Wednesday, August 6, 2008

How to Buy and Sell Cars for Profit

Buying and selling cars is an easy business. This is because most people don’t want to hassle with selling a car much. They won’t even clean it up, as they just want to get rid of the darn thing and will sell for a low price. All you have to do is make them a reasonable cash offer, and off you go with a vehicle that you can clean up and sell the very next weekend for a nice profit.

In my mid-twenties I worked with a guy who started buying and selling used cars on the side. We got to be pretty good friends. His name was Kelly, and we both worked for a company that wholesale-distributed auto accessories. There were one or two other guys in the company that were doing the same thing. But nobody did it as well as Kelly, he got the whole process down to a science. It was very rare when he held on to a car longer than two weeks, and most were sold the very first weekend he had them for sale.

It wasn’t very long before Kelly quit the job and just bought and sold cars full time for a living. It’s what he loved to do. His landlord owned a dirt lot on a street with pretty good traffic and let him put his vehicles out there with a “for sale” sign on them. I always figured that’s why he was so successful.

Years later Kelly confided in me that the dirt lot with the sign hardly ever sold a car; he pretty much did it all with Auto Trader ads. I asked him what his secret was, and he broke out a small worn-out blue notebook scribbled with pages of notes. In the front was a checklist that every car he bought and sold had to pass. He jokingly referred to it as his “Kelly blue book of car value,” a play on words on the famous Kelley Blue Book (the industry standard for used car values).

The bottom line was, he only went after certain high-demand vehicles and they had to meet certain criteria (as well him being able to buy them under market value). His main focus was on 10-year old 4-door Honda Accords and Japanese mini-trucks. They had to run well, have current registration tags, have a straight body, and good tires. The best prospects were dirty and had stained carpet and/or ripped front seats.

Cars that met his criteria could be cleaned up easily and have new seat covers thrown on, plus the carpet dyed, to spruce up real nice. Because the sellers didn’t envision how nice the car would clean up he could buy them cheaply; and because they did clean up so well he could sell them quickly. That was the trick.

Follow Kelly’s example and you can have a nice car buying and selling business of your own.

Andrew Kasch is a car buff, and has bought and sold his fair share of cars for profit. To learn more about his friend Kelly’s car flipping tactics, visit http://www.kellybluebookcarvalue.info

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Should You Buy a Car Online Or Not?

Online car buying has many advantages over the old fashion way of buying cars. However, the number of disadvantages is just as numerous. Web or the internet is the most useful resource for planning and researching car prices and deals.

From the comfort of your own home, you can compare models and makes and decide what type of a car you want to buy, much before you even go to the dealership.

This is a huge advantage when buying a car, because car dealers will very often try to steer you towards buying a car that they want you to buy instead of the car you want. This can be especially important if you plan on buying a used car, have your mind firmly set and do not rush in to any decisions.

If the used car dealer does not have the car you wanted and you stumble on to a car you did not really want, but it looks like a good deal just go home and think about it and the return tomorrow.

Many people do not like the hassle of regular car buying and for them buying a car on the internet is God given gift. However, internet car shopping makes several very important steps in car buying very hard or even impossible.

It can prove very difficult to inspect the car you are interested in visually, and there is just no way for a test drive. Because of that, it is essential that you buy only from reputable dealers.

Check the internet for forums and groups about cars and ask around, read what other people are saying.

Especially useful information is from the people who have already bought cars online, try to talk with them, compare the car models, dealers and experiences they had.

Main advantages of buying a car online:

1. Choice in makes and model.

2. Choice of color.

3. Easy price comparison.

4. Easy deals comparison.

5. You are not limited to your local dealers.

However, do not forget that even on the web, car dealers are still dealers. Dealing over the webcam does not mean you cannot ask the same questions you would have asked in car dealership.

Ask whatever questions you want, do a thorough research, check for any car weaknesses and ask if there are any on the car you are interested in.

Check if you can return the car, even if the car has already been shipped. In some cases if the car must be returned you could end up paying for transportation costs.

Include this in your car buying calculation, because you could get reluctant returning the car not right for you, damaged or with some other mistakes just because transportation cost.

Thousands of people have already sold and bought cars on the web. If you decide that this is the right way for you to buy a car, be careful, do your research and buy only from the reputable dealers with thousands happy costumers to vouch for them.

http://www.Driver-To-Driver.com is site dedicated to cars, with advice form drivers to drivers.Visit us and learn how to buy a car online, buy or sell a used car, how to find online car sales and many other car things.

Tips For Purchase of Used Car - Read Before Any Used Car Purchase

By Benjamin Robert Ehinger

Are you considering purchasing a used car soon? Do you need to know that you are getting the car that you want? There are certain things you need to consider when purchasing a used car from a private individual or from a car lot. Here are some tips for purchase of used car that will help you.

First, do not be afraid to negotiate. There is no such thing as a firm price on a used car. There are some people that will try to convince you that their price is firm, but it is not. You can do the research, get the book value, and have a good idea of what a car lot would give for the car. This will help you to negotiate a fair price for both parties.

Second, you need to get your car checked out. Before you ever purchase you do not just need to test drive the vehicle, but you need to have a mechanic do a full analysis of the car. This might cost you $50 to $100, but it is necessary because it will give you the piece of mind that you are purchasing a good vehicle.

Third, you need to consider what you are going to be paying for insurance. If your car is a total necessity, then you need to carry full coverage because if you do not and you hit a deer or have an accident you could be without your car for a while. Also, consider what the change from one car to another will do to your insurance.

Last, you should consider what a warranty will cost you. This is necessary to be included in the tips for purchase of used car because it will keep you from spending a ton of money if you do have a major problem. With any warranty you will have to pay something, but the amount will be less than the major repair that is going to take place at some point.

Discover the secrets to finding top Tips For Purchase Of Used Car. Get more information here:

Tips For Purchase Of Used Car