anybody with an illinois auto dealers license

1quick

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Jan 29, 2008
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coal city
I have been thinking about getting one but dont even know ware to start, how hard is it what are the requirements anybody with some experence point me in the right direction, i am looking at an old dealers lot and office thats for sale/rent, im looking to start just a small used car lot and possibly some installs audio and performance, this would not be a main source of income but more something to keep my fiance/soon to be wife busy durring the day and keep me playing with cars in my free time wich is quite a bit since i only work 14 days a month at my normal job
 

shockerracing.com

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Jun 9, 2006
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Dundee, IL
The Secretary of State can be a pain in the ass for opening a dealership. A few years back after being an established dealer for 15 years we moved into a new location and they gave us a lot of hassles to get the location approved. It's not impossible but they are picky about a lot of stupid things.

Here are the instructions:
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/vsd659.pdf
 

tmbutitta

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Feb 16, 2010
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Rockford
I went through this a few years ago. You have to jump through hoops and it is actually pretty costly. All the requirements are online, but you have to have a building that's zoned for car sales. You have to have a contract signed with a shop to do all repairs, or have a shop on site. You have to obviously be insured, and have a $25k bond for the first 3 years. Once approved by the Secretary of State, you have to sit through an 8 hour class.

When its all said and done, the costs are pretty significant and would pretty costly to be just a hobby. There are some perks and its fun to buy and sell cars, but we are getting to a point where we won't be renewing our dealership license. We can't get the state to approve us to have more then one vehicle for sale at a time, and costs are a bit pricey to justify the personal use. And reality is, auction prices aren't even that good! Every once in a while you can find a gem for a deal- but they are few and far between.
 

Outlaw

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Jul 24, 2009
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Johnsburg
That's what we did for the first few years. Just gave a friend 150$ for every car we bought. We did about 10 cars one year and that's when we got our own license.

Honestly, considering the prices people pay for stuff at auctions, It's not even worth it... I ran my cars through my dealership when I worked there, but I do just fine now on my own... and if I have to sign the title when I buy it, I live close to a DMV that expedites titles so it's never a major waiting game.
 
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