There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed , times. You don't have to be a mechanic to make a little money on used cars. In fact, most people can buy and flip cars for a few hundred dollars each as they know how to find a good deal, which is easier than you might imagine. The biggest tip to remember is that you make your money when you buy the car , not when you sell it, [1] X Research source so finding a good deal is your top priority.
With a little elbow grease and smart negotiating, you can almost always flip the car quickly and profitably. To buy and sell cars for profit, purchase cars sold by their owners through car auctions, classifieds, or Craigslist, since buying cars from dealers usually isn't profitable.
Be sure to inspect the condition of each car thoroughly and give it a spin to see how it drives before buying it. Next, get any mechanical issues fixed and deep-clean the car so that it's ready to sell. Then, research the baseline price, adjust the price as needed, and try to work with buyers and sellers who want to move quickly to get the best deals! For more tips on inspecting the car's condition, read on!
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Article Summary. Co-authored by Michael R. Method 1. Search car auctions, classifieds, eBay, and Craigslist for cars sold by their owner.
You will rarely be able to buy a car from a dealer and flip it for a profit, as these cars are generally sold at their highest price. Random people, however, don't have to pay employees or rent on a lot, and can afford to let go of their used car for much less than a dealer can.
Confine your search to these sellers for the best results. Don't be immediately turned off by "salvage titles," which are often some of the best deals on the market. Be sure, however, to ask what happened to earn the title.
A broken window is a lot different than a cracked axle, but both could cause the car to be considered salvage. Use online appraisal sites to get a good idea of the base price. Places like Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book let you input the car's make, model, year, and condition and see the general price.
This is often a good baseline for negotiation, and can be used to effectively bargain if someone is grossly overestimating the price. These sites usually have ratings too, letting you see if the car has common issues to look for or has a record of reliability. Some tips to make the most of these sites include: Note the "dealer's price.
Check several sites at once, and always assume the car will be in worse shape than it is -- most people will try and sell at the highest price they can find online, and will err towards a better condition on their advertisement. Always start the car from a cold engine. Be wary of any cars you come across that are already on and running.
It takes the most energy and momentum to get a cold car started, and you can often hear or feel any issues with a bad motor as it lugs to a start. Be on the lookout for: Cars that don't start easily or smoothly. Loud noises or grinding sounds in the engine. Ticking, whining, or shaking as the car starts. Check the oil levels and oil color.
As you do, ask about the car's history, starting with its last oil change. The lighter the oil, the better, and it shouldn't ever be dark brown or sludge-like, especially if it has been changed in the past six months.
If you see any water or solid bits like metal in the oil, walk away -- repairs won't be cheap. If you are flipping cars, it's a good idea to build up a good relationship with your local car dismantler. The more you buy from him, the better prices you will get, and you will also get better parts. Shock absorbers from low-mileage junked vehicles can be very cheap. Brake pads, on the other hand, are cheap enough new, and that's a part I wouldn't get from a car broker.
Look under the car, and check the floor of the trunk, where water often collects. But also have a good look at the side sills, the long plates under the doors. Check for any signs that they might have been filled with glass fiber. One sign of a bad rust repair job is a scratchy finish caused by a heavy grade of sandpaper which has then been painted over.
If there's any sign of glass fiber filler on the sills, walk away. You can almost guarantee that this will be the tip of the iceberg for rust repairs , and if rust is being repaired with filler, it's going to be a bad job. Any good repairer will have replaced rusty panels completely instead of filling them, or fixed them by cutting out rusty patches and welding in a metal patch.
Rust can be your car's biggest problem. If it is in a visible area such as the sills, then it's going likely in hidden places like suspension pick up mounts, where it is downright dangerous. Look at the car's history to see how likely it is to have picked up rust. Dry areas like California are known for rust-free cars. But cars from areas like New York can get rusty, because they put salt on the road in winter to eat away at the snow, and the salt eats away at the cars too.
I've left this for last because in many ways it's the most important of all. A timing belt drives the camshaft s. This is almost always true of Japanese cars of a certain age, though most large American-built cars have timing chains. Timing chains are better than timing belts, because they almost never break and can be expected to last the life of the motor. However timing belts do break. Mechanics strongly recommend replacing them at about 60, miles. By this time they are quite worn and fragile.
Not replacing them can result in them breaking and causing catastrophic engine damage. Replacing timing belts is a costly job because many other parts need to be moved around or replaced when replacing the belt. Whether the timing belt has been replaced should be your number one question when buying a used vehicle.
