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How to Make Money Buying and Selling Used Cars
Today, with the average consumer now spending up to $16,400 for a new car, consumers realize the importance on investing in lower priced used cars. With millions of buyers entering the used vehicle market every year, a wealth of opportunities exist for anyone looking for extra income, or a new and lucrative full-time career. They key to making a lot of money in this business is to buy low, and sell at a huge profit. This report will show you how to get started down the road to riches as a used car dealers. Operating yur own used car business The goal of many people is just to make a little extra income. If you consider $1,000 to $3,000 or more for a single sale in one month to be "extra income" you could easily make that in your spare time without much effort. On the other hand, you may be one of those people who want to be their own boss. While it's true that the risks are often greater than if you just worked for someone else, it's just as true that risks and rewards go hand in hand. If you're willing to take the plunge, the potential returns are also greater. If you have a bit of the adventuresome spirit and some confidence in your own skills and abilties, operating your own used car business may be the ideal way for you to make big, big money! Advantages of owning your own business The opportunity to express your own ideas and do things exactly as you want is among the primary advantages of operating your own business. The challenge and excitement of running your own operation also ranks high on the list. Another big advantage is that you will receive all the profits generated by your time and efforts. The potential exists to develop a part-time business into a full-time career that produces an income you never thought possible. Skills and abilities needed The same type of personal skills that are necessary to successfully work for someone else are also required to be successful in working for yourself. Personal skills involve being conscientious, dedicated, determined and persistent. Good human relation skills are also important. There is also another type of skill that is necessary: It involves the ability to manage and organize your activities and possibly those of others if you hire salespeople to work for you. This skill should be taken very seriously because it organizational ability that can make the difference between huge success and total failure. Finally, you will need technical skills. These are the skills that include the knowledge to perform activities invloved in the used car business. It is this combination of technical, personal and management skills that will make your operation successful. Getting your used car business established Whether you are operating your business on a part-time or full-time basis, people will expect you to provide the type of service any consumer expects. They will also associate the type of service they can expect with the image you create for your business. This image will be the impression you make on others. For example: Will people perceive you as handling high-medium,or low-priced vehicles? Will your used cars appeal mostly to the rich, the poor, or the middle class? Do you sell something for everyone or do you specialize? (Just pick-ups, just vans, etc.) Any positive image is fine as long as you are consistent in everything yu do within the scope of that image. The image you create will largely set the tone for all your business activities, including selection of a business location, types of vehicles handled, prices charged, etc. Selecting a location If you are going to buy one or two cars at a time for resale on a part-time basis, then working right from your home shouldn't pose a problem for you. However, if you intend to eventually have a large, full-time business operation, the most important ingredient in your success or failure could be your location. What constitutes a good location varies with the type of business. But in the used car business it means being highly visible in a high traffic area, and being situated so that driving customers can get to you. In many cases, the location yo consider ideal may not be available, or if it is, the cost may not be practical. In that event, you will simply have to select the next best location you can find and that is affordable. Then you will have to male a strong advertising and promotion work to make customers aware of who you are, and what you are selling, and where they can find you. Whether you select a location at your home or in a business district, you must make certain you are operating within city and county zoning ordinaces. Zoning ordinances are regulations specifying what each parcel of land within a community can be used for. In the location you decide on is not zoned for the type of business you want to start, yo can appeal to the zoning commission to obtain a "zoning variance." If approved, you would be allowed to use the property for your business. How to locate used car supplies To get started in the "Buy low, Sell for Huge Profits" used car business, you will have to locate suppliers. In some cases you will be able to buy directly from individual car owners. At other times, you will go to independent auction houses or attend U.S. Government Auction Sales where you can often purchase vehicles for pennies on the dollar. An independent auction houses vehicles owners who have auctioneers sell their vehicle by getting buyers who are at the auction house to bid against one another. Generally, there is a minimum bid set. The person who offers the highest bid over the minimum set has the winning bid. The seller, however, also has the right to sell the vehicle below the minimum bid if he chooses. Incredible bargains can be found at independent auction houses. Independent auction house sales take place throughout the U.S.A., many on a weekly schedule. For additional information on auction house locations refer to your telephone directory under "Auctions" or "Car Auctions," write to: National Auto Research P.O. Box 758 Gainsville, GA 30503 (404) 532-4111 (800) 554-1026 (Except Georgia) N.A.D.A. Used Car Guide Co. 8400 Westpark Drive McLean, VA 22102-9985 (703) 821-7193 (800) 544-6232 (800) 523-3110 (in Virginia) U.S. Government Auctions A wide variety of personal property either no longer needed, or seized by the Federal Government is periodically placed on public sale. The Department of Defense and the General Services Administration are the principle government sales outlets for surplus property. As items become available for public sale. catalogs and other types of announcements are distributed to people who have expressed an interest in bidding on the types of property being offered. Sales generally are on a competitive bid basis, with the property being sold to the highest bidder. Among the many thousands of items sold are automobiles and other vehicles of every