Quantcast
Jump to content


Used Car Sales


Go to solution Solved by alfredauto,

Recommended Posts

I used to. You can make a lot of money doing this as long as their are good body cheap cars in your area. Always use used parts for big ticket items, and don't try to hit a homerun on each vehicle. You want to buy cheap, fix cheap, and sell quick. You want to do volume and I recommend not selling them at your shop. Good luck.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Solution

Don't sell junk. I sell about 60 - 100 cars a year, it helps pay the bills. If anyone tells you selling cars isn't a full time job they are dreaming. I put my service customers first, you really have to be careful because the used cars can suck up all your time.

 

I recommend coming up with a plan of attack, and stick to it. If you sell junk you will end up fixing junk for junk clients. I try to mix it up, I have some low end cars and keep a couple higher priced models. The $2500-$8000 price range works for me. Less than $2500 doesn't leave room for repairs, over $8000 and its too close to the big dealers with their financing bs I can't compete with. You need to know your market, in my area pickup trucks and 6-7 passenger SUV's sell instantly. Minivans are hit and miss. I happen to collect w210 Mercedes so I always have a couple for sale, but they are a niche car. If I inadvertently buy junk I wholesale it. win lose or draw it disappears asap.

 

Pros: you can make some real money and you always have extra cars to drive. Auctions are fun. It keeps the mechanics busy. A full lot generates more business. Instant cash infusion when one sells.

 

Cons: time consuming, you can lose $$$$ easily, you can ruin your reputation FAST If you sell junk. Paperwork can be tedious. Full lot means nowhere to park. Many new friends will want to borrow your dealer plates. Less profit than expected.

 

Last thing, once you get your dealer license the state will make sure your paperwork is in order. Most used car dealers are assumed to be liars, cheats, and scum bags and the state knows it. Do it right. Don't sell junk. If you have questions feel free to ask.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to say the same thing.....thanks Alfred! What type of warranty do you provide for the cars that you sell? When you say they CAN take up all of your time, are you referring to customers that have purchased the vehicles and are back to have repairs done per warranty?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The $2500-$8000 price range works for me. Less than $2500 doesn't leave room for repairs, over $8000 and its too close to the big dealers with their financing bs I can't compete with. You need to know your market, in my area pickup trucks and 6-7 passenger SUV's sell instantly. Minivans are hit and miss.

I don't sell that many cars, but I would say I definitely agree with this statement. I've had a few cars over 10K and they don't move very quick. All my 3-5K cars wen't QUICK though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The law says anything with less than 100k miles gets a 30 day warranty. I warranty everything for 30 days to avoid confrontation. In NY all retail cars must pass inspection so they are good enough no matter what. I sold one recently and the girl ran it out of coolant and blew the head gasket after about a week. Rather than tell her to shove off I bought it back. I'll fix it on my time and resell it, not a big deal.

 

By time consuming I mean the auction takes up a full day, reconditioning takes time, handling the car shoppers takes time. After the sale they always come back with a squeak or rattle, you need to hold their hand for a while. If you want to put used parts on that's more time. Bodywork means shuffling them to the body shop. Cleaning the cars is never ending, because nobody wants a dirty car like the one they already have.

 

My problem is I refuse to overpay, at the auction I might bid on 50 cars and go home with nothing. That's time I could have been fixing something and making money.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The law says anything with less than 100k miles gets a 30 day warranty. I warranty everything for 30 days to avoid confrontation. In NY all retail cars must pass inspection so they are good enough no matter what. I sold one recently and the girl ran it out of coolant and blew the head gasket after about a week. Rather than tell her to shove off I bought it back. I'll fix it on my time and resell it, not a big deal.

 

By time consuming I mean the auction takes up a full day, reconditioning takes time, handling the car shoppers takes time. After the sale they always come back with a squeak or rattle, you need to hold their hand for a while. If you want to put used parts on that's more time. Bodywork means shuffling them to the body shop. Cleaning the cars is never ending, because nobody wants a dirty car like the one they already have.

 

My problem is I refuse to overpay, at the auction I might bid on 50 cars and go home with nothing. That's time I could have been fixing something and making money.

ALL great advice!!! I'm getting ready to build a new location, and I thought I wanted to build a separate office for car sales and really get into it. After doing it for a little bit, I'm not sure it's worth the time/headache.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I may have come across too harsh, used car sales net me over 20% on average. Not too bad I suppose. At first I hated the game, I envisioned clean trade in cars selling for cheap at the auction meaning easy money. Not so much. The local auctions have a lot of rusted junk. I was lamenting to an old timer at the sale about a lemon i got stuck with and he said "son, its called tuition. We all pay it"

 

By the way, The auction is the most expensive way to buy a car. Customer trade ins are by far the best deals. At least you know what's broken when you buy it. Other dealers old inventory is also good of they will sell directly to you. I buy a lot from Manheim online, in western NY everything is rusted so I buy cars from the south and ship them in. Rust free cars sell here easily. I can usually get deals on older high mileage units that are rust free, nobody wants a high mileage rust free car in southern NJ because they all are rust free.