The answer should be supported by written evidence of when and by whom the replacement was done. If you're not satisfied with the answer, walk away. This is an engine item that even the mechanically uninitiated are now understanding. When you go to sell the car, you will most likely get the same question about the timing belt yourself, so you will want written evidence about the timing belt history.
In many U. Find out if this is the case in your particular state. After you sell the first three cars in your name, ask a family member or good friend if you can buy and sell cars in their name.
They should get part of the profit. So, once you've sold six or seven cars and built up your confidence, become a licensed dealer. It gives you independence to operate freely and legally to buy and sell as many cars as you like throughout the year. What you do is buy into a dealer organisation on a Co-Op basis. You get an LLC Limited Liability Company plus insurance to help if your car is stolen or a prospective buyer crashes it.
You also get a dealer plate; if you buy an unlicensed car, this plate gives you the right to legally travel on the road with it until registered.
Plus you get an auction pass to attend Dealer-Only Auctions. This will give you lots of experience and will not be a huge risk. If the deal starts looking unprofitable, due to a mechanical issue that your inspection didn't pick up, you should be able to at least get your money back, as long as you've bought the car cheaply enough. Yes, I always take out insurance. It might only be for a couple of weeks, so it won't be expensive.
It's best to cover your asset. You just don't know what's around the corner. What if a test driver has an accident?
Shop around for cheap insurance quotes. Go to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. You can check up to five vehicles a day here. Have the VIN number ready. This number is like the car's birth certificate. It was given to the car when it came off the assembly line and remains with the car until the day it dies.
Don't accept the owner's word for what the VIN is; check it yourself, physically, on the car. It's sometimes difficult to tell, but once you start knowing your cars you may be able to spot a few things:.
So there it is in your driveway and chances are it's looking pretty shabby. Now here's where you can save a lot of money by cleaning and detailing this newly bought car yourself. Once you have everything on the list you'll have all you need to totally clean a car.
But generally you'll only need some of those items. Pick a cool or cloudy day to do this, or do it in a carport where the body of the car won't get too hot. Cleaning a hot car is hard work. The engine. Open the bonnet when the engine is cold and give the entire motor a dousing of engine degreaser. Be really careful about this. It's an excellent way of making a motor look like new again, but some states are very firm about not having the degreaser leach into the storm water, so over to you if you want to do it or get caught.
If you have thick oily grime in some places let the degreaser sit on those areas for a few minutes then get the garden hose sprayer and wash it off. If spots are still lingering then get a hard toothbrush, spray those areas again and start working away at them while the degreaser is still wet.
Then completely wash all the degreaser off the engine. The wheels and tires. Next get a bucket. Dedicate one bucket just to cleaning wheels only, and dedicate another bucket to just shampooing the body.
You get a lot of grease and muck off the wheels which can get transposed to the body if you just use the one. Fill the bucket halfway with clean water and a little car shampoo. Then get the mag wheel cleaner and thoroughly give the wheels and tires a good dousing.
Let it rest to do its work for five minutes and come back with the bucket of soupy water and your dedicated hard brush for cleaning the wheels and tires. Give them all a huge scrub making sure you get to all the fiddly bits around the wheels. Keep adding fresh soapy water all the time to do this. Next come back with the garden hose and with a good pressure spray all that soapy water off he wheels and tires. If they were dirty you'll be amazed the difference in color and look once they're washed.
The body. Get your "body" bucket, put a couple of capfuls of car shampoo in it, and fill the bucket about halfway with clear water. Pick up your sponge, dip it deep into the soapy water, and scrub the body down with the sponge. Start on the roof and work your way down. Then thoroughly wash the body clean, with the garden hose sprayer, from the roof down.
They'll likely be a lot of soap that's drifted into areas like roof gutters and hood and trunk seams, so thoroughly wash all that out until its gone. A tip: Don't use a high-pressure cleaner on your car. Feel free to use it on a pickup or large SUV covered in grime and mud, but not your car. The pressure wash will look like it's taking a lot of mud off your car, but wait until it dries and there will still be a film of dirt there. Furthermore, pressure can force water through vulnerable areas like windows not quite shut, or sunroofs.
Now, pick up your chamois and thoroughly wet it and rinse it out with your hands. Drying the car off with the chamois is the most laborious job of all. There will be so much water on the car that you'll be rinsing that chamois a lot. To save time and energy, use the chamois first as a 'sweeper' to just sweep as much water off the body as you can before getting to the job of drying every drop off the car.
