Flipping Cars For Profit in 2023: Is It A Legit Business Idea?

Home-based enterprises that purchase and sell cars have become quite popular.

You don’t need a lot of money to start buying and selling vehicles, and you don’t have to be a dealer to do it. You also don’t need to employ a mechanic, although that would be helpful.

I’m going to review the idea of car flipping to see if it really is the best way to make money out there.

I’ll talk about whether flipping cars is right for you.

Alright, so Car Flipping Business doesn’t exactly fit into a nice category.

At the end of the day, car flipping is a… unique way to think about making money.

It’s certainly possible to make money with off-the-wall businesses like this, but unless you’re interested in taking years out of your life to experiment with an unproven business model, I would look elsewhere.

My #1 personal recommendation if I’m talking about starting a fully-online business has got to be the Lead Generation & Ad Agency business models.

There are a handful of programs that teach you the ropes, but my #1 choice that combines both of those business models into one is the Digital Rental Method program

But, if you’re hard-pressed to jump head-first into an off-the-wall business model, let’s continue to my full breakdown of Car Flipping Business.

Flipping Cars For Profit: Places Where You Can Buy A Cheap Car

The process of purchasing a low-cost car is rather simple. Listed below are locations where you’ll find vehicles:

• Automobile auctions in your region – auction cars are some of the best deals
• Craigslist for classified advertisements.
• eBay classified ads from newspapers
• Community bulletin boards posted at supermarkets
• Private cars with a “For Sale” sign

Cars To Flip: Do I Need A Dealer’s License?

Flipping A Used Car For Profit:

If you’re considering getting into the used car market, you should know the state laws governing how many cars you may sell each year may differ.

Flipping used automobiles for profit up to five times per year is permitted in California and up to 12 times per year in Indiana, respectively, before a dealer’s license is required.

You can avoid this by visiting a licensed dealer and haggling with him to complete the paperwork on any vehicles that exceed the state’s quota.

This will essentially set you back several hundreds of dollars, but if you make over $1k for each transaction, you’re already well ahead of your competition.

Another alternative is to collaborate with family and acquaintances who have the same goal so that before you’re required to have a dealership license, you may use their annual limit.

All states require auto sellers to register as dealers. Obtaining and maintaining a dealer license is a paper-intensive and time-consuming process.

It’s also very costly.

To be legit, you need to spend a minimum of $1,500 in certificate fees, bond guarantees, and other governance charges.

If you rent office space for your company, you could spend $1,000’s in monthly leasing fees or overhead.

Thankfully, smaller car flippers who are theoretically certified as traders can usually operate without the need to officially put up a store and not breach local regulations by obstructing their backyards and streets with extra automobiles.

Acquiring a Dealer Certificate is not difficult or time-consuming for casual flippers.

However, the business economy might work in your favor if you want to sell a few cars well enough to build a legitimate business from it.

The Requirements Differ From State To State.

You may sell up to 12 automobile flips a year in Vermont. According to DMV.org, these are vehicles you don’t own yet don’t need to register.

Thresholds have lowered in various nations. Before continuing any further with your car flipping business, best to get in touch with your motor vehicle windows registration in your state to prevent civil or criminal penalties for promoting automobiles without the proper certification.

What Am I Looking For?

Many different automotive brands, models, and styles are available to you. As a result, this might be a challenge for a beginner.

However, once you grow used to it, it will become second nature to you.

The most straightforward way is to start with what you already know. If you’ve owned a Civic or a Malibu for quite some time, you’ve probably learned a few things about them.

These should be the cars you’d start with.

You’ll be aware of the issues you’ve experienced, the maintenance methods, and the quirks that others are unaware of.

Take advantage of this when looking for a property and haggling over the price.

Feel free to explore once you’ve attained a certain level of comfort. 

Public car auction deals are generally better than private party sale deals for car flippers because auction cars transact by volume, and sellers typically don’t mind receiving top dollar.

How Do I Determine The Right Price?

What are the best methods for figuring out a car’s real market value?

Many people have heard of Black Book pricing or auction prices when they’ve traded in a vehicle.

The average person doesn’t typically have access to these tools.

Auction and Black Book prices are roughly the amounts a dealer is willing to pay for your automobile even if you’re not willing to buy one from them.

This is also how CarMax works, but they normally go a bit lower than the “auction” price.

This is the reason why you seem to always get scammed when trading in your car, especially if you conduct your research online.

Let me tell you how you can use Kelly Blue Book to establish that value.

This method isn’t perfect when you’re flipping cars for profit, but it’s close.

I’m pretty sure of this since I’ve done hundreds of car flips over the years.

