Confessions of a car flipper...

[havoc]

w8pmc said:

The second aspect & i believe this is more a Porsche trait, is that i'd need to have bought several less desirable models to stand any chance of getting a GT3. I don't want a Boxter, Cayman, Panamera or Macan & certainly couldn't afford to spunk away over £100k in depreciation just to be 'considered' for the GT3.

And Ferrari. And possibly others, too.

There is a distinct element of 'you rub my back, I'll rub yours' going on here - the mfrs (dealers?) place preference on what they deem as brand loyalty but is often in reality just a sign of being "richer than thou".

So, as ever, the rich get priority access to the nicest toys (one way or another), while the rest of us get the crumbs...

[DonkeyApple]

NickCQ said:

But there is a certain circularity in this situation given that what a 'collector' is willing to pay is partly a function of the car's rarity.
You see this in the McLaren thread - the owners get riled when more cars are made than were promised whether its the sale of modified prototypes, GTR versions, convertibles etc etc.

That’s a function of someone putting more they can afford to lose on the table and blaming others when variables do crazy things like varying. I.e the less of your investment wealth a single investment represents the less you give a damn. Additional supply is a known risk that everyone is more than capable of factoring in to their ‘investments’. And it’s a market with no regulation.

[Camelot1971]

Mr Peel said:

bad company said:

When the Porsche Boxster was launched I ordered one for Mrs BC. There was a long delay which from memory was due to problems making the engines so I bought Mrs BC a TVR instead. The problem was that I forgot to cancel the Porsche and a few months later it arrived.

People say PH has gone downhill but where else can you read posts like this?

I don't really understand how you can 'forget' you ordered a Porsche. It's not exactly forgetting to pick up a pint of milk.

[ghost83]

n17ves said:

Is this not the whole issue with the current bubble - everyone is now a 'savvy' car investor hoping to make quick buck on flipping a car they cant really afford/don't really have any interest in owning which is over inflating the market...

Cant wait for the bubble to burst tbh and for normality to be restored.

I sold a silver corsa shell to Andy speck who’s quite well known for a few hundred quid and bought my blue corsa on eBay for 800 so yes around 500 in total I then sold the engine out of it to a member on here for 350 sold the interior the radio the standard alloys the suspension and brakes then got everything I wanted over 3yrs built it then tried to sell it for 13k no one was interested in a 9 year old corsa at that price point so decided to break it up the shell was then sold to Andy speck again and he fitted full Subaru running gear to it and dubbed it the corsaru (YouTube it)

[Terminator X]

TurboHatchback said:

I can see why people do this, if you could flip a Porsche and profit by the price of a house then it would be hard not to take the chance. What I don't get is why the manufacturers let this happen, surely if the market will take the whole supply at £500k per car then why not sell them for that price rather than let some shady trader take all that profit? The fact that the phenomenon exists surely implies their pricing is wrong and they could be making much more money.

Why do people buy a £240k car at £500k though is what I struggle with. Surely they simply have more money than sense ...

TX.

[ghost83]

M1C said:

Similar here.

I approached Ferrari and asked if i could be put onto the waiting list for this vehicle. I was willing to sell my house, partner and both children to raise enough for a deposit - my Ferrari link was that i one owned a Fiat Panda 100HP manufactured by their Parent company Fiat - and that my mother indeed still owns a Panda!

I'm still waiting for the call back.

Their loss!

Annoying isn’t it they told me 7 months ago when I went in that there was a special edition coming and they would be contacting preferred customers first but there is no waiting list and it’s not first come first served, so that idea was shelved!

Same story at Porsche regarding the gt2rs

[vindaloo79]

Camelot1971 said:

I don't really understand how you can 'forget' you ordered a Porsche. It's not exactly forgetting to pick up a pint of milk.

Not the same league, but I've ordered a Tesla 3. It's taking so fricking long I forget quite often until someone asks "is it ready yet?".

Where do 'flippers' sell these cars. Many people sell to webuyanycar for fear of dealing with general public/ tyre kickers/scammers/etc.

[daemon]

I "flipped" my Porsche last year.

Bought it for £6750 in Aug 16, sold for £6850 May 17.

[Andy 308GTB]

There are 'favoured' customers of the prestige brands that will accept the invitation to be on the waiting list for a new model. They will take delivery of the car, drive it for a year or so and then 'flip' it. They will get out flat - i.e. what the car cost them, gaining effectively a years free motoring. The manufacturer will not see them see them as a 'flipper' but as a very good customer and put them on the waiting list for the next new model. And around it goes...

The Jaguar XJ220 is maybe a good example of waiting lists that bite back?

[Squirrelofwoe]

Terminator X said:

Why do people buy a £240k car at £500k though is what I struggle with. Surely they simply have more money than sense ...

TX.

I guess if their only options are buy one at £500k or not get one at all (i.e. couldn't get an allocation etc), then at that point the car ceases to be a £240k car and becomes a £500k car.

