Buy low. Sell high. Don't get burned.

That door looks just as shiny as the rest of the car. Run the paint tester over it and the reading jumps, because somebody painted over something and the seller forgot to mention it. Every car in Car Flipper has a story, and the seller is only telling you part of it.

The good news is that plenty of what puts buyers off is cheap to fix. Foggy headlights make a car look years older. Work the compound in, spray them clear, and the same car suddenly looks like somebody took care of it. Buy what looks rough, fix what buyers notice, and sell it for more.

Car Flipper is a first person game about buying used cars off strangers and selling them for more than you paid. There's no dealership and no staff, just you, a phone full of listings and not a lot of cash in a small town called Pine Hollow. You can do all of it on your own, or bring up to three friends along and split the work.

Reading the car

The listings tell you more than they mean to. Some sellers own up to everything. Some forget a thing or two. Some round the miles down and somehow never get around to sending a picture of the engine. Ask for more photos, run the history report, then go and see it for yourself.

Once you're there, pop the hood and check the oil. Milky oil usually means a head gasket, and if it sparkles there's metal in it.

Plug the scanner in under the dash and the codes come up on your phone. Sometimes you'll find out somebody cleared them right before you showed up, which tells you plenty on its own.

Walk around the body with the paint tester, mark every dent and scratch you find, and bring all of it up when you start talking price. Last of all, start it up and look for smoke, unless the seller already had it running before you got there.

Can't make it out yourself? Pay the mobile mechanic to go and have a look. He'll tell you what he found, and he'll also tell you what he didn't bother checking.

Fixing it up

Once it's yours, the mechanic puts it on the lift and hands you an invoice with everything that's actually wrong with it. You only pay for the inspection on the problems you missed, so it pays to look properly.

What gets fixed after that is up to you. Do the headlights yourself, wash it at the car wash or at home with your own pressure washer, or leave it with the shop for repairs and a respray.

If you'd rather save the money, head out to the junkyard. Grab a wrench, pull the door or bumper or headlight you need off one of the wrecks, and pay the clerk on your way out. Parts only fit cars that share the same body, and the good stuff doesn't sit there long because other pickers come through too. Some cars just aren't worth saving, and the yard will happily take those off your hands for scrap.

Selling it on

Take your own photos, pick a price and post it on Curbside or Dougslist. Buyers message you, come by, walk around the car and haggle over whatever they spot. Rinse it properly first, because nobody wants a car that's still covered in soap. Agree on a price, shake hands, and watch them drive off in it.

Bring your friends

Invite up to three friends through Steam and they join your game with characters they made themselves. Everyone sees the same phone and the same money. One of you can drive while the others ride along in the passenger and back seats, and anyone can point out the rust the seller was hoping nobody would notice.

You decide how far you trust each of them. A Visitor can look around and help inspect. A Helper can message sellers, fuel up and wash cars. A Partner can agree on prices and even sign for a loan. Everybody carries their own gas can, so nobody drinks your fuel, but the money for refills still comes out of the business.

Bigger cars, bigger risks

You're never going to end up running a dealership. You get better at reading cars, and you level up. Each level opens up something new to buy, like an OBD scanner, a bigger gas can, a pressure washer for home, or another app for the phone. The local shop starts treating you like a regular too.

The cars go from tired commuter sedans all the way up to supercars, and the expensive ones cost more than you'll have saved. That's what the bank is for. Borrow what you need, pay it back every week with a fee on top, and try not to miss a payment.

Home is the workshop at the end of the driveway, because the homeowners association sealed your garage. There's room for thirteen cars and that's it, so you'll keep having to choose between a quick sale and waiting for the right buyer.

Features

• Online with up to four players, with passenger seats, a shared wallet and trust levels you set for each friend.

• A first person inspection with the dipstick, a paint tester, an OBD scanner and your own eyes.

• Hidden problems on every car, and sellers who warm engines up, clear the codes and roll the odometer back.

• Two listing apps, history reports that only know what got reported, paid alerts, and tips from the regulars at the bar.

• Hands on fixing up with headlight restoration, the car wash, junkyard parts, and a mechanic with a paint booth.

• Buyers who look your car over and argue about what they find.

• Sixteen cars from cheap sedans to supercars, and bank loans for when you want the ones you can't afford.

• Tools and apps you unlock as you level up, plus an old computer in the workshop that runs the same apps (most of the time).

• A whole town to get around in, with your workshop, the gas station, the bank, the junkyard, the bar, the bus, and a tow truck for when things go wrong.