What would you pay?

[temjeito]

Hypothetically, what would you pay for the following car:

mid-year coupe (no sunroof)
~150K miles on chassis
about half those miles on an SC 3.0 engine
well-maintained and cared for
(interior 8/10, exterior 7/10)
sometimes slips out of 2d gear at slow speeds.
no a/c

[bigchillcar]

with no more than this info, i'd guess 5-8k. have pics or anything more?
ryan

[id911T]

Lowball the seller, you can get amazing deals sometimes. Of course, you get laughed at on occasion, but it comes with the territory.

[temjeito]

No pics. It's a '77, the engine is from an '80. Engine replace was done by a very reputable mechanic. 2.1 owners (one guy bought it, found out he was too tall, and almost immediately resold it).
service records going back at least 15 years (including engine swap)
the car was a daily driver for the first half of its life, first owner brought it into the mechanic if the sun hit it the wrong way. Second owner has been mostly a sunday driver.

Sahara beige/saddle tan

[bigchillcar]

narrowing a little more..7-8k. but without even seeing a single pic, it's still just a guess..
ryan

[bigchillcar]

to better state..7-8k may be what i'd be willing to pay. another retail buyer might go 9-10k.
ryan

[temjeito]

Thanks, that's helpful. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures.

I had pegged it at about $8-$9K myself, and was just looking for a reality check, as the owner still thinks he can get close to his ask ($12K). I'm afraid if I offer him $8K he'll just be insulted.

[bigchillcar]

12k if the paint is great (9-10), no rust, working a/c, interior sorted out (at least a 9), strong 3.0, tranny sorted out, nice fuchs, good tires. personally, i like a sunroof coupe, but many prefer not to have it, especially if it's going to be a track prepped-car. i still need pics to guess whether i'd exceed 9k if i really wanted the car. doesn't sound like he's done the extra work necessary to make this a 12k car..
ryan

[cbeers]

also, does it have a smog OK from the Referee??

If not, could be a mess to register.....


-Chris

[bigchillcar]

also, does it have a smog OK from the Referee??

ahh yes..cali...our car may take another 'hit'..
ryan

[Noah930]

True, though in CA, smogging it is the problem of the seller, not the buyer.

[cbeers]

True, unless the buyer REALLY wants it


-Chris

[Dantilla]

$12,000 is not reasonable if it pops out of gear.

[temjeito]

I'm curious about that. It only happened once on my short test drive, and that was as I was pulling the car up his driveway, which has a fairly high angle. I gave it a little gas to get it up the rise, and it popped out.

[jeff1hughes]

Originally posted by temjeito
Thanks, that's helpful. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures.

I had pegged it at about $8-$9K myself, and was just looking for a reality check, as the owner still thinks he can get close to his ask ($12K). I'm afraid if I offer him $8K he'll just be insulted. If I wait, he might be more willing to negotiate when nobody snaps up his baby.

Why do you care if you insult him? Are you marrying his daughter or trying to buy his car. Put together a list of what is wrong with the car - find stuff - it's there. Print out prices for "just the parts", mention the trans rebuild ($2500), you just justified your offer. That's how I got my 71 911S for $7,000.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally posted by temjeito
...Sahara beige/saddle tan

Same as my car except mine is a '76. By the way, the interior color is called "Cork".

I may have paid too much (probably) a year ago, May 2005 - $8500. No rust, never hit, only one receipt within the prior month of purchase for $3300. New distributor, rebuilt fuel distributor, full tuneup, new ignition wires, all fluids and filters changed, valve adjust, oil leaks addressed ... running strong with 123,000 miles. AND...what put it over the top...it came with a pre-negotiated metal-up repaint in color of my choice and a full set of all body rubber incl. new badges. I opted for a new headliner while all the glass was out. My car looks like this:



I thought my deal was a good calculated risk at that price. The paint plus receipt equaling over $6,000 in value, probably more. But I ended up putting even more into it for clutch and chain tensioner upgrade along with further leak repairs, Al Reed FUchs restroation and new tires... but I didn't buy mine to make a profit or to break even. Have a (stupid) sentimental attachment to 1976 model year too.

Sounds like his price is just too high for what you are getting.

[ianc]

$12K will buy you a pretty nice SC, depending on where you live, so asking that for a middie (even with a 3.0) is a little fantastical.

The trans popping out of gear is a big thing; you're looking at a trans rebuild not too far in the future, so factor in at least a couple grand for that with the attendant hassles. If it popped, there is absolutely no question about this.

I would offer $6K, and work to maybe $7K or so if you really like the car. Don't worry about offending, just explain logically. If he doesn't bite, then walk.

ianc

[Jack Olsen]

Dan, that thing looks beautiful. I think you did very well on the deal.

[MotoSook]

Folks can accuse me of low balling, but when you add up the cost to bring a car to something that might be considered "good" condition, you will have spent more on it than if you had bought a more expensive car for "fair" market value.

You'll need to post more info, but a quick number...maybe 6.5-7K (credit given for the 3.0). Why? Because for 10-12K you can get a "good" SC. The interior and exterior needs work from the ratings you gave. Then there is the potential for rust. And the tranny might need a shifter adjustment, but it may be worst. It's a magnesium case, and I hear about more and more mag case 915s having problems staying in gear...think $1000+ rebuild (not including a new clutch pack if it was not replaced when the engine swapped occured)

Painting a car is no fun nor cheap. And you'll probably want flares on it..so add another 300-1000 for that portion of the prep/body work.

New seals while you are painting..new headliner. Keep adding it up.

And with flares and new paint, you'll want new wheels to fill out the flares. Add $1200-1600 for 7X8X16 Fuchs or aftermarket wheels.

I could go on...


Keep shopping unless you like to and want to do the work.

[temjeito]

Wow, you guys have been extraordinarily helpful. I really appreciate it.