Don't sell til people are getting their tax money back.... I sold my T and it only brought $6800. I sold it though, because I did'nt have 3500 in it. You gotta figure what it actually cost, not what you think it should bring on EBAY. You can't count your labor, because it's a hobby.
[ QUOTE ] Isn't $7000 more than twice what it cost you to build it? [/ QUOTE ] No. Since its initial build I've sunk at least another $3500 in it with the motor, custom intake, brand new brakes up front, gl*** windshield, metal dash, ****** tunnel, MSD ignition, new radiator and grille shell. So I probably have close to what it went up to in it. Sam.
You shoulda kept the **** tail with it... I'm sure that would've helped. Maybe take pics with big ****ied gals crawling all over it.
My buddy Pete is in the same boat. He's tried to sell his modified a couple of time on eBay this summer but so far no luck. It's up again and expires today: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6737&item=2489136904 It's a sweet f*&ckin' rod and a blast to drive. But maybe people just don't have a lot of cash right now, you guys might need to sit until spring and tax return season. Both the Roach Rod and this gold modified kick *** in my book, someone will buy eventually.
A good hot rod is always more than the sum of its parts. Sam if I had 13Gs I would own it, but I have learned from experience that divorce is an expensive and time consuming ordeal. That said, and back to my opening statement. What makes a car worth more than a person could build it for? A. The fact that one cannot do it himself. Sam is a talented fabricator and can do things that I can't. That is worth something. B. A car with a history. Even though it is a short one. how many people can say that thier car has been in a feature article in a national magazine? C. At***ude. It looks right, and it took on the high dollar shop built cars on thier own turf and gave them a run for thier money. D. Timelessness,if that is a word. A good rod is timeless, and I for one think that the Roach Rod qualifies in spades. With a little imagination a picture of this car could be from 1958 at El Mirage. E. Do you like it? If you don't like the car it isn't worth anything unless you are simply buying it as a commodity to be resold. If it speaks to you, and you can't stop thinking about it, lie awake at night thinking about it in YOUR garage, well, your married dude, write the check! Sam, you'll get the asking price and the person who buys it will do so for the right reasons and give her a good home.
If they get the joke and your sense of humor they would give you 20 grand for it. When I built my truck in the magazines people read about it and got what I was going for. Had somebody offer me twice what I thought it was worth over dinner. It was proptly delivered soon after.
Take heart Mr. S. The Roach Rod is an historical icon to lots of us but not I fear to the general rodding public. Unless they frequent this board and are familiar with the car's fun and interesting provenance then despite the publicity afforded it by the mags it simply is another face in the Ebay crowd. 10K is most reasonable---easily worth it because of its novel features and your considerable sweat equity--regardless of how many actual dollars you have in it. After all a million dollar painting only cost the artist a few bucks worth of paint and canvas. Okay okay maybe the ****ogy is a bit strained but I am sure that if, like myself, many of us on the board had 10K to spare then we'd be doing some business. However board regulars are a relatively small sampling of the rodding world. Oh sure we're the COOLEST sampling but still a small one and most here don't have that kind of cash floating around on a regular basis. Just chalk the no sale up to bad timing and unless you're really hurting for the cash hold out for a decent price. Betcha it'd sell quicker at a major show with a price tag on it than in the completely unpredictable Ebay milieu.
Sam- I know where you're at. You question your own beliefs and those of others that you trust. It's worth what someone is willing to pay. I have the same thoughts on the '32 sedan I'm selling. Pick a realistic price and stick to it... and be ready to answer about a million, "Can you e-mail me pictures?" questions. The economy is sitting still, at the moment, too. Election year... Everyone's sitting tight, but just watch the money start flyin' around after November... (That's when I turn 40 and my mid-life crisis will be at W.O.T. too )... ...and, when someone does buy it, I hope they don't pull the seats out and find MR BONES' poor suffocated head... JOE
I put my old Model A roadster on E-Bay a few years ago. Problem at the time was that the economy had taken a dump and the stock market boom had ended. People who were retired based on what they had in the market were suddenly looking for work. I don't think we've fully recovered from that yet. The big dollar stuff will still sell to the rich, but stuff lower on the food chain will just get a lot of tire kickers. I finally sold my Model A because I drove it to breakfast to a guy who saw me driving it all the time. It made 2k more than the high bid on E-Bay, but 5k less than I was offered for it the year before. Don't give up. It's paid for so it isn't costing you anything but garage space. Try again later. In the meantime, drive the hell out of it. I get people asking if my cars are for sale all the time. Somebody will come up to me at the restaurant fishing at least once a month because they saw me drive in the parking lot. It's not a Taurus or Honda. People will be interested.
