STI / Subaru Reselling?

[GrassyKnoll]

Hey guys.

I have been watching some Ebay auctions over the past couple weeks and came to the conclusion that there is the potential to make some money reselling cars. After noticing that STIs are very rare in the Northeast, I thought about the idea of buying the used STIs sold out west, driving them back to New Hampshire, and selling them here. I was noticing that there is the potential to nail a used STI on Ebay for about 22,000 ($7,000 below blue book) and even after exepenses getting it back to New Hampshire, selling it here for around 27,000. I would profit approx. 3,000 per car and the market for Subaru's here vs. out West (STIs ESPECIALLY) is extremely good.

What do you guys think about the idea? I personally wouldn't mind gettin paid to bomb some STIs cross-country this summer (even if the profit isnt huge). Give me your thoughts. Thanks

[Wiscon_Mark]

well, it would certainly be fun, but I don't know if it'd be profitable.

people know that kids buy these STis (or their parents do :roll: ) and then they abuse them, so the used market isn't going to be all that great, however, someone might be looking for a bargain.

I'd say try it a few times, but don't go overboard.

That's if you feel safe with the consequences of not selling a car. But then you'd have an STi :) :lol:

[badbasser98]

^^ what he said :wink:

[shazapple]

Expensive investment, although cars are hardly ever a good investment.

From experience Ebay seems cheap but once you work it all out then youre really not getting that much out of it.

My dad buys chainsaws off ebay and sell them. By the time he fixes them (sometimes minor, sometimes major) he doesnt make a whole lot of money. Factor in that some are just duds and cant sell or wont sell and you lose all profitability. Its a great hobby though!

[NewGenSTi]

seems like a decent idea, but you have to look at the added mileage you will put on the car, and also realize you have to run super in the car and it only gets maybe 18-20 highway if driven lightly.... if you had the money and a truck and trailer that you can pick up like 2 at a time it would probably be worth it.. Would be fun as hell, but you wouldnt ever want to get out of the car.. trust me on that one i used to have one.... and also there are a few stupid kids that get their hands on these cars, but most of the people that have them arent kids. its not all that easy for a kid to come up with $30,000 for one and its even harder for the insurance payments. most of the people I know with them never take them out in the rain, park them for the winter, and wash them after every drive..

There are those rich families that spoil their kids thoguh. those are the ones that get destroyed. because if the kid doesnt have to pay for it he will beat the hell out of it. I got mine when I was 18 and worked my ass off for it. so I took pretty darn good care of it.

[GrassyKnoll]

yea i would definately do one at a time. Not looking to make a shit load of money just looking to have some fun pretty much. Plus i Ebay is hit or miss. Since it is a nitch car (which can go both ways), it would be possible to snipe one for a good price.

[Huffer]

Cars are NOT good investments, period. Even if you buy one for $7k less than retail, it's been USED. Which means it loses 10-15% off retail the minute the key is turned.

The only cars that are "investments" are highly desirable limited production vehicles.

Like a Lambo, Ferrari or Porsche, or an old British sportscar (or similar). The only Subaru that even resembles that is the 22B.

You'd be better off putting that $22k into a mutual fund and leaving it alone for a few years. Make your money work for you, not the other way around.

[GrassyKnoll]

True. But if I buy it $5,000 less than I sell it for, then I would think that would be a good investment.

[Reason]

well, it would certainly be fun, but I don't know if it'd be profitable.

people know that kids buy these STis (or their parents do :roll: ) and then they abuse them, so the used market isn't going to be all that great

That may be true in certin ares. All the STi's I see around here are owned by guys in their mid 30's and up. 3-5k profit isnt bad, start off as a hobby it would be well worth it driving STi's for shits.

[losdiosdeverde86]

Hey guys.

I have been watching some Ebay auctions over the past couple weeks and came to the conclusion that there is the potential to make some money reselling cars. After noticing that STIs are very rare in the Northeast, I thought about the idea of buying the used STIs sold out west, driving them back to New Hampshire, and selling them here. I was noticing that there is the potential to nail a used STI on Ebay for about 22,000 ($7,000 below blue book) and even after exepenses getting it back to New Hampshire, selling it here for around 27,000. I would profit approx. 3,000 per car and the market for Subaru's here vs. out West (STIs ESPECIALLY) is extremely good.

What do you guys think about the idea? I personally wouldn't mind gettin paid to bomb some STIs cross-country this summer (even if the profit isnt huge). Give me your thoughts. Thanks

you're looking at a WORLD of hurt here.

sti's are what.. at MOST 3 years old unless their imported.

you gotta think about some factors
1)who the previous owner was
2)what were their hobbies
3)how old were they
4)were they male
5)WHY exactly are they selling the car, especially for so cheap.


you've got lawsuits waiting to happen selling other people's STi's.

engine damage
drivetrain damage
etc

those cars were made to be beat on and beat on they were. i will NEVER buy a used STi and probably not even a used wrx because i "know" the kinds of people that have driven them before me.

[GrassyKnoll]

yea man. but like you said they were made to be beat on. They can stand up to a beating ;-)

[losdiosdeverde86]

yea man. but like you said they were made to be beat on. They can stand up to a beating ;-)

they're made to be beat on in the stock form.

you don't know if it's been built up and then put back to stock.

[shazapple]

People always say "im never going to buy a used WRX or STI" but people buy used performance cars all the time!

