So I have a friend that took a contract out in Afghanistan. He is closing a lot of his books stateside so he has no loose ends. He has a 2009 WRX Hatch Premium Package with a stage II upgrade. The car has 26K miles and is in otherwise very very good condition.

He is in a bind with finding a sale, I think he's asking for around 25K right now. Even if he drops the price he is gambling with finding a buyer in the next two weeks. So he is taking it to Carmax to get their bottom line.

He emailed me with an offer to just pay a little more than what Carmax is giving him, then I can flip the car for him on my terms. Since I'm in Chicago I'll also tap into a larger market.

Is it worth it? Should I take the chance in taking out a loan to try and sell the car for a profit? Or could there be an option where I can power of attorney the car loan, still keeping it under his name but taking over payments and final sale of the car?

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything for resale unless I could basically steal it. In today's economy, with tight credit and overall belt tightening, a twenty thousand dollar plus car might not be as easy a sell as you think. This is especially true if you can't offer financing.

My advice is to sell the car for the best price you can and take a percentage of the sale. Your friend still holds the note.




Terry

 

I don't know about power of attorney, but I wouldn't try to flip the car. Do you have the funds for a car loan if you're stuck with it?

 

Just let him sell it to CarMax and be done with it. Chances are the headaches you'll have to deal with are not worth it.

 

Also, he can get it appraised at a Subaru dealer, especially if he goes back to stock. When I was trying to get rid of my S2000, my local Honda dealer offered me $4k more than CarMax.

 

not worth it unless you get it for 15k

 

If he's having a hard time selling it and is resorting to CarMax, then you won't have it any easier.

You will be stuck with the loan in this uncertain economy and I just don't think that's worth the risk. If the price was low enough that you can flip it easily for a still low price while turning a profit, then maybe.

Been there, done that with a motorcycle. Though it was a happy ending for me, it took a looong time and lots of headaches. Paperwork and standing in line for it is a major pain in the ass.

 

By the time you finish paying taxes on it you will then be close to what retail price is in the used car market.

Not worth it at all.

 

Very valid points everyone, I'll see what he offers me.

I was pretty much hoping that a bigger market in Chicago over Columbus, OH will help in the flip but I should see what the market it like. If it doesn't give me at least $2-3K in potential profit I don't want to deal with it... especially since I'm gone almost half of September.

 

 

Not worth it at all. Even if you make $1-2 profit, it's not worth all the hassle. Just my opinion.

 

I would not do it, because you then you have to sell the car, and you may even sit on it for some time.

 

This.

Not worth your trouble.

 

You're going to risk being stuck with his car to make a couple bucks? I'd pass.

If it was a 2-3K car, I'd say yes...but the more expensive the car - the more difficult to sell.

 

Exactly. The taxes will kill you. Plus like everyone else says there is always a chance that you will get stuck with it. If that's not enough to deter you then consider take a step back and think about this.....

• There is interest on the loan to consider.
• There are taxes to consider.
• Consider the insurance for the period that you have the car.
• Then you are going to go through the hassle of selling a car. You are right that you can tap into a larger market in Chicago, but there are also a lot more cars for sale in Chicago and with competition comes less value.
• What if you buy it and then there is an accident or it is stolen? You will not recover your money.

Let me ask.....you still feel like buying it?

 

I'll tell you what you should do, if you don't want to forfeit the opportunity and are willing to take the risks.

List the car in your area now. But keep the car in your friend's name.

In the meantime, negotiate with your friend that you will help sell the car. Since he was offered $25k or whatever from CarMax, tell him you will keep a certain percentage of whatever you get above that number, say 80%. He gets the other 20%.

This way, you don't have to change titles, get a loan or suffer any of the headaches. If it doesn't sell in your area in a few weeks, he can take it to CarMax.

When I sold that CBR600RR I mentioned above, the title was still in my friend's name (but no loan, which made it a bit easier). I had him sign it and send it to the buyer. I had already paid him in full. So whatever I got from selling it was 100% mine.

 

Yea with everyone's input it looks like a very bad idea to take in this car (unless he was going to give it to me for $15k in that case he'd just carmax it).

I'll tell him Pass on the deal as I'm sure he wants to just pay off the loan and not deal with me bartering in his name while he makes the payments.

Thanks all for enlightening me! Good advice

 

+1!

It's definitely more trouble than it's worth to try and flip it yourself.

CarMax definitely lowballs A LOT more than most places. I sold them my pristine 08 Honda Odyssey with 26k miles two weeks ago and I couldn't get a penny over 19k. Right now it's listed online for 25,9.