Quote:
Originally Posted by TPorsche912
Interestingly a friend in Utah just called a week ago with this exact question. The car in question was a '59 with a disassembled motor. The owner was looking for $25k. My response was that it certainly wasn't worth more than that, and if it had any rust he should run as fast as he possibly could in the opposite direction.
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I have to admit to a bit of bias in this evaluation and divulge a bit more info. Having spent 23 yrs in Salt Lake City, the location of the car, and having been told that the car had been a daily driver I already knew more about the car than the person asking the question. Salt Lake gets lots of snow in the winter depending on which part of the valley you're in. Dec. and Jan are both very cold, along with the snow, so most folks don't wash their cars very often or they will freeze themselves out of the locks. One of the largest repositories of salt in the world is sitting right next to Salt Lake, thus the city name, and they use that resource to it's advantage. And lastly, the person asking the question has absolutely no mechanical aptitude. Would probably have problems figuring out the mechanical workings of a paper clip.
With all that information I gave the advice mentioned above. I never got a return call, which was promised after he saw the car, so I have to assume it wasn't purchased, and probably fit my description of what it would be. He may still be running like I advised.
This does bring up a good point tho. I see lots of advice being presented here about the value of a car based strictly on the car. Usually the original question is being asked by a potential buyer. Very seldom is the question asked about the capabilities of the buyer in respect to the condition of the car. I do all my own work, from mechanical to body work and paint. I could buy a particular car at a much higher price and finish the car very well without getting upside down. Someone buying that same car, at the same price, but having to farm out everything from light bulb replacement on up to who knows what would be upside down very quickly. They would have to buy the car at a much lower price to stay out of trouble. That's exactly why I quoted the low price to my friend.
Does that affect the original value of the car, or does it simply limit the buyer pool? For purposes of this forum, can we predict a price value to "all" buyers?
The other thing I've noticed is what a dramatic geographical difference there is in the value of these cars. Every time I throw out my opinion, I get shot down for being too low. I'm not making up these prices, and not just throwing out random numbers. My info is based on actual offerings in my area, or sales that have already taken place. I know I live in the land of old farts and old cars, just didn't know they were that less expensive in my particular location.
I can guarantee you one thing. Rich old men love their cars, usually Corvettes and classics. And then they die and these cars get sold off quickly by word of mouth only at ridiculous prices. They are very seldom advertised.