Along with cost of repairs, (including your time), don't forget to factor in the cost of tax, tag, title transfer and insurance.
To use some simple numbers for an example, let's say you buy "X" car for 1,000 dollars and it needs 300 dollars of repairs. You buy it thinking you can repair it and sell it for 2,000 dollars and make a tidy profit of 700 bucks.
However, here in Florida, tax, tag and title transfer will run you around 400 dollars, not to mention throwing insurance on the vehicle for however long you're going to have it. That knocks you down to a profit of 300 bucks - still not bad, but not what you might have thought you would make.
Additionally, what are the laws concerning running an auto repair business in your neighborhood? It only takes one grouchy neighbor to turn you into code enforcement to throw a kink into your budding business. Here in these parts, a vehicle without a tag draws code enforcement attention like kids to a candy counter.
Like others have said, there are ways around these things, but you have to be a little on the sneaky side and sometimes the sneaky side can get you into trouble.
One more suggestion - stick to one kind of car. Buy something that is common, (i.e. Ford Taurus, Oldsmobile Cutlass, etc). That way you learn all the ins and outs of said vehicle and from the experience repairing others, you'll learn the common problems of that make and model and be able to fix them with relative ease because you've "been down that road before."
To use some simple numbers for an example, let's say you buy "X" car for 1,000 dollars and it needs 300 dollars of repairs. You buy it thinking you can repair it and sell it for 2,000 dollars and make a tidy profit of 700 bucks.
However, here in Florida, tax, tag and title transfer will run you around 400 dollars, not to mention throwing insurance on the vehicle for however long you're going to have it. That knocks you down to a profit of 300 bucks - still not bad, but not what you might have thought you would make.
Additionally, what are the laws concerning running an auto repair business in your neighborhood? It only takes one grouchy neighbor to turn you into code enforcement to throw a kink into your budding business. Here in these parts, a vehicle without a tag draws code enforcement attention like kids to a candy counter.
Like others have said, there are ways around these things, but you have to be a little on the sneaky side and sometimes the sneaky side can get you into trouble.
One more suggestion - stick to one kind of car. Buy something that is common, (i.e. Ford Taurus, Oldsmobile Cutlass, etc). That way you learn all the ins and outs of said vehicle and from the experience repairing others, you'll learn the common problems of that make and model and be able to fix them with relative ease because you've "been down that road before."
