No, there is no law anywhere in the US prohibiting you from selling a used car in a private transaction.

It's illegal in my state to sell a car for the purpose of making a profit as an individual without a dealer license, and there's a limit of 4 per year.

https://dor.wa.gov/get-form-or-publication/publications-subj...

Wait, are you saying that private used car sale is illegal in your state?

No, private car sales are legal as long as the seller isn't trying to make a profit off the car.

That seems like an insane restriction on what you can do with your private property. What are they trying to protect against? People peddling lemons? There must be a better way.

I think what happened was auto dealerships successfully lobbied the state congress to raise the barrier to entry so they had less competition from private sellers.

Like if they try and sell it for more than they paid for it?

What if they end up selling it for more than it is estimated to be worth in something like blue book?

Is that considered profit?

Yeah.

Not true. There is a limit to the number of times you can sell a car per year before you get a dealers license.

(I have several companies in this space)

It's only a "private transaction" if you aren't doing it for the intention of making a profit. (depending on exact laws).

Unless the laws in their state are solely based on volume, they are almost certainly acting as a dealer, which requires a dealer license and a bunch more legal requirements. In most states once someone buys a car with the intention of reselling it rather than using it, they automatically become a dealer.

You are certainly allowed to buy a car, fix it, and sell it.

Not at a profit, iirc correctly. Taxes and dealer license comes into play.

So here's the crazy thing -- if you pay taxes on the profit you earn, like everything else, your state tends to not care and treats it like any other business.

Though in my state, in excess of 5 vehicles per year they start to care, and prefer you hold a surety bond -- which as of a few months ago, I do for an amount well in excess of the transaction price of the vehicles I typically sell. I also now have a dealer plate, which never goes on anything because some buyers would get weird if they saw one.

You can call the profit your labor cost and break even in the governments eyes.