I just wanted to share my experience flipping cars when I was building capital for my business. I have a lot of experience doing body work and painting, but you don't need my experience for a successful flip. There are all kinds of cars online for sale that are in "needs work" shape. Some may be mechanical and often cosmetic.
I would search Craigslist and Facebook marketplace non stop for vehicles for sale that needed work. With Kelly BB on one side of the screen, and my search window on the other side. I often found wrecked vehicles that had little damage and a very dirty inside. Although, I have repaired some vehicles that needed some extensive work which would require some skill, the majority had a wrecked bumper or fender.
Knowing how much the vehicle could "potentially" sell before going to pick it up. I knew what I had to pay for it to make enough money for it to be worth my time. When you buy a car for the right price that has low miles, and all you need to do is have a fender replaced or a bumper replaced / painted. You can make money off the vehicle still without having to know how to paint. You purchase the parts and send it to a body shop to do the painting. Sometimes you can even get parts from the junk yard already painted the same color. Just ask them when you call, "Do you have any white ones?"
Unless you paid too much for the vehicle, having a couple panels painted isn't going to cost that much. Just make sure you send the vin number with the body shop so they can get the correct variance and you don't have two different shades of the same color red when you panel match. You're supposed to blend the color to the next panel back, but I have found by using the vin and getting the correct variance, you can often get away with it. You can do the wrench work. Just put it back together the same way you took it apart. Sometimes there may be some adjusting but with some practice it is pretty easy.
Another thing is, the cars I bought were always FILTHY! If they would have just cleaned them before they sold them they could have gotten a few more dollars out of me. But 95% of the time I had to clean these vehicles. And aside from the damage being repaired, the clean interior often sold the car. I always got compliments on how clean the car was. Here is a couple pics of a Ford car I bought. It needed a new condenser, front bumper, and passenger headlight. I paid 2,500 for the car. I had less than 700 into it and I sold it for 7,500.
Work peformed by me:
- Picked the vehicle up - drove it to my house.
- Purchased a new condenser, bumper, and headlight off eBay. (Body shop charged the AC for me after the new condenser)
- Figured out how to take the condenser off just by looking at what was holding it on and put the new one on.
- Took the car and the bumper to the body shop so they could make sure the color on the bumper matched since I refused to blend into the surrounding panels.
- I installed the bumper that the body shop had painted for me - which was pretty self-explanatory even if you don't know how to work on cars.
- I installed the headlight and had to align the hood.
- I cleaned the inside so that it looked brand new again
- And to top it off, I changed out the hubcaps to give it a classier look
It was very little work and didn't require but a couple nights of my time. I know its not a lot of money, but for some it could be all you need to keep going on your business. I don't want to keep promoting self-employed jobs here, but hopefully some of my experience can help anyone who was without a whole lot of money like I really was when I was younger.
A little fun fact and possibly something that may anger some of you who take your car in for a detail - with all my odd ball jobs over the years, one of them was at car dealer where I installed aftermarket components on the vehicles. I worked right next to the detail shop. If the dealer bought a used car with a filthy inside, the detail shop would spray paint the carpets to make them look new again. That was how I got my car's carpet so clean. Often it was the floor that was the dirtiest and spray paint makes them look great! Just go easy on it, too much makes for a stiff carpet.
Pics of the car I had a body shop do the painting on.
I would search Craigslist and Facebook marketplace non stop for vehicles for sale that needed work. With Kelly BB on one side of the screen, and my search window on the other side. I often found wrecked vehicles that had little damage and a very dirty inside. Although, I have repaired some vehicles that needed some extensive work which would require some skill, the majority had a wrecked bumper or fender.
Knowing how much the vehicle could "potentially" sell before going to pick it up. I knew what I had to pay for it to make enough money for it to be worth my time. When you buy a car for the right price that has low miles, and all you need to do is have a fender replaced or a bumper replaced / painted. You can make money off the vehicle still without having to know how to paint. You purchase the parts and send it to a body shop to do the painting. Sometimes you can even get parts from the junk yard already painted the same color. Just ask them when you call, "Do you have any white ones?"
Unless you paid too much for the vehicle, having a couple panels painted isn't going to cost that much. Just make sure you send the vin number with the body shop so they can get the correct variance and you don't have two different shades of the same color red when you panel match. You're supposed to blend the color to the next panel back, but I have found by using the vin and getting the correct variance, you can often get away with it. You can do the wrench work. Just put it back together the same way you took it apart. Sometimes there may be some adjusting but with some practice it is pretty easy.
Another thing is, the cars I bought were always FILTHY! If they would have just cleaned them before they sold them they could have gotten a few more dollars out of me. But 95% of the time I had to clean these vehicles. And aside from the damage being repaired, the clean interior often sold the car. I always got compliments on how clean the car was. Here is a couple pics of a Ford car I bought. It needed a new condenser, front bumper, and passenger headlight. I paid 2,500 for the car. I had less than 700 into it and I sold it for 7,500.
Work peformed by me:
- Picked the vehicle up - drove it to my house.
- Purchased a new condenser, bumper, and headlight off eBay. (Body shop charged the AC for me after the new condenser)
- Figured out how to take the condenser off just by looking at what was holding it on and put the new one on.
- Took the car and the bumper to the body shop so they could make sure the color on the bumper matched since I refused to blend into the surrounding panels.
- I installed the bumper that the body shop had painted for me - which was pretty self-explanatory even if you don't know how to work on cars.
- I installed the headlight and had to align the hood.
- I cleaned the inside so that it looked brand new again
- And to top it off, I changed out the hubcaps to give it a classier look
It was very little work and didn't require but a couple nights of my time. I know its not a lot of money, but for some it could be all you need to keep going on your business. I don't want to keep promoting self-employed jobs here, but hopefully some of my experience can help anyone who was without a whole lot of money like I really was when I was younger.
A little fun fact and possibly something that may anger some of you who take your car in for a detail - with all my odd ball jobs over the years, one of them was at car dealer where I installed aftermarket components on the vehicles. I worked right next to the detail shop. If the dealer bought a used car with a filthy inside, the detail shop would spray paint the carpets to make them look new again. That was how I got my car's carpet so clean. Often it was the floor that was the dirtiest and spray paint makes them look great! Just go easy on it, too much makes for a stiff carpet.
Pics of the car I had a body shop do the painting on.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
