I've been there... 10 YEARS AGO!!!!! (Before EBAY was even a real issue) I came across a cherry 36 3w coupe in a garage in a South Central hood. It was all in pieces and had some questionable color choices but the metal was mint. I knew the dude and knew he needed money so I asked for the buddy deal... $30k...
Here's something to consider...the flip side! I got a '58 Impala when I was 14 in 1982. I left it in the care of my Dad when I left home at 18 and he's been enjoying it ever since. It's not a bad looking car- good paint, clean original interior, WWW, skirts, Conti kit, '59 Caddy taillights, etc. But, it's not 'perfect' either. Anyway, he enjoys taking it to local cruise nights and charity shows in the local area during the summer months. At one of these little events, a guy in his 30s was looking the car over with his wife. He asked my Dad a few questions about the car, and they enjoyed a pleasant conversation. Dad described him as a 'really nice guy' which you'd know is unusual if you knew my grumpy Pop. The guy then asked if the car was for sale. Dad explained how it was his son's first car, it was something we'd worked on together, and how it had a lot of sentimental value and wasn't for sale. The guy then asked what kind of price Dad would ask if he were to consider selling it. Dad said something like $40,000, which is more than it's worth. Sure enough, the guy and his wife came back a couple hours later with a check for 40K, wanting to buy the car. Dad about lost it. If someone doesn't really want to sell something, the 'price' will inevitably be higher than market rates. There might just be someone willing to pay that price if the car is 'exactly' what they want. In this case, the guy always liked ' 58 Impalas, and really wanted one in the exact color and style of mine, so he was willing to pay for the exact car he wanted. Dad had to turn him down anyway, and said the car wasn't really his to sell since it was mine. (I told him he should have taken the cash! LOL!!) In a pond as big as the US of A, there's a few big fish out there who have the money to make their dreams come true, and I'd never argue with any of them for wanting to do so. ~Scotch~
Im not a real rod guy. Im a MOPAR guy and not a very good one at that. I like the early to mid 60s cars although Id really like to get a late 50s fin car. I sympathize with the frustration. I hate Barrett-Jackson .not really, theyre exercising their right to make a buck. I believe they have driven the prices up, but if not them it would have been someone else. A lot of money migrated from the stock market bubble into a lot of different stuff and one of those stuffs was cars. I read an article within the last year about a twenty-something from Silicon Valley buying a hemi cuda clone for over $300K. He didnt know what the car was, didnt know any MOPAR history the car looked cool and he had the money to burn. Unless something drastic happens to his financial situation hell sit on that car until someone ponies up at least what he paid for it. In regards the Rat Rod phase, there are always opportunist. I cruise Ebay everyday. And every day you can find some guy that I believe has snagged an old car from some old person that is in very poor shape and the seller represents it as a Rat Rod. Im no expert but this seems a fair example to me http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1952-FORD-PICKUP-TRUCK-RAT-ROD-HOT-ROD-FLATHEAD-V8-L-K_W0QQitemZ150045284619QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6221QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Looking at this guys feedback he doesnt appear to be a big car guy. But hes got a 1952 Ford Truck thats a perfect Rat Rod, Hot Rod, Cl***ic, etc .. It can be yours for the low price of $4K. Sooooo for Premium, I dont think your Fning Stupid. I think your frustrated and if Pink Horse Poop becomes fashionable, you can bet there will be a boat load of clowns selling Pink Horse Poop ..of the very highest quality. And more importantly there will be some clown who cant live without Pink Horse Poop and will buy it.
I had the same sort of realization the other day. I used to real big into 60s and 70s Mopars. The 69 Charger is still a dream car for me. But for some reason the price of Mopars these days is insaine! I get a few Mopar based magazines each month. I almost don't read them. Why? Well it's kind of like when you were a kid and you dreamed of something unaffordable like Ferarris and Porches (well, at least when I was a kid). They were cool, but one day I knew you'd never have one so I lost interest. Same deal.
found this in South Georgia - much less than a G - you just have to keep looking, I never thought I'd find a deal, but ended up with one - it all about time - you want if NOW - you'll pay, if you can wait for the deal, it'll happen if you keep your ear to the street......
yep......and remember that 36 5w for 10k i posted.......it had been through floods since about 62........ this guy has been asking this price for about 10 years, supposedly.......but in this fella's defense, i think he just like company out there in the hollow and this is how he gets it.....
