Whole Life Insurance

In the first part of this mini series on how to make money buying and selling used cars, we looked at which personal traits someone wanting to be successful in this business would have to have. In the second part we looked at the best sites to locate such a business and in this part, we will look into acquiring our stock - our vehicles.

So, where can you get second-hand vehicles from? You will almost certainly get people coming in off the street attempting to sell you their vehicles. That is frequently a good supply of supply, if you carry out the essential checks to make sure that they are not stolen, but this source will dry up from time to time - particularly in the summer.

Other sources to obtain stock are private auction houses, bankruptcies, bereavements and government auctions, where cars or trucks are often very heavily discounted.

At private auctions, anybody can bid for the lots that go under the hammer. Sometimes there is a minimum selling price, sometimes there is not, but the vendor must pay to enter his car in the auction anyway, which means that he has a vested concern in selling it to recoup this cost. If a car does not reach the minimum bid, try talking to the seller privately, you might pick up a genuine bargain.

If you are unaware of local car auctions where you live, try looking in the local paper under “Up And Coming Events” or in the Yellow Pages under “Actions” or “Car Auctions” or go on line and make the same inquiry including your region.

Government auctions are great places to buy supply of any type, including vehicles and machinery. These goods are usually either government surplus (new and used) or assets seized from the public. In The USA, it is best to register your interest in the auction catalogues of the two main governments auctioneers: the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration (GSA). Other countries have similar bodies, which your local authorities can assist you to get in contact with.

These government departments auction off tens of thousands of cars or trucks or every imaginable description every year in the USA. Cars and other vehicles form a large percentage of these auctions in monetary value - you would honestly find it hard to comprehend how many cars or trucks the government owns in the name of the people, from limos to lawnmowers. They all have to be replaced on a regular basis according to a schedule and the old ones are sold off.

The unbelievable fact that works so well in the business person’s favour, is that the government is more engrossed in clearing out their sheds of all this gear to make room for more than it is in turning a profit on it. All you need to do is register with the Department of Defense and the GSA and they will send you their auction catalogues automatically. This way you will have time to inspect the goods before you bid.

The next part in this mini series will discuss how you can determine the value of the items that are being auctioned off.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on a range of topics, but is currently involved with remote car alarms. If you would like to kcurrently more, please visit our website at Laser Temperature Gun.

In the first part of this mini-series on how to make money buying and selling used cars in the present financial climate, we examined which sort of individual is suitable to set up a used car business. In this section, we will look at where to actually set up your used car business.

So, how do you go about setting up your own used car business? The first thing to realize is that no matter whether you are establishing a part-time or full-time company, your patrons and the government will expect you to conduct yourself and conduct your business in a professional way and they have every right to do so.

If you do not behave correctly, you will present a bad image to your customers and get a bad reputation with them and you will get a bad standing with the taxation authorities and maybe the health and safety people too and be hassled by them with more that the typical number of check-ups.

Come to a decision what your most important market is. Do you want to specialize in used expensive cars, middle-market or cheap cars? Or do you want to sell trucks, vans, buses or motorbikes? It is useful to specialize, if your catchment area is big enough. For instance, if you live in a village miles from anywhere, it might not be worth specializing in used buses, but used farm gear might be a hit.

Pay a lot of attention to the location of your business. If you propose to sell one or two cars from adverts, this is not quite so important, but if you have ideas for the future, you might want to get a small plot that you can expand on later.

This lot should be in a highly noticeable location, say alongside the highway that runs into town. If your site is less than ideal, you will have to spend a lot more on advertising, which is something to bear in mind, when attempting to work out what you can afford to pay for the plot.

Another important issue to bear in mind before signing any contracts, leases or mortgages, is to find out whether you are allowed to start a used car business in that location. Some countries have a highly complex set of rules and regulations governing which types of business can be located where. This is frequently called ‘zoning’. Sometimes you can get a ‘zoning variance’, but not every time.

Once you have your site and have decided which kind of second-hand vehicles you want to specialize in, you should concentrate on establishing a unique corporate image - one that is immediately recognizable to local people as representing your business. Use a motto, an emblem or a motif or a permutation of these, put up a sign and sign-write your van or tow-truck with them as well.

In the following part of this mini series, we will be looking at how to buy in your stock in trade - your vehicles.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on a range of subjects, but is now involved with remote car alarms. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Laser Temperature Gun.