Is eBay really the best place to get top dollar? Nice 911S coupe sold for $19,000

[jkarolyi]

I've heard that the best place to sell anything is on eBay, which has the largest car buying audience. But this seemingly nice matching numbers 1969 911S only fetched $18,900.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4630531632&ru=http%3A% 2F%2Fmotors.search.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3Ffrom%3DR40%2 6satitle%3D4630531632%26fvi%3D1

What are your theories as to why this sold so cheap? Is eBay not the place to get the highest price?

[AbbyAk]

I don't know, my uneducated guess may be that its location may have made it difficult for some to inspect it comfortably? Timing? Looks like a pretty decent buy to me though.

I think Ebay is a mixed bag overall. There was a recently auctioned yellow T that surpassed this S in price--even though the mechanicals were done by a company that some say do not always meet standards. To be fair the body/interior on the yellow car looked really nice.

[MattKellett]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I would say that they got a pretty good price for the car. Just looking at the rust on the door jams, who knows how rusty the rest of the car is? I certainly can't tell by the photos. I guess it's hard to judge unless you actually saw the car in person.

Matt

[SandyI]

Ebay is a great place to sell an excellent early 911S or a rare early 911 part. That being said, it's common knowledge that the majority of early 911's on ebay are bad news peddled by less than 100% honest sellers.

That car, for instance, doesn't have early 911 sport seats. It's been repainted and from my monitor it isn't anything close to the original '69 red. The engine grille's from a '73. The carpets are rotten. I agree with Matt about that rust. And it's in Bozeman, right? Where's the closest knowledgable Pre Purchase Inspection? Denver?

I'd say the seller did WAY better than the buyer.

[trader220]

I believe the seller is a Pelican Member

[SandyI]

Originally posted by trader220
I believe the seller is a Pelican Member

Then congrats to him on a successful sale.

[trader220]

Having both bot and sold on ebay I can tell you that even when an auction ends with a bid above the reserve many times the buyer flakes out.

[berettafan]

The seller is pu911 and he is active on this board as well as the early 911sregistry board. He seems to be a very good guy and has taken a lot of time to answer my questions (as have many others in this community) about early cars in general.

For me the problem with e-bay is there isn't enough time to ask the right questions and give careful consideration to the answers.

[coldstart]

I think it looks like a very decent car from the limited pics. A lot of the early Ss did not come with sport seats. The price is a little low IMO comparing to the current S prices but I personally think those are out of whack. I wouldn't buy an early car without a thorough PPI but I'm a novice.

[joetiii]

As a new car dealer, (Dodge), we use eBay more as a source of generating additional leads for our vehicles than actually selling based on a hammer price.

I'm from Mass. and I've had folks from Texas, Jersey, Ohio etc. call during the auction and then come check out the product and subsequently drive home after the final hammer price.

We actually have better success with eBay than with Autotrader.com. Classic TraderOnline is also a good place to sell vehicles.

joe

[Wayne 962]

Any auction is a mixed bag. As indicated in a recent thread, I saw a 356 Speedster sell for $55K while one around the block sold for $125K. It all depends upon who is there, and who is bidding on the car.

That said, I would consider myself a 911 expert. I find it very difficult to make any judgements on cars from pictures, in particularly the ones shown here. Anyone who says this is a bad car just from looking at the pictures, can't say that with any degree of certainty. Pictures hide a lot of things - good and bad. My first impression is that this appears to be a pretty good car that was bought well, considering the values of these cars recently. Yes, it needs some work, but it looks like a really nice driver.

I also believe that the prices of these cars have started to come back down to Earth recently.

-Wayne

[pwd72s]

Wayne, I'm also thinking that the price bubble may not have broken, but it's stretching dangerously thin. Some of the not so nice flippers of the early 911S cars are going to find themselves carried out feet first. Especially those who are borrowing to buy a car, expecting to sell for a profit in a few weeks. Couldn't happen to nicer folks, IMHO...

[pu911]

The S that just sold was a good buy car does need some resto work but it is all there and a great driver. I would also say prices for the early 911's have softened up. Last summer I was getting better prices on ebay but it is tough to generalize every car is different. It is really the overseas buyers that have pushed prices up and the prices they will pay are sensitive to currency valuations. I still think the very high end cars are fetching top dollar.
Phil

[techweenie]

Well yesterday a reallly trashed '72 T coupe brought over $8K, needing a complete engine overhaul, complete interior restoration, partial front clip, left fender and paint (I figured about $17K to make it right).

Meantime, a nice red '72 T coupe driver with fresh engine is getting no action at $14K...

The market is a real crapshoot.

[pu911]

You are correct, I would never place a bet on what a given car might bring on ebay. I bet you could auction the same car 10 times and get 10 different prices.
Phil

[Ytouf]

I want an Early S myself but with these prices I don't even think I will be able to purchase an Early T. Does anyone this that the early 911 prices will become like Amercian muscle prices? Sorry for the stray from topic, I will make a new post but feel free to comment if you have any thoughts. Either way good luck guys.