Used Hot Dog Cart??

Hello, I posted before about trying to get into the cart business. I finally put together a little money.And I got a truck with a hitch to pull a cart.Anyway, I have been searching Craigslist and Ebay religiously looking for a cart. I was hoping to spend about $1500 or less for one. I found one for $3000, but she refuses to let it go for less than $2500--although its been sitting in her garage for over a year.Maybe I could do a little more with the money issue. I know most cost alot more. Anyway I thought maybe someone on here located in NC or nearby that  might be able to direct me to a used one (hopefully before summer is gone, lol). Thanks for any help or advice you guys might offer.

What I am about to tell you is VERY IMPORTANT!
Before you spend dime one on ANY cart no matter what the folks that are selling tell you.
CHECK WITH THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND THE COUNTY / CITY to make 100% sure that the cart will pass there health inspection and does not exceed the county's limit for size.

Thanks Hot Dog. I know that is important! I will definitely check on compliance before I buy. I have been surfing in here for a while.  Thanks again!

And take this from experience. Always make sure they fire it up. Ask the seller when it was last certified. Over 3 yrs here in arizona and you  have to start all over. Undersell it. Look at every thing. You know in your head its perfect but make her think it will take work. New tires, if over 3 yrs old ask if she will take off the cart fee and what ever. Call her everyday till you bug the poop out of her and she sells it for lower just to get rid of you. lol

Actually if I were you, I wouldn't call her, I would leave your number and let her contact you.   When she calls you back a few weeks later.  Say you already bought one and offer her a lot less.   I do that when I am buying a car or something pretty large.

Ask her if she will take the $1500 and take $100 a month for 8 Months with 6% interest. after 8 Months go to her with the last 2 payments and all the interest. That way she won't screw you out of the Title............ she would be the lienholder.............You really can't bargin unless you have the money. Money talks...............Good luck............Bill

Thanks for the advice everyone. I actually went to look at it about a month ago when I first  posted on here. She had posted it on Craigslist at that time. She said at that point she didnt know if there was a title or not. So hot dog carts do have titles? She had only used it a few times she said.She had a big packet of info that we didnt look at--its probably in there--she bought it new. I pointed out that her All American Hot Dog Cart usually retails for the amount she was asking. We talked about financing  it. She basically would and said she would take $2500 -less than her original $3000, but it would have to stay at her house until I paid it off. Anyway, she reposted it last weekat $2900 and I offered $2000 cash. That would be meeting her in the middle of what she wanted and what I wanted to spend. I really dont want to spend over $1500, but I guess I would. She still said she couldnt based on the fact that she still owes money on it--I think its only two years old. I mean the cart itself looks great, although its not a deluxe version--its a smaller one--you can see it on the manufacturer website. Well, I am not sure if that cart will work out. She does have my name and my email and she has met me. I am thinking that I needed to find something in that $1500 range so I will still have some money and be able to handle the other expenses. I have thought about doing this several times over the years. I figure with the effort I am making now that if it is meant to be, it will. I am hoping that it will.

Do you have an "RSS reader"? The Firefox browser does. You'll find that when you do a search for "hot dog cart" on Craigs, at the bottom of the page you'll see the little orange RSS logo. Set your RSS reader to pull down this search every hour and you'll never miss anything on Craigs again.

My advice is to keep looking. Have cash ready in hand, be the first one there and see if they'll take a lowball. A lot of people don't want the hassle and will sell to whomever shows up first with cash.

I  search the Crazedlist.org site in the south section regurally too. I have thought about driving to another state to buy a cart, but then you run into issues of making it compliant to the state of NC.I cant use Explorer for that, so I downloaded Firefox just so I could look at that site.I didnt know about the RSS reader button though, so I will set that up.
 Also , I have looked at concession trailers but they are more expensive than carts for the most part. Also , looked into having an ice cream cart too--to find one used is harder than the hot dog cart.   Thanks

You should be able to use a cart that has been approved for GA. David built our cart (it's a little different due to our needs & Full-timer lifestyle). Since we knew we would be moving to NM and also be selling in TX part of the year, I checked out the regulations in several states. Except for a few cities, most states have similar rules if they require the cart to be NSF certified or follow NSF standards (like NC). We basically followed GA's regulations plus upgraded a few things to suit us. Our cart passed with no problems. BUT David had talked extensively with the NC health inspector for the county we are currently in. Big things with the health inspector: we had to have SS countertop (even though we konw of other approved carts with aluminum tops); all seams must be tight enough that a credit card can not slip into the seam (no problem we caulked the cart to death); we had to use vinyl tile flooring in the cart (yes, it is an open cart and it has a floor). Well it passed inspection, inspector was impressed (David used to be a cabinet builder) and amazed at the high temps achieved with sterno cans (used because fire codes will not allow propane tanks inside a building or tent but sterno cans will be allowed). We have since replaced the flooring with “Trex” type decking material which looks better and is easier on the feet. County inspectors have seen it... while ordering hot dogs from David.

Have you considered building your cart? It's not that difficult. David used our old flatbed trailer that he cut down then rewelded together (we have a welder). He built the “cabinet” with 2x2 steel tubing ($) and skinned the cabinets inside & out with aluminum panels recyled from an old Eagle 05 highway coach we had (hence the cart's name “Eagle 5.1”). The hot box was insulated with the stuff used to insulate car engines ($). We put SS counter on 2/3's of the top ($) and used some old Corian we had laying around for the counter above the cash drawer (pulled from an old cash register we had). We bought the flooring($). We bought the pans ($), a few are new but most are used. We have about $500 invested. Replacing the floor brought the price up pretty close to the $500 mark. David will build a new one once we get out to NM. Tonight's race in Toccoa GA is our last one and then we are doing the FreedomFest on next Friday here in Franklin NC... following week we head out to NM. Our daughter get's our curent cart once our new bigger cart is finished.

http://photobucket.com/DavidsHotDogCart

The “other” hot dog guy here in town is closing down his restaurant and has his cart up for sell (hasn't been used since last summer as far as I know). The guy he had operating the cart buys his hot dogs from us. I will PM you his contact info. His cart will not suit us. It is a standard cart & we have differnet requirements.

Thanks Lornaschinske for the advice and the help.  I can be handy with some things, but I am afraid that if I tried to make a cart, I would mess it up or it would not look very professional.