Any car dealers on here?

[alfredauto]

Long story short I was allowing people to display cars for sale on my lot as a courtesy and occasionally I would sell one of my own that I had owned for years (so they were a loss no matter what), the combination of cars displayed put me solidly in "Retail Dealer" territory so I became one at the suggestion of my DMV guy. So now that I'm a legitimate car dealer with dealer plates, insurance, paperwork, and auction access I'm not having too good luck making money off that segment of my business. I could use some help in this department otherwise I'm going to cease selling cars after my licence expires. Here's the problems I'm encountering:

 

1. Cars at the auction sell for more than I anticipated and cost me at least 1 day of work.

2. Craigslist buying takes up infinite time on the weekend.

3. All the cars have some kind of hidden problem.

4. Customers want to get a perfect 4 year old lease car with 40,000 miles for $5,000, and ironically

5. Customers want a 200k mile $500 car with no problems

6. Reconditioning used cars to a safe and reliable condition without any used car sleaziness removes all the profit plus some of my own money if I want to sell it the way I would want to put my wife and kids in it.

7. "Green light", "Front-line ready", and "Just Serviced" are all lies at the auction.

8. Selling a vehicle and actually getting the money takes way longer and is much more difficult than I anticipated.

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I know there's a learning curve I just need some help with it. Here are a few questions:

 

What cars sell the best on your lot? (miles, price, condition, age?)

What is a reasonable time frame to sell a vehicle?

What is a reasonable net profit to make on a vehicle?

How long do you wait before wholesaling a dud or taking a loss?

How do you determine the price of a car you are buying and expect to sell it for?

How many cars a month do you need to sell to remain profitable?

How do you advertise a constantly changing inventory like cars on the lot?

 

I'm in NY so all cars must be inspected. Thanks for the help. At the rate I'm going I might as well go to the casino, I might have better results. The only benefit so far is it keeps the mechanics busy during down time and I get lucky occasionally with a car that needs very little and sells quickly. Luck is not a viable business plan.

 

Note: the irony is I can't let people sell their beaters on my lot anymore because I have to "consign" them as a dealer. ugh.

 

I have been using Manheims MMR as a buying guide and KBB clean retail as a selling guide.

Edited July 20, 2014 by alfredauto