"Sure, there’s a chance he could have flipped the Nissan Versa and made more — but this would have resulted in further income tax hits, possibly pushing him to

"Sure, there’s a chance he could have flipped the Nissan Versa and made more — but this would have resulted in further income tax hits, possibly pushing him to a higher bracket." No, not unless he managed to sucker some buyer into paying more than the MSRP that is his tax basis for the vehicle at that point. What sloppy reasoning. There is no way the after-tax value of the car will be less than the $1500 (which, of course, would itself have the same bracket-raising tax implications) he stuck with. He saves hassle, and perhaps some tax-agency scrutiny, but he's not better off than if he won the car. No wonder Vox didn't publish this tripe under their own masthead.