The cars are out there. You probably will have to go with a trucka nd trailer to drag them out and home. I found a 51 F1 recently in BFE Iowa. Hours from a town big enough to have 2 gas pumps haha but It has a rust free cab and doors and all there for $500. Gas prices dropped and I hit the road. It was over 1500 miles round trip but I got it and its mine. I paid $400 for junk a month before that.
I think the other problem is...I've seen one just like this sell for $X.00 on Ebay. I have a buddy who got that from a guy on some parts at a swap meet once. He looked at the guy with a completely serious face and said "Why don't you list it when you get home so I can bid the same price minus the shipping cost?" Needless to say the seller didn't find it funny and my buddy didn't get the part, but it was still in the guy's space when we went past at the day. We never did see it on Ebay We had a GREAT laugh over that one on the way home.
I've been car hunting for thirty years, and this situation existed long before Barrett Jackson and Ebay. Twenty five years ago, it was "Well, a feller I used to work with gave me one o' them there Hemmings books and you oughta see what they're gittin' fer 'em in there....". Face it, regardless of what the current market value seems to be, most of us are cheap ****s. I like buying things for nothing as much as the next guy, but these days, if you really want that intake/body/frame/injection setup/etc., you've just got to step up sometimes. Some of my neat stuff I've paid the price for, and some I've damned near stolen. I guess what really burns a lot of us is that we've been in love with this **** for our entire lives, and if my entire pile of hot rod parts were only worth $50, I wouldn't like them any less, but current conditions have made all of it the "in" thing to do/have. I deal with it by buying and selling to try to finance my addiction.
My buddy John must be a retard. He just sold a 29 Model A Tudor C-dan with ***le for 1500.00. Damned solid body. My wife's uncle got the ch***is for a restoration he was contemplating.
So many vairables determine price. I wouldn't pay much at all for one of the '80s-styled Deuce Highboy Roadster hot rods. They are embarrasing to me. '40s and '50s style hot rods, and the parts required to build them, are in high demand right now. Prices for them are high. You really can build a traditional hot rod (Model A, for example) for not much money at all. Go out and buy a bunch of unwanted rolling ch***is' (they are out there) take what you from each, sell the rest. You'll end up with a bunch of parts that cost you nothing! What's this about? I don't know. Deluxe
An '80' HIghboy is just waiting for a channel, engine swap and something else covering up the damned pastel paint. If you have one that you don't value, lemme know.
Try buying parts for where there were only about 3000 made total. I posted a similar rant on the Auburn Cord Duesenberg site after getting screwed on a deal (I even got the "good rate" on shipping. mf'er). After posting this I received private messages from members of ALL ages, old and young, telling me to stay away from certain sellers, their experiences of getting screwed and wanting to know who jobbed me. It's not just the old codgers, apparently some of you old farts are just sensitive - maybe he was respectful. If it doesn't sell, evetually it will enter the marketplace via auctions, estate sale, etc.
quit cryn there are cars out here i have access to and they are cheeeep . all kinds let me know .for a small finders fee i CAN get you what u want . i got a guy a tucker,body.
TRENDY? whats "trendy" is bashin' anyone who builds a so-called "ratrod". now THAT i'm tired of. anyone who has the skill/expertise to build one 'o them "ratrod horse$hit trendy vibe(d)" cars is cool in my book. besides...they're DRIVING their "horse$hit" rods with hot chicks in the p***enger seat and you're not...who cares if you think its trendy. really, though...i understand your point. but, "hack up" something else and make it cool.
