Has anyone ever tried? I found a potential candidate, but wondering if anyone has tried, and if its even worth my time?

 

Yes I`ve bought and sold afew but only occasionally was it ever for any real, quick profit.
What is your potential candidate, we need lots of details to be helpful?

 

It's a '94 F-150. I don't have a whole lot of details yet because I'm having trouble getting ahold of the seller, which I realize is a potential red flag right there. But here's what I do know. It's a 5L, auto, ext. cab 4x4 truck. Ad says the rear end is gone (no more details than that, presume its blown up, but I guess could be missing entirely!) but everything else works. The seller wants $800. I emailed the poster of the ad, and they said it was her sisters truck, so I potentially it hasn't been treated too badly.

Naturally, I want to know things like mileage, body condition, trim level, options, etc. but haven't had a chance to speak to the owner yet.

There's a few things that scare me away though. First off I can't get ahold of the seller. Second, the ad says its in Souris, MB but the phone number listed is a Rossburn, MB number. To put that into picture, Souris is 25 mins SW of Brandon, Rossburn is about 90 mins NW (I'm guessing really, I've never been there) That could mean nothing, but still makes me raise an eyebrow. Third, and I tread lightly with this one and am not trying to be racist at all, but if the truck is in Rossburn, the town is less than 5 miles from Waywaysecappo Indian Reservation. Also, if it is in Rossburn, that's about 120 miles from dad's farm where I would be working on it, versus about 30 if its in Souris.

All that being said, I still see a potential to make a profit, of course depending on condition. I think my primary concern should be body condition, then powertrain condition, then safety issues. Brakes, shocks, etc. are all easier and cheaper fixes than rust or a transmission problem. But those would be deal breakers anyway.

And you just never know, it could be a real diamond in the rough, and turn into a keeper. Not that I'm holding my breath for that to happen though!

 

are you looking at buying a local vehicle and selling it locally? that's sometimes hard to do depending on your market. I've been watching the US stuff for some bikes and atv's to bring back and turn a profit, but you have to know your pricing both for buying and selling. good luck, but be prepared to own the vehicle for a while. Don't borrow money to make money is a good rule of thumb I like to use.

on edit, i see you're looking at a semi local truck...

 

So just got ahold of the seller, and it's a no go. The truck has over 300,000km. He said the powertrain is just under 200,000km. And its not a very desirable truck, as its a XL longbox. All that being said, it could likely be parted out for a profit, but that takes a long time. It was his son's truck when the rear end blew up, and the reason they're selling is because the son went north for work and is buying a new truck when he comes back south. So I'm gonna pass on this one and maybe keep my eye open for something else. Or I could just fix the trans in my one Ranger and sell it.

 

I have bought and sold alot of vehicles for a profit, and there is always good money to be made. ALWAYS.

The catch, you have to get the good deal off the bat, being the right place at the right time, not be brand loyal and buy up whatever is a good deal.

Over the past 5 years I have profited just about 50,000 dollars, tax free cash, from buying and selling vehicles.

I love the 94ish style f150's but they are getting to be too old of a truck to make any real profit off of.

 

Just like Preppy said and you have to be real patient and you have to know your stuff but there is lots of good deals out there. I got my 1950 for peanuts by trading a chevy pickup that I got real cheap at an auction. You don't always make alot of money but even a small profit is good if it doesn't take much effort.

 

for buying and selling cars the things to look for are:

runs rough: usually fixed by timing or electrical (alt,coil etc)
needs tranny/rear: usually run about $75 at a remove yourself wrecker
those are the kind i look for

I try to focus on selling them to highschool/university students as they usually arent too bright when it comes to cars and most of them arent looking for a sports car so a couple hundred dollar beater that runs ok is a quick seller. Also remember that if you sell over 20 vehicles a year you are required by law to have a dealers liscence otherwise revenue Canada hits you really hard

buy low and sell high, i take the purchase price + parts + $35hr my time +15-20% and cash only