Every single one of us has had their encounter with entrepreneurship and business at even the youngest of ages and we don’t even know it.
From pretending to sell toys to my siblings all the way actually selling them to my neighbor, I have many experiences of having goods exchanged for money.
Now my first start at grown people business was at flipping cars and it has led into many business lessons along the way.
This is one business that can be done completely part-time, yet have the earning potential of thousands of dollars extra per month that will make more than your regular job.
I worked at a penny paying job and flipped cars on the side as a hobby/way to make extra money and that has allowed me to finally find my true passion of making money online.
Without flipping cars I would have been suffering financially and I would most definitely have been trying to move up the ranks at a job that clearly had a dead end.
Thanks to that little entrepreneur in me, I am no longer a slave to the system and I must say that it was thanks to this awesome business we are about to get into.
How to Make Money Flipping Cars
There is no true guide on how to make money flipping cars but everyone has their experiences, techniques, and strategies but they will all lead down the same road.
Then again, I might just create one as I think it is a great way for anyone to start their young entrepreneur life and venture off into bigger and better things.
Now the idea is simple and the exchange is actually just as simple.
You find a car that is an absolute steal and then sell it to make a profit.
Not just a profit but a nice chunk of change for such a little amount of work.
This business can yield you anywhere from $300 – $10,000 profits depending on the situation as each car is bought and marketed in a very different way.
The biggest reason why I would recommend this to anyone is the fact that you are very unlikely to make no profit from a car you purchase unless you absolutely do not know what you are doing.
So before you buy your first car to flip, let me give you some pointers that will help you in your new venture.
Flipping Cars is Really a Dealership Without the Lot
I like to look at this business as a small version of an actual car dealership.
One thing you don’t need to worry about is spending thousands of dollars to get vehicles and all the other things you need to know if you wanted to run that type of business.
Instead of having all the employees and dealing with cray numbers, it’s just you, the car, and the potential buyer.
You sell that one car, get as much as you can from it, and move on to the next flip.
If you absolutely love this job so much then you can very much get into running an actual used car lot or even an actual new car dealership.
The opportunities are endless but you will need to know the ins and outs or you sill most likely not do as good as you thought you would.
“Flipping” is an Art
There is one key formula to this endeavor and it is something that will stick with you in any other business you decide to get into.
Buy low, sell high.
This can be done with other things too and I even did an article here that covers flipping in more detail.
In the beginning you will come across a lot of cars that have you questioning if it is in fact a good deal or just a waste of time.
Especially the value of cars are different depending on your town, it is going to be up to you to know if you found a steal or just another good deal.
In this business you want steals, so leave the okay deals to those that are looking for a car to use for themselves.
You also want to download the Kelly Blue Book app as that is a great guide for what types of cars are selling for what types of prices.
Get in the habit of checking the value of cars even if you are not buying them as this will help you the next time you come across that same make and model.
With this art comes the right knowledge and I would like to share some of my “secrets” if that’s what you would like to call it.
Find Cars That Require Some TLC
“One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure”
I’m sure you’ve heard that line before and this is very much true when it comes to flipping cars.
There were all these shows and movies on TV that had kids dig up some kind of treasure and it absolutely made me want to do the same.
Then again, I had a wild imagination that always left me wondering about many things.
Where I’m from there are junk cars all over the place.
Do you know how many people have passed them that are probably flipping cars just like me?
I don’t have a definite answer but I know it is a lot (lol).
What I would do is get down, knock on the door, and see who owned those vehicles.
Most were older folks that of course had it in their mind that the car was going to be up and running soon when I already know that it is going to sit there and rot.
That’s just something you learn and accept in this business and why I never sat there and hoped that they will change their minds.
There was always the occasional person that wanted to get rid of the vehicle but wanted an arm and a leg for it but there was always one a month that would actually have me take it off their hands for a very affordable price.
One thing you need to keep in mind is that almost every car owner is not a mechanic.
Let me repeat that because it is actually really important.
Almost every car owner is NOT a mechanic.
All this means is that they do not know what is wrong with their vehicle and in some instances they will just let a car sit even if it just has a minor problem.
This is where you (the knight in shining armor) comes in and saves the day.
