This is spot on, now everyone go out to their shops and work on something that makes them feel good. let this thread DIE ! Dave
I think Jimmy hit on the main reason stuff isn't moving. Life has gotten in the way for a lot of people and the cash a lot of guys had to buy cars or car parts isn't there anymore or very often. The other thing I often