Flipping Cars?

Yeah, Carfax would like you to think that a clean Carfax means a clean car, it does not. The only appropriate way to use a vehicle history report is to weed out cars. If you find a vehicle with a report you are content with, its time for the visual inspection. That includes lifting the car up and looking at the underside as well as metering the paint in all areas, not just exposed.
 
David Fermani said:
Jay - Welcome to Autopia and thanks for revisting this old thread! I checked out your You-Tube video on flipping cars and think you give alot of useful info. Especially in respect to requesting a vin and showing that you are an eager buyer. There are a couple points I don't really agree with that you state should be avoided:



[video]http://www.youtube.com/carflippingsecrets[/video]



Yes, Car-Fax is a very valuable tool, but doesn't always show the real story. Especially with older vehicles or in states that don't report service records. I know there is alot of fraud in your area (LI / NW / NJ), so your methods would surely save someone alot of money and time when they are looking for a car.Plus, a car could have suffered a major accident, but didn't get reported to Insurance. Or, it did, but that company didn't report it to the NICB.



You also mention that you shouldn't buy a car with alot of owners? Especially in the case of the car in your video being a 1995 Camry having 7 previous owners. Why? If the vehicle is clean (able) and runs good why should this aspect even matter? The car in this case has been around for 17 years. 7 owners isn't that big of a deal in my opinion. Again, depends on the car and a 1995 Camry with under 200K will sell all day for $1500-$2000 whether it has actual miles or not.



Also, I know in some states that cars that are over 10 years old don't record mileage anyways. For example:



Odometer Mileage Reporting



4 Things to Know about an Odometer Reading - autos.com



Again, for the sake if discussion, just throwing this out there. I'd love to get your input on this.
Click to expand...



Hey David,



Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the warm welcome.



All of your points are valid and make perfect sense.



I'll do my best to address the ones you don't agree with me on.



1. Carfax and accidents - I know they don't always get reported. The only ones that do are accidents with a police report and/or an insurance claim. You have to have an eye for it and know what to look for to be able to tell if a car was in an accident or not. And if you can't tell, it's a risk you must be willing to take. I don't have time to take every car I flip to a mechanic or body shop guy before I buy a car for them to tell me if there is any proof of an accident that I didn't catch on my own. In the game of car flipping, you have to move fast.



2. Car with a lot of owners - Very valid point there too. A solid car is a solid car. However, most people, myself included, will see that as a turn off. The furthest I'll go on a car I'll flip or even a car I'll drive for myself is 2 owners. Less people driving, less people to mess the car up.



3. Mileage reporting - I'm not sure how it is in other states, but in NY the mileage is reported every time the car is inspected and/or when the registration is renewed. It's easy to spot a potential roll back and Carfax is really good with that. I've passed on many cars that looked great, had great mileage, but only because I got the VIN and did a carfax was I able to know the car had a roll back, or an accident, or too many owners.



The whole idea is to stack the odds in your favor as far as having as much information available to you as possible - all while moving very fast.



After I do my due diligence, I go look at cars with cash in hand ready to make an offer if I like the way the car looks and drives. Sometimes I'll even bring someone with me so they can follow me back. I put one of my plates from my daily driver on the car and take my chances.



It's all about moving fast, taking risks and your personal comfort level with the whole thing.



What I do and what I recommended in those videos isn't the end all be all. But that's how I operate and it hasn't failed me yet.



Hope this clears things up for you :)
 
CONCOURS.JOHN said:
Ive been in the business before. One thing about Carfax. I have been burned by it. I purchased a Discovery with a clean record. Early in its life it was rear ended (clue was excessive rust on frame lately) apparently this was a repair never reported. Out of curiosity started digging and found later dated components.

This really isn't uncommon for higher priced vehicles to have an off the record repair. I know of a few Ferraris/Mecedes paid in cash to keep a clean record.

It's best to have a thorough inspection done. Some owners will go to great extents to keep from losing 20% on a wrecked vehicle especially if out of pocket is less than the loss.



Just my personal experience. I have a decent eye and missed this until removing panels.
Click to expand...



Yeah that sucks John. I'm pretty sure a Nissan Armada I leased as a demo with 3K miles was in an accident before I was the owner. It had parts in the front end with writing on them. I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure factory assembled cars don't have the parts onthem with the handwritten stuff - only replacement parts.



Who knows.
 
Dan said:
Yeah, Carfax would like you to think that a clean Carfax means a clean car, it does not. The only appropriate way to use a vehicle history report is to weed out cars. If you find a vehicle with a report you are content with, its time for the visual inspection. That includes lifting the car up and looking at the underside as well as metering the paint in all areas, not just exposed.
Click to expand...



