Does anyone flip bikes?

[MirrorrorriM]

For profit that is. Every once in a while, I'll stumble upon a craigslist ad where I can see the potential to make a few hundred extra dollars on a bike. It's really tempting to jump at the opportunity, but I'm always afraid I'm just opening a can of worms.

But here's my latest find that I was tempted by -



http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...101300693.html

Anyone see potential there to make a profit? I've got bondo and paint supplies and mechanical knowledge to fix intermediate level mechanical/electrical problems. Assuming that there are no other known issues other than what the poster mentions, if I were able to get that for $800 and make it cosmetically 90% new, how much do you think I could flip it for?

[Dodsfall]

Trade-in value in good condition is $830 with a retail value of $1310 in excellent condition.

A private sale in excellent condition might net $1100-$1200 if advertised correctly and the market is there.

[ralphlong]

If you can make some money, goferit. Just do it honestly and remember that people will be riding those bikes you flip.

Don't make shoddy repairs that may cause the bike to become dangerous.

Riding is, sort of, a brotherhood, and we should be looking out for one another.

Ralph

[Dodsfall]

It might be easier to make $300-$400 (and more of a sure thing) to simply use your painting/mechanical skills and equipment to paint and repair someone else's motorcycle.

That way you're not stuck fronting the cash and hoping for a sale.

[MirrorrorriM]

Originally Posted by ralphlong

If you can make some money, goferit. Just do it honestly and remember that people will be riding those bikes you flip.

Don't make shoddy repairs that may cause the bike to become dangerous.

Riding is, sort of, a brotherhood, and we should be looking out for one another.

Ralph

Copy that. I'd mostly be interested in something that needed minor cosmetic repairs. I wouldn't want to totally tear down engines or re-do suspensions or anything. I find that there are a lot of bikes that have been dropped at low/no speed and had mirrors and signals broken off that are exceptionally easy to fix. Hell, my '93 GSX1100 that I picked up for $900 was dropped once on each side by the previous owner. $300 worth of paint and parts and the thing looks great now. I get compliments wherever I go about how clean it looks.

[primalmu]

I flipped a basket case 1980 Honda CB750 once. Paid $100 for it, then about 3 weeks later sold it for $350. Not bad in my book. This bike was literally in parts, completely disassembled except for the rolling frame.

[youcanfindmelost]

i have had the same thought meany times

[Klrlindy63]

I have flipped several bikes over the years, not hard to find an older bike that may need TLC. I try to stay away from the basket cases. The most successful flips were from talking around. All the profit hounds are on craigs list.
My favorite flip was a 77 Honda cb550, bike was complete but sat in a shed for 15 years. A friend new I was looking for a project bike and you know the friend of a friend. Bought the bike for $75.00, couldnt get to it immediately, took the time to fog the cylinders heavily and stored it for several months.
When I got to it, the compression was good in both cylinders, so I did not tear the motor down.
Some bozo tried to hot wire it, took me a couple of nights to sort that out, after the purchase of the battery. Cleaned the carbs and tank, new air filter, new tires, chain and sprockets.
I tore the bike down to engine and frame and cleaned everything as I put it back together. ( I enjoy that)
I sold my $75 motorcycle for $900 6 months later, I probably netted about $400, not much for all the effort, but I really enjoyed bringing the old bike back. The bike was in remarkably good shape for sitting in a shed for so long.

[Harvey]

I have bought and sold many bikes.
I would look to buy in January and February. Bikes just don't sell here in New England in the dead of winter. The best deals I have found are those who were moving and had to get rid of a bike that's been sitting for a long time. Those people were ready to deal because they needed to get rid of their bikes. I would flush out the fuel system, pull the carbs and rebuild them and clean up the bikes. They typically sold for three times my cost. Once the word got around, people were offering me bikes for free, just to get rid of them because someone died and left them in a garage. Some of them were valuable classics. One year I flipped 18 bikes.

[Klrlindy63]

Originally Posted by Harvey

I have bought and sold many bikes.
I would look to buy in January and February. Bikes just don't sell here in New England in the dead of winter. The best deals I have found are those who were moving and had to get rid of a bike that's been sitting for a long time. Those people were ready to deal because they needed to get rid of their bikes. I would flush out the fuel system, pull the carbs and rebuild them and clean up the bikes. They typically sold for three times my cost. Once the word got around, people were offering me bikes for free, just to get rid of them because someone died and left them in a garage. Some of them were valuable classics. One year I flipped 18 bikes.

Exactly, the best deals are the one I would get by word of mouth. I got two for free, one was a total basket case and I scrapped it, the other was a cb500 4 cylinder, and I sold that one to a collector before I got it back together. He wanted to do the work himself, so I sold the bike , all the parts i had in boxes and the new parts I had purchased! Lots of fun and often worth doing. I have never lost money on a bike.

[skipp]

I did a lot of detailing and normal maintenance on a $600 cb450.Sold it for $900
It was fun and I made about $275.Skipp

[bajakirch]

I always thought that if a person had the space and a little bit of ebay/CL knowledge, you could make more money parting out those basket cases.

I hear people talk about flipping bikes and, in most cases, they're making $200-$400. But they put 100 hours into the project. My time is more valuable than sub-minimum-wage rates.

