How does having history on a car influence the sale price of an older car? How much history do you need to influence the the sale price? Using my 63 Olds Dynamic 88 Convertables history as an example: Window sticker. Business Card of sales person who sold the car. Owners protection plan booklet, w/ Protect-O-Plates. And first page is filled out with all details. Ownership plates in original envelope. All manuals. Registration history. 63-76, 80 to present. Service history. 63-76, 80 to present. Lets say the car is worth $15k without documented history, how much would the above history influence the price? Mark....
In my opinion, for it to make a difference, you would have to find an anal buyer, like a matching numbers, chalk mark hunting, Oldsmobile for life, resto geek.
If the car has high collectability and rarity then it always adds a huge multiplier on sale price. Documentation can never hurt when it comes to selling a classic, I am not to knowledgable on 63 Olds 88 Convertibles and the values of them, but its safe to say someone would love own a car like that with full docs.
The only thing I care about when buying a car is the actual car, and it's current condition. If the car's a piece of shit with tons of history, to me it's still a piece of shit. JMO
All that stuff is neat, but I don't think it in itself adds much to the value. I would say its more of a sales tool when asking someone to pay fair market value on an honest old car.
I believe if the car had an "interesting history" that is documented, like some famous gangster owned it. That should make a difference in sale price. Normal Norman
i dont know for sure but if its a generic car then i would say very little. if the car is rare or say a famous car (car from movie or show. owned by someone reall famous maybe) then the additional documents would increase the value i think.
I don't care how famous a previous owner is/was......it's still whatever it is and I would only pay in proportion to it's model, equipment, condition, rarity etc. That may mean I can't buy a car owned by a famous person because of all the jock sniffers who would bid it up....but, so be it. Ray
Given two identical cars, I'd be more interested in buying one with history and maintenance records. I don't think what you've described adds much to the actual value, but it will help sell the car.
Yes, someone bought it, and kept the receipts sold it and someone else wants to sell it. As stated above by others if it is a run of the mill driver all that paper doesn't net any more on the sale IMO. Bob
I agree with most others. Unless it's a very rare, almost one-of-a-kind vehicle, the 'paperwork' isn't necessarily going to add much in the way of dollars to the actual value, but would increase it's desireability. It's a negotiation point that you can keep in your pocket until that last little bit where the seller is about ready to cave, but you sense some hesitation, then you hit him with "I have the paperwork going back to when this baby was NEW. You won't find another with all that!". Guarantee you he'll fold.
Thanks. I quess I will stop perserving records about this car since that does not enhance the cars value. Mark....
Now you're going too far the other direction. As was said, the documentation is very useful to instill confidence in a prospective buyer, concerning the car's authenticity, and can help to sell the car. It's just that it probably won't add a whole lot to the sale price. So continue to preserve the documents.
Original window sticker, owner's manual, bill of sale from the dealer etc might make the car more desirable and easier to sell but would not have a large effect on the price. Unless you can document a racing history, ownership by a famous person, involvement in a historical event or the like. Also, service records count. If you can document every oil change and repair since the car was new this is evidence that the car has not been neglected and is in top condition. It also verifies the mileage shown on the odometer. If the car is documented low miles with service history this could add thousands to the value. Not that the buyer thought you were lying, but....
By the way if you only kept that file of documents because you hoped to make a fast buck, please sell the car to someone who will appreciate it for what it is not how much profit they can make off it.
Sounds like you are in the wrong hobby. Playing the stock market can be real "exciting", that may be more your speed...
I personally would pay an extra 1500.00 on top of the 15k for a grip of original documents. As for your later post... I hope you said that as a joke. As everyone said, it depends on the history, model and so on... Documentation can add 30%+ to a race car but doesn't really add anything to an economy car. All just my 2 cents. There is a ton of gray area here. Josh
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