Topic: Buying Cheap, Fixing Up and Selling for a Profit! Anyone do this??

[manjisann]

I've been watching the local ads (KSL.com) and every now and then I see bikes going for pretty low because the carbs need adjusting or some mystery electrical gremlin. Now I've been watching long enough to know that if they were working these bikes would go for 2 or 3 times the current asking price. Over the last year or so I've invested in a fair number of tools and gained a decent knowledge of how to work on them and since I enjoy working on them (nearly as much as riding, though the Wife and Mom say its the other way around  ) I was thinking of trying to buy low, fix and sell for a profit. In the state of Utah as long as I don't sell 3 or more vehicles a year I won't need a dealers license.

I am wondering if anyone here does this on any sort of regular basis and has any suggestions and or advice. I realize that it is all to easy to get soaked on a bike and never trust the PO because they either don't know or "forget" to mention something. I want to make money, and I realize that I will have to buy parts, but I figure if I can buy a bike for $300-$500 and sink maybe $100 in parts and turn around and sell it for $1000 to $1200 it would be worth it. I'm also interested in it from the educational standpoint.

Anyhow, enough of my ramblings, what do you think, suggest?

Brandon

[my78k]

My Bro has a part time biz doing exactly this. Trick is to be especially careful of what projects you take on. Also don't limit yourself to just bikes. He does lots of Skidoo's, Seadoos and 4 wheelers too. Having a biz license isn't necessarily bad...he gets all parts at discount from his suppliers thereby increasing profits. More important than your mechanical skills is having good negotiating skills. My brother has ancanny ability to talk people down and when selling usually gets close to what he is asking. In some cases he will already have a buyer lined up and will basically pick it up in the morning and drive straight to the guy he is selling it to without even having to take it out of his truck!!

He did this with his Dodge Dart...picked it up for 7500 after the guy was asking around 11000 drove it for the weekend while up at the cottage and then when he got it back to the city sold it for almost $12 grand....not bad for a weekend of just doing burnouts and playing!

Dennis

[manjisann]

He did this with his Dodge Dart...picked it up for 7500 after the guy was asking around 11000 drove it for the weekend while up at the cottage and then when he got it back to the city sold it for almost $12 grand....not bad for a weekend of just doing burnouts and playing!

  VERY NICE!

I just hate all the paperwork involved with business licenses, plus dealers have to comply with a ton of stuff. I suppose I could look into it if this takes off. I don't want it to be anything more than a "hobby" so to speak. Any idea what your brothers secret is for negotiating?

Thanks,

Brandon

[my78k]

I dunno really...basically just approach with a very cavalier attitude. He knows if he can't talk this guy down that in a day or 2 another or potentially better deal will come along.

Dennis

[manjisann]

He knows if he can't talk this guy down that in a day or 2 another or potentially better deal will come along.

That is something I've noticed, and hopefully since I'm not buying them for my herd it will be easier to walk away from a deal. It's been kinda humorous to watch people post a bike up saying "I want X dollars, FIRM" Then a week later see it for a hundred or so less.

Any chance that the Dodge Dart was Blue  ?

Thanks for the response, definately in the pro column.

Brandon

[my78k]

Nah it was red/orange....it is funny we have a place not too far from here that does a classic car night every Wednesday and he just rolled in with it and sold it that night for cash. He had my nephew follow him in with his Dune buggy to make sure he had a ride home since he knew it would sell quickly.

Dennis

[Grnrngr]

He knows if he can't talk this guy down that in a day or 2 another or potentially better deal will come along.

That's been my experience as well, and it works the other way too, if someone doesn't want to pay your asking price, usually someone else will, and you have to balance between holding out for the higher return and dropping your price to turn it over. It's a lot easier to hold out if your wife's not asking when the hell yer gonna get rid of that crap...   I'm a huge Craigslist fan, just got my '73 K2 for $350 from a guy that had it sitting against the side of the house for a couple yrs. Rt side piston and carb were frozen, but a little PB blaster and a bunch of help from my good friend Mike, and I'm riding now   8)HOWEVER...the guy had inherited it from his father, and no one did a VIN inspection when it was changed from Oregon to Washington title, and wouldn't you know, way back when dad bought it (late 70's?) the VIN numbers got screwed up.  The title has an XL250 VIN # to which Washington added the CB750K2 description.    Got Oregon trying to find the mixup now, but not all your problems will be mechanical....