imaginable make and model. In fact, tens of thousands of vehicles are sold by the government at public auctions throughout the country every year. How can there be so many vehicles for sale? Because the government is so huge that it's difficult to even comprehend just how much property is amassed for resale. In fact, the government seizes, confiscates and forecloses on property that results in many millions of pieces of property every year, and that number continues to grow. Incredibly, the government isn't a private business that is interested in making a profit on the items it sells. The government is mostly interested in eliminating enormous stockpiles of seized and surplus vehicles and other properties. As a result, many thousands of vehicles are offered to the public through government auctions at a fraction of their actual value. This is where you can buy just about any modelof vehicle you want at super-huge savings and make gigantic resale profits. How to Get on the Government's Vehicle Auction Mailing List Both the Government Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense maintain mailing lists on persons interested in seized and surplus property sales. People on these lists are sent catalogs and other sales annoucements in advance of sales and give the opportunity to inspect the vehicles and submit bids. Each GSA regional office maintains a mailing list for sales of property located in the geographical area it serves. For generl information about sales conducted by GSA, or to be placed on the mailing list, write to any of the follwig addresses. The Department of Defense maintains a centralized mailing list for the sales of its property located in the United States. The Defense Surplus Bidders Control Office, Defense Logisitics Service Center, Battle Creek, Michigan 49016 maintains this list. GSA Customer Service Bureaus National Capital region GSA Customer Service Bureau 7th and D Streets, SW Washington, DC 20407 Serves: District of Columbia, nearby Maryland, Virginia. Region 1 GSA Customer Service Bureau Post Office & Courthouse Boston, MA 02109 Serves: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, RHode Island, Vermont. Region 2 GSA Customer Service Bureau 26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 10278 Serves: Ne Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands Region 3 GSA Customer Service Bureau Ninth and Markt Streets Philadelhia, PA 19107 Serves: Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virgina, West Virginia Region 4 GSA Customer Service Bureau 75 Spring St., SW Atlanta, GA 30303 Serves: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee Region 5 GSA Customer Service Bureau 230 S. Dearborn St. Chicago, IL 60604 Serves: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin Region 6 GSA Customer Service Bureau 1500 E. Bannister Road Kansas City, MO 64131 Serves: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska Region 7 GSA Customer Service Bureau 819 Taylor Street Forth Worth, TX 76102 Serves: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas Region 8 GSA Customer Service Bureau Bldg. 42-Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Serves: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming Region 9 GSA Customer Service Bureau 525 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94105 Serves: Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada Region 10 GSA Customer Services Bureau Auburn, WA 98002 Serves: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington How to Determine the Value of Used Vehicles Whether you attend and auction or purchase a vehicle outright from a seller, you must know what it is worth. The best way to determine a vehicle's average market- trade-in or wholesale value, average loan or average retail value is to subscribe to N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide, published monthly by the National Automobile Dealer's Used Car Guide Co., 8400 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102-9985. Write for current subscription rates. N.A.D.A. also publishes guides as follows: Official Older Used Car Guide ... Official Used Car Trade-In Guide ... Official Title & Registration Book ... Official Recreation Vehicle Guide ... Official Motorcycle/Snowmobile/ATV Personal Watercraft Appraisal Guide ... Smaller Boat Appraisal Guide ... Official Larger Boat Appraisal Guide ... Official Mobile Home Appraisal Guide and Mobile Home Appraisal System. A weekly used car market guide is also available from: National Auto Research, P.O. Box 758, Gainsville, GA 30503. Write for current subscription rates. Regional Classifications The average values listed in the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide are based upon reports of actual transactions by dealers and auction houses throughout each area for which a guide is published. A used car guide-book normally includes (1) Domestic Cars (2) Imported Cars and (3) Trucks. Manufacturer's names are listed alphabetically. Securing Licenses and Permits City, county, state and/or federal licenses or permits are often required before entering a particular business or service operation. Often these are issued solely as a fund-raising measure, and therefore, are easy to obtain by submitting a fee. On the other hand, licensing is also used as a method of regulating the competency of those entering a particular field and to protect the public from shady operators. In some cases an exam is administered, and moral and financial requirements may need to be met as well. In the used-car business, most states require that you obtain a dealer's license if you are buying and selling vehicles for the purpose of making a profit. However, you are not required to apply for a license if you only make an isolated or occasional sale. You are not considered to be in the business of selling motor vehicles in that event. "Isolated or occasional sales" in many states means the sale, purchase, or lease of not more than five motor vehicles in a 12-month period. Once you began to sell more vehicles for profit that is allowed by your state law on an annual basis, you should apply for a Dealer's License by contacting your state department of public safety of department of motor vehicle. Check with your attorney or other city officials to determine what licences and permits are needed. Simply start up a business without having the proper authorizations can result in severe penalties, and you could be forced to discontinue operations. Many states and some cities and counties require that sales taxes be collected. The state sales tax permit is available from the State Department of Revenue. City and county permits are available fromthe tax department in those jurisdictions. Even though a certain amount of "red-tape" must be tolerated to obtain some licenses and permits, this is usually a one-time occurrence. Then, it's just a matter of submitting an annual renewal fee. |
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