ive never disrespected anyone. thier only ol codgers after the fact not before. i never.....i try to never judge anyone person or group until ive met and know them. im just stating that this **** is getting out of control. if i could have afforded the boddies 5-10 years ago beleive me i would have bought them. but a full time job and full course loads dont exactly lend any free time ya know....thanx for the opinoins and outlooks on life.......LIGHTEN UP OL GUYS! EDIT.. im not bashing any builders or crafstman that are in the mags on tv at the shows or doing it for the love of the hobby/lifestyle. im more or less saying it ****s trying to break into the pre war car seen at the moment. ive literally looked at car shells(cuase there wasnt enought there to call a body) that didnt have enough decent metal to repair the vehichle, and cuase this cat saw a tv show magazine or some cat in a bad *** 32 ford rodded the **** out he says 2500 bux...and i know asking price is just that..but when i tryed to talk to him about price he says, well i got no problem letting em sit there an rought away, that **** leaves a bad taste in my mouth...so to the builders out there doing thier thing an creating rolling pieces of perfection, rock on. and anyone else supporting the car hobbie in general keep it up. i'll find what i need when i finds it....just sayn the gougers **** balls....
Sometimes you win , sometimes you lose, I am on my third model A this year, I got a pretty sweet one now. I started with a rough one and traded /saved /sold and have moved up exponentially. Hot Rodding has never been a cheap hobby. I don't expect strangers to take a loss so I can get a deal. Would you give up thousands to give some stranger a good deal? Like a few have said here, patience is key, and keep one ear to the ground and **** turns up. Oh yeah and be nice to the old *******s. wink.
I don't think this is the typical "someone else has a car, won't sell it to me but should" at***ude. I also don't think he's talking about getting something for nothing, or that anyone owe's him something, or a guy that really doesn't want to sell it (whatever the reason) and it just putting a high price on something. These threads have been here and been closed many times. YOU know and I know these fellas. I'm not saying I have a right to their car AND they most certainly have all the rights in the world to ask 100k for something. I really think he's talking about those few that want to sell and TRULY think their model A coupe is worth 30k even though it has been through a really bad fire. The guy I'm talking about isn't old, he's my age. So, "old codger" is relative. My grandpa is 80+ and gripes about the- old to me- 62 year old fella that wants 10k for a coupe that has been through floods. ....could he have gotten his first piece in the car.....sure......maybe he doesn't want to sell it.......i truly believe he uses it to get company (lonely ole' fella in a hollow)......can't blame him....... however, NONE of this changes the fact that they are way off on their price.....yes they can take it to the crusher or ask a million smacker for it......still crazy!
Chaulk one up to it coming back around. Think about it, you have a bunch of 20-30 somethings that all grew up with parents that had cool *** (to us) cars that they drove to school, in feilds, smashed up in drunkin stoopers, the list goes on. This has been bread into us through the stories we have all heard from our parents and grandparents. **** dude, i love listening to my moms dad tell stories of his years past that him and his buddies were the terrors of the town drag racing down main street in their 30's cars. i dont know, I think it is all of our imagination that makes us want these cars and more so, we KNOW what they ARE worth....you'll never see another brand new 34 ford roll off the ***embly line at rouge, so we pay 20 times what they cost brand new to have that bad *** piece of history. just the way it goes man.....
I always seem to find deals........just not with cars that I want. 38 Ford truck $200.00 55 Chrysler New Yorker $50.00 40's Studebaker truck Free 40's Ford truck Free Buddy from work got a 1/2 ton 40 Ford FREE ALL THIS HAPPENED JUST IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS .
I agree, it gets frustrating when bargin shopping in all aspects. One opinion that was given to me by another member was this," Value is only what the buyer feels its worth paying for"....as one guy earlier mentioned, he almost felt guilty for dishing out 7k on a packard but at the sametime it was his dream car and that made it all worth while. No need in bashing guys on their rodents (whos to judge anyways) but instead keep it moving and be patient til you find what your looking for at the price you want to pay.
I hope you are right about the "fad" blowing over and people abandoning cool old tin in fields,......but I doubt it.
Nocturnal, If that New Yorker is complete I will double your money. I won't try to lowball you or screw with you in any way! No cashier's check either - I'm talkin' about real cash money! Thor...seriously, let me know...
I took my time looking for my first major project vehicle. I was able to find a 37 Chevy truck, practically rust, dent and damage free sitting in a old barn for $2000.
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