How to Flip Used Cars: The Inspection Checklist

Caleb Foster

Aug 12

3 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago

Flipping used cars can be an amazing source of income. One strong deal a month can bring in $2,000–$5,000. But dishonest sellers and bad deals can wipe that out fast. They’re in every niche, but especially in cars.

Don’t start with cars if you’ve never worked on one. If you do know cars, here’s the checklist.

Always ask: why hasn’t it sold?

If the listing has been up a few minutes, the answer is nobody’s seen it yet. Still do your checks. You can be first to a bad deal too.

If it’s been up for days or weeks, plenty of people with money and knowledge have seen it. So where’s the catch? Your checks are how you find out whether the reason is worth your time. Sometimes it is. Often it’s not.

You can’t go off first impressions with cars. Be thorough and be picky, because your next buyer will be.

The checklist

1. Run a VIN check

Use a VIN check service (Bumper, Carfax, VinCheck, or your state’s police website) to see if the car is stolen, the title is branded, there’s accident history, and the miles are actual. Make sure the VIN on the title matches the car.

Salvage and rebuilt titles can be okay if the damage wasn’t an accident (theft, hail), but most buyers pay less, and you should too. If the miles aren’t actual, stay far away. Even if you get it cheap, you’ll look dishonest to every future buyer.

2. Scan for codes with an OBD2 reader

Check for active codes, and check if and when the codes were last cleared. Recently cleared codes mean the seller is probably hiding something. In emissions states, run the readiness monitors too.

3. Check tire age, not just tread

Dishonest sellers put 10+ year old tires with fine tread on cars. Check the DOT date code. Old or bad tires knock $500–$1,500 off depending on the car. More in How to Flip Tires and Wheels.

4. Inspect for rust

Know what’s acceptable where you sell. In Ohio or Iowa some rust is expected. In Colorado or Arizona there had better be almost none. Anywhere, structural rust or anything rusted through is an automatic no.

5. Check the brakes

Test them on the drive and look at the rotors. Neglected brakes usually mean neglected everything else, and there’s no cheap fix for years of bad maintenance.

6. Research common problems, then test drive everything

Before you go, look up the common issues for that make and model. On the drive:

Tight turns both directions, listening for noises
Test every gear, including reverse
Get it to highway speed if you can
Accelerate hard and brake hard
Test 4x4 engaging and disengaging
Check all the lights
Look where it was parked for leaks
Check under the hood for oil leaks, fluid levels, and cracked belts and hoses

If you’re not confident, take it for a pre-purchase inspection. It usually costs under $150. Anything you find that wasn’t in the listing helps you negotiate. See How to Negotiate When Flipping.

7. Be careful with a lot of new parts

Lots of new parts around one system, especially cooling, often means the seller has been chasing a problem they can’t fix. Lots of new cooling parts can also mean it overheated. If that’s the case, forget it.

8. Verify “it only needs one part”

If a car only needed a $50 part, most people would just fix it. A code can point to several things, like a $65 O2 sensor or an $1,800 catalytic converter. Sellers tell you it’s the cheap one. Verify it, or price in the expensive one.

9. Does it run good, look good, and smell good?

Think like your buyer. At your price, is this going to feel like a good deal and a good car? If not, there’s no margin.

Quick reference

Run a VIN check
Scan for codes and check when they were cleared
Check tire age
Inspect for structural rust
Check the brakes
Test drive thoroughly
Be careful with lots of new parts
Verify “only needs one part”
Make sure it runs, looks, and smells good

Watch out for scams

Rolled-back miles and cleared codes are the common car scams, but the usual Marketplace scams happen with cars too. See How to Spot a Facebook Marketplace Scam.

Issues are fine. Mechanical, cosmetic, whatever. They can even be good if you can fix them cheap. You just have to know what they are and how they affect value. And the more often you’re first to a listing, the fewer dealbreakers you’ll run into. See How to Set Up Deal Alerts.