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Chances are that if you’re on this website you probably like Jeeps. Maybe you even have some sort of strange addiction to the XJ Cherokee or you just need some extra cash. Either way, there is a lot of money to be made flipping Jeeps. Not only can you make some extra cash, but you can also score loads of parts for your personal Jeep.
DISCLAIMER: Buying and selling vehicles is technically illegal without a dealers/business license. We are not responsible for your actions, flip vehicles at your own risk.
How to Get Started
If you aren’t a part of Jeep groups/clubs on Facebook you need to join some. There are tons of buy/sell/trade groups specifically for off-road related stuff all over Facebook.
I’ve sold more Jeeps and light bars on those pages than I’ve sold on websites like Craigslist. Before you can buy a Jeep to flip, you obviously need the cash to buy it. For your very first flip, I wouldn’t spend more than $1000 on a Jeep.
[2]The day I bought my second XJ.
Buying Criteria
There are a few things you should look for before just going out and buying any Jeep.
Price
First off, you need to understand the average price for stock and modified Jeeps. Once you have a good feeling for your local market prices you’ll know what’s a good deal and what isn’t. If you can’t find a good deal, you can always try to make one with strong “haggling” skills. Prices vary from state to state, but in Phoenix, you can pick up a decent running and driving XJ Cherokee for $1,000.
Condition
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The condition of the Jeep you purchase will probably be pretty “meh” if you only spend $1,000. That’s perfectly okay though, as long as its mechanically sound and doesn’t get death wobble or anything weird like that then you’ll be fine. One of the biggest things that stop people from buying a Jeep is how it looks. So, if the Jeep has horrible paint don’t worry, and try to use that to your advantage when haggling with the price.
Modifications
If you can find a Jeep with some mods on it that’s even better. I know a lot of people say that you’ll never get your money back out of your mods when it comes time to sell. While that’s normally true, the right buyer will pay top dollar for a Jeep with a little lift.
Good mods to look for are lifts, lights, tires, and lockers. Even if the parts are cheap parts, it will help you when it comes time to flip the Jeep.
Making It Pretty
[4]Spray painted on day two of ownership.
People like to buy with their eyes, so making the Jeep look good is key. If the paint isn’t very good then get to sanding so you can put a decent spray paint job on it. Spray the bumpers and exterior trim pieces to give them a nice new look, and don’t forget to spray to inner fenders too. Now that it’s looking pretty it’s time to add some exterior accessories to give it a more expensive look.
If the Jeep doesn’t currently have a lift now would be a good time to source a budget lift. Once you’ve gotten a budget lift on your Jeep, go find some used tires. Now that the Jeep is nice and lifted with big tires it’s time to add some icing on the cake. Order some decent light bars off of Amazon (DO NOT BUY THE CHEAPEST ONES AVAILABLE!), and some vehicle specific brackets to make for a clean installation.
All in with spray paint, budget lift, tires, and some lighting hopefully you have less than $1,800 in your Jeep. Now it’s time to sell it.
[5]Going from green to white after one year.
Making The Sale
We’re going to assume that at this point you have $1,500 – $1,800 into your Jeep including the purchasing price. Now you need to go out and take some really nice photos of it. Once you have some good photos post an ad in the Facebook buy/sell/trade groups mentioned before. Typically a decent Jeep like the one you just built will sell for around $2,300.
Make sure you mention everything done to the Jeep, and everything that needs to be done. Be upfront and honest with people looking to purchase it. Screwing someone over is wrong and can ruin your reputation, making future Jeep flips much more difficult.
If you haven’t managed to sell the Jeep after two weeks you probably need to lower the asking price. You could also try to trade the Jeep for a more valuable vehicle, but that opens another can of worms I don’t really want to get into. I personally made $700 on my second XJ and I didn’t even intend on “flipping” it. But, I followed the methods listed above and made a nice chunk of change on accident.
[6]The day I sold my second XJ.