Perhaps a hood and some bondo and paint like jim niekamps machine and you could have a high dollar seller at the gand national. otherwise maybe you could throw in a very large one of these
[ QUOTE ] Perhaps a hood and some bondo and paint like jim niekamps machine and you could have a high dollar seller at the gand national. otherwise maybe you could throw in a very large one of these [/ QUOTE ] This is coming from a guy who doesn't even own an old car... and probably never built one from scratch... and I know for DAMN sure he's never built one that could compete on any level with zee Roach Rod... Sam.
He beat me to it!RAT RODS ****......Ha! On a serious note Sam, sellin on ebay is like predicting the lottery numbers- it can happen but not every time. Ive done well on some stuff and regretted having faith in the market and listing it no reserve as an act of that faith. I personally think its a totally different issue as to worth versus cost of materials and labor invested in the vehicle. It will bring what the market[read that demand] will bear.[usually ending up as a bargain to the buyer when compared to the cost to actually build one] I sold my '29 Roadster pickup on EBAY that was "Fence row Rust" finish all over/but completely driveable and safe mechanically].....to a fellow for 7,000. And it wasnt even a celebrity- so go figure.... Then I sold my 31 Channeled A pickup [built in1961] completely authentic in every detail to orig build/same tires /paint/ gl***/ upholstery FROM that '61 build]..It should have brought more than yours as it was a do***ented traditional hot rod with a full on flatty etc . It brought 10,800 on ebay and I pulled it before auction ended and sold it locally for 14k.so compared to that your car did pretty good as the economy is a little weak in the PLAY MONEY dept now. it probably is a little high at 13...
I know Brian... but there are more tactful ways of saying that he thinks my car is priced too high... I have nothing against him... but ya check his bio, and he doesn't even have a hot rod... so how the hell does he know what they are worth or what it takes to build one... Oh wait! Maybe he DOES know what it takes to BUY one... Sam.
I think I'll take it to Billetproof with 13k on it and see what happens. If it doesn't sell, I'll keep it until the spring time and then try to offer it up again on e-bay. Thanks for all your constructive criticism... I think unless it's a '32 or '34 Ford... it isn't going to bring what it is worth on e-bay some of the time. Sam.
Sam, In discussing my ebay listing of my 50 Chevy pickup 50 chevy pickup with Marcus here on the Hamb. Who I think makes a living out of making seller connections for cars in Cali. He stated a good reason why cars wont sell. [ QUOTE ] Trucks like yours that are done like that are a hard sell,for the simple fact that most people that want these trucks want to customize them to fit thier needs and they dont want to pay top dollar.Thats most cases,sometimes you get lucky and you get the so called "Goldchainer" and I hate to use that word,that wants a street rod right away and will just pay whatever.Like you friends Shelby thats actually an easier sell once you find a buyer who can afford it,because they sell themselves,they want a car thats stock and original. [/ QUOTE ] My answer to that is yes... Every time we make any change to these vehicles, Immediately they stop selling themselves as a rule and we have to find someone who likes the taste that we have incorporated into that hotrod,cl***ic,g***er or modified. I think I will be lucky and sell my truck. Its not too far from the reserve price. I must have found a couple of rich lazy goldchainers. Bottom line... I agree. Original cars sell themselves and any car even slightly changed from that has to be sold by the owner. Give me a modified,hotrod,custom anyday.
Hey Sam That car is worth $10K any day of the week and sometimes you just have to gut it up until you find a buyer! I've seen cars at Pamona and Long Beach month after month and the prices were drastically reduced but still didn't sell. Then the guy would drive it to the "Doughnut Derilects" and it sells at 7 a.m. for the original asking price... ! (Go figure(?)) I'd say drive it to these shows and act like you don't need the money and someone will come up to you and ask..., "Was this in a magazine...?" and will you sell it to me....? This has happened to me Hundreds of times..., !!! So go out and have fun and it'll sell...! Mark
I know where you're comin from Sam...I had a harley on Ebay 4 times...nice 91 shiny paint ...couldn't get 10K...my neighbor just had the same problem....I don't know if the economy is about to take a **** or ebay is.. Your car needs to be seen in person. Thetes a new specialty auto sales on 680 near Benicia...they are advertising they need cars and have a special on flooring them right now...They are usually pretty pricy but it might be worth it for a month. (you could always throw a quickie shiny black paint job on it and recover the seats...some people like that stuff!!)
