Vehicle Buy & Sell starter guide - In need of ideas and suggestions

[Rjstark]

Hi wise people,

Before everything, i like to thank you all for having this wonderful forum up and running. A real treasure for new commers like us. Hats off!

Now to the point, i beg your pardon if this has been discussed before but i am asking this since i couldnt find any.

I currently work in a private bank and earns a decent salary, but my passion was always to pursue something where i can be my own boss, so thought of put my eggs into vehicle buy and sell business. But here in sri lanka you are always discouraged to start a business.  

I have a reasonable knowledge about vehicles and their markets and marketing. But my biggest worry is how would i start this initially. I dont have a huge budget. Hope to start with 3M. And i appreciate yor suggestions and ideas to go with this. 

TIA!

[iRage]

Welcome to the forum and I wish you the best with your business endeavor. 

Not to sound discouraging in anyway, but it has to be stated that the whole buying and selling business is a mafia-like operation. Profit margins are small unless you too go down the level of being unscrupulous and engage in things like meter rolling and covering up body defects...and it is a tough business...there aren't many honest cars for you to buy to sell off honestly. If you buy a not so honest car then to sell it of honestly you will have to fix it up (which can cost a lot) or sell it off as it is with barely any economic profit.

Perhaps you should look in to focusing on a specific/niche market ? <for example serve the enthusiasts ?> 

When you say you hope to start with 3mil...are you saying you want to source your car for 3m ? or you want to find something you can sell at 3mil ?

[Crosswind]

1. Buy a car that looks like its below its market price (for 3-mil, maybe a wagon R, Spacia, alto or something like that). The important thing is you need to buy LOW! So you need to find a car which a owner is looking to sell in a hurry, but at the time, you need to make sure its not a dressed up car. If you pay CASH, people are willing to give a serious thought of reducing the price.

2. Advertise it in AL, ###### etc. slightly above the market price, with the hope of selling it for the market price.

Skills you need for this:

1. You need to have an 'eye' on finding a cheap car. You may need to scour the internet endlessly to find one. If a vehicle is 50k below market price, buy-and-sell guys will be flocking it like crows. So the moment you see one, you need to get there asap

2. You need to be good at negotiating with the seller. You need to be persuasive but not be a pain in the ass. 

Selling part is easy. Buying a good car for cheap is tough.

And if you expected that this is an easy business, you are better off selling kadala in galle face. FYI, the profit margins of kadala sellers in galle face are over 500% 

[vag2]

why not start with something less risky like bikes or 3-wheelers? The current situation is not optimal for cars,especially new cars where prices go up-down and with design defects.

[matroska]

Some very good points above. I know of such a part time buying selling guy ...what he does is source cars in colombo and buy them for a rather competitive price. Then he takes them outstation where the prices are not that competitive and sells for a margin. He also has contacts in Leasing companies and insurance so he arranges those for the buyer too. It's all about networks.

8 hours ago, vag2 said:

why not start with something less risky like bikes or 3-wheelers? The current situation is not optimal for cars,especially new cars where prices go up-down and with design defects.

This is a good point BUT bikes are currently very difficult to sell. Due to the small price margin people always opt for a new bike and old bikes are tough to sell.  

Classic cars are also usually money pits ( from experience) BUT I know an old gentlemen who specializes in buying and selling older cars ( Beetles, KE30s, AE80s etc) the fact that his son runs a garage kind of helps. The point is you need some other contacts/ a network like a mechanic for instance who will give you leads on a potential buy etc.

The 3Million range is tough.. this is the First owner hybrid vs unregistered Kei zone : grey area between used vs unregistered.  Rather you can focus on the lower end : 1.5-1.8 range be alert for a good deal on an old corolla or a carina, FB14  etc.and then try to resell. People still tend to buy these cars and folks who cant afford a wagonR will still go for these. Be prepared to travel and act swiftly.