 

Overall I think once you get used to having a dealer plate its hard to quit. You can buy a vette if you want one, sell it after a few months and your vette was a free rental car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My advice would be definitely 2k-5k. Don't recommend selling them at shop. Get separate lot. Folk expect perfect car when sold by mechanic shop. It does require time. Contrary to popular belief, it is a separate business if you want to make real money. The auction can be simplified but does require taking chances for most reward. I've been transitioning my business from repair to sales w/repair. Greater risk with sales but greater potential economic reward with less manual labor. I say go for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Though of this thread today, a car buyers dad called me upset about a 10 year old car his daughter bought back in January. Stated the motor mount is broken. My response was Things happen in 5 months, we will gladly repair it and work with you on the price because I appreciate your business. His answer was I'm a thief and a liar for selling his daughter a car with a motor mount that I knew was going to break and I need to pay up or else.

 

It's a surreal experience selling cars. I believe the guy might have actually been mad enough to commit a crime over a $35 motor mount.

 

It's also an emotional roller coaster ride. Cash money tied up in cars is rusting in the parking lot and they might as well be invisible. Tire shine has worn off, a battery went dead so the monitors need to be rerun, another one the drum brakes locked up due to the humidity. Someone broke the door handle on another one. I hate these cars, all of them. I get an idea; I'm going to wholesale a car carrier full and dump these things. Messy divorce here we come. While I'm looking up the # for my auction guy someone comes in and plunks down the sticker price on one, ten minutes later another couple bought a different one. A third one goes out tomorrow. I'm loving these jewels again. Until next time.

Edited by alfredauto
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got my dealer license last year in Virginia. It's hard. To do it legally, you have to have a lot and in Virginia Beach, lots zoned for used cars are premium property. You have to pass a formal dealer training class. Very heavily regulated by VA MVDB part of DMV. You will have to have a personal bond for the first three years. You will have to prove you have insurance coverage for your lot and inventory. The auction environment is brutal to newcomers and I have learned that there is a reason that every one of those cars is in the auction, you just haven't figured out what it is yet. Learned an interesting saying the other day - "the profit is in the buy." If you pay too much for the car it's very difficult to make it up by raising the retail price. If you don't have a lot of capital, it's hard to do the really profitable stuff like financing, especially buy-here-pay-here. If you dive in, join VIADA - great support group. If you have decent credit you can sign up with a floorplan company and use OPM - other people's money - to obtain inventory, but that cuts into profit. I use NextGear and it has been great for us. They do wholesale valuation for us, too. Average time on the lot for the best selling cars is around 49 days, for stinkers, much longer, so don't expect to turn over a lot of cars in a hurry. We have found 5-8k to be a good price range for starters. You will chew your fingernails when nobody buys a car for weeks and then suddenly you sell three Priuses in one weekend. I have bought cars back and done expensive repairs gratis after the sale just for good will, but the majority of sales go well. If you have an established repair shop, you will be the envy of other car dealers. Get with me via email if you have questions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be careful for doing goodwill repairs on vehicles after you sell them if they are as-is. I know in ohio the courts have looked at it as an "implied warranty".

 

Example you sell a 4x4 jeep to a customer and he has loud brakes. You clean up drums and noise goes away. No charge as he just bought it as-is two days ago, but you want a happy customer. Jim Bob takes his jeep wheeling a week later and tears the transmission up in a mud whole. He now expects you to replace the trans in his week old, as-is jeep and tries to use the implied warranty clause against you!

 

You would be surprised by the characters you meet when you start selling cars.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

It certainly is frustrating to hear "my muffler is rattling and now it has an oil leak...(10 months later) what are you going to do about it? It never should have passed inspection that way."

 

People fall in love with their new used car, once the romance is gone and they filled it up with cigarette butts and dorito bags and neglected the maintenance for 15,000 miles their new love looks the same as their old junker. With no money or credit to buy a new car they are angry. And it's all my fault. Because they are in the exact same spot they were in before they expected me to solve all of their problems. Then tax time hits again and we start all over.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

It's also an emotional roller coaster ride. Cash money tied up in cars is rusting in the parking lot and they might as well be invisible. Tire shine has worn off, a battery went dead so the monitors need to be rerun, another one the drum brakes locked up due to the humidity. Someone broke the door handle on another one. I hate these cars, all of them. I get an idea; I'm going to wholesale a car carrier full and dump these things. Messy divorce here we come. While I'm looking up the # for my auction guy someone comes in and plunks down the sticker price on one, ten minutes later another couple bought a different one. A third one goes out tomorrow. I'm loving these jewels again. Until next time.

