You can view a vehicles smog history by going to AutoCheck®, and running a vehicle history report.

Unlicensed dealers pose as private parties and say their selling the car for a friend or relative. Unlicensed dealer are selling cars for profit by posing as a private party:

Most unlicensed dealers selling cars for profit are deceitful, and if there are problems with the car after the purchase they hide, and ignore phone calls.

If a licensed dealer does a retail transaction, they have to register the vehicle in the new owner's name. Unlicensed dealers never buy from dealers because they don't want to pay sales tax, nor have the vehicle registered in their name. They want to be able to pass the title onto the next buyer, which is registered in the previous owners name. This way, there will be no record of the unlicensed dealer in the transaction. They also know that licensed dealers are selling cars for profit too so they don't think they'll get a good deal.

Why it's sometimes easier for a licensed dealer to sell a car

L.A. police impound auctions where unlicensed dealers buy cars

I myself buy cars from private parties if I see something that’s a good deal.

There are plenty of advantages to buying cars on craigslist, and cars.com for resell. You can get excellent deals! A lot of the time you can get cars cheaper than what dealers pay for them. Like anything there are also disadvantages like:

It's safer to buy a car privately than from a public auto auction if the vehicle at the auction doesn't come with a guarantee. If you buy privately you can do a much more thorough inspection of the car. You can test drive it, take it to a mechanic, etc. You can't test drive cars at public auto auctions. This is dangerous because the car can have a ton of problems you wouldn't be aware of without driving it first.


I mostly go to dealer auctions because their are tons of cars to choose from at great prices

Unlicensed dealers who are selling cars for profit sometimes make more money than small dealers because they pay no taxes, and have no overhead. It's not honest money though, and a lot of times there's lying and deception involved. People who sell on the street don't say they're dealers. They make something up.

If you're curbing cars in California now watch out!

BILL NO: AB 2042 is a new bill that has recently passed which allows an officer to remove a vehicle when a peace officer has issued a citation for acting as a vehicle dealer, manufacturer, distributor, or transporter without a license or temporary permit. If you're showing cars on the street with "For Sale" signs in them you could get busted. This bill happened mainly because a bunch of people were complaining. On some city streets around where I work there will be a whole row of cars with "For Sale" signs in them. People who live in the area where getting upset because these cars were taking up all the parking in the area. These cars will sit there sometimes for weeks. The public had enough.

Unlicensed dealers curbing cars on the streets were selling cars with unpaid back fees, unpaid parking tickets, lack of appropriate smog certificates, or other similar issues. unlicensed dealer activity conducted on public streets is a constant source of complaints to law enforcement agencies. They assert that unlicensed dealers frequently sell stolen vehicles, salvage vehicles that lack functional airbags, vehicles that cannot pass smog check, and vehicles that lack required safety equipment. Unsuspecting citizens buy these cars and do not find out that there are problems until they go to register the vehicle with DMV.

You'll sink if you don't make connections

How not to waste time on the phone with a potential buyer

Capitol One Auto Finance

You don't have to be a dealer to set someone up with financing. Things are much easier now. You can got straight to the capitol one website, and fill out a quick application. Capitol one sets up loans whether you're buying from a dealer or a private party. They respond to you quickly, and send you a blank check in the mail. No hidden fees, no scamming, nothing. It's the fastest most convenient way to get financed when purchasing a new or used vehicle. They also have low interest rates. I handle most of my financing this way. My customers fill out their application online in my office. We get a response within fifteen minutes on business days. You'll be able to sell out a lot more cars, and won't have to turn down potential buyers by turning this on to your customers.

Apply online for a low rate Blank Check^® auto loan from Capital One Auto Finance

Finding you niche

selling cars privately for profit

O. K. you've been selling cars for profit for a little while now, and may begin to notice some patterns. Look around the neighborhood. What are people driving? Do you notice people driving certain types of vehicles in your neighborhood more so then in other areas? Have you sold a car to another dealer who says call me if you get some more of these in? What you'll begin to do is develop a niche. Certain cars you'll be successful with, and others not. You'll develop this overtime. When I see certain vehicles, I know that I have a list of people who would be interested. I could sell it cheap to them to get rid of it quick, and make a small profit, or I can hold on to it, and try to get more. It all depends in how much confidence I have in the particular car. If I have something really clean that I'm confident in, I'll hold on to it, and won't sell untill I get top dollar for it. I have some colleagues who are selling cars for profit cars too, and they ship them down to Mexico. I know there fond of Volkswagen Jettas, and Golf's. I can call, and sell them the car for a quick profit of around $400. My other choice is to hold on to it, and sell it to the public where I'll probably receive double the profit. Usually it depends on my financial situation at the time. I have a colleague who is selling cars for profit just buying Mazda Miatas in bulk. He sends them in packages to a man who strips them, removes the engine, and makes them high performance racing cars. He recently sent out eight of them, and made around $300 on top of each one. May not sound like much but multiply $300 times 8 gives us $2400. Not a bad profit huh? I know I do well with European, and Japanese cars. I wouldn't know what to do with a Cadillac? However, I have some colleagues who do well with them because they draw demand where their selling them. You can pretty much never go wrong with Japanese vehicle's primarily Hondas, and Toyotas. Acura's are good too. Their reliable vehicles, have great fuel economy, the parts are cheap, and most mechanics work on them. At many auctions I have the opportunity to get domestic cars really cheap like Fords, Buick's, Pontiacs, etc. I don't buy them because I know they'll just sit. Domestic vehicles aren't popular in my area. With experience you'll begin to find which type of car you can sell quick, and make a good profit.

Weekly list of police impound auto autions / lien sales in Los Angeles

Consignment

selling cars for profit
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