“I just want that car out of here”
“If you just get rid of it you can have it”
Those are some of the things I used to hear when I would inquire about a car that I knew has been sitting for several months.
Can you believe that some cars only needed a battery?!
Do try and make a deal before figuring out the problem as you don’t want them to know what it is before you actually make an offer.
This one part alone is enough for me to recommend this to anyone, so do know that this is actually a great way to make a living.
Be Proactive
Cars are not going to find themselves.
For me, I was actually in the military, so I would checkout their lemon lot almost every single day just to see who was leaving and looking to pretty much get their car off their hands.
Craigslist and the local paper could only do so much, so I always had my eyes and ears open for anything that I knew I could flip.
Everyone that knew what I was doing would give me leads and that helped a lot too.
I always made it a point to look at the new cars in the paper and every online source but that was only half the job.
Then came the call and meeting up just to be the first to see that new prize.
Just like any business, there is going to be competition and the type of people in this are just as aggressive as anything else out there.
Most will be mechanics but that does not mean that you need to be a mechanic to make this business work.
If you are a mechanic, you definitely have an advantage but lack the true entrepreneurial spirit and you will get beat.
I am not a mechanic and I am no where close to knowing more than how to change a tire and oil but I outdid a lot of my competition simply because I was just that much more active.
Don’t Fall in Love
One of the biggest problems I encountered when I was flipping cars was getting attached to them.
Not really attached but getting that desire to fix up a car and keep it for yourself.
I once had a Mercedes C-230 that had this panoramic roof and was a limited edition.
Got it for $2,000 and sold it for $7,000 which made me $5,000 just like that.
Mind you this was just one of the 10 cars I flipped that month.
Now before I made any profits from this, I actually got it tinted and registered it under my name!
Talk about not focusing on business.
The point I’m making here is that you will find those cars that you will actually like, so remember that this is a business and you can’t have anything get in your way.
Buy the car, do as little necessary to make it presentable and let it go.
Remember that you do not need to register a car under you if you are planning on selling it.
Leave it under the last owner’s name and then sell it from there.
Don’t Waste Your Time
There are many cars that are borderline a steal but if you are going to make a few hundred dollars in profit then sometimes it’s just not worth it.
You always want to get to that point in your flipping career that you can just know you are getting an awesome deal just by looking at something.
With cars though, there are a lot of times that things can look great from the outside but be a complete disaster under the hood.
What good is a car if it can’t run?
A blown engine is completely worthless with a nice looking body so always figure out what the main issues are with any vehicle.
Always, Always, Test Drive
Before you make any kind of deals please take that bad boy for a spin.
You will tell just from the test drive alone if there are any problems that will make it a deal or no deal.
If you feel something is wrong, question the owner and make your assessment from there.
If it is a transmission problem then you might want to back off from the deal as that is not something you want to deal with.
Also, please look in the trunk if you are dealing with a vehicle that has one.
This one time I found a car that was selling for a thousand dollars.
The owner sent me pics and I jumped right on it and ran away from work just to meet this dude.
All he had to say was the car runs great, I’m leaving tomorrow, but there is just one problem.
He popped open the trunk and holy cow!
I could see the road.
There was a huge hole in the trunk and I could not help but laugh and be confused at the same time.
Mind you I already took this car for a spin and almost gave him the cash.
As cheap as the car was and in great running condition, I had to say no as that was just something I could not explain to potential buyers.
Conclusion
Get out there and do it.
Although there is a lot to know before you start flipping, I just think there is too much to take away from such an amazing opportunity.
Not only will you most likely make more money than your current job but it will teach you how to talk to people as well as handle the financial part of an actual business without going to school for it.
I have learned a great deal from my experience and if I wasn’t making money online I would probably still be flipping cars up until now.
Doing something so simple as flipping cars is a great experience and was really fun for me.
I mean, the people in my apartment would always ask me who owned this car and who owned that car.
I had some of the nicest rides but little did they know that I owned them but only temporarily.
I hope this article on how to make money flipping cars has helped you understand how this simple but very profitable business works.
If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
Now if you have already done your share of flipping, please do share one of your best flips as I’m sure this is equivalent to a fishing story.
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