Dan - I hear you. And in a perfect world, that is what you should do.



But like I said, when it comes to flipping most cars (and the cars I go after), I don't have time to waste with convincing the owner to let me take it to A mechanic, let alone my own personal mechanic that I actually trust.



You have to go with your gut instinct and the information you have available to you.



By the time you get all this "visual inspection from a mechanic" stuff in place, the car you want to flip will be GONE.



Another funny thing is every car I've flipped, the buyer never brought it to a mechanic or brought a mechanic with them.



Stupid, maybe. But all of that takes too much time most people, myself included, don't have to waste.



Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
 
Friday morning, one of my ex-brother in laws called me.

Said he had a "fence row" 57 Chevy 2 posters he wanted to get off the farm.

Rough, rough, rusted, etc, gave him $200 and he was happy.

Sunday morning, Milford, the guy I do stainless, wheels, etc for and restores and flips 4 or 5 Chevy's, Poncho's, etc a year, came to my rescue.

We took his truck and trailer, winch equipped of course and pulled it out and on the trailer.

Floor pans, trunk pans, usual gone to total rust car that had set for over 30 years on the ground.

But, quarters, doors, front clip, trunk lid, trim all good.

Nothing for an interior other than the metal trim pieces.

Was going to take it up to Milford's and drop it off, then worry about selling it.

He said he had a guy looking for just such a rebuilder and since it was a 150, and had the back window trim, would pay well for it.

He called him, I talked to him, lived about 20 miles from where we were.

Two hours later I had a grand in my pocket and Milford had another $200 commission, and it was setting at the buyers place.

I cleared a grand on that short, quick flip.

Love fence row cars!

Grumpy
 
Thanks, but in reality, it is more of building connections, letting others (my ex brother in law and I had not talked for years, not that he is a bad guy or we had issues), but more a matter of letting the demographic in which is one's eviorment, what one may be able to do. (He knows Milford, but never got the connection of what he was doing after his retirement, so just sort of wrote him off his friends list)



Sometimes it may a a week, other times a month, others, a year or two before the opportunities arise.



Stay the course, let everyone know that you do not "lie, cheat or steal", your word is your bond.



Amazing how that it all comes back.



Grumpy
 
Hello all,



I'm new here and i have been interested in flipping cars as of late. The main purpose is I want to learn how to fix up cars and I also want to increase my monthly income by $1,000+ a month.



I'm still in the planning part of this and don't plan on starting untill mid 2014 - early 2015. I was wondering on basically how should I start? I know i need to find cheap cars like hondas, but will I need to rent a garage? What tools are reccomended?



This will be nothing more then A side job, I will be an officer in the military for full time work.



My plan is to go on craigslist and copart to buy the vehicles I believe will sell. Then i will fix them up (hopefully on my own using manuals and youtube videos) to resell them. I don't expect to make huge gains my 1st month as I will barley know what I'm doing but learning to fix cars is a passion for me.



If whoever reads this has knowledge on flipping and feel like im setting myself up for a disaster please let me know.
 
Why are you putting off doing this for another 1.5 years? Start now!



Also, most of the cars @ Co-Part are Total Losses so you're dealing with a pretty volitile market. I'd personally forecast specific cars or types of cars and closely follow their sales trends on Craigs List and Auto Trader. Earning an extra $1000 per month isn't difficult if you are buying the right cars.
 
David Fermani said:
Why are you putting off doing this for another 1.5 years? Start now!



Also, most of the cars @ Co-Part are Total Losses so you're dealing with a pretty volitile market. I'd personally forecast specific cars or types of cars and closely follow their sales trends on Craigs List and Auto Trader. Earning an extra $1000 per month isn't difficult if you are buying the right cars.
Click to expand...



There are several ways to earn an extra $1,000 per month, but flipping cars can be one of them. However I second David's thoughts on you wanting to put this off another 1.5 years.



If you start now, you can potentially earn $18000 or more by the time the 1.5 years comes and goes.
 
I echo what most have said in this thread. There are a LOT of people that try to do this flip-cars-on-the-side thing (in my area at least) so you need to be hounding Craigslist and act fast on good candidates, but if at least relatively know what you're doing, you can have some good success. It's definitely a gable, but being smart will put the odds in your favor. Whenever our my friends and I go to the casino's they always ask why I don't play the tables/machines, I always tell them it's because I already gamble Mon-Fri, I need a break lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top