Can a person with a felony conviction over 20 years ago obtain a surety bond for wholesale auto auctions, retail sale of vehicles?

I'm a dealer in PA....the best thing you can do to get real answers is to find an insurance company that sells surety bonds in your area and ask them.

The bond may not be the issue that you face...depending on your state, it may be your DMV licensing that causes you difficulties. I am not a felon so I had to go through nothing extra but in my application through the state, there was a section there to fill out if you were ever convicted of anything other than a traffic violation. If so, they put you under a case by case investigation. You cannot lie on this part as they also require a background check done by the state police...on top of that, if you want to offer financing, many states require an FBI background check in order to get a banking license.

You may not face these issues where you are...you may face more...I can't really say. Best thing is to call an agent and ask about the bond and then look up your states licensing policy online or call the DMV and have them direct you where to get this information.

Also....selling cars sounds great....but it's tough up front. You will need lots of cash laying around to keep you going for a year at least. I was in business for 9 months before I started actually generating more money coming in the door than going out...and I'm still close to $70k in the hole from the previous 9 months.

Good luck.