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Been following the ads on site mash and have just been blown away by the approach of many vendors.

* People selling "show" cars with no pictures.

* people who are too busy to answer e-mails and insist on calls....then are never available....

* Obvious, basic errors, like the person selling a caribbean clipper....or the guy with a 48 with ultramatic which had a clutch......

What's your weirdest experience here??????

Here is a good example. This car has been listed for many months at (if I recall right) 14,900 or 13,900. Lately it has started going up, no doubt as a response to the general rise in the economy.

FROM CRAIGSLIST:

Packard 1956 Executive Ht w/a/c, wirewheels - $21900 (nova)
Date: 2010-10-21, 2:43PM EDT
Reply to: sale-ahhd3-2018235396@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Packard 1956 Executive 2dr HT rare model with real 'eye' appeal, AIR CONDITIONED, show condition,

original interior, push button automatic transmission, very rare correct chrome wire wheels,

stainless exhaust system etc. too many upgrades to mention. Great classic, last year

for this immaculate Classic Packard. The Imperial Palace had one at: $60,000.

it had no A/C or Wire wheels.

1st offered @ $21,900. call: 703-451-8643

* Location: nova
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests



PostingID: 2018235396

Some people do have strange ways of trying to sell a car--so much so that you really think they're just going thru the motions.

There are those like this one apparently running an ad then hearing of or seeing a car maybe unique, maybe worth more, which makes his automatically worth that no matter the condition so won't budge an inch

or------

there are those with a mini car lot in the front yard full of mostly derelict cars not even a scrap dealer would want. They are always "going to restore them someday" but his wife tells him to get rid of them. Of course, they are priced in the megabuck range so none will move and he won't have to give any up but he can always tell her he tried.

An auction brochure for a sales event in San Marcos, Tex. had a 1949 Packard Clipper listed.

(o{I}o)

"there are those with a mini car lot in the front yard full of mostly derelict cars not even a scrap dealer would want. They are always "going to restore them someday" but his wife tells him to get rid of them. Of course, they are priced in the megabuck range so none will move and he won't have to give any up but he can always tell her he tried."

Anybody else see a reality tv show in this? Combining Hoarders, American Pickers and (just for contrast) the Kardashians.....

Well, here's a real-life story:

I've been after a '55 or '56 400 (of practically any condition, if the price is right) for years, and the best lead I have is a fellow who has a '56 with basically a trashed interior, body all straight and in primer, mechanicals that look well cared-for, and a price of $6500. OK, so I go to look at it, stored inside with many, many parts. Probably complete chrome, but most of it except bumpers and grill removed, not inventoried. Hasn't been started in ten years. Grille all there but held on with bungee cords--not driveable. No way he will do anything with it but advertise it (without pics or any decent description) in the good-weather months. Then he sits on it through the winter and puts it up for sale, with few or no details, the next spring. (I have witnessed this process from afar.) The car is priced at $500 more than a #4 (good) condition running, driving '56 400. It may be worth $3600 (restorable and running #5 car) IF it runs and drives, but what's the chance he's going to take only a little over half of his asking price, even though it's NOT really a #5 car. The storage is costing him nothing, because he owns the building and stores other vehicles in it. The Packard sits in a corner gathering dust. Pretty frustrating.

My read is that the fella had his heart set on restoring and driving this car, ran out of energy or money, and is basically going to sit on it until he dies.

Well, I can sit on the deal until he dies, too. He's older than me, and I might outlive him. I keep in loose touch.

If he's reading this, I'll offer $2400 firm as it sits (halfway between a #6 parts car and a #5 restorable) IF all the body parts are inventoried and it's a complete, non-running car--in need of interior (door panels, seat covers, headliner, dash pad, carpet, package shelf etc.)

I think that's reasonable. But being reasonable doesn't always cut it, as has been noted above.

Friend of mine has a sixties Cadillac coupe deville. Nice condition for a driver; worth maybe $5,000.

Wife insists he sell it immediately, and accept no less than $10,000. Why 10,000? Because her father (in his 90s) once said that is what it's worth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any argument to the contrary is irrelevant.

Quote:





I have a sore spot when it comes to trying to fairly buy a car or parts off of someone who doesn't understand value at all.

*Get's on soapbox*

I LOVE how everyone thinks their car is worth gold when they're selling and how it's not the best model and not worth anything and every little thing is wrong when they're buying.

Cars that are always popular and considered blue chip cars are even down now. 60s GTOs, 60s mustangs, camaros, firebirds. Any car that you thought before the recession was worth 30-60k (like a 69 gto judge four speed) suddenly starts going for $20k on ebay. Hell, used to be you could sell a SHELL of a 69 gto with title for 5k. That's a 1500 car now. You can get nice 60s driver mustangs with decent paint and in pretty fair condition for 5-7K now. Used to be no one would part with a decent mustang no matter what under 10-15.

I'm not saying that i'm wishing ill-will on car collectors; i'm one myself.

But i am kind of happy to see smug owners of high dollar collector cars that really are pricey for just names and not performance (you could build a 10 second lemans for the price of a common GTO in the 14s) get a little wake up call when things get tight and more important things like bills and food and security become more essential than bragging rights over how much you paid for an old vehicle and what it's worth.


Same with some people (nothing against anyone personal here) complaining that they lost thousands in the stock market or this fund or that fund. One customer complained they lost 100,000 that month. Eventually it came out that he saved about 20k over time, and the investment of that 20k was worth about 130,000 and then dropped to about 40k. Sounds like poker. When i start with 20 bucks and get up to 130 bucks and then lose 100 bucks, at the end of the day i made 10 bucks, not lost 100.

When you gamble (and buying/selling old cars and parts is really gambling in a fluid market) sometimes things don't work out how you plan. If you want double what a cars worth, have fun staring at it all day forever. No car is so rare that you can't find another to make you happy.

*soap box put away*

The thing I've noticed is that a lot of people in the car business in general are totally detached from reality. Today it's $5000, then the economy takes a dump and they still think it's worth $8,000 because it's three years later and prices go UP, not DOWN. The most I've ever paid for an old car is $1000, and that was for the '48. If I tried to buy in at any other time or state, it would have been twice that, easily.

NOW is the time to buy a car if you have the spare cash to do it, because deals are out there if you look hard enough and avoid the idiots who try to charge you a lot of money for junk.

Amen to that turbo. I paid a bit more than 1000 for my 50, but it was turnkey ready to go, good paint, great interior. Still paid quite a bit less than book for one in OK condition. The seller was asking a fair price so i did some research and decided not to haggle. Couple days later i was a new proud Packard owner!

I can't believe my eyes on how many deals are out there right now, but it also seems there's twice as much crap that people want top dollar for. Some of my favs:





Them: This is a restored firebird!
Me: New gauges and seats and swapping a chevy motor in doesn't mean restored.



Them: This is the rarer model, and you know it'll be worth more later.
Me: It was rare because no one wanted it when it was new either.