I’ve come to find that the repair and service of vehicles is much easier and simpler once I’ve learned specific vehicle platforms. Every vehicle has its “known issues” but it takes time to obtain that knowledge and really figure out how to diagnose them properly.
Research
Whenever I buy a vehicle that I’ve never had experience with before I find that I spend a lot of my time researching the issues rather than actually fixing the issues. The Mini Cooper I’d purchased was a perfect example of this scenario. This is of course a necessary evil on the first go round with any vehicle platform. You’ve got to learn its various systems and decipher exactly what part has failed and what the appropriate course of action is to repair it. On the vehicle platforms that I’ve owned multiple vehicles of this research time is greatly decreased, and sometime completely eliminated, the more of them I own. For instance, the Ford truck chassis is a platform of which I’ve now owned four different vehicles (2010 Navigator L, 2005 F-150, 2010 Expedition EL, 2012 F-150). I now have a solid knowledge base of this vehicle platform and I’m able to quickly assess issues, order parts that I need, and swap them out.
I’ve owned three NC Miata’s, three Victory motorcycles, and multiple Subarus. In each of these platforms the bulk of the learning took place on the first vehicle and thereafter I was just adding bits to my knowledge base.
The other benefit of consistently flipping common vehicle platforms is that I have a series of fluids and parts in stock that I’m sure I’ll use again. At times I’ve had something like six different grades of motor oil in my cabinet because of the broad range of vehicles I’d owned. Same thing for the rest of the drivetrain fluids (differential gear oil, transfer case fluid, transmission fluid, power steering).
Reduce Risk
When looking for future vehicles to acquire and flip sticking with common vehicle platforms also enables you to more quickly assess the risks associated with them. For instance, the Ford truck platform has known issues with the 5.4 liter V8 timing system wearing out and the exhaust manifold studs breaking off. Being aware of these two issues and how to inspect for them enables you to identify issues that will cost money to fix; effectively reducing your risk. The timing repair will cost around $2,700 and the exhaust manifold will cost about $900, if you pay a shop to do the work. Knowing the potential issues and their relative costs enables you to determine a viable game plan for flipping the vehicle, whether that’s buying one or walking away from one.
Learning the Market
The final benefit of flipping common vehicle platforms is that you get to learn the market for those vehicles much better and understand the demand and pricing. Mazda Miata’s and Subaru WRXs are two vehicles that consistently trend higher than the Kelley Blue Book appraised values. Knowing this helps with setting the appropriate listed selling price. WRXs appeal to a much narrower market than Miata’s do and typically the availability of cash and desire to finance vary between these demographics as well. But again, knowing these things enables you to better position the vehicle for sale.
I’ve somewhat found myself falling into sticking with a handful of common vehicle platforms. I of course don’t tend to pass up good deals outside of this subset of vehicles but I am also cautious that I not derail myself by pursuing some “great deal” on a vehicle platform that I know nothing about. That is an easy way to get burned in a hurry. Just remember that when flipping a vehicle you don’t get paid until it sells, and you’ll get paid the same amount whether it took you an hour to fix the problems or 17 hours to fix the problems. I value my time so I seek to get the issues resolved in as little time as necessary.
After all, time is money.