Well, this one below would have be the biggest markup ive got on a buy/re-sale. Sold it for around 1m a few hours later after a tuneup to R1 905 and a custom design.
Im always finding/winning good auctions such as F1s for 50k, 100k... and reselling them tuned up and with a custom design for 600k, 800k, sometimes 1m depending on the time of the day. As mentioned above, after a while you kinda know what to look for and when you can push your prices a bit higher.
That's the ticket... It's also an excellent example of how to work the AH.
Just because it's a car doesn't mean it's going anywhere. It's the time to find the right cars for you, and knowing how to turn them around for max potential cash.
Some people are very quick on the draw and scan for buyouts effectively, I'd wager you have a good eye and a little system going. That's something I'm not terribly good at. I tend to blanket buy and take what falls through. I don't get myself tied up in rich cars past 50-60K. If I grab something like that, it's shear luck searching for a specific car or make.
The cool part... Next time a Zonda comes up and you get it, the tune (if saved) is already done, just load it up. Load the paint design, but change it slightly. A color, a number, a different graphic. Something that's relatively quick to do.
Each time you do one, you have everything for that car done. It's just a matter of a few small changes. After a while you'll have a stable of designs to work from that will enable you "customize" the car in a few minutes.
One thing I do with some tunes is to save them with the factory wheels, and then go in after and buy a set of rims. Normally the 1800 bucks doesn't bother me to sell a set off and put a set on, sometimes I leave the 2nd set on. Depends on my mood. I make enough doing a little of everything to not sweat the small change. I could probably add another 100K to my $ for the times I've wasted money with rims and such, but I'd rather have the time than the pocket change. Time is my single biggest limiting factor, so it's worth it to me to throw a bone in the car or lose some change to buy the time.
Nice work there on the pick up. I've had a few go under 5K, but never a buy out.
I have to say, anyone listing a Zonda like that for 1K buyout is either:
-a- unloading garage space and being nice or
-b- a complete bonehead who has no clue what they've got.
Either way, God bless them. They make the AH "merry" go round...
And would just HAVE to think they'd understand what that car is by level 40...
For those that ran a car and "it didn't work"...
If you think this is an automatic thing that just happens, think again and go drive.
If you're willing to put the initial investment in, and the time in, you can do well.
I can turn many of the lesser desired cars around because of decent paint and decent tune. It's a combination of the right look, the right index and a car someone can hop in and actually use for something and make money driving that makes "my" car worth more than that other one next to it in factory paint, a BS index and no real tune at all.
High dollar cars are nice, but getting them is getting harder as more people start doing this. You'll note I don't post like this on the F4 forums. There are fewer people here, the information isn't as public or available to 1,000 times the audience.
Just trying a single car will tell you very little. You have to work through it for a time, learn what works for you, learn what works for the AH and find a way to coexist and turn a profit.
Yes, I make good money selling my 50K-100K clunkers no one cares about, but not everyone can. But there IS some form of car you are familiar with, that you know, that you like and that you can tune or paint in some way shape or form. If there isn't, work on that first, building a knowledge base about a couple brands that do well $$ wise and focus on a look and a decent index and tune.
Anyone can PM me if you'd like to figure out how to make it work for you, or if there's something you don't get. I understand people don't always like to display their lack of understanding in a thread. Me, I don't care. I'm dumb as a box of rocks and make mistakes everyday. It's called being human, a condition we all share.
To me it's really simple, if I can help, I will. If I can't, I'll at least try. Nothing would make my day like seeing a couple of you guys (or girls for that matter ) rule the AH.
I check every day or two for PMs, so don't get too antsy if I take a bit to respond please. I'm not always able to when I'd like.
Cheers...!
Doc
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