Flipping Go Karts... Is it worth it???

[ajulimokarter]

ME and my friend(an expert) are thinking of trying to buy $100 frames cleaning them and painting them and a few thhings like that and then sell them for whatever just wanted to hear some thoughts on it...

---------- Post added at 10:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------

Me and my friend were thinking of buying $100 frames and then cleaning them up and painting them and then selling them for whatever but is it worth it in the end...? just wanted to hear what the pros thought

 

[gr8hairy1]

I'm interested as well. Even if it's not done as a business, I'd love doing it as long as I didn't lose money. Though it seems golf carts sell for way way more than any go kart. I have no idea why they sell for so much.

 

[bob58o]

Nope.
Just my opinion.

Check your local craigslist and see what complete functional karts are listed for. Then multiply that price by 0.50 - 0.67. A kart listed for $300 might sell for $200.
A kart listed for $500 might sell for $300.

Can you get a kart into comparable shape for that amount of money? Do you have space to store the kart while waiting for somebody to offer the asking price? Do you have restraint to not drive the kart around and break stuff while trying to sell it?

 

[Kansaskart]

Most of the time money losing proposition. Especially if you buy a frame and put a new engine on it then totally forget it in 'most' cases.

Best way is finding them dirt cheap but those deals are far and few between.

If you're familiar with go karts then shift your attention to riding mowers. Those are much easier to make $ on but are a lot of hard work. You can make good $ parting them out online I personally shipped 6 engines last month. Pain to pack @ 100lbs each lol. I got so much to get rid of this month it's stressing me lol.

Yesterday I bought a 16 year old swisher ride king from a guy for $100. He claimed the pto was bad. Mower looked good and ran good. The wiring was shot, I replaced it all last night and this am. Put about 10 hours in it including pickup time. Turns out just wiring, pto was fine. Mowed yard with it today. It's $500 now if you want it.

So the potential is much better and real. One bit of advice is let people tell you what they think is wrong but do your own diagnosis you may end up doing a bunch of unnecessary work by assuming they knew what they were talking about. I found that out the hard way. Also, you will gain a lot of useful knowledge working on them and get better with time. Im lucky because I'm near large metro areas so they are easy to find.

---------- Post added 07-02-2018 at 12:01 AM ---------- Previous post was 07-01-2018 at 11:58 PM ----------

Of course, not sure how old you are but getting mowers home could be an issue you'll need a truck and trailer or know someone that does.

 

[Joe-405]

No. Unless you love doing it and have the income for some losses.

 

[gr8hairy1]

Thanks for the great replies.

Does anyone know why golf carts are so expensive? The plastic paneling? I just don't get it

 

[ajulimokarter]

maybe cause their electric and they normally have pretty nice seats and tires too i really dont know because even really old ones are really expensive

 

[Functional Artist]

No, it's NOT worth it
…& you could end up with "road rash"
...like me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hr3SS-4VyM

Oh, you meant buying-n-selling go karts

Frame ~$100.00 (needs work)
Predator ~$100.00 (the easy way)
Tires ~$100.00 (they always need tires)
Clutch, chain, brakes, misc. ~$ (depends)
Labor ~$ (how much you wanna make?)

...nope, still not worth it

 

[KartFab]

In my experience, at least where i live, people only want to pay $100-$300 for a go kart. If you restore one to 'like new' meaning repaint the whole thing, new tires, new bearings, new chain, new engine, new upholstery, you could get $500-$800 for it. I sold a dingo for $1000 after a better than new restoration with a much larger engine was put on it, diamond plate etc.

https://kartfab.com/vintage-go-kart-restoration

These are just a few of the ones i documented when i flipped them.

Bottom line is this: on average, if you are lucky, you can get a go kart for $100, put $300 into it and so much time and effort then list it for sale for $500-$800 only to get people wanting to trade junk for it, or offering $300 for it.

The math doesn't add up. Yes ou can make a profit, but the time and effort to get it there is not worth your time if you do it for money. If you do it for the experience and fun/hobby like most all of us do, then it will be fun. If you do make any money off it, and you truly love go karts, you will probably use it to buy more parts and then be broke again. Then you have just completed the cycle. Before you know it your backyard and or garage will be filled with projects that you cant ever seem to finish and you wont sell them because you know they are worth a lot when you fix them up. oh wait thats just me.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Bottom line is this: on average, if you are lucky, you can get a go kart for $100, put $300 into it and so much time and effort then list it for sale for $500-$800 only to get people wanting to trade junk for it, or offering $300 for it.

^^ This. ^^

If you're looking to make money doing it, you have to account for all of your time and costs and subtract that from the price you get for the kart. I think you'll find that the average hourly rate will work out to a disappointingly low number.

Know that at least some of the lowballers passing by are looking to flip your stuff too, no matter what it is. They frequently offer 50% or less and want you to take even more off for their gas and trouble...or want you to deliver it for free so their profit margin is higher. Please don't be one of those people.