[manjisann]

Got Oregon trying to find the mixup now, but not all your problems will be mechanical....

That is a very good point! My uncle is a UHP so he can always run a vin check for me if necissary, but the biggest hassle is getting the title. I called about it once and it can cost a fair amount and take well over 30 days and even then you might not get it. Anyone here in good ol Utah ever buy a bike without a title and then get the title? How hard was it? If I have to do that, it would just eat into my profits which is no bueno.

Most of the bikes I've looked at said they had the title in the listing, so that at least wouldn't be such an issue. Just gotta remember to check the title vin against the bike vin  .

Brandon

[Grnrngr]

Can't say about Utah, but Oregon (and CA, IIRC..) if it's just a lost title, you send a registered (or certified?) letter to the last registered owner with a lost title application, if they're still at that address, they fill it out and return it, if the registered letter comes back undeliverable, you take the unopened letter to DMV and that's your "owner's release", maybe an extra fee for a lost title application, but not much more than a regular title transfer. I'm not really sure what's gonna happen with mine yet since it's a total DMV screwup as opposed to just a lost title, the clerk said I may have to go back to the seller (who gave me a "legal" WA title) and have him write me a bill of sale for the 750 with the correct VIN and Oregon may just create a new title. Shouldn't be more money, just more hassle...

[Joe Mig]

In the state of Utah as long as I don't sell 3 or more vehicles a year I won't need a dealers license.

Anyhow, enough of my ramblings, what do you think, suggest?

Brandon

As far as the Three sales or more  I suggest when buying a bike have the seller fill out his part on the Registration or the Title and you do not fill it out .  Just leave it blank and in a safe place so the person you sell it to puts in his info and your name is not on anything.
  This is what I do from time to time.
Just remember you are buying a bike that does not run and you know how that could go.  Good luck !!

[Hush]

I've done this lots over the years, usually some workmate will offer me a bike his kid can't get going or has been sitting in a shed for a few years.
New battery, oil and filter change, new plugs plus some fiddling and cleaning and you ahve a saleable bike.
I bought my partners Suzuki GSX400L on trade-me for $300 as it had sat in a shed for 8 years, took me a whole 2 hours to get it running sweet as....but ah well she fell in love with it so it's a keeper.
I'd stick to smaller bikes, wouldn't go past twins unless it's a real steal.

[manjisann]

Just remember you are buying a bike that does not run and you know how that could go.  Good luck !!

Completely understood, I have a compression tester so that should be able to answer a few of the unknowns. If I get soaked on one, just do the best I can to recover and add it to the tuition to the school of hard knocks. I know a guy who and sells cars. He doesn't fixem up or anything, just knows what he's looking for. He once told me if you don't lose on at least one now and then, you are missing out on some of the great opportunities out there. That being said, I'll try and avoid that.

I'd stick to smaller bikes, wouldn't go past twins unless it's a real steal.

Around here at least I've noticed the higher displacement bikes sell for more (I'm sure I'm stating the obvious here.) I've seen a few that were selling for $500 or less that I really think a minimum investment and I could have sold them for easily double that, more if I'm willing to sit on it for a bit. Most of the time these bikes look like they just need some spit and polish and maybe a carb tune. Knock on wood, but carbs don't scare me much after having had the ones on my CB500 apart a half dozen times (took me a while to figure out what was going on  ) I saw one add for a 74 CB750 that just needed a tune up and a few other things. Dude was just asking $350 for it, REALLY REALLY wish I had had the money, cause the photo looked like it was in really good condition. I coulda easily sold it for $1500.

New battery, oil and filter change, new plugs plus some fiddling and cleaning and you ahve a saleable bike.