Part of me wants to be immature and just say "---- you" and not waste my time with details but the better part of me wants to illustrate how ***umptions make an *** out of you and umption Here is my old t-bird that I sacrificed(I had way more in it than your highest bid) to Donnie Baird after 7 years and 100,000 plus miles of daily driving(from highschool through college), partially to make way for life's progress and to give me time for college and my 1932 Harley Chopper. I sleep peacefully knowing it has gone to the home that I could not provide for it. I built it, painted it, bondo'd it, leaded it too and drove it like a stolen 60's show car for years while flat black and red wheels was the norm. Once gas prices hit $2.00 plus the tripower stayed on the shelf. R&C was going to put it on the cover along with the rest of the pedestrian killers until they(r&c) started giving Dan Kahn the red-headded step child treatment.
[ QUOTE ] Part of me wants to be immature and just say "---- you" and not waste my time with details but the better part of me wants to illustrate how ***umptions make an *** out of you and umption Here is my old t-bird that I sacrificed(I had way more in it than your highest bid) to Donnie Baird after 7 years and 100,000 plus miles of daily driving(from highschool through college), partially to make way for life's progress and to give me time for college and my 1932 Harley Chopper. I sleep peacefully knowing it has gone to the home that I could not provide for it. I built it, painted it, bondo'd it, leaded it too and drove it like a stolen 60's show car for years while flat black and red wheels was the norm. Once gas prices hit $2.00 plus the tripower stayed on the shelf. R&C was going to put it on the cover along with the rest of the pedestrian killers until they(r&c) started giving Dan Kahn the red-headded step child treatment. [/ QUOTE ] Ok, so you HAVEN'T built a hot rod from the ground up. That puts your smart ***ed comment about the roach clip into perspective. Sam.
I have a theory on selling traditional rods. Here it goes: <font color="blue">Those who love these types of cars also happen to love the process of ***embling their own. Sourcing the parts, banging their knuckles, and generally getting to know their car.</font> That said, I'd be willing to pay 10-11k for your car, depending on the details of it, what it needs, and how fresh things are. The car has a good portion of what the traditional rod enthusiast wants and is drivable. I love the thing. Good luck w/ the sale. <font color="blue"> And what is wrong w/ not having built a car from the ground up? For those of us who prefer kustoms, that's generally not the way building a kustom (as opposed to a rod) works. You don't go from the ground up. You go from a solid platform. Just a little confused here, I guess. </font>
...And as far as building a car when I was 20 and my kid brother 14 we started a hot rod(for him) with this
As an experiment, relist the car W/O the powerslide shots. Swallow your pride and call it a Hot Rat Rockebilly Rod.( dont call it a Roach ) Make the listing short and simple. ( somebody that is looking for a done Hot Rod on Ebay is not looking for a project and reading that entire listing was a project in itself...) Make a big deal out of the fact that it was in many Magazines... But dont take my word for it, I am not very commercial and I dont know how much I spent on my cars either... For what it is worth... I think that car kicks ***.
here is the frame in steel next to the wooden mock up with 52 horizontal speed drilled holes by a machinist with a rocket contract with nasa
here is what some people on here call "car ***" sitting all the parts together to get an idea of the finished product
If you do relist it. Use the double header and put "not 1932" along with the "hot rod rat" in the ***le and you will be amazed at how many hits you get in the first morning from all the "1932" saved search guys trying to get to it first. Also, not to critique, but for the relisting make to font on the description alot bigger in size. I sent the link to a friend of mine and he said that he had trouble reading it on his 13 inch monitor, so that could have turned alot of guys off. Have you thought about "FORDBARN" for listing it with the 13k that you are asking, alot of guys with coin hunting rare parts lurk over there also. And play up the magazine stuff, ask trailed-ed. It works on epay. Good luck, Chris Nelson Kansas No offense Har****, but the below pix looks like the car is broken.
Nicks Hot Rod in the daylight with the DooWopKid13 and his 63 pontiac catalina 2 dr hardtop that he will be driving to high school in may when he turns 16 over the Paso weekend. Did he(doowop) ever mention on ths board I gave him a 1926 T sedan body for Christmas?
Sam I think the number on the door scares 'em off. Your biggest problem is the time of year it is. At the biginning of the show season everyone is clammering to get a ride. But this time of year what they want is a project cheap. They think they get some old rusting hulk for a little of nuthin' and have it cruising and ready to show in the spring. Then that doesn't happen and they are willing to give the big bucks for yours. Nothin wrong with the car or the price. Its out of my price range but that doesn't make the price wrong, just too much for an old greasball like me.
[ QUOTE ] I think unless it's a '32 or '34 Ford... it isn't going to bring what it is worth on e-bay some of the time. Sam. [/ QUOTE ] ha ha ......wrong .......ive already proved that one