is it just me or are our trucks getting expensive

[LostMy65]

I saw that happen just this last week.
There was a square body on ebay that sold for $800.
Two days later it was listed by the winner for $1200.

[imjeff]

$500?? That is less than most car lots mark up! Average retail markup is double. I doubt $500 is driving the prices of our trucks up. As far as the "semi tax free" income...hope for your friend's sake the IRS doesn't come a knocking! No such thing as tax free $50K. You can blame your TV for the increased price of old cars and trucks or you can look at the actual numbers. New trucks are pushing $70K! Ten years ago I bought a new one for $29K. Why wouldn't used vehicles go up as well? Everyone laments the price of things they want and complains about how little they got for their creampuff. Same story with any commodity. Bottom line? Anything is worth what someone is willing to pay, period.

[donthekawguy]

Originally Posted by imjeff

$500?? That is less than most car lots mark up! Average retail markup is double. I doubt $500 is driving the prices of our trucks up. As far as the "semi tax free" income...hope for your friend's sake the IRS doesn't come a knocking! No such thing as tax free $50K. You can blame your TV for the increased price of old cars and trucks or you can look at the actual numbers. New trucks are pushing $70K! Ten years ago I bought a new one for $29K. Why wouldn't used vehicles go up as well? Everyone laments the price of things they want and complains about how little they got for their creampuff. Same story with any commodity. Bottom line? Anything is worth what someone is willing to pay, period.

He did have to pay the tax on the cars at the DMV. Other than that it's free money. Not sure how many cars you can buy and sell in WA before you need a license. Here in Idaho it's 6. Whatever profit you make on the sale is tax free.

[imjeff]

Originally Posted by donthekawguy

He did have to pay the tax on the cars at the DMV. Other than that it's free money. Not sure how many cars you can buy and sell in WA before you need a license. Here in Idaho it's 6. Whatever profit you make on the sale is tax free.

Having owned several businesses I can assure you it is not "free money". Income tax is federal so ID vs WA really doesn't matter and I doubt uncle sugar would classify $50K as a "hobby"! If he's making $10K a car that sounds an awful lot like a restoration business. Can you make $50K painting cars if it's under 6? Rebuilding motors? Custom interiors? Didn't really want to get into a big tax law thing here, but it seems people are in a snit about rising prices. Seems odd to think its just on our trucks...because of TV shows...nothing to do with inflation, diminishing supplies, new vehicle prices, etc, etc, etc. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Steak ain't .99 a pound and Wranglers don't cost $9.99 any more. I don't like it, but it's not because of some reality show.

[60sIron]

He never even registered the cars in his name. Just pass the signed pink slip to his buyer. Usually never had anything for more than a week. $500 was just a number I though out there. Profit varied depending on each deal. He'd do 1 or 2 a month if you were to average it. I'm not saying it was legal or driving up the prices of our trucks. Just stating that "flipping" happens all the time. On anything that can be bought and sold.

[Bigd426]

Took me a little over a year to buy a truck. Prices are going up for sure thanks in part to TV and auctions that are bringing stupid high prices on cars. But i finally found a stored inside c10 for 20 something years with a title for less than 2500. Now I drove 2 hrs away on a monday night to get it about midnight because i was afraid of losing the deal.

[donthekawguy]

I guess I lucked out on my truck. It sat on CL until the ad expired. It was running driving shortbed. I got it 3k. Granted I have put a bunch into it but I looked for a decent one on and off for 10 years or so. I don't know what I could get for it now and don't care because I'm keeping it until I die. Unless someone offers stupid money for it and I have my eye on something else at the same time. lol

[Turtleman]

Seems to be a growing market for sure.. I looked for 2 years for a clean truck that wasn't all "Hot Rodded" up,, it had some good upgrades but for the most part was OEM.. I paid $4,000.00 for the one I have now,, I've never done anything to it but add Gas and have a few small issues to play with.. 3 days after I bought it I was getting gas and some guy walked up to me and offered me $7,000.00 for it on the spot.
Show Room New.. clean truck are being asked for near the 20,000 area (or more)
Drivable Daily Drivers are costing around 7 to 15 thousand
A "Project" truck without a floor is costing 1 to 3 thousand..

[tincan1966]

Not sure where some are getting trucks, but my daily driver '65 has the original floors and cab mounts, cab corners, bedside, etc. Was not a rust bucket and was purchased for $400 with a good KS title. The deals are out there still, just takes some looking.

Like others have said, doesn't matter where your are, flipping trucks or selling golf balls, according to the IRS income is income. Anyone making a profit is liable for the taxes on the income.

We've picked up several over the years, made some repairs and turned them for profit. We see no harm in that, our time and parts are worth something. If one person doesn't like that, move out of the way, there'll be someone else with a pocket of dead presidents that does want it.

Just our opinion and sure we'll be told we're wrong! LOL!