RANT: Why does every guy think that POS sitting in the drive way is worth.....
 

Why does every guy think that POS sitting in the drive way is worth top of the market money?

I put an offer in to a neighbor for a '70 Karmann Ghia Coupe that's been sitting there at least 7 years, likely more than 12. Admittedly, it was low end offer, but reasonable. The car is beat, it's been sitting out for years. Paint is hosed, interior is dry/cracking and will need replacing. Brakes, engine, trans, the works. Everything will need to be touched. Pretty sure that its not the original motor. I wasn't able to see the pans, but I am betting there's rust there too.

Guy leaves me a message the other day, saying that he's pretty sure his Ghia is worth $15k. :eek: Yeah, maybe after you put $25k into it, it'll be worth $15k.

Is it Barrett-Jackson or what? Why does this happen??

Further, he says he's gonna take a few months then get started on it.

I will bet dollars to donuts it's still sitting there in two years time. Un-touched.

WTF?!?!

/Rant off

ever since barrett Jackson every person thinks their 3K pile is worth six figures- makes me sick.

Kinda like the 944 that's been for sale for several years near here. Automatic 944 with a seized engine due to run with low oil.... Owner is convinced it is rare and worth $2400...

Some people have no sense of reality.

It may be well sorted. ;)

IT MAY be Theirs to ask what they want......Pay or shut up. simple

I wouldn't worry about it. People are generally stupid and that's confirmed every time I hear stories like this.

A long time ago I was a car sales man. A guy comes in with a 20 year old Ford sedan that he wanted to trade. It was horrible. Powdery white paint with a beige fabric interior that was sun burnt beyond belief. He had replaced the back seat with a gold velour one from another model. So it didn't match what was there :eek: He was convinced it added value to his car. He actually pointed to it and said what's that worth? Needless to say we couldn't come to an agreement on the value of his car so he left in a huff.

Meanwhile, How many unrestored POSs are sitting in someone's garage waiting for the ultimate restoration that will NEVER happen? :rolleyes:

I don't think it has anything to do with barrett jackson. People always think their stuff is worth more than market value and have for years - since long before bj was televised. And it goes beyond cars.

I think people remember the price of what they paid for it and have no concept of what market is. If its been there for years, they have likely stuck a number in their mind long ago....while the earth reclaims it. They likely don't have to dump it quick unless they NEED the money. Look at those fools on Pawn Stars. Want $10,000 but end up taking $1500.

It's always worth at least what they paid for it........plus whatever they had put into it.......

Don't know the market on Ghias but the early VW bus market (55-67) is blistering hot--comparable to long hoods and even 356's.

I took a quick glance at The Samba after reading your post and could find nothing being offered in the 15K range that was as you described. The Ghias that were in the five figures were all in decent or restored shape. Take a look yourself if you haven't already done so. Maybe show your neighbor and give him a dose of reality. We don't know what your offer was, but from your description the car is nowhere near 15K in the current market as evidenced by The Samba.

EBay, of course, is another story and a fools paradise.

It also has to do with the TV restoration shows where they take a turd and make it shiny new in 30 min and then sell it for 3X what they payed for the car. There never is any mention that 6 guys were working for 3 months on the car. Some people think that pile of rust they have is worth it's weight in gold. :)

I don't see too many deals that big at my shop but I'll admit to letting the wind out of a number of sails. I have a number of different Blue Books but after doing this (pawnbroker) for so long they're mostly for the customer's benefit. I've already figured what their 'widget' is worth. Selling used stuff is work.
Jim

And that's the problem. Reality bites when it comes time to sell or they hang onto it thinking someone down the line will restore or sell it on for a profit.

BTW, My SC is still valued at $35,000 by my insurance company. It's an agreed value that has nothing to do with the actual market value.

Perfect example. This has been for sale for a few years. Notice the tags....I bet it needs more than a fuel pump and alternator. It's a $500 car at this point.

1985.5 PORSCHE

And woe be a prospective buyer should the item in question have sentimental value.