Once you’ve decided on a car, go to the Kelly Blue Book website and select the “Check My Car’s Worth” button.

Next, key in the year, make, model, and mileage.

After which, you will be prompted to key in your zip code, car type (sedan, coupe, etc.), the condition, and the options.

Start filling up the fields accurately and select fair as the criteria.

Lastly, you’re shown a screen that displays your trade-in range and gives you a price.

You now have a starting point for how much you want to spend on the vehicle since it’s the same price that dealerships would pay.

However, although you already know the auction price, it does not imply you must buy at that price.

You want to buy the car for $500-$1,000 less than the reasonable trade-in value.

If you can’t sell the automobile for some reason, you could always take it to CarMax to at least break even or maybe earn even a few hundred dollars more than the price you’ve bought it for.

But, if you’re able to accomplish this with no hidden surprises, you could earn $1,000-$2,000 for every flip.

What To Avoid When Car Flipping

You may buy cars on Craigslist, eBay, your neighborhood bulletin board, and especially Facebook if you’re on the lookout for cheap automobiles.

For this reason, I’m placing a heavy focus on Facebook, which is riddled with scams, particularly those related to automotive transactions.

But, of course, look into a car that you are sure is being marketed at a low price; you might just get a legit offer for the following reasons:

• The seller has no idea what it’s worth.
• Due to debt or illness, the seller must sell immediately.

However, the most probable explanation is that the vehicle has an issue that the owner is likely to be aware of, which will be costly to repair.

How Do I Make The Purchase?

Continue with the papers if everything seems legit and you’re confident about moving ahead. Ensure that the buyer shows you the title and that the private seller or dealer signs in your presence.

Ask for their ID to verify that they’re the owner. If it’s already been signed, simply verify with the ID.

This is to be 100% sure that you’re buying from someone who titled the car.

Never buy a car if the name on the title isn’t the name of the person you are buying it from because you could put yourself at some legal risks.

Besides the title, the bill of sale needs to be signed by both parties. This will allow you to drive it without a license plate and not get charged with breaking any laws or fined by the cops if you get pulled over.

Obtain a Vehicle History Report before purchasing any used vehicle; you should always get a history report.

How Do I Sell The Car?

Make money off your new car now that you’ve found an excellent price.

Fix It Up.

Needless to say, when there are fewer issues with the car, the entire transaction will run more smoothly. Thoroughly check on potential issues, listen to the engine, and repair as much as you can.

Fix loose trim bits, repair the dome lights, and replace the headlight or taillight bulb.

Also, ensure that the key fob is operational. If not, it might be the battery.

Use DIY tutorials for a quick replacement of the battery.

Care To Clean It Up.

Clean both the exterior and the interior. Spend no money on detailing; just use a little elbow grease to remove all of the filth and food debris.

If the carpets are too nasty to clean, get some inexpensive carpet protectors from Walmart and place them over the old ones.

You don’t need to turn it back to its pristine condition (though it wouldn’t hurt), but ensure that the visible damages or issues are addressed.

An air freshener is also beneficial.

Take Quality Pictures.

First impressions are everything, so your images of the car are of high quality and accurate.

There is no need to show them the flaws, but don’t conceal them either.

The potential buyers will check the vehicle in person, so don’t lie about it if there is a large ding on a door.

Don’t attempt to be sneaky and hide it, either.

Take high-quality photos of the car’s features

If the tires are brand new, show them off.

Make sure your images entice potential consumers.

Research The Listing Price.

Look at other similar car sales on Craigslist to get the average listing price for your vehicle.

If you wish to sell your car fast and have a successful car flipping business, list it at the low end of the market.

Don’t overprice unless you’re sure that it’s in mint condition.

Use the year, mileage, and features as the primary criteria for pricing comparison.

If you acquired the vehicle for less than the auction price, you’d make money even if you price it cheap.

Create The Listing On Craigslist Or Facebook Marketplace.

Include the following information in your description:

• Year
• Color
• Make
• Model

Be sure you display any service records and CarFax reports so that consumers feel confident with their purchases.

Display the high-quality photos and explain any issues; attract buyers with your listing.

Don’t be scared to list your phone number.

Negotiate.

When selling the car, the reverse of what you’ve done when buying the car is required.

Always attempt to get the buyer to see you in person when negotiating.

This is due to the fact that you want them to make decisions based on impulse or emotion.

Unless you have no other option, avoid negotiating over text or phone.

Be patient when bargaining; consider it a game.

Get Ready For The Sale.

After you’ve planned a visit with the buyer to take a look at your car in person, prepare everything in advance to ensure that the process is going to be as smooth as possible for the buyer.

