslist ad or PM a seller in the cl***ifieds I don't like to think that they are a used car salesman. On the other hand if I am cruising and p*** a lot whether it is cl***ics or not my mind says OK this may not be a good deal but I know up front it may not be a good deal.

There is a mentality that to buy a car and paint it up and sell it is a good thing. In a sense it is, if you are not painting over rust etc. I may be interested in a project that already has paint on it so all I got to do is what I do best. Where the problem lies is if you are flipping a car even if you get it cheap you really can't afford to do it right. So you really are not doing any body any favors, not even yourself. Our community is too small for someone to peddle a sows ear for a purse.

Now there are fellas out there that are honest and selling nice cl***ics. I guess if they are buying or trading for cl***ics and then peddling them that counts as flipping in a fashion. But they are not doing it out of the driveway as though this was their project or their car and they decided to sell it. Mr Wop comes to mind on this point. He has a business and that is different in my mind that flipping.

 

I always buy high and sell low. Guess I'm not cut out to be a flipper.

 

Don't flip but I do buy, put some work into, drive, and then resale. It is kind of like a savings account for me. I buy a car for cash, slowly add cash and labor while I drive it around and enjoy it, and then sell it off when I see something else I want. It is my own personal 401Kar fund! I hope to keep working my way up to be able to afford my dream car one day. It's a great hobby but no way could I support my family doing it. Most of the time the profit I make does not include anything for my time but the hobby keeps me out of the bars and off the streets!

 

Perhaps not a flipper but it does put you in a position to be in the same boat as I am. For some reason things that I buy are gold and things that I sell are lead.

Hell I have some pretty hard to find Stude parts that i can't even give away. you would think that it would be like money in the back but I can give you one sure thing, as sure as hell is smokey if I ever manage to give these parts away whoever gets them will turn them for a fortune.

 

Exactly, to make a living you will definitely cross over to needing license, insurance, and on and on.... and you will be a used car dealer.

 

I know guys that are doing it and making a decent living, but not with anything that could remotely be called a "hot rod". They buy 8-15 yr old econo-boxes with minor mechanical problems off craigslist, fix them and sell them. Its called curbsiding, Not very glamourous...

 

She did!!

 

Most Stude guys are so tight they'd rather throw away your rare parts than pay for them, apparently being an off brand that not a lot is repro'ed for doesn't matter. Had them run down one of ours that I haven't seen a single one like it, in that shape, for sale for in all the time we've had it.


Which, I have to say, if I could find a guy with a field full of 32-40 Ford coupes, 52-59 GM (and 57-60 Mopar) ragtops, first-gen Camaros and Firebirds and some other muscle cars, that I could buy the lot for s**** money, then I'd be set for life just selling one a month or so, and make a living at it. That stuff always sells for decent money, every convertible I've ever had I made stupid money on except the shoebox Ford. Just about everything else, except for certified cl***ics, forget it, they're slow to move even in a good economy. I'll never buy another Kaiser again, for instance, unless I can get it for less than s****.

But a place like I described doesn't exist, and if it did come along I'd be broke when it did.

 

I'd suggest starting out small.
Go to the local store and buy 10 hot wheels.
Put them on EBay for double plus shipping.
See how it works out.

 

Don't laugh, I've seen it. Figure there must be enough dummies out there too lazy to go buy one at the store themselves.

 

It was partly in jest. However, if you want to build money and the mindset, this is a cheap way to tell if you have the used cars mentality. Fail and you are out a couple hundred. Win and you can start moving up into the real thing. Problem is, the real thing bites you with mechanical issues. However, you already have experience in dealing with customers at this point.

 

Yes:

Yes:

Gotta have big enough pockets to buy the old stuff and still be able to live while it sits, and sits, and sits.

When I do it, I'll buy ONE run-of-the-mill used car, like a 90-something Honda Civic (they sell fast) as cheap as I can. I clean it up and price it to move. I'll take that $$ and buy one a little nicer than the last if possible (flip). Wash, rinse, repeat.(flip, flip, flip)


Once I have the scratch to buy the project or part or whatever new "thing for the house/family/dog" the wife wants, I stop. Keeps down on the burn-out factor and the I hate the mouth-breathing public factor.

Here's the thing. I'm blubberingly HONEST with anyone who comes to look at a car I'm selling. I tell them that I'm not trying to make a fortune, but I bought the car to sell for a profit to fund other things. They get it and when they know you got it cheap, they're of the mind that they're going to get a decent deal. Not a steal, but a fair price.

