Most deals on old cars happen one car at a time. Every so often, though, somebody needs a whole building emptied fast. For the right buyer, that can mean a pile of old cars at a price nobody else will offer.
The car hauler and scrapper behind @AdventuresMadeFromScratch found one of those deals near Hutchinson. A woman had posted in a local community group asking who hauls off scrap metal. In the comments, she added that there were old cars too, and she would sell them cheap.
When he walked in, he found cars, engines, parts and junk from wall to wall. The building had been her late husband’s place to stash things, he explains. She knew he kept a few cars there. However, she had no idea how full it was, and the landlord wanted it empty.
One Price For Everything
Rather than cherry-pick the best car, he made one offer for all of it, including the cleanout. “No, I’ll just buy everything, pay a fair price, and we’ll get rid of the trash,” he says, describing how he works.
His price was $5,000 for everything in the warehouse. The catch was time. He had about three days before the end of the month. If he ran over, he says, the worst case was paying another month’s rent of about $500.
“It took 15 years to get it all in here and now we’re trying to get it all back out in two days,” he says.
The Old Cars Inside
The lineup was a mix of keepers and scrap, by his own account. There was a Chevy Impala coupe with roof rot under the vinyl top, a Buick Riviera with no engine, and a 1968 Ford F100 with a utility bed and a small six-cylinder.
He also found a stripped Impala on rollers, an Oldsmobile Cutlass he called very presentable, and a long Cadillac he rated the best car in the building. A Buick LeSabre from about 1971 or 1972 had a solid roof. A Camaro looked like a future demolition derby car, and a Tahoe with one smashed side was headed for scrap.
In addition, smaller finds included an old Wards Riverside bike, a mini bike, a pile of Tonka toys and two Chevy 327 engine blocks. He decided to sell almost all of it.
Two Days Of Dragging Cars
With a skid steer and a few helpers, he pulled the cars out one by one. However, some had no wheels, and almost nothing had keys. By the next morning, he says, he was done other than collecting his skid steer. A crew he hired hauled away the scrap and trash.
He also paid $600 for a truck-bed trailer and an old box truck parked outside. Later, a neighbor said the trailer was his, so he arranged to give it back.
The Math On The Deal
Afterward, he laid out his numbers. With labor, towing and fuel, he figures he has about $6,500 in the job. He expects about $1,000 back from scrap and tools. The Camaro already sold for $700, and he has priced the Cadillac at $2,500.
His conservative estimate is a $3,000 to $4,000 profit if he sells everything quickly. If he is patient, he thinks it could reach $5,000 to $6,000.
Tips For Buying A Whole Building Of Cars
- Offer to take everything, trash included. A seller under pressure may value a clean building over a top price.
- Know your deadline before you bid, and price in a worst case such as an extra month’s rent.
- Check for titles and keys early. Missing paperwork can slow every sale.
- Line up help and equipment. Cars with no wheels need a skid steer, rollers or a rollback.
- Count every cost, from labor and fuel to towing, before you count your profit.
Where Things Stand With The Warehouse Cars
The building is empty. He has sold a handful of the cars and expects to sell a few more, while others will be parted out or crushed. He says buyers on Facebook keep offering very low prices, so he may lower his asking prices over time.
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