(for instance, my roomate had an early 750-4 that he rode across the country while he was in the military. Needed a full restoration, from a total lack of maintenance. He still thought the thing was solid gold with titanium fittings)

maybe the guy just doesn't really want to sell it. he would for the right money ($15k), but doesn't really care what true market value is.

i had a friend who got married and his new wife made him sell a car. he really didn't want to part with it, so listed it on some obscure website for way more than it was worth. took her two years to catch on as to why he had trouble selling it.

Seems like I struck a chord with this topic.

There's also a huge difference between what people ask and what they actually sell it for.

Ebay has turned to ***** over the last several years. I don't even bother looking at it.

That's the beauty of the free market system, though. If someone is asking too much for something, you don't buy it. I frankly don't understand the frustration. The car sounds like it's no great score at all and if beat-up Karman Ghias are worth a lot less, you should be able to find plenty of them for less or a better one for the same, etc...

The market votes with its wallet. Who cares what Barrett Jackson or some other auction is doing. :cool:

I get it. I was just floored by his $15k claim. Driveable 'verts are less than that.

There is a reason this sits in the driveway this long already. Think about it. Guy likely could have gotten market value for it several times before. Unless you catch someone during a changing life event (move, death, divorce etc.), you will not stand a chance getting one of those driveway sitters out of there for a fair price.

G

If you didn't want the rig, your dope-ass neighbor's POV wouldn't bother you.
It's frustratingly raw. :mad:
I can relate. Hard to let go.

Just dealt with a frustrating end of a situation like this last week.

I had found a very rough but all orig '67 Targa w/ 42k on the clock and a (no idea yr) 914 sitting behind a pizza place. $ to be made! Approached the guy, got the story on him being the landlord and a renter owned the cars, which he wanted gone 3yrs ago.

After the owner told me they were "just junk" I offered 1k to flatbed them away...

Heard nothing for 2 weeks, drove by last week. No cars!? Stopped in, the clown I spoke to put them on Craigslist and sold them in a day for $1200...then tells me my offer wasn't strong enough..

C'mooonnnnn.

dealt with the opposite of this for years having a bunch of old cars. every idiot passing by wants to bother me with a ridiculous lowball price trying to buy one to flip and make himself money on me. if I don't have a for sale sign on it, what makes them think I want to sell it for almost nothing? why should I sell it for cheap so you can make money? and they want to know what I paid for it as if that has any bearing on what I want to sell it for? too many peole watching pawn stars and american pickers. the rare times I do sell something, I ask a reasonable/low price and everyone trys to beat me down to half or less than I'm asking. every ridiculous amount less they offer I add to my asking price. had some old guy come by one morning offering to haul away my 60 el camino and 68 camaro... for free. came back a week later offering me $35 each as scrap

I have a simple response because I see it all the time in my dealings. My Dad used to call it "Owner-itis" The fact that THEY believe they have a 'rare' piece and probably do have a ton of money and time in it, forgetting it's been 15 years since it was last on the road and it's become a lawn ornament. Further the owner still looks at it like he looks at his wife thinking SHE still looks the same as she did 15 years ago. Don't think so.

Even if the owner still managed to take care of it, times change, markets change, tastes change. I have met a lot of people who really have no idea actual cash value.

I've seen it both ways. I've seen buyers who are so far out to space, that they have their own gravitational pull. Last year I tried to sell a '72 Honda XL250 that was in great shape. Had it on craigslist for $500 and had people offer me $100 for it.

I sold my Mercedes 230 Heckflosse this last fall, and it was the biggest pain in the butt. The car was in terrific shape. Bone dry desert car, completely restored interior. dream to drive. I priced it very, very fairly at 5K just to move it. Had offers of $1500. multiple offers of that. The buyer ended up being from new york and having the car shipped.

It took me a month to sell my honest, dry, driver-quality ghia for 3K. And even then, I had people offering me $1000 for it.