Funny how some people don't realize basic maintenance is all most these bikes need to run forever. Their loss, our gain 

Brandon

[Uncle Ernie]

The people who got rich during the gold rush sold shovels.
Work out of your garage or something and fix other people's bikes.  You can get caught up and lose money by trying to re-sell / turn bikes over. 

[Bodain]

Yea. I do this all the time.

Two weeks ago Sunday evening.. I give $150.00 for a 1972 CL100.
Doesn't run
Tires flat
Battery dead
No title
Dirty

So I spend 4 hours......

Flat tires. I put air in them. They hold.
Dead battery... It looks relatively new. Fluid is low. I fill it up with acid and charge. It's now good.
Dirty   A hose and degreaser...   Chrome polish...
NO TITLE... .Who cares.
Doesn't run......    The point plate is dangling. Fixed.
The throttle doesn't turn. Just disassemble and clean. now it does.
Quick cleanup of the carbs, clearing the jets...

Pour in gas. Start it up and ride around the block.   Sold the following Sunday for $550.00

In my area. Almost any pre 77 Honda CB 750 is ridiculously easy with with 200 to 300 percent margins when I find them at the right price. Getting harder to find, but 3 years ago I was buying these on a regular basis and just selling rusted none runners for huge profits.


1979  Honda CX 500     Paid $800.00

The bike was is very excellent shape... Had to buy a battery.
Cafe it.... Start tossing stock parts. Buy Clubmans, fabricate a cafe seat. hack , hack, weld weld.

Sold for $2800.00

70's CB 125's.... buy them for $100.00 to $400.00 depending on condition..
Hack hack bang bang weld.

Sold   $1600.00

If I find a really good original condition 70's CB 125. Then it's just a very detailed clean and polish. This includes complete disassembly of wheels to polish this inner hubs, then relace and true.

$1500.00 easy...

Just bought a 1976 CB 550. Incredible original condition with flawless original 4 into 4 pipes.
Paid $700.00

Throttle sticky... Fixed.
Carbs totally gunked...    Fixed..
Gas tank real nasty fixed.

The rest is detailed disassemby, cleaning and polishing. I expect thing will fetch about over $3000.00...  Yes it's that good!

If I could only get these kind of returns on my stock market investments......

Rule 1....

If the bike is excellent original condition. Don't hack it. It's worth more in original condition.

Rule 2....

If the engine is sound and the rest of the bike is rough. No problem. Cafe it. Putting Clubmans on anything and calling it a cafe instantly raises the value of the bike 4X..

Any older bike like a cruiser style. bob it. CUT AND HACK. Drop on flat bars, manufacture some struts to lower the rear. Toss the stock seat. Spend $40.00 on Ebay for a cheap springer seat. Get some flat black paint.

This CM 400 that I couldn't sell for anything. Bobbed it. Doubled the sell price. I had guys lined up trying to buy that thing.

Fact is many people looking to buy first bike are interested in a LOOK and don't care about anything else. Works for me! In my mind CLUBMANS are worthless. I hate them. Yet if the value of the bike goes 4x ... I'm there.

[pee wee]

uncle Ernie your right right i made nice money on old flhs that were selling for cheap.
and shovels run forever.
you gotta keep a eye on your expenses .

[manjisann]

you gotta keep a eye on your expenses .

Definately, I'll have to keep a spread sheet and such.

Bodain, muchas gracias on the info. I'd heard clubmans will increase the value of the bike, not sure the appeal but hey, cater to the market.

Brandon

[pknopp]

 My son wanted to ride my bike. He had never rode on the streets and I prefered he start on something a little less. I bought this 1975 CB360.
 
 
 
 I let him ride it around the neighborhood while I cleaned it up some. BTW, I paid $600 for it. He did well enough that I let him ride my bike and sold the CB360 for a total of $900. I didn't get rich (I made the tank stripes) but it served it's purpose and I made a few hundred dollars.
 
 
 
 I took the profit and bought these two.
 
 For my grandson.
 
 
 
 For me to play with.