Bidding at car auctions = Side hustle = $$$$$$$?

[stonedface]

So I was in the hood the other day at my friend's house and one of his boys comes through with a long list of cars that are going to be up for auction and this man starts rambling on and on about how its a good way to make money by reselling these cars.. He said theres cars that people don't even bid on that start at $200. My focus would be on hondas or commuter cars.. those sell pretty easy.
This isn't the first time I've heard about something like this, so I'm thinking its legit.. anybody want to chime in?

 

[carver]

funny because I believe it was Wednesday one of my co-workers was telling me about him going to auctions and buying cars, I think he said you need to go and buy your license to bid or some #(!@ like that I don't really remember all the stuff he went through.. He's a single dude living in his own place and driving one of the new E class benz, I'd say whatever he's doing he's doing aight

 

[tillmatic]

Nice hustle. Detail em and flip. In Michigan you dont need a dealer license until you sell five cars.

 

[rfx45]

I think you need to be a mechanic or at least know one you can trust and fix the easy stuff and knows how to look for a good condition car at the auction for it to work well. If you just keep buying the cheap ones but it keeps breaking down after you sell them then you'll pretty much kill your reputation and won't be able to sell for higher amount in the future.

 

[Bert.]

unless you have lots of cash on hand and can actually go to dealer auctions then you can make money.

public/private auctions suck and most of the cars are garbage.

 

[stonedface]

Originally Posted by RFX45

I think you need to be a mechanic or at least know one you can trust and fix the easy stuff and knows how to look for a good condition car at the auction for it to work well. If you just keep buying the cheap ones but it keeps breaking down after you sell them then you'll pretty much kill your reputation and won't be able to sell for higher amount in the future.

supposedly these are not "junk cars" at these auctions and most of them are already smogged...

I was planning on using craigslist no reputation needed there..

 

[rfx45]

Originally Posted by StonedFace

Originally Posted by RFX45

I think you need to be a mechanic or at least know one you can trust and fix the easy stuff and knows how to look for a good condition car at the auction for it to work well. If you just keep buying the cheap ones but it keeps breaking down after you sell them then you'll pretty much kill your reputation and won't be able to sell for higher amount in the future.

   supposedly these are not "junk cars" at these auctions and most of them are already smogged...

Yeah but there are a lot of things that could go wrong with cars especially if you know nothing about them or have no idea what to look for. I could imagine those in dealership auctions where you need a license then they might have to state if the car is a junker or had flood damage, etc... But there are also auction that are just for "as is" and those could be a money pit.

 

[stonedface]

Originally Posted by RFX45

Originally Posted by StonedFace

Originally Posted by RFX45

I think you need to be a mechanic or at least know one you can trust and fix the easy stuff and knows how to look for a good condition car at the auction for it to work well. If you just keep buying the cheap ones but it keeps breaking down after you sell them then you'll pretty much kill your reputation and won't be able to sell for higher amount in the future.

   supposedly these are not "junk cars" at these auctions and most of them are already smogged...

Yeah but there are a lot of things that could go wrong with cars especially if you know nothing about them or have no idea what to look for. I could imagine those in dealership auctions where you need a license then they might have to state if the car is a junker or had flood damage, etc... But there are also auction that are just for "as is" and those could be a money pit.

I agree with you, I have cousins and friends that know how to work on cars better than I do so I could always go to them. From what I've read they let you start the car (no test drive) before you bid too. I need to go to one of these auctions and experience the whole thing for myself.

 

[dtothed]

auctions=junk
craigslist is better source, but aggressive buyers on there
do not go by mmr values, mmr values are a bit inflated due to the market
there is a used whole sale dealership in houston.  tx direct auto.  they move 2k cars/month.  since they whole sale they only make 800-2k/car  even at 800/car.  2kx800=

 

[whyte1der05five]

Originally Posted by Zyzz

unless you have lots of cash on hand and can actually go to dealer auctions then you can make money.

public/private auctions suck and most of the cars are garbage.

This.

And even the dealer auctions now arent what they were years ago.

 

[denni5themenace]

my homie buys cars, fixes them up, and sells them for profit. pretty good hustle, and he enjoys doing it.

 

[rhythmentality]

Any type of auction where it's mostly repossession seems profitable.
 
Some former classmates from back in high school used to go to the police auctions where they'd auction off household items of criminals that got all their belongings seized.
 
They'd focus on the rugs. Would normally walk out of each auction with 4 - 5 100% authentic Persian rugs for less than $100 each and would just re-flip on Craigslist.
 

 

[yvespo3]

Went to a marshall's auction before and saw a 2005 745 go for 8k. You see a lot of drug dealers cars there.

 

[Bert.]

Originally Posted by whyte1der05five

Originally Posted by Zyzz

unless you have lots of cash on hand and can actually go to dealer auctions then you can make money.

public/private auctions suck and most of the cars are garbage.

This.

And even the dealer auctions now arent what they were years ago.

i agree but theres good/higher end cars at cheap prices. as long as you have the money then you can get a great deal and make tons of cash.

 

[oh you mad]

Originally Posted by Zyzz

unless you have lots of cash on hand and can actually go to dealer auctions then you can make money.

public/private auctions suck and most of the cars are garbage.

This. expect paying kbb prices @ public auctions for hondas/toyotas

Salvage dealer auctions is where the real $$$ is at, get yourself nice cars with minor damage for the low then flip em on CL
You need to know what you are looking for and you will need to make friends with collision center owners.

 

[npa07]

My neighbor used to do this back in the day. He definitely made a nice chunk of change from doing this but hes mechanically inclined so it worked out for him even better. I say go for it bro.

 

[dieselg5]

If you're looking to turn a profit selling honda's/cheaper cars try checking craigslist and local newspapers. Look for listings that are well under the KBB price and try and have the seller bring their price down even more. This works especially well if there's a problem with the car. Most sellers won't be that mechanically inclined, and if you have a basic understanding of what repairs would need to be done/ how much they would cost you can get good deals on these type of cars on a regular basis. IMO, a lot better/easier than going to dealer auctions.

 

[coolgraymemo]

You friend was speaking truth.

Government auctions are good too.