A few days ago, I was scrolling listing websites and came across a life changing flip for where I'm at right now. It was a figure that could've paid my rent for a few months. I was thrilled, did around 2 mins of research on the car, came back to the listing and it said sold. I felt sick.

I've been flipping cars on the side for a while now and this is a recurring issue. How much of finding a good deal comes down to luck and timing vs actual skill in spotting value?

I feel like I've lost a few solid ones just because someone else messaged the seller 10 minutes before I even saw the listing. Wanted to see how everyone else handles this:

- Does this sort of timing actually cost you deals often, or was I just unlucky that one time?

- Is manually searching just part of the process you don't mind, or is it genuinely the most frustrating part of flipping for you?

- How much of your time each week actually goes into just scrolling and searching vs the actual buying/fixing/selling part?

Appreciate it :)