This works and makes for REPEAT business. "hey, my sister/cousin/boyfriend is looking for a cheap A to B car, do you know of any like the one you sold me that time?"

If you want to do this in bulk, just break-down and buy a used car lot. Good times there.

 

We have A guy that has been flipin for years hell he was flipin vdubs when I met him he does ok and has fun loves everbody and they love him ..he,s been burned on a few but dont cry...knows the game and plays it well!!!!

 

I have to agree with most on here, there is money to be made but not so much in cl***ics. I have a pal that deals in cheap cars and sometimes a cl***ic or two. He gets most of his stuff from larger car lots that only keep newer/low mileage stuff on their lots. He buys 6 to 10 cars a shot all for one money. Some he'll fix and some he runs at the dealers auction. The cl***ic stuff he fixs up and makes in to good drivers but they take a lot mor effort and time for the same return as the 100,000 late model drivers he pushes thru. I would think his mark-up is between 40-60% on most his stuff.

 

Originally Posted by stude_trucks
I always buy high and sell low. Guess I'm not cut out to be a flipper.
Perhaps not a flipper but it does put you in a position to be in the same boat as I am. For some reason things that I buy are gold and things that I sell are lead.

Hell I have some pretty hard to find Stude parts that i can't even give away. you would think that it would be like money in the back but I can give you one sure thing, as sure as hell is smokey if I ever manage to give these parts away whoever gets them will turn them for a fortune.



Stude_Trucks, & Porkn******;

Boy, are *these true* statements! At least for me, & 1 of my friends. We both found out, when buying, that whatever it was we needed, we had to pay high-market price & a "finders-fee" for the only available lousy POS seen in at least 2-3 years. But when selling, no matter how perfect we made it, suddenly there were thousands of other parts/cars just like it, for almost nothing, it wasn't worth s****, & we'd have to pay someone to haul it away... Gets real old, real fast.

However, just after we would sell (almost literally give it away) & not have any attachment to said part/car, the heavens would open, angels started singing, the sun shone brightly,birds started chirping, & the market came back w/a vengeance. People couldn't pay the guy enough for the privilege of owning the now unbelievably rare impossible to find item. Was a very interesting thing to watch. &, no, consignment didn't work, either...

So we quit trying to sell just about anything. Gonna try again w/a couple of finds & projects/ex-DD, but even the s**** prices are way down...

PB, I'd be real curious as to what Stude parts you can't give away. My luck, I could use 'em...



Marcus...

 

Very good read Ryan well done!

 

I know a retired guy who supplements his retirement income by not only buying and selling, but doing piece work. He can paint, do mechanical... etc. Everything on the side, he's well known and people search him out. Has more work than he knows what to do with.

Not sure I'd want to rely on it solely for my income, but for supplementing it I think it'll work out nicely. If you can air brush, pin stripe, detail, mechanics, upholstery... car guys ... they will search you out. Like stated.. start small and work your way up. In other words.. don't quit your day job until you build up enough clientele to do so.

 

x2, and yes I mean it!

and furthermore why is it that when someone only wants 1 part they will pay 5 times what you are asking for the whole!?!...and Im not always talking complete cars!
i.e. someone will pay $100 for a headlight lense but won't pay $60 for a complete unit!

 

you probably picked the worse possible time to try to flip cars...the car market is shot except for the real high end stuff (as far as vintage/hot rod/muscle cars). I would suggest to do it on the side of whatever steady job you have. I dont flip cars anymore, I did for a minute...but I get too attached to them now, and if I do sell them its only to fund a more expensive hot rod or parts for one.....I dont spend my money on anything else but cars....well, except for the house and ******** like that

 

During the late nineties and early 2000's I did pretty well buying, fixing up and selling a bunch of cars. Not the case any more. The last two cars I've sold were super nice and I had a hard time getting my money back. Both cars took a lot longer to sell then I would have ever guessed. A daily driver is a depreciating ***et. Hot rods seem to be following the same pattern. You can buy cheaper then you can build right now. My 62 Chevy wagon has attracted more attention and buy offers then any car I've ever owned but its not going anywhere any time soon.

 

So I suppose maybe I should have called it "saving" pre 72 tin not "flipping"

I know how it goes, Save some tin and at least you feel good about what you've done. You always wonder what happened to that car after it ships to the west coast, or you hate the mother effer that bought that treasure and beat you up over the price.

I'm not going to quit the day job yet...It's a buyers market though people always say "It's not for sale, I'mma fix it up". We'll see.

Whoever said flipping burgers would be better...that was a good one.