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These links might go dead.
Over the past 2 weeks I was in the market for a Protege, so this car is fresh in my memory.

This ad, appearing today, is for a red 99 Protege. $4295
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ctd/800763449.html

This ad, is the same car, from 8/13, $3300
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/795190291.html
There was another ad for it prior to 8/13. I'd guess the car was most certainly bought at an auction, which while I'm partial to red, I passed it over. It's also an auto, and I wanted a stick.

The car may not necessarily be bad, and the price isn't out of of line. I had a heck of a time finding one. 02's and 03's tend to go for about $6k, and those are often low grade DX models with crank windows. I ended up getting an 00 ES, with all the power goodies, 5-speed, and moonroof, at a price in between the two prices above, and with slightly lower mileage.

Its a very tight market for used small cars. I had 2 Proteges and an Escort sell out from under me because I didn't move fast enough. One I missed by mere minutes. In the DC area the supply is low because a lot of people take vacations in August, so not so many private sales being listed at the moment.

But still, the least they could do is clean up the grubby interior and wipe the soda spilt on the driver door and the console. Caveat Emptor!

I thought about doing this with Geo Metros.....The day after I bought mine 195 miles from my house I was talked to at a red light by a guy that owns a new car dealership and had a list of 20 customers wanting 45+ mpg cars no mater what...he had seen my temp tags and asked where I bought it and if I would sell it for $4000 on the spot...tempting, but I had been looking for 2 months and declined...they are selling very high in Indy...I bought mine in Columbus OH for $3000.

Bummer. From the title I though this thread would be about buying, "improving", and selling a car. I was hoping for EV conversions.

I flipped 3 early 80s diesel vehicles in 2004-06; the best deal for me was a Mercedes wagon that I netted over $2000 on. Simply a matter of buying in one market for cheap, holding on to them for a couple of months--they were fun to drive--and then selling in a bigger market that had a biodiesel underground starting up. As a student, it was a way to make a little extra money with only a few hours put in and even that only when I had some spare time. However, 2 of the 3 buyers contacted me within a couple of weeks of the sale to ask about serious problems such as the clutch/transmission... While nothing was sold deceptively, I felt bad enough about my buyers' luck that I stopped my flipping to avoid any of the stereotypical taint of being a used car salesman. That and the high price of diesel...

I will admit to flipping a few myself, but mainly I was just looking for alow buck high mpg car. My current Civic I could prob sell and make at least 1500, but I really like it a lot. I would flip more cars in the future though. Its hard to support a family on one income.

aca,
I recently saw a 2000 Protege (5 speed) w/ 120k miles on local CL for $2k. Too bad you didn't mention it. I would have delivered for a modest fee. :)