I am a 3rd Gen independent dealer. This break-down is spot on Robbie! Can I call you Robbie? Some of the best advice my Dad passed down to me: "Son, stay small and keep it all."

Great video!! I open my used car lot in 1987 I was 24, myself and father were partners back then. We bought our main building on contract with a $700 a month payment for 120 months, instantly added an addition for a 3 car shop, paved the lot, signage etc. Back then all you needed was a phone, calculator and a pen with a few forms. we both came in with 15K each for inventory, three years later bought the building next for more space in cash Never had a floorplan. Now next month Im going to be 60 and its time to start thinking of selling and moving on. When someone who is interested in buying my place asks what is it going to take to buy and run the place, they go into shock. With 2 million for the property and another million for inventory--payroll, computers updating the buildings (grandfathered in) they melt like an ice cream cone on the 4th of July. Anyone can sell a few cars a year, but do it hundreds or sometime a thousand of times a year and do it for 36 years the number of gets very small.

As a car dealer in FL I stay away from floor plan. I buy all my vehicles with my own money. 14 years strong . 💯

The key take away is that there is a lot more involved than most people realize. A lot of people jump headlong into it, and wind up in serious dead. Appreciate the video.

Everyone wants to become a car dealer until they see the mountain of effort and dedication required

I work in the insurance business, mostly with commercial truck dealers, and businesses who lease out utility trucks. What Rabbit says is true. A good place to check out are municipal vehicle auctions and utility auctions. I once bought a Ford truck that belonged to a phone company.

Rob, please keep these kind of videos coming. Hearing how about business REALLY is done and goes is priceless info.

You went into great detail describing the process. I've always worked for dealerships. Was a general manager of a used car dealership for quite a few years. I just moved to Florida and I'm working at a Buick GMC Cadillac dealership now and selling 15-20 cars a month myself. Really thinking about taking the next step and opening up my own dealership.

Also finding inventory, I got lucky that I sold cars for 10+ years in WNC and know a lot of managers at franchise stores and some high end independent dealers. I’ve not bought a single car from an auction and I’m proud of that. If it wasn’t for buying cars wholesale and knowing the business I wouldn’t have had the success we have. Still can’t wait to have that chat with you.

rob you really explained the nessisary key points of starting a car dealership busniess always start small and manage the dealership throughly i thought maybe a big dealership made sense but after you said that a small car dealership is also profitable man now i really wanna start my own car dealership and i look forward to meet you one day sir!

Great info Rabbit. Appreciate you taking the time on this.

One of your best videos ever uncle rob. I’m a younger fella up in Canada who has his dealers license but no space of mine own yet. Our government and economy sure makes it near impossible/unaffordable to own space up here. Its becoming hard to keep faith. Hoping to open up my own lot someday. Cheers 👍

Great to get a video so early on in the day thanks for ur amazing advice and stories never gets old to come listen to a tale of yours thank you

Good video pretty informative. I Dona trucking company and I thought about some cars trucks but I believe you’re right about the commercial vehicles when people come to buy a specialized unit they’re serious.

EST. 2020, this is spot on. It's hard. Good luck to all the future Rabbits! I love it but it's hard.

Great chat. Couple of additional points from my own experience. (1) DMV fees go way beyond the dealer course that Rob mentioned up front. There is a laundry list of fees and ticky-tacky things you have to pay for before even hoping to get your license issued. It all adds up and before you know it you'll be into the DMV (and related expenditures) for at least $500. Also, none of this happens very fast - remember, you're dealing with government bureaucrats who don't give a crap and aren't known for efficient service. Count on it all taking two months - minimum - before you get signed off and have a license on the way. (2) City / local municipality taxes. You need a business license where your dealership is going to operate...and you better triple check that selling cars is allowed by the zoning laws wherever your dealership is located. If it's not and you need a variance...get ready to write some large checks (could be thousands). If it's zoned for auto sales then you might only need to pay $1-200 for business license (yearly) but then they'll come at you for other stuff like hazardous waste fees (Fats, Oils, Grease tax aka FOG fee). (3) Insurance is the biggest PITA (as Rob pointed out) ... you'll find it pretty easy to get a garage liability policy but if you want comp/coll/liability on your ability to actually drive the cars....whooboy, have fun even finding a company who offers those coverages for a new dealer.