The only way you could safely sell is by saying theyre for sale 'as is', although saying that usually scares most people off. I wouldnt buy a car from someone who didnt know its history, and Id be extra careful if someone said 'as is' because that means they either dont know its history, or dont want to tell me.

[GrassyKnoll]

very true. But you can look for major defects through Carfax. Also, I'm talking used cars with like 10,000 miles on them. Assuming its single owner (preferably adult) with 10,000 miles, risk is minimized. I'm not saying there isnt any but its enough for me to accept the risks 8)

[losdiosdeverde86]

very true. But you can look for major defects through Carfax. Also, I'm talking used cars with like 10,000 miles on them. Assuming its single owner (preferably adult) with 10,000 miles, risk is minimized. I'm not saying there isnt any but its enough for me to accept the risks 8)

actually, i'd be more weary of a car being sold with 10k miles. a car with like 60k shows that the person got good use out of it, got tired of it and wanted to move on.

a car with 10k, to me, shows that someone bought it, something happened, and they don't want to pay to fix it.

[Huffer]

^ or couldn't make the monthly payments (which is more likely).

I wouldn't buy a car that has been towed across the country to be resold - the implication is that they're trying to dodge some kind of title change (salvage?).

A car that was used to migrate a family across country, I would buy.

But I should shut up, because I'm never buying an STi within the next 10 years anyway.

My status symbol will be a paid for house. :twisted:

[GrassyKnoll]

lol we'll see. I'm going to try it once this summer. If I get stuck with an STI then that'd be cool. If I don't make that much money it will be a good lesson.

I'll be sure to report back! 8)

[losdiosdeverde86]

^ or couldn't make the monthly payments (which is more likely).

I wouldn't buy a car that has been towed across the country to be resold - the implication is that they're trying to dodge some kind of title change (salvage?).

A car that was used to migrate a family across country, I would buy.

But I should shut up, because I'm never buying an STi within the next 10 years anyway.

My status symbol will be a paid for house. :twisted:

honestly, through SubieSport magazine, dabbling in the Pittsburgh thread on NASIOC, and going to autoX events every 2 weeks i'm getting SUPER tired of hearing about sti's and wrx's.

[GrassyKnoll]

that's the point though! Throughout the country people are getting tired of the cars but here in NH they are almost considered RARE! People are looking everywhere to buy these things and you can get a good turnaround selling them.

Local Subaru Dealer just paid my friend 4,000 to buy his slightly used STI with 10,000 miles on it in exchange for an 06 Legacy GT!

[Huffer]

Local Subaru Dealer just paid my friend 4,000 to buy his slightly used STI with 10,000 miles on it in exchange for an 06 Legacy GT!

What was the new finance plan?

Dealer got a good deal on it, because he shifted a brand new car.
Dealers will not "take a hit" on new cars just to be a nice guy.

[GrassyKnoll]

No finance plan. The dealer sold the STI for like 29,000 and it sold after 2 days. It's just that there is such a high demand for them here.

[Huffer]

Hmm, well if the dealer is smart, he'll see the demand and start using the Subaru network to pick up used STi's.

He'll outdo your profit margin based on economies of scale.

[GrassyKnoll]

yea that's what they've been trying to do. But honestly I don't think there is as much appeal for the newer STIs. I think Subaru is realizing they messed up their design concept pretty bad...


Another plus is that I am in NH. It is popular for car shopping because of the lack of tax ;-)

[losdiosdeverde86]

yea that's what they've been trying to do. But honestly I don't think there is as much appeal for the newer STIs. I think Subaru is realizing they messed up their design concept pretty bad...


Another plus is that I am in NH. It is popular for car shopping because of the lack of tax ;-)

yeah, they didn't keep the 04 design for long enough. people finally started to warm up to it and then it got changed.

[BAC5.2]

Here's the problem.

You'll need a car sales license. If you buy and sell more than 4 cars in a year, you are considered a car dealer and require a special license (at least in Maryland, it's a state-by-state thing).

A friend of mine, his dad was in the car reselling biz back in the day. He and his buddies would fly overseas, buy BMW's new for cheap, ship them back to America, and resell them for more than they paid. It's no longer worth it to do this, but in the 70's that was the deal.

If you want to make money, fly to Japan, buy used pre-02 WRX's, and ship them to the USA. Sell them here for teh profit. Leave them LHD and you'll get even more :).

[GrassyKnoll]

That would be intense... And I wasn't planning on selling more than 4ish cars so I don't think that would be an issue.

Japan would be crazy thou! 8)

[SubiFlow]

If you buy on the West Coast and need a driver i would be happy to drive to the East Coast for ya, you pay for my flight home though.

[Sarra]

Seriously, avoid buying cars on ebay. I'd link to the threads on another forum, but they went 'pay per view', so I can't anymore, but there were a bunch of people scammed on ebay. Ebay is 2006's Nigeria.

[GrassyKnoll]

haha yea it is possible. However, if you are a sensible buyer you can avoid that. For example, make sure they allow you to inspect before any money is exchanged. :o

[shazapple]

Seriously, avoid buying cars on ebay. I'd link to the threads on another forum, but they went 'pay per view', so I can't anymore, but there were a bunch of people scammed on ebay. Ebay is 2006's Nigeria.

My dad has bought two trucks, two motorcycles, and several trailers off ebay. (not to mention countless other things)

He has had no problem with the transactions. Of course all these were low milage or decently new. Obviously your not going to buy an old junker, and if you're not a complete idiot you wont get scammed.