Want to start my own business selling cars, where do I start?

[topher91]

So some buddies and I want to start our own business selling cars. We'll source them out from across Canada and the US and bring em to Cowtown and sell em like normal but where do we start?

We were told somewhere if we are to sell cars, we can't sell them from our own home is this true? Do we require our own lot?

What licenses do we need? Who do we need to register with?



Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris I

[Crymson]

I'm sure you've already found yoru way to the AMVIC

http://www.amvic.org/

If not, i'm sure a few well articulated emails or phone calls to them can get you all the info you need.

[QuasarCav]

I would start with a solid business plan before proceeding with this. You will not be the only people doing this in Calgary and it would be a huge benefit if you had some experience in the industry.

AMVIC is a good start but that should be near the end of the plan, you'll need somewhere to sell these cars out of.

[topher91]

Originally posted by Crymson
I'm sure you've already found yoru way to the AMVIC

http://www.amvic.org/

If not, i'm sure a few well articulated emails or phone calls to them can get you all the info you need.

Ya we called them and found how to get a car in from the states and whats required.

They are the ones that told us we need to have a lot to sell the cars and we can't sell it from the house? That's what I want to know if its true or not.

[aklalani]

i dont think thats true. as long as u have your dealers license . i know people that have their license and sell from home

[topher91]

Originally posted by aklalani
i dont think thats true. as long as u have your dealers license . i know people that have their license and sell from home

That's what I thought. Or can't we store these vehicles in any car storage place and just meet up to sell them car with a buyer? We wouldn't be using the storage place as a place of business to sell just a storage place, plain and simple.

Isn't that what Importconcern and those guys do?

Whats the average rent for shop space with a garage in the NE?

[QuasarCav]

Think about the type of vehicles you are selling. It might be alright to pickup a 1996 Taurus from someones house but if you are doing this as a business than I would have a lot or somewhere other than a private residence.

[topher91]

Originally posted by QuasarCav
Think about the type of vehicles you are selling. It might be alright to pickup a 1996 Taurus from someones house but if you are doing this as a business than I would have a lot or somewhere other than a private residence.

But that's our tagline, no showroom = low prices! haha JK

Ya I see what your saying... hmmm... but there are always people who are willing to save some money to buy a nice car right?

Like if I can legitamately show you that the car your interested in buying is 100% legal, and in the working condition I tell you, assuming I can show you service records, OOP, or inspection papers so that you know exactly what your getting but is still priced 5-8k less then a local car, would you not buy it still?

[maximus5502]

Originally posted by aklalani
i dont think thats true. as long as u have your dealers license . i know people that have their license and sell from home

NOT TRUE...they are selling illegally from thier homes. You can get what the city calls a home occupation permit where you can operate certain types of business' from within your home, a dealership is NOT one that qualifies. You can get more info from the City of Calgary permits department on the 3rd floor of City Hall.

There is also other limitation to having a home occupancy permit which a city clerk can go trough with you.

Hope That Helps and Good Luck with your venture

[pinoyhero]

You should also be factoring into the picture carrying costs, losses on some vehciles as well as insurance. Not all roses, I wouldn't mind seeing the expected ROE just for interests sake.

[topher91]

Originally posted by maximus5502



NOT TRUE...they are selling illegally from thier homes. You can get what the city calls a home occupation permit where you can operate certain types of business' from within your home, a dealership is NOT one that qualifies. You can get more info from the City of Calgary permits department on the 3rd floor of City Hall.

There is also other limitation to having a home occupancy permit which a city clerk can go trough with you.

Hope That Helps and Good Luck with your venture

Thanks, we'll check with them on that one.

Originally posted by pinoyhero
You should also be factoring into the picture carrying costs, losses on some vehciles as well as insurance. Not all roses, I wouldn't mind seeing the expected ROE just for interests sake.

Hmmm... well it was just an idea so we don't have hard numbers for an ROE yet.... PM me if you want what I know... haha

Oh and I see you've got an M3... that is one of the cars we're looking at selling... What do you expect to pay here in Calgary for one? I'd say about 45-55k?

[pinoyhero]

Mine came from the US, paid about $50K all in. In Calgary maybe a touch more (SMG, navi, PDC etc.) but savings was only OK.

[JAYMEZ]

NO you can not sell cars from your home. Do you guys have your dealer lisence? Have you guys looked at ALL your competitors , I really hope you guys have enough money to keep up in that industry. Also what experience do you guys have? Goals? (Please dont say you just wanna drive a Ferrari lol) .. And starting a business with a bunch of buddys sounds cool and all , but how would you do it? Who would be in control , ect ect.

Also what happens if your cars dont sell , how would you afford them? What if something went wrong with one , could you afford to fix it? Insurance? Do you have an accountant , business plan? Banker? Loans? sooooooooooo much stuff needs to go into it.

