You know what the car sold for. Do you know what the flip made?
Deelary counts the whole flip: the auction fee, the transport, the parts, the detail, the listing and the weeks your money sat in it. Free for two cars.
Flippers almost never lose money on the headline. Bought at $6,200, sold at $8,400. That part is easy to remember and pleasant to repeat.
What gets lost is the $350 auction fee, the $180 tow, the $240 of tires, the $90 detail, the $35 listing, the $120 of small parts, and the nine weeks the $6,200 sat in a driveway instead of buying the next car. The headline said $2,200. The flip made closer to $1,185, and the next one was never bought.
What the app does while you work
- Scan the VIN in the lane and the car is in the app before you have paid for it.
- Photograph every receipt. The amount, date and category are read on the device and attached to that car.
- Watch the margin move. Each cost changes the projected profit at your asking price, immediately.
- Negotiate with the floor on screen. The calculator shows what a buyer’s offer actually leaves you before you say yes.
- Count the days. A car at 45 days gets a nudge, at 75 a harder one. Sitting is the cost nobody invoices you for.
After a dozen flips it starts teaching you
Profit and days held are reported by source and by make. That is when the pattern shows: the lane that felt cheap, the badge that always needs an extra $400, the price band where cars move in two weeks instead of two months.
Nobody can hold that honestly in their head. The cars that went badly get quietly rounded in memory, and they are exactly the ones worth learning from.
Before you scale up
Two things catch flippers who start doing well. The first is the licence threshold in their state: sell more than a handful of cars in a year and most states want you licensed. Do you need a dealer licence to flip cars covers where the lines fall, how to get a dealer license covers what the application demands, and how to start a car flipping business covers the rest of the setup.
The second is buying a car with a history you did not check. Salvage, rebuilt and clean titles and how to check if a car is stolen are the two to read before the next auction.
Price
Free for two active cars, every feature included. Deelary Pro is $8.99 a month or $49.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, billed through your Apple ID. Details on the pricing page.
Runs on iPhone and iPad, works offline, exports to CSV. Doing this at a lot rather than a driveway? Car lot software is the same app from the lot’s side.
Questions
Do I need a dealer licence to flip cars?
It depends on your state and on how many cars you sell in a year. Most states set a threshold, and crossing it without a licence is what gets people fined. The blog has a full piece on where the lines fall.
How many cars does the free plan cover?
Two active cars, with every feature working. Cars you have already sold do not count against it, so the free plan stays usable for a long time if you run one or two at a time.
Does it work for motorcycles, vans or trucks?
Yes. Anything you buy, spend money on and sell works the same way. The VIN scan is built for road vehicles.
Can I see which auction actually makes me money?
Yes. Profit and days held are reported by source, so after a dozen cars you can see which lane pays and which one only looks cheap until transport and reconditioning are counted.
What does Pro cost?
$8.99 a month or $49.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, billed through your Apple ID. One cost you would otherwise have forgotten on one car usually covers the year.