You sir are the reason that I am now “Don The Well Guy”… I made the jump and my boss gave me a small percentage and every year I gain a little more and a little more. I should fully own this company I work for within the next 8 years… But listening to you, made me save my money, do my research, and make the jump… Just I was offered a deal that I couldn’t refuse… Sometimes you just have to make the jump. Can’t wait to see your new shop opening coming up… I’m really hoping to be able to make it to meet you.

Another excellent one RABBIT and The RUC! Keep soaring Rockstars! 🤘

Not me I run a shop and I hate dealing with used dealers. Except for Rob...he the best!

I am proud of you for not offering quote online classes“ for large sums of money, telling these basic things and some nuts or basic it would be more of a value than any of those shills on KZfaq lol thanks for the videos, cheers!

First of all Thank you so much for clearing the things up! Though im not from USA, this single video had so much information, you can tell the man knows what hes talking about... also your voice is very good, you should consider doing some voice acting 🙏👏👏👏👏👏

Good info most business fail because not enough cash to get through first year.

I worked at a port in Brusnwick GA.. We had some cars that where going out to companies for " Fleet " vehicles. All of them were the, bare bone model of the line.

My family built, owned and operated 5 convenience stores for about 25 years in the 80s,90s and early 2000s. The construction cost alone before a drop of gas or can of beer was sold was reaching 7 figures in the 1990s. Twenty years ago we walked away from operating them and became landlords. Each month I receive an email from 7-Eleven telling me the rent has been deposited in my bank account, no more stress. Start out small, watch your pennies and always always be attentive and at your business. Absent owners won’t be owners for very long.

Thanks Rob, just starting the process here in Kansas. I happen to own my building, warehouse. The bond wasn't bad, they require 50k here, luckily I have good credit. The biggest hurdle you mentioned was the insurance, $8k a year hurts. I love starting businesses having absolutely no idea what Im doing, makes it exciting hahaha

Very good information. Will keep u watching.

I kind of just fell into being a used car dealer it was never really a goal I just happen to be really good at working on cars and had a friend that owned a used car lot became his head mechanic about two weeks later I started selling cars got my dealers number and started going to car lot auctions to buy cars to fix up and resell myself I pretty much took over the entire car lot while he continued his regular maintenance job

South Carolina is a lot like North Carolina. Interesting hearing it. I just renewed my surety bond and dealer license last month. New test on August.

Thanks for information

I think Rob swerved into something valuable that most people otherwise miss: its just not a good idea to use borrowed money, credit, floorplan, whatever you want to call it. Its just too much risk as the borrower. Good life and financial advice to avoid debt whenever possible.

I know a guy who buys 1 to 2 used cars at a time from auction and resells them. Idk if he does it anymore. Florida allows you to advertise a car for sale on public land. Alot of private sellers do that.

Love your videos❤

Great Story Rabbit.. Drop over to Athens and let's have a beer !!

Im in the UK so different regulations etc but still found this useful so thanks

Love the shark socks😂🦈🦈

Please give a tip for me my man. I am 24 years old and just getting into flipping vehicles. Do you buy insurance and pay for registration for each individual vehicle as you are buying them? Or do you pay for an overall dealers insurance that covers all the cars purchased? I am in Colorado and just am trying to save money however I can as I am going. As of right now I am about to open up my LLC just as an overall sales business in Montana because I do not meet the requirements to become a dealer in Colorado yet.(need property, and collateral to back up) before I can officially get my license. If you have already spoke on this topic in a previous video could you point me to that video? I do vintage cars right now and am hoping to pick up modern vehicles once I get my license.

I have sold cars for a dealer for 7 years, and would love to start my own. I have no problem starting very small, but have struggled to find a semi affordable place of business to start it. What’s your opinion on a rental shop with living quarters for $1,100? There is no room for outside parking, but can fit 10 cars inside and would focus on online marking. Hard to get your food in the door with commercial prices…

I’ve been flipping cars I’m Los Angeles, I go to auctions and basically resell cars for a grand up in profit. I want to start a dealership but I don’t know where to start

Do you have a video on what steps to take once your license has been approved?

I have a dealership for 9 years. I went to big fast until I had 3 locations after that I noticed the best way is to keep it small after that I went back to one location and keep the overhead the lowest is possible. Used car business so hard and need a lot of cash & knowledge .

Don’t forget City Auctions one of my friends buys straight from several small town for their 1/2 and 3/4 trucks.