[Rx7]

^, you can not sell cars from your house, that's considered curbing, you can get a home occupation permit and run your office from your home but you can not store any vehicles in or around ur home. You'll have to open a lot, or be a wholesaler

[ken-gsr]

Originally posted by maximus5502



NOT TRUE...they are selling illegally from thier homes. You can get what the city calls a home occupation permit where you can operate certain types of business' from within your home, a dealership is NOT one that qualifies. You can get more info from the City of Calgary permits department on the 3rd floor of City Hall.

There is also other limitation to having a home occupancy permit which a city clerk can go trough with you.

Hope That Helps and Good Luck with your venture

\


I used to work on the 3rd floor in development and izzoblitzo still works there. You can ask me (and I am sure he wont have a problem either) if you have any questions about business licenses.

The only sort of business license you would be aloud to have out of your home for this line of work would be 'Automotive retailer - Auction to Auction sales' - this does not allow you to have any of the cars you are selling on your premise at all. You would also not be aloud to have any customers come to your house to conduct business. Basically with this license, you can purchase cars from auctions, and sell them at other auctions.

You would also not be aloud to have the cars stored at a storage facility, because as far as the City is concerned you would be running the business (a majority of the business would be from here) out of the storage facility, and you would not be able to set up a business license for a car dealership at a storage facility.

You would pretty much need to have a commercial site to operate the business, and the permits to do so (just as far as the city is concerned, never mind the AMVIC and all that other crap) are not all that easy to get.

You would also have to apply for a Development Permit that would allow for a dealership from the location that you choose. This permit would show the city that you have enough 'show' stalls and business area to operate the business. Sometimes these development permits don't even get approved.

I feel for you man, setting up a 'Car Dealer' business is one of the hardest things to do in the City of Calgary. You can not have a simple 'home based' business when it comes to this type of work.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.
.

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by topher91



Ya we called them and found how to get a car in from the states and whats required.

They are the ones that told us we need to have a lot to sell the cars and we can't sell it from the house? That's what I want to know if its true or not.

Originally posted by aklalani
i dont think thats true. as long as u have your dealers license . i know people that have their license and sell from home

Originally posted by maximus5502



NOT TRUE...they are selling illegally from thier homes. You can get what the city calls a home occupation permit where you can operate certain types of business' from within your home, a dealership is NOT one that qualifies. You can get more info from the City of Calgary permits department on the 3rd floor of City Hall.

There is also other limitation to having a home occupancy permit which a city clerk can go trough with you.

Hope That Helps and Good Luck with your venture

From what I "HEAR" (Tom Co ain't no snitch), some people will just piggy-back a "lot address" of a friend who has a warehouse or something... but physically have people coming over to your house for convenience purpose.

[T-Dubbs]

the amvic license is a joke to get
u have to sit in a room and listen to some jackass talk for hours then, write a common sense test to get your trading license.
it takes a day, but u only have to take it once in your life.

[Euro838]

Well, good luck to you and make sure you advertise what you got! Hopefully most of your product will come from Florida or somewhere warm and relative mild humidity. Please don't bring all the rust buckets from out east!

[topher91]

Originally posted by T-Dubbs
the amvic license is a joke to get
u have to sit in a room and listen to some jackass talk for hours then, write a common sense test to get your trading license.
it takes a day, but u only have to take it once in your life.

haha really? That sounds like buckets of fun!

Originally posted by Euro838
Well, good luck to you and make sure you advertise what you got! Hopefully most of your product will come from Florida or somewhere warm and relative mild humidity. Please don't bring all the rust buckets from out east!

Looking into Vegas and Cali for some cars... Didn't look into florida yet.

[topher91]

Originally posted by ken-gsr
\


I used to work on the 3rd floor in development and izzoblitzo still works there. You can ask me (and I am sure he wont have a problem either) if you have any questions about business licenses.

The only sort of business license you would be aloud to have out of your home for this line of work would be 'Automotive retailer - Auction to Auction sales' - this does not allow you to have any of the cars you are selling on your premise at all. You would also not be aloud to have any customers come to your house to conduct business. Basically with this license, you can purchase cars from auctions, and sell them at other auctions.

You would also not be aloud to have the cars stored at a storage facility, because as far as the City is concerned you would be running the business (a majority of the business would be from here) out of the storage facility, and you would not be able to set up a business license for a car dealership at a storage facility.

You would pretty much need to have a commercial site to operate the business, and the permits to do so (just as far as the city is concerned, never mind the AMVIC and all that other crap) are not all that easy to get.

You would also have to apply for a Development Permit that would allow for a dealership from the location that you choose. This permit would show the city that you have enough 'show' stalls and business area to operate the business. Sometimes these development permits don't even get approved.

I feel for you man, setting up a 'Car Dealer' business is one of the hardest things to do in the City of Calgary. You can not have a simple 'home based' business when it comes to this type of work.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.
.

Thanks for that info, you'll be getting more q's from me for sure! haha