[Klrlindy63]

Originally Posted by bajakirch

I always thought that if a person had the space and a little bit of ebay/CL knowledge, you could make more money parting out those basket cases.

I hear people talk about flipping bikes and, in most cases, they're making $200-$400. But they put 100 hours into the project. My time is more valuable than sub-minimum-wage rates.

so is mine, but I enjoy working on the old bikes and bringing them back, I believe they call that a hobby or something like that.

[slumlord]

Originally Posted by Klrlindy63

Exactly, the best deals are the one I would get by word of mouth. I got two for free, one was a total basket case and I scrapped it, the other was a cb500 4 cylinder, and I sold that one to a collector before I got it back together. He wanted to do the work himself, so I sold the bike , all the parts i had in boxes and the new parts I had purchased! Lots of fun and often worth doing. I have never lost money on a bike.

Just talking about how much you like the old bikes can bring things to you. I had a flat tire--in a rainstorm---doing 65MPH,somehow escaped disaster, and when I asked the nearest farmhose I came to if I could park the bike,he showed me a CB550 back in the corner that was taken in for a bad debt. I am getting it close now and it looks very good for a bike in original condition. $100.00. Seriously$100.00.
I am trying for a Nighthawk 450 for 200.00,and have had a cosmetically potentially nice Goldwing offered for 600.00 [probably a little risky] so am waiting for the price to go down
All this from talking old bikes and not from CL.You have to wait and be patient for the deals to come,and figure that at some point that your hoped for result will not happen and then sell the bike for parts.

[Klrlindy63]

Originally Posted by slumlord

Just talking about how much you like the old bikes can bring things to you. I had a flat tire--in a rainstorm---doing 65MPH,somehow escaped disaster, and when I asked the nearest farmhose I came to if I could park the bike,he showed me a CB550 back in the corner that was taken in for a bad debt. I am getting it close now and it looks very good for a bike in original condition. $100.00. Seriously$100.00.
I am trying for a Nighthawk 450 for 200.00,and have had a cosmetically potentially nice Goldwing offered for 600.00 [probably a little risky] so am waiting for the price to go down
All this from talking old bikes and not from CL.You have to wait and be patient for the deals to come,and figure that at some point that your hoped for result will not happen and then sell the bike for parts.

Exactly! and it's a great deal of fun besides!

[bajakirch]

Originally Posted by Klrlindy63

so is mine, but I enjoy working on the old bikes and bringing them back, I believe they call that a hobby or something like that.

I hear you. I've never been all that mechanically inclined, so working on my bikes has always been more labor than labor-of-love. In my case, the maintenance/repair work is the necessary evil that allows me to do what I really like...ride.

If you really enjoy the process, then have at 'er.

[PilgrimS]

PRODUCERS OF AMERICAN CHOPPER SEEKING BIKE RESTORATION & SALES COMPANY FOR NEW TELEVISION SERIES

Looking to spotlight one company that restores and flips motorcycles for a national cable network

LOS ANGELES, September 18, 2012 – Pilgrim Studios, the producers of American Chopper (TLC), Dirty Jobs (Discovery Channel), and Fast N’ Loud (Discovery), is seeking to cast a company of fun, outgoing and even outrageous individuals who buy motorcycles, restore them to their previous glory and sell them.

Does your company restore or rebuild old motorcycles?
If you and your staff are top-notch bike builders/restorers, have big personalities and can turn forgotten, derelict or vintage motorcycles into full-throttle masterpieces, then you could have your own show on a major cable network!

Maybe you hunt for old bikes in your area, spruce them up and sell them for a big profit. Maybe you’re a custom bike builder who doesn’t usually restore bikes, but you’ve got the facility and know-how to do it.

As long as you have what it takes, and your team has memorable, outgoing personalities, your company could be featured on its own TV show.

If this sounds like you, please email producers at CycleFlippers at gmail dot com with your name, the company name, location, phone number, email address, recent photos of you and your team, company website and a brief explanation of why you should be flipping bikes on your own TV show.

Producers are looking to meet great builders in early October, 2012. So contact us TODAY!

[buellosaurusrex]

Yes, I flip bikes. I've done four of them and never made less than a grand each.
Of course that doesn't take my labor in account.

[Squisher]

I've done it once, I picked up a non-running (but close-ish) relatively late model machine for cheap, fixed it up over a winter and rode it most of the following summer and sold it to the next owner.

Not counting my labor I only made ~$250-300, but then again I did get to play with it for a while

It's fun, but don't expect to get rich.

[fireballmahoney]

My dad (86) passed away last week, leaving my mom a 1970 Honda CL3502003041 Scrambler that's been sitting in the garage for 12 years. Mom's going into a nursing home, and Medicaid says we can't take less than "fair market value" for the bike. NADA lists the value or a 1973 CL350 in "Fair" condition as $430.00, and I have received two unsolicited offers for $200. The bike was running, but needed carburetor work when Dad walked away from it. Currently, the engine is not locked up (rear wheel turns in high gear), paint is good, crome fair, needs new tires, seat and tubing. Would you think $200 could be justified as "fair market value" for a bike in this condition?

[buellosaurusrex]

Rough estimate (seat-of-the-pants) wholesale on any non-rare/collectible bike is "a buck a cc" for a running bike, so $200 for a non-runner would not be out of line. A buddy of mine paid $1100.00 for a running CL350 last February, so use your best judgement