In the first part of this short series on how to make money buying and selling used cars, we looked at what personal traits someone wishing to be profitable in this business would have to have. In the second section we looked at the best places to locate such a business and in this section, we will look into sourcing our stock – our vehicles.
So, where can you get second-hand vehicles from? You will probably get people coming in off the street attempting to sell you their cars or trucks. That is usually a good supply of stock, if you carry out the essential checks to make sure that they are not stolen, but this source will dry up from time to time – particularly in the summer.
Other sources to obtain stock are private auction houses, bankruptcies, bereavements and government auctions, where cars or trucks are often very heavily discounted.
At private auctions, anybody can bid for the lots that go under the hammer. Sometimes there is a minimum selling price, sometimes there is not, but the vendor must pay to enter his car in the auction anyway, which means that he has a vested concern in selling it to recoup this cost. If a car does not reach the minimum bid, try talking to the seller privately, you might pick up a genuine bargain.
If you are unaware of local car auctions where you live, try looking in the local paper under “Up And Coming Events” or in the Yellow Pages under “Actions” or “Car Auctions” or go on line and make the same inquiry including your region.
Government auctions are fantastic places to buy stock of any type, including cars or trucks and machinery. These goods are typically either government surplus (new and used) or assets seized from the public. In The USA, it is best to register your interest in the auction catalogues of the two main governments agencies: the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration (GSA). Other countries have similar bodies, which your local authorities can help you to get in contact with.
These government agencies auction off tens of thousands of vehicles or every conceivable description every year in the USA. Cars and other vehicles form a large slice of these auctions in monetary value – you would honestly find it hard to comprehend how many cars or trucks the government owns in the name of the people, from limos to lawnmowers. They all have to be replaced on a regular basis according to a schedule and the old ones are sold off.
The unbelievable fact that works so well in the business person’s favour, is that the government is more engrossed in clearing out their sheds of all this gear to make room for more than it is in turning a profit on it. All you need to do is register with the Department of Defense and the GSA and they will send you their auction catalogues automatically. This way you will have time to inspect the goods before you bid.
The next part in this short series will discuss how you can determine the value of the items that are being sold off.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on a range of topics, but is now involved with remote car alarms. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Laser Temperature Gun.
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