 

I KNOW exactly what you mean, hahaha!

 

Srsly, though, I thought I was becoming bi-polar. Then after I discovered a pattern that consisten marketing help me cope with it.

 

Thanks for the post, you made my day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
  • Similar Topics

    • By Joe Marconi

      Premium Member Content 

      This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.

    • By Joe Marconi

      Premium Member Content 

      This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.

    • By carmcapriotto
      Recorded Live at MACS (Mobile Air Climate Systems) 2024 Training Event & Trade Show, Adam Kimmel discusses the refrigerant and thermal management industry. He highlights the significance of air conditioning technology in vehicles, the essential use of fluorine in refrigerants, and the evolution of refrigerants for environmental safety. Adam Kimmel, Koura, [email protected] Show Notes
      The importance of air conditioning (00:00:01) Discussing the significance of air conditioning in vehicles and homes and the commitment of industry professionals. Understanding fluorine in refrigerants (00:01:53) Evolution of refrigerants (00:05:16) Future challenges and developments (00:10:19) Regulations and alternatives (00:14:18) Safety and handling precautions (00:16:10) Engineer training and transparency (00:17:11) Understanding refrigerant nomenclature (00:19:47) Efficiency and GWP (00:25:38) Thanks to our Partners, AAPEX and NAPA TRACS Set your sights on Las Vegas in 2024. Mark your calendar now … November 5th-7th, 2024. AAPEX - Now more than ever. And don’t miss the next free AAPEX webinar. Register now at http://AAPEXSHOW.COM/WEBINAR NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Connect with the Podcast: -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Join Our Private Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976 -Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Visit the Website: https://remarkableresults.biz/ -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections            
      Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
    • By carmcapriotto
      In this episode, Hunt sits down with Jay Huh, a down-to-earth auto repair shop owner from North Carolina who's also a skilled public speaker, coach at Shop Fix, and even a pilot. Jay spills the beans on how he landed a speaking gig at the VISION Hi-Tech Training Expo with just a month's notice and why he's all in on making the auto repair industry better for everyone. His real talk and practical advice are not just about fixing cars but fixing the business side of things too.
      Here's a quick rundown of what Jay shares:
      • Passion Over Profit: Jay opens up about his journey from the brink of personal and professional disaster to finding his purpose in the auto repair world. He's all about giving back, stressing that making a profit shouldn't be a taboo topic.
      • Work-Life Balance: He dives into how he restructured his business to not only be more profitable but to also have time for what matters most — family. Jay is proof that you can have your cake and eat it too, running a successful shop without sacrificing every waking moment at work.
      • Financial Savviness: With a straightforward chat about managing finances, from rebate checks to navigating economic uncertainty, Jay offers his two cents on keeping your shop afloat and thriving, no matter what the market throws at you.
      Thanks to our partners, NAPA TRACS and Promotive
      Did you know that NAPA TRACS has onsite training plus six days a week support?
      It all starts when a local representative meets with you to learn about your business and how you run it.  After all, it's your shop, so it's your choice.
      Let us prove to you that Tracs is the single best shop management system in the business.  Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at NAPATRACS.com
      It’s time to hire a superstar for your business; what a grind you have in front of you. Great news, you don’t have to go it alone. Introducing Promotive, a full-service staffing solution for your shop. Promotive has over 40 years of recruiting and automotive experience. If you need qualified technicians and service advisors and want to offload the heavy lifting, visit www.gopromotive.com.
       
      Paar Melis and Associates – Accountants Specializing in Automotive Repair
      Visit us Online: www.paarmelis.com
      Email Hunt: [email protected]
      Get a copy of my Book: Download Here
      Aftermarket Radio Network
       
      Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
    • By carmcapriotto
      Thank you to RepairPal for sponsoring The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast. Learn more about RepairPal at https://repairpal.com/shops
      Kim’s Tips:
      Go with a plan - know who you want to meet. Pre-schedule these meetings.  Promote that you are there!  Use the event/conference app!  Schedule your post-conference debriefing meeting. Create a post-conference action plan See our Conference Planning Checklist!  
      Brian’s Tips
       
      1 - Register early and be strategic about the classes you take - stay at the hotel 2 - Establish a bedtime with a no-excuses policy 3 - Choose your team’s classes and make them teach it when they get back 4 - Visit the vendors - know/like/trust them - they subsidize your attendance 5 - Come with Friends  
      How To Get In Touch
       
      Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind
      Website - shopmarketingpros.com 
      Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros 
      Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book
      Instagram - @shopmarketingpros 
      Questions/Ideas - [email protected]
      Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio


  • Our Sponsors

×
×
  • Create New...