How to Flip a Car Autohacker Way. Car Flipping made easy.
Last edit: February 06 2024 • 628 view
Andrew “Autohacker” Ivanov here. Today, I’m sharing my step-by-step instructions on what I do when I buy a car to flip.
Let’s take a look at the 2017 Dodge Charger R/T 392 that caught my attention at a salvage auto auction. We’ll go over my 6-step Autohacker Virtual Inspection to see whether it’s a good car to buy and I will also share my extra step I always use before I buy to flip. Let’s go!
Step 1: Check Seller [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
I buy seller and I only buy insurance owned cars. I avoid dealers. This car belongs to an insurance company. It’s good. Green light. Insurance companies do not hide any issues; they are at auctions to sell the car as quickly as possible to get their money back.
Step 2: Check Damages [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
This vehicle shows normal wear as primary damage, but the seller is an insurance company. How did it end up at a salvage auto auction then?
I ran a VIN.DOCTOR report and found out that the car was a theft recovery vehicle, which is now inactive. The insurance company recovered the car and is now selling it at auction. Theft recovery is one of my favorites. I’ve flipped many cars with this type of history, and most of them are used cars with little to no damage.
Step 3: Check Documents [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
This car has a clean title from Arkansas. Although you can see that CARS4.BID marks clean titles as orange, why is this so?
It’s because some states can sell salvage cars with clean titles. However, when you move the car to a different state, the DMV will see the salvage disposition and will issue a new salvage certificate. I’ve seen this happen many times. How can you check if it’s truly a clean title? Check VIN.DOCTOR report. If it has any salvage disposition under “Junk / salvage / insurance records“, then it will be considered salvaged. I don’t see any salvage disposition, so most likely the clean title will remain clean, which is excellent.
Step 4: Check Location [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
The car is located in Alabama, so moving it to Miami (my place) would cost $675. I calculated this within seconds via the CARS4.BID platform. $675 is not bad, but it’s important to check the price before bidding. I’ve seen customers buy cars first, only to find out that the car is in Hawaii or a very remote location, and it would cost thousands of dollars to move it.
Step 5: Know the Final Price [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
First, check the retail price information provided from the auction. I see $33,680:
Let’s verify it. Go to your favorite marketplace and check the current price for the same vehicle. When I say the same, I mean year, make, model, mileage, and trim. I will check cars.com for a 2017 Dodge Charger with SRT 392 trim and under 80,000 miles.
I found out that the price for a used one ranges from $32K to $36K, so yes, the $33K price is about right.
Second, go to autoastat.com and search for a 2017 Dodge Charger SRT 392 with no damages and theft damage for the last 3 months. I see that there were 10 vehicles sold ranging from $10,000 to $19,725. The average price is $14,559.
Theft recovery vehicles are worth about 50% of their retail value. Given that the title is clean, it can go all the way to 70%. Having that in mind, the final price for the car I would estimate to be between $16,500 to $23,000 with auction fees included.
How much should I bid?! Now I need to examine the details of the car, which will be the final verdict in what to pay.
Step 6: Details [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
The devil is in the details! Let’s examine the car virtually in more detail. This step is extremely important, as it can justify the final price.
Wrap/Mods
As you can see, the car is wrapped. The first question you will receive when selling it is – what color is it behind the wrap and what is the condition of the paint. The best place to look for the original color is under the hood and door jambs. Under the hood, I see a red color:
but the door jambs are blue:
What’s going on here?!
I am confused. How can I verify the original color? There are two ways! First is via the window sticker. If the car is Chrysler/Fiat/Dodge/Hyundai you can go to autoastat.com and search for the VIN. Window stickers are free, all you need to do is subscribe to the personal plan.
If it is any other brand you can order Monroney label.
Window sticker revealed a nicely specced car with Alcantara seats, Beats Audio, a Technology package, and a power sunroof. The original price was $47,965 and the original color is noted as ‘Octane Red Exterior Paint’, so it is RED or Maroon. What I see under the hood is correct.
Then what’s up with the blue paint?!
I have no idea. But let’s keep looking for more details.
CarFax
I always get CarFax report to see how well it was maintained and for some additional info. You can get CarFax via VIN.DOCTOR as well, once you’ve registered with them.
A few things caught my attention in the report.
First, it was well maintained. Second, there was minor front-end damage in 2022:
This is not horrible, but it’s something to be aware of, as potential buyers will ask you about it and it will lower the value of the car. Third, the car was stolen on February 10th, 2023 and recovered around the end of September 2023, when the insurance company got the title for it.
My thoughts: whoever stole it decided to change the color. They sprayed the whole car blue, thus ruining it. You could tell it was sprayed over, as metal pieces are painted blue as well. They did not care at all! :(((
They figured out that they ruined the car and they decided to go BIG on it and added mods: wrapped the car, modded the engine, added cool-looking rims.
Wheels
By the way, what about these wheels? Can I find the price of them?! Sure. I use Google Lens:
Upload a picture of the wheel and Google will do the rest. It is extremely helpful tip.
It took me a bit of time to find the exact match, but I found the brand. It’s called Rucci Forged. I googled the prices and these rims are around $6,000 per set. Wow!
Final Price Verdict
The car paint is destroyed under the wrap. This is negative! It might have also been driven extremely hard in the months following the theft, potentially causing engine/transmission damage. You see it is in Sport setting:
I am telling you that Devil is in Details! I love exploring every inch of the photos.
Definitely, this car isn’t worth the retail price of $33,000, but realistically, it could be sold AS IS for around $23,500-$25,000. Thus, I’d say a safe bet for the final bid for this car would be around $15,000 + auction fees.
Step 7: Car Flip Test [Autohacker’s Car Flipping]
Before I buy a car I always do a simple, yet effective test! I want to see user reactions on the Facebook marketplace. To do so, I’ve created a free ad on Facebook marketplace, added photos from the auction, and gave it an hour to see if it generates any interest. It received 250 views in my area without any boost or publishing in any groups. It got 8 message requests about the car. I posted it at $21,500.
In one hour I generated lots of views and messages, this proves the point that I could easily sell it within a week, or post it for a higher price, drive it, and eventually sell it closer to $25,000.
Final
The car sold for $14,800! I was right about the price. Total price with all fees and delivery to Miami was $17,500. I would need to clean it, detail it, register it. All in around $19,500. I will advertise it for $25,500 on multiple marketplaces, while driving and enjoying it. This is the great way to enjoy a car for a few month and still make $5,000 profit.
Free Car Flipping Training from Andrew “Autohacker” Ivanov
If you are interested in starting a car flipping as a side hustle I’ve prepared free video training that shows where to buy and what to look for. This is free with no commitment at all.
Check it out here.
Thank you for your time and attention!
Yours truly,
Andrew “Autohacker” Ivanov