Polishing the paintwork. Take another look at that paintwork. Now that it has dried, does it look a little faded? Well that's where your car polish comes in. Get a dry rag with a good dab of polish and run in up and down strokes on a piece of the faded paint. Then get another dry rag and polish that bit off. Does it look better or the same as the paint next to it? If it's better, then start doing the whole car. Take care around where doors shut, where the hood goes down, where the trunk closes, and around rubber parts.
When the polish dries, it can get into all those areas and leave a white polish mark. Just go over it with a dry cloth and it will all come off. Also, don't polish the car all in one go. Once the polish is dry it's difficult to get off, so, do one side of the roof, then polish off, then the other side, then do one complete door, then another, then half the hood, then the other side. This way it's much easier to take off and you'll get a better overall finish.
If you put the polish on an area and then take the polish off, and the result is no different from the faded paint next to it, then you're going to have to use the cutting polish first before your final polish. This, believe me, is a real drag without an electric buffer but can be done. You're best applying the cutting polish with a wet cloth and putting it on in even smaller areas. So divide the hood up into four areas and cut the polish on one quarter, then use a dry cloth to polish off, then do the next quarter, and so on.
You'll find that the areas that have been in the sun the most-—the roof, trunk and hood—will be the worst. The sides are unlikely to even need cutting polish. The interior. Get inside and give the seats and carpets a thorough vacuum. Remember to wind the seats back fully in both directions to get underneath them properly. While you're inside, get the window spray and clean the windows.
Don't let the spray dry on the window or it will make it hazy. So spray then immediately and wipe them off until they are dry and clean. Clean all the windows on the inside, remembering all the side ones too.
Hidden spots. One last job: Open all the doors, the trunk, and the hood. Polish all the exposed areas along the sides that will be dirty, including the door jambs. When selling your car, having the best photographs of it are vital. After all, you've spent hours detailing the engine, groomed the interior and polishing the paint for so long that you can see yourself in it, like a mirror, right? Digital cameras are great, but my smartphone camera is better than any digital I've ever had, so I use that.
I have an iPhone 8. Sorry for the Android users out there, but I've never owned one, so these tips belong to iPhone. Maybe androids have the same features. First, in settings, turn the "grid" on. The grid lines are a big help and if used properly will mean less editing at the finish. Next go to "format" and change from "high efficiency" to the "most compatible" setting.
This is great for image quality and also for sharing to compatible devices. We're talking Android here. Turn on "Keep Normal Photo" too.
This means that you've got the best of both. The camera will save a non HDR version as well. I never use the flash when photographing cars.
The flash really isn't the best unless you're close up. It can also distort the colours too. Much better to add colour later in editing if it's a bit washed out. When you first point your camera at an object, the iPhone will auto focus. You can tap the screen to adjust the focus.
Also by running your finger up and down the screen you will adjust the color to your liking. I like to start with a dead-on shot but at car level, so, you're looking straight into the grill.
This makes the car look gruntier. It's a good idea to get a shot of something absolutely gleaming, like a hubcap, perhaps. It gives the impression of a new car. But be careful not to get yourself in that shot. Take it at a good angle. Don't shoot in the midday sun. That causes all sorts of issues. Photograph it early morning or later in the day. But take your time with this presentation step, as it's very important to add as much value to the car as possible.
These days with so many electrics and sensors involved in running a car, it's more often than not that the cause of failure in a car isn't mechanical but the electrics. Most car owners who only have the ability to sit behind a wheel and steer it to its destination go into despair if they see a red light staying on on the dashboard. I have bought many cars very cheaply this way, because their unscrupulous garage has told them it's going to cost thousands to repair.
In some cases they're right, but that's seldom. So if you come across one of these before buying do take it to your local trustworthy garage, that you've built up a good relationship with and have it checked by their diagnostic scanner. Once plugged in, the scanner can detect hundreds of different broken sensors in minutes.
You'll know at that point whether to pursue the purchase or not. It was advertised as having a permanent red light on the dash. I went to see it and it was quite stunning. In a gunmetal grey with cream leather upholstery and the only owner. Having a quick look around I could see he was quite a well off man and had a fairly new Range Rover parked in the driveway too.
He told me that the local Jaguar service people said it was an unknown fault and for him to expect a bill of three to four thousand to have it sorted, and to hope it wasn't some kind of underlying engine fault, as that would likely be a lot more.
I asked him if he wouldn't mind if I could have the car looked at by my mechanic if I paid for it now, but if it was the motor whether I could then return it to him for a refund. We then both signed a hastily drawn up agreement and shook hands. I took the Jaguar to my local guy and he did a scan.
