This hobby has gotten out of control.

I spent the weekend in Reno and was checking out some shows when i came acrossed a '31 Model A roadster for sale. Looked it up and down for a few minute; not too exotic sbc with a 350, channeled, no floor 'cept for chicken wire, and missing about a two feet of steel behind the passenger door, well, the owner comes over and i ask him how much... $16,000 ... I thought he was joking; the car was covered in surface rust, not even primered, and wasn't running, and he wanted $16,000. Christ, cars have just gotten out of control, and the worst part is that my girl also fell in love with the car and wants me to ditch my T bucket on Model A rails for an actual A roadster. SHIT.

 

The hobby hasn't gotten out of control at all. Just some folks think that a turd with a big price tag won't be a turd anymore.

So you want an A roadster, look around until you find one you can afford. don't sell the T until you're ready to move on.

 

Just finished helping a friend of mine build a 29 roadster. It's flat black epoxy paint, on a boxed Model A frame, 350 chevy small block, 350 turbo tranny, with metalflaked green vinyl interior and he has set the price at $18,000.00.
He does not really want to sell, so he figures if he sets the price this high, you will not bother him unless you are really interested.

 

....just add up the parts today, and pay yourself $10 bucks an hour.....you'll be shocked.

 

if i ever hear someone trying to pitch me an outrageous number for things, i always ask them if thats what they would pay. if they say yes, then i laugh and go away. if they say no, then i continue to speak with them until they tell me whats reasonable. bottom line is, dont ever be the sucker who supposrts such prices.

 

Get a new girlfriend....

 

There's a difference between asking price, and what something is really worth.

And FWIW, asking more that what it is worth has been around for years... so the hobby hasn't really gotten out of control... IMHO.
Sam.

 

I think they're watching too much Barrett-Jackson. They see some big-monied yuppie pay waaaay too much for something similar, so they figure that theirs is worth that much too.

Never mind that it has a little rust here and there and that it smokes a little and has some engine noise and is painted with Krylon.

 

The problem is called "Yuppy Rodders".

 

The shocking part was that i saw the guy the next day and he told me some guy bought it from him, full price, what a fucking idiot.

 

Why can't your girl buy her own car?

 

El Caballo ..... you are very wise man!

 

And what ELSE was he going to tell you???

How could you ever prove otherwise???

It benefits both him and the buyer to have you THINK that the car is worth that much: he for his ego, the buyer for investment potential.

The only way you can ever tell what was actually paid is to be the one paying or receiving the monies. Even an auction (like Ebay) can have a different outcome than what shows on paper, and a private transaction is just that: private.

Cosmo

 

Better yet, is why doesn't she buy him one ?

 

BINGO! They fucked up drag racing for me as well. This is a hobby? I thought it was a lifestyle.

 

It doesn't suprise me. go to the L.A. Roadster show....That place is "instant inflation"

Parts that reasonably go for fair money, hit the rare scale times 100. Its incredible.

I saw a couple roachy Model A sedan bodies up for sale for $4000 each...and there were no floors, glass, garnish mouldings...and a nice touch of 4" rust all the way around.

Hell, If they are going for that price, ill list mine now for $12k...and its not all together.

and yes, its not a hobby...its a lifestyle

 

You can say that again. When I go to frickin' swap meets anymore, all I frickin' hear is "how much it sells for on eBay". Skies the limit on eBay but there's no place for it in this hobby. I mean for-christ-sakes, what ever happen to wheelin' and dealin' or an honest hand shake or trade to keep your project moving along. Nowadays people get so flippin' greedy. Unfortunately, it seems as if it is not a hobby anymore but strictly all about the $$$. It's BS! Sorry for venting.

 

its not that the hobby is outta control, its just that people think what the fuck they have, some people are rediculous.

 

thats the way it was at louisville this weekend,,
the prices of cars seemed to be doubled or more than their actuall worth,,
and i couldnt buy anything at the swapmeet,,,well 11 issues of "AUTOBUFF" magazine,,its rad,titties and cars!............ other than that nobody wanted to sell me anthing......good thing to ,cuz later on that night i found quite a few nude women who were MORE than happy to take my money

 

If someone wants to give him $16,000, then that's exactly what it's worth....Nothing else to say..........