It's not even worth my time to sell cars for under 10K anymore....the profit margin vs headache of makes it ridiculous.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1364832542.jpg

EXACTLY!

So picture a car like yours, but sitting for 7 years, much worse paint, and questionable mechanicals, and the guy thinks that "it's worth $15K".

Damn - wish I knew you were selling that Ghia. Nice.

Sometimes a good ole' gesture and insult works. If it really is a pile of crap, tell them as it is. As for auctions, the stacks of reciepts tell the truth. The car doesn't cost much but the labor and parts are what add up.

Anyhow, I have found cars for free. The best was spotting an early Audi coupe sitting out, sort of behind a ditch on someones property. I was curious, knocked on the front door of the homeowner and asked about it. Turns out it was a past tenants car and left behind with the title. Couple of flat tires, dead battery and the property owner said to please take it. Quick oil and coolant check, aired up the tires, jumped and had a buddy follow me and drove it away.

I think a lot of the frustration comes from watching the car deteriorate into oblivion. A guy I knew online from a computer game had a rotting Charger, made him an offer years ago, guy wanted way too much. By now, that car is almost past restoration. Guy made another offer, nope, owner still expects big bucks. It'll be worthless in a few years.

If it'd of been sold 15 years ago, it would of had value, and would of been able to be fixed up, now - not so much.

You may have a chance. The landlord most likely did not have lien papers to sell those cars. Essentially, the buyer has received stolen goods. If you can find the "renter," you might be able to make a deal with him. Money talks. Then he goes to the police to find his cars. I've seen this happen.

As I was working in my garage the other day this guy drove by and offered me $10k cash, right there, for my '81 911 SC Targa.

I told him to go away.

Why does every guy think that his lowball cash offer on the POS sitting in my driveway is worth my time?

I have a 1975 Plymouth Duster in storage. I don't know what it's market value is, and don't care. What I do know is that you can't buy it for less than $20,000.
Why? Because it's mine.

People are funny. I really hate the daft lowball offers you get from people who haven't even seen the vehicle. They see a car for sale for $5000 and email in an offer for $1000. It doesn't make any sense.

Still an item is only worth what someone will give you for it, and that number depends on lots of different things, right or wrong.

There's a guy near the shop who has a $2000 - $2500 1967 cougar for sale for $25000.00.....total beater project car that would have been valuable enough for me to restore to a fun driver, but will now just rot away to nothing in this fools front yard. And no, its not a typo, guy wants twenty five thousand!!!!!:rolleyes:

I once passed on a '71 VW camper for $500 (after helping push the thing out of traffic) , a '73 Honda CVCC for $500, and a 912 for $3500. All in excellent shape. Ahhhh, to go back in time...

A seller once said "It's not what it's worth. It's what it's worth to you".

Whoa, SC Targas have come up in value. Most I've seen I'd have taken $10K as fast as he could peel off the bills.

Back in the day, when I was shopping for my 1st 911, I passed on a nice 72S because @ $12k, it was a bit out of my price range.

I'm probably one of those guys this thread is about. I won't sell my SC Targa for $10,000. I love the free market system, and I'm perfectly happy to sit and wait until I find somebody willing to pay what I think the car is worth. (Or if I get fed up and decide to lower my price.) In the meantime, today is a beautiful day to be cruising around Southern California in a 911 Targa. It's been sitting in my garage since December with a for sale sign in the window, I can't figure out why it hasn't sold! :)

Sorry I wasn't clearer here.

The renter is the guy I spoke to who told me about CL.

Apparently my offer was only good for motivation. As he did consider the $1k, but never countered.

I started there as I honestly had no idea what they were worth but figured even if my "plan" didnt work I wouldnt kill my pockertbook.

Providing you're not letting it rot, no issue.

I think the frustrating thing, is to see a car that *could* be saved, but the owner has unrealistic expectations, so the car decays out over the years into oblivion, still with an owner that thinks its worth gold.

My 944's, are worth far more to me than they would go for on the market - there is no for sale sign!