It turned out to be the crankshaft sensor. I then rang the owner and of course not wanting to tell him that very good news, said I'd take the car but his garage was right in that it would take several thousand to repair. I could tell from the reception that he was happy that it wasn't something simple and we both said goodbye. But don't just look out for cheap cars with electrical faults. Inexperienced owners will sell cars very cheaply with quite major faults as well, such as a burnt out clutch or faulty automatic transmission.
And when I say cheap, I mean they'll just about give them away. You and a buddy can change a transmission over in less than a day, and the same with a clutch and still have time for a few beers.
The clutch is easily available online or in your auto store and second hand auto or manual transmissions are very cheap to buy. Just get a Haynes manual of the particular car and they're as easy to read as making a cup of coffee.
Also, you'll have such a grin riding around in your new car, knowing you fixed it yourself. Then treat yourself to a profitable car flip. A Dealer auctions are more set up for wholesale prices for dealers. Public auctions are where a lot of dealers offload their trade ins. But these trade ins can go for reasonable prices. Dealer auctions are a lot faster, as it's assumed dealers know a lot more that's going on than the public do. A Before putting your hand up at a car auction, go at least three to four times without buying a thing.
Get adjusted to how the whole thing works. See how are other people are doing. Look out for people that seem to be buying at every auction and if you spot them, follow them to see what they're doing.
Take a note of what cars they're buying and how much they're paying. Watch them when they drop out of an auction. That will be their ultimate buying level. Watch how newbies pay far too much for a car through excitement and watch how the experienced are completely unemotional when bidding. A Yes these can go for bargain prices but unless you thoroughly know how to repair them yourself, don't go near them.
Watch out though, the second-hand car market is notoriously difficult to navigate and vehicles can quickly become money pits. So before you send your savings on a white knuckle ride, think seriously about the financial side, not just the fun. You might have your heart set on a particular model such as a modern classic such as a Ferrari , but not every passion can be turned into a profit. For more on investing in alternatives such as art, cars or wine, check out our Guide to passion investments.
The most important thing to bear in mind is that most cars will simply never be an investment that will yield a profit. And even if there is a profit, it will often be modest. The value of a car depends on various factors, including the number made, how many are on the market at a particular time, the mileage and, of course, the condition. Lotuses are cheap and I think they might be in for a renaissance. On the other hand, if you buy a classic or rare car that is more than 40 years old, it will be exempt from road tax.
Among the exceptions seem to be certain models built in very limited numbers by the likes of McLaren, Ferrari or Porsche.
The Historic Automobile Group International HAGI tracks prices of cars across several indices, and insurance company Hagerty offers various tools that can help you determine the value of the car you dream of driving. If a model you are interested in has already risen in value, others may have more room for growth. Cars need to be driven every now and then to maintain good health in regard to brakes and hydraulics, and the engine should be fully warmed up at least once a month.
You can save money by setting up a regular care and maintenance costs schedule, as this can prevent big and potentially very costly problems. In particular, tending to a vintage car — one dating from or earlier — can require huge amounts of knowledge and experience. Experts recommend regular oil changes, keeping the car clean, dry and waxed to prevent corrosion and damage to the paint, greasing ball joints, flushing the cooling system and testing brakes regularly. Ask San Francisco tattoo artist , Van Trinidad who shares both a passion for detailing tattoos and cars.
Putting your skills and knowledge in an opportunity that makes you earn money in addition to your job is a prudent choice. After all, there is no harm in earning money through various sources and not relying on your income only. A perfect example of this can be seen with everyday average drivers taking advantage of rideshare programs like UberEats and also putting some extra money in their pockets in the process.
This is just one more example of how anyone can start earning money by utilizing their car and providing a service to others. This leads us to our main point… which is making a side income by buying and selling cars, which is no longer exclusive to car salesmen only.
Earning money by buying and selling cars is not exclusive to a car salesman only. Resources are available whereby you can get qualified and targeted auto leads along with assistance to close the deal. If you are interested in cars, have the know-how of their technicalities, and are adamant in your aspirations, then off you go. You can earn almost fifty to a hundred percent profits from selling cars.
You can get a lot of this data free online or use a service provider. By the end of this post, you will have a great deal of knowledge to know how car buying and selling can earn you money. So, keep on the lookout and note down points to become a pro at car selling and buying. First things first, you should have a certain amount of money to invest so that you can buy a car to sell. You would want to have a hefty amount at hand so that you can invest in a good car that can attract a lot of buyers.
Second is the tedious step of buying a car. For this, experts suggest looking out for used car deals online.