 

Some folks adhere to the old adage "buy low and sell high." Sure you'll make a lot of money - but only if you sell. Seems to me, this guy is either into buying and selling cars/parts or sets up unrealistic prices as a way to embark on a fishing expedition. While most of us aren't anxious to sell our cars, these guys go crazy at the sight of $ bills. I also get tired of hearing about what parts sell for on ebay. What's wrong for getting a fair price for parts/cars today? Don't really think $16k is real, but if he sold it, more power to him.

 

i view it as being akin to the over-priced housing market. it's gonna be high for a while, but it wont last forever.
i work with this dill-hole who buys and sells cars that folks may want. the way he does it is to find some poor bastard who cant finish his project and pawn it off to another poor bastard who cant finish a project. what he does it is to take a car hauler to a show (like pidgeon forge) and wait for some sucker whos aching to build a car all day cause hes seen so many and does the old impulse buy trick.
he sells them a car that in all reality needs way more work than was once thought, he just doesnt point that out at the time. he'll talk them up quite a bit. says things that folks love to hear like "sure they still make all these parts" and so on. in reality though, he needs a post-it to remind him which is his ass and which is his elbow. some folks call these guys clever, i call them cons.
dont get me wrong, i have no issues with buying low and selling high, its the american way. however everyone deserves the right to be treated fairly ive always thought.
this guy's already bragged to us how hes got 12 cars lined up for sale, and how hes only got $5000 invested, but is planning on bringing home way, way more than that. i hardly consider this guy to be a car junkie, hot rodder, enthusiast, or anything that remotely resembles a builder, but theres plenty of "hims" out there. they only care enough to make the next sale.
best thing to do is to know what is worth what and do not pay anything but that. then these guys will go away and promote another dead pasttime, maybe baseball or something.

 

If Rocky or I would have sold the Rocky 33 for what folks here think its worth, we could have retired to Tahiti.

If I think my car is worth 10K, you dont like it...............keep walking, there is an ass for every seat and I have the piece of paper that allows me to pick whos ass get to sit in the seat!

Tired of the low-buck bitchywhiners. Go paint your fucking car or something.

 

If the market will bear it.....sell it.

 

If prices are so high on Ebay and at swap meets, then round up some shit to sell and sell it. You'll make lots of money to fund your project. If prices were low, you'd all complain about how your stuff isn't worth anything.

 

the only thing more humorous than a 16 year old commenting on how the hobby has tone to hell, is this comment from mr. "i sold my sedan delivery on dubs to buy my lesabre which i'm now trying to sell....to buy a traditional hot rod".

pot, meet kettle.

 

And then throw the kettle though the wall of your glass house

 

You got it right. I've got a spread sheet for my car project. It helps me remember what I have, what I need, and most important what I'm willing to pay. It also includes what I've spent so far. Total of the 98% complete list of parts is close to $30 grand. No labor and just some taxes and freight. If you were to add in what the labor would cost at a shop and you're in the gold chainer price range. Our hobby/lifestyle "can" be expensive. The only reason most of us can afford to do what we enjoy is because we've learned the skills necessary to do the work. Boyd and his ilk charge an arm-and-a-leg to the gold chainers because they have the skills (?) and the gold chainers don't. Most of us search high and low for the right parts at the right price. Then we do the labor ourselves and we have a car we are proud of and can afford.

I'm doing the labor on my car so the cost is in the range I can afford. The spread sheet helps with my over-40 memory (which on ocassion strikes me stupid) and keeps me "on" the plan and on the budget.

 

BOOOYA!

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BUUUAAAHAHAHAHA!





The thing that you do not understand Ray is that I built and sold cars for more and more money and also used hard earned cash to buy the big billit wheeled sedan delivery that then helped buy the LeSabre, which I'm now wanting to sell to get me one of them really nifty Rat Rodzzzzz® that all of the Docters and Lawyers, who happened to watch American Hot Rod or bought a copy of a magazine with a Rat Rod® in it, have helped to make so exspensive and worth sooooo much more now.

 

Just because this is still on top.......Who cares.....search and destroy.....find your own roadster in a barn........