Everybody’s seen the show Pimp My Ride. It was a car flipping show hosted by rapper Xzibit in the early to mid 2000s. The premise of the show was to find people with raggedy, run down cars, and flip them into luxurious driving machines. Luckily, you don’t have to wait on the rapper to come find you in order to give your car a facelift…you can do it yourself.
You may have a classic car that has been sitting in your backyard for quite some time, all because it “quit” working. A lot of times, when our cars give out on us, we say we don’t want to invest anymore money into it because it’s so old. Well, investing in your piece of junk car could actually turn it into a nice treasure for you, if you go about it the right way.
Your classic car might not be worth investing in as a form of immediate transportation, and you might make out better just getting a new car, because car maintenance can get very expensive. The cost to repair that car could cost thousands of dollars, and it might be hard to come up with that amount of money when you actually need the car for daily use.
On the flip side, your classic is perfect for flipping. The cool thing about flipping your classic is that it’s something you can take your time with. Since you won’t be needing it for daily use, you can make repairs at your own pace. As noted earlier, maintenance and repairs on your car can get pricey, but in the process of flipping, you can acquire the funds needed as quickly or as steadily as you need.
So, don’t give up on your classic just yet. Before you make the decision to haul your “oldie but goodie” off to a scrap yard, try saving it by considering these key aspects to flip your classic car.
Establish Your Project
Your project is the actual vehicle you’re going to work on. This would usually be where you look around at different vehicles to see which ones will bring you the most profit after being flipped, and in this business, certain cars are just more appealing to buyers, and have a better chance selling, than others. In this case, your project would be the vehicle that’s been sitting in your backyard. Let’s say that it’s a 1939 Ford Pickup.
Solidify Your Benchmark
This is the point of your flipping journey where you have to do some comparisons. Since you have a 1939 Ford Pickup, you’ll want to look up other vehicles of the same make and model that have been restored, and compare the seller’s price to the actual labor performed on the vehicle.
Doing this type of research will allow you to have a good idea as to what you may possibly be spending in restoration costs, and see whether or not you will be able to make a profit or not. If you will make a profit, you’ll be able to get a good estimate as to how much of a profit you could potentially make.
You don’t want to sell yourself short with all the work you’d be putting into your project, but you also don’t want to price it so high that buyers will immediately turn their nose up after seeing the price tag
Check Your Car’s Condition
Checking your car’s condition is very important, because the amount of work you have to put in your car will have a huge impact on the kind of profit you will make. You will need to make considerations on if it’s even worth saving, what works and what doesn’t, and how good the interior and exterior looks. This is where you’ll find out exactly what it will take to get your classic ready to sale.
For you, let’s say your 1939 Ford Pickup needs a new engine and transmission, but the exterior and interior are in decent condition, it may just need some cleaning and updating. If you are not handy with cars, then you’ll want to get an estimate from a few mechanics on the costs and labor for the engine and transmission.
To update the interior and exterior, you’ll want to talk to an upholstery shop and body shop. Big or small, these updates can immensely increase your car’s value.
With your classic being at it’s prime in 1939, it didn’t have all the new and advanced features then, as cars do now. So, while you’re doing your research at the different of car shops, you should look at what it would cost to make a few technological advancements to your classic.
Flip Your Car
Now you’re at the point where you can go on and flip your car. You’ve established your project, you’ve made your comparisons, and checked the prices for all repairs and cosmetic fixes, and now you’re ready to flip.
This is also the point where you can decide on whether or not you’re on a time crunch to get it flipped, or if this will be a flip where you take your time with it, but either way, you have all your ducks in a row and can begin the flipping process.
The flipping process can definitely be tedious. Once you completely flip your vehicle and sell it, you will feel so accomplished. Seasoned car flippers say that it’s addicting, and once you flip your first car and profit from it, you’ll want to keep flipping. If you get the car flipping fever, then why not blog about your flipping expertise, and help out your fellow auto enthusiasts?
You’ll be able to tell followers about your experiences, what made you start flipping, and give a step by step guide as to what you need to do to get started. You can even post videos of yourself going to different body shops, asking questions, and you will definitely want to post before and after pictures of your car.
Creating a blog about car restoration can definitely put your followers, and potential car flippers, at ease, knowing that they have a trusted site giving them expert advice on how to get started.