[ghost83]

It’s supply and demand simple as! There’s a lot of wealthy people in the world and you limit supply then you create demand and can basically pick your price! Same happened with the Porsche gt4 and happened with the 1m I know someone who bought it ran it for a year and made a profit

Likewise I know someone who bought an R8 and lost massively on it

[n17ves]

Terminator X said:

TurboHatchback said:

I can see why people do this, if you could flip a Porsche and profit by the price of a house then it would be hard not to take the chance. What I don't get is why the manufacturers let this happen, surely if the market will take the whole supply at £500k per car then why not sell them for that price rather than let some shady trader take all that profit? The fact that the phenomenon exists surely implies their pricing is wrong and they could be making much more money.

Why do people buy a £240k car at £500k though is what I struggle with. Surely they simply have more money than sense ...

TX.

Not sure what sense has got to do with it when £500k to some is pocket money, but yes, I do fundamentally agree though. These sort of buyers must be drying up either through losing interest, over supply or just simply that they have gone straight to the source themselves. Its not like each Porsche iteration is an unexpected addition to the market and therefore an instant must have over night!

[sandman77]

It's not only cars this happens with. Try walking into a Rolex dealer and buying a stainless steel sports watch. You will have no chance because there is a waiting list for these watches and half the folk on the lists are only there to flip them for a profit. A £10k Daytona will instantly sell for £13k+ as soon as you leave the shop.
I was recently in the position to buy a Daytona and I could not get my hands on one. The dealers around here all told me there is a 5 year waiting list for one.

[DonkeyApple]

sandman77 said:

It's not only cars this happens with. Try walking into a Rolex dealer and buying a stainless steel sports watch. You will have no chance because there is a waiting list for these watches and half the folk on the lists are only there to flip them for a profit. A £10k Daytona will instantly sell for £13k+ as soon as you leave the shop.
I was recently in the position to buy a Daytona and I could not get my hands on one. The dealers around here all told me there is a 5 year waiting list for one.

It’s almost as if an unregulated market is being manipulated by those who stand to profit the most!!!

[bad company]

Camelot1971 said:

Mr Peel said:

bad company said:

When the Porsche Boxster was launched I ordered one for Mrs BC. There was a long delay which from memory was due to problems making the engines so I bought Mrs BC a TVR instead. The problem was that I forgot to cancel the Porsche and a few months later it arrived.

People say PH has gone downhill but where else can you read posts like this?

I don't really understand how you can 'forget' you ordered a Porsche. It's not exactly forgetting to pick up a pint of milk.

I’m glad I did. It gave me a good profit and the idea to flip again.

[Strugs]

I bought a (then) 4 year old Mk4 VW Golf 4-Motion privately and sold it again (to a dealer) after two weeks..

I made a profit of £1.

I'm hanging my head in shame as I type this..

Interestingly, it was bought by my cousin's neighbour 100+ miles from the dealership I sold it to who still has it.. small world..

[n17ves]

n17ves said:

ghost83 said:

Bought a 6yr old corsa spent 10k on it wife fell pregnant split it down to a bare shell with every but and bolt sold

Added up I got 17.5k and owned it 3yrs

Made a profit of 7k in total

So going by your maths, the 6 year old corsa only cost you £500 initially? Although I am more amazed anyone would pay £17.5k for a corsa

ghost83 said:

I sold a silver corsa shell to Andy speck who’s quite well known for a few hundred quid and bought my blue corsa on eBay for 800 so yes around 500 in total I then sold the engine out of it to a member on here for 350 sold the interior the radio the standard alloys the suspension and brakes then got everything I wanted over 3yrs built it then tried to sell it for 13k no one was interested in a 9 year old corsa at that price point so decided to break it up the shell was then sold to Andy speck again and he fitted full Subaru running gear to it and dubbed it the corsaru (YouTube it)

You made £17.5k on tatty corsa bits

I would stick to selling corsa bits than attempting to buy/flip cars IMHO!

[ghost83]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It was originally a 1.8sri but as I said I’d spent 10k on doing it up and I just sold the parts for more than I paid

I sold a bare zlet engine for £1100
I sold a new zleh engine that I paid 800 for 3500
Vxr turbo I got 500 for
Custom exhaust made for a corsa zlet I got 800 for custom brembo brake conversion I got 800 for recaro pole positions I paid 1100 for I sold for 1200

General stuff like that zlet wiring loom went for 1000 already pinned with a Clifford alarm attached! Steering wheel £400
It all just added up bodywork lightweight panels wheels coilovers polycarbonate windows steering rack etc etc when I sold it to Andy or was literally a bare shell

[LuS1fer]

TurboHatchback said:

I can see why people do this, if you could flip a Porsche and profit by the price of a house then it would be hard not to take the chance. What I don't get is why the manufacturers let this happen, surely if the market will take the whole supply at £500k per car then why not sell them for that price rather than let some shady trader take all that profit? The fact that the phenomenon exists surely implies their pricing is wrong and they could be making much more money.

This is exactly what American dealers do. It's called scabbing and any in demand car gets a massive premium added to the sticker price so the dealerdhip profits.

[hotchy]

I bought a car for £3k private, 206 at the time couple years old. Bargain. Crashed it 3 years later, insurance gave 3.5k. Flipped in every sense, upside down and profit. Perfect.