Ensure you have the following: the keys, service documents, and CarFax.

Don’t forget to bring towels and rags should the buyer request to inspect the car.

Finally, prepare the bill of sale and the title.

Keep in mind that it’s important to make everything as simple as possible with the buyer.

Don’t come across as desperate, don’t cover up anything, and, most of all, be kind.

This will transform the sleazy picture that the majority of people have about buying a car, and believe me, it will go a long way.

Make The Sale.

If everything checks out, close the deal. Get paid, and have the title and bill of sale signed by you and the buyer.

You’ve just made a good chunk of profit from one car flip!

In Conclusion

Can you really flip cars for profit?

Other than flipping houses, car flipping is unquestionably a very lucrative business that you can venture into. It’s popular among college students who do it as a side hustle.

Cars priced between $1,500 and $4,000 can provide a $1,000-$2,000 profit. That’s a lot of money and a huge profit margin for just one flip. This is the reason why selling cars and car flipping is an attractive business.

Being a car flipper is a great option for making money.

But if a car flip is not your cup of tea or if it’s too expensive, then you should check out my #1 recommendation…

What Is My #1 Recommendation For Making Money Online In 2023?

Alright, time for me to get real with my lovely readers for a moment:

I’ve personally tried all of the major online business models:

• I’ve sold fidget spinners through Amazon FBA
• I’ve drop-shipped a toilet bowl putting green on Shopify
• I’ve sold women’s health supplements via Clickbank affiliate marketing

And I made money with all of them, so trust me when I say: there is no “perfect” business model.

THAT BEING SAID: I would at least recommend you implement something that is tried and true because I’ve seen TOO MANY people (including friends and family) get burned by stuff like Car Flipping Business.

They come out of left field with some random idea, make it seem attractive, and then make themselves a quick buck by luring in unsuspecting people.

I’m not saying Car Flipping Business itself is a piece of trash; I’m just saying you need to be very careful.

This is a big reason why I only recommend proven, tried, and true business models, like Lead Generation & Ad Agencies.

There are a bunch of programs out there that teach you those skills, but my top choice is the Digital Rental Method program.

Why? It has proven leaders with their own 7-figure businesses implementing exactly what they teach you.

I’ve also got over a dozen personal friends in there, so I feel comfortable telling you it works.

Their program works whether you’re a complete newbie or have been around the block before but have never had that “big win” to propel you forward.

Here’s Why:

1)Time: You can do this if you’ve got a spare hour or two each day. If you want to drop everything and go all-in, you can do this. More time obviously means faster results, but even putting in a few hours per day is enough to see real success.

And because of that flexibility, you don’t need to trade your time for money. Once the income starts, it’s recurring (for the most part).

That means you can take a month off, travel the country, pursue a passion project, chill on the beach, or charter a boat across the world.

But you can only do that once you’ve created an income stream that doesn’t require YOU to be there all day, every day.

2)Big Margins: With most businesses, you’re often going to have really slim margins. That means you need to hit a serious scale to make serious money.

using the Digital Rental Method, your profit margin is nearly 100%. Watch here to learn how.

Just a reminder: these Digital Rental Properties are worth (at a minimum) $500/mo in semi-passive income. And each time you create another one, your income increases, and the effort put into creating the next property decreases.

Best-case scenario, you have properties bringing in over $3,000+/mo on “auto-pilot.”

3)It’s Effectively Copy-Paste: Here’s my favorite part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up, you can literally copy-paste another version of it and find another willing “renter” in a few days. DOUBLING your income doesn’t get much easier than that…

If you wanted to double your income with car flipping, you would need a lot of time and effort. And I can guarantee you that’s a lot harder than a few clicks & a phone call.

4)You’re Helping REAL People: My biggest gripe with car flipping is that you’re basically only helping yourself.

But With the Digital Rental Method, you’re helping solve REAL problems that people are ASKING for help with:

Small local businesses around the world need one thing: customers. Without them, their business would fall apart. If you can provide those customers, they’re going to be really happy – and they’re going to pay you for it.

You’re helping a struggling mother or father put food on the table for their families, put their kids through college, or simply live life a little bit more comfortably.

Having this type of impact on the world is what will help you sleep soundly at night.

So, the rest is up to you. You could keep looking at other off-the-wall business models like car flipping and maybe hit it big one day.

You could keep researching and researching for the next few months (or few years), never making a concrete decision.

OR, you can look deep inside, think about those dreams, hopes, & desires, and make the decision to ACTUALLY make it happen, just like it has for thousands of other students before you.

Making a fortune while actually helping real people that need it.

If this sounds like you, click here to see how it all works.