Alot of people also think if you own a business YOU ARE RICH , I owned my own auto repair shop here in Canada , My Uncle though He should get a discount , I said ok I will add 10% and give you a 5% discount , never turned a wrench on anything He owned

I been flipping cars out my driveway in Detroit since 96. Cutlass Buick regal all d😢

Do you know anyone who actually sells auction rebuilds and makes good money? I work at a dealer and my buddy has a dealer license and he sells easily repaired auction cars on the side. I also always wonder how the owners are doing at those gravel lots on the “rough side of town.”

Rob I was a used car dealer for 20 years to unlock the door every day cost 200 dollars just for operating expenses I had 1 employee . That did not include a paycheck for me this was 1990-2010

I have been told by a "buddy" that i need to rent the commercial property for at least 6 months BEFORE I CAN APPLY FOR A DEALER LICENSE,, I am in New Mexico, is that true?

I was recently contemplating getting in the business. I quickly realized that they make it impossible to be a part-time car dealer. I wanted to sell a couple of cars a month, but there is no way to cover the overhead like that.

The good thing now a days is you can get dealer start up loans to cover those bills in the beginning

Lol… I’m working on opening a buy here pay here/commercial vehicles dealer 20 car lot with a shop

How many cars do car dealerships sell a monthly

I met a guy that had a car dealership in greenville. He worked for flowers baking company full-time. Do you know who im speaking of rob?

Most helpful KZfaq video I’ve watched thanks for not trying to sell me a course

Is right now a good time to start a dealership? I've noticed car sales, used and new, tanking in my area and services and repairs on cars going up.

I was a wholesaler for years. My current job has me dealing with about 40-60 independent dealers each month. The car business can be a lot of fun but it’s also a lot of work. Many guys go into it thinking it will be easy. Those guys rarely last more than 6 months.

Wait a minute i saw this guy in a Netflix series, very knowledgable dude...thanks for the knowledge

How much liability insurance

How do you know your not buying a lemon

I bought my company truck from a commercial dealer. The only true commercial dealer within 90 miles in Huntsville, AL was in Lawrenceburg, TN. Rabbit covered their business model exactly. 150 trucks on the lot & 147 of them were white.😂

If you want to find out what is required to become a car dealer (at whatever level), the best way to learn is to go work for a car dealer so you see how things work. Seems pretty obvious to me.

I was in used cars for several years with a napa store and a auto repair... All the time I hear people say I'm going to sell used cars and make some money... Well they also have laws now..sell some and they will be looking for you... The government when you aren't licensed and insured...that's a fact

How do you offer customers financing?

Mate u just said 10k a year but you pay that monthly not the whole 10k upfront so ur not 15k in the whole start with

When I lived in ohio I would buy cars and flip them for a profit. Ohio is 10 cars a year without a dealer license.

Steiner math vibes

On minute 8:08 you said $50K did you mean $15k?

Best way to make $1million ......have one already! 😉

This man's voice is a panty-dropper for real, and I ain't even gay (or.... am I????)

How much does bond usually cost you Rob ?

Only here to study the game to destroy the next car salesmen i meet.

One big thing you missed is do you know a good car from a bad car? Can you fix it or are you going to pay to have it fixed.. I see people buy cars all the time and bring them to me to fix and the repairs can be more than what they paid for the car. Here in Canada we have it much simpler when it comes to stolen cars just simple enter the VIN with any cop shop and they can tell you in minutes if it comes up stolen. Myself I just buy broken fix it and profit and nowadays with all the junk companies make it's easy to find cars with the same problems that cost a lot to fix at a shop that I can fix cheap.

Im blessed. I’m a PHD kid . I only have to pay $100 a week, $400 a month and i get a dealer tag and all auction access. Love the video rabbit thanks man .

I much rather buy a car from a lot that just has a handful of quality cars than one that’s has a abundance knowing that all he was to do is sell sell sell not giving a hoot about the customer!

I love this channel.....I think you might be giving to much game away for free

Thank you for the advice then posting in youtube you make money from people watching.. interesting..

Don't forget the cost of selling your soul to the devil himself.

First!

It's always better to have a lot of little fat fish then one big fis and you won't go wrong ! Some days you catch hell and not even make a dime ! ,but other days you have the greatest feliing in the world because you made Money your way !! If never lost money on a car then this is not the business for you !

You're about 2 weeks too late on this video for me. I just jumped head first into a classic car dealership with nothing but 20 old cars and $20k in cash.

- 👍 👍 🔧 - Cal Worthington 👀❤🤍💙

Hi Rob, enjoying your videos,just want to say Hi from 🇨🇦 how the pickups go there ..tnx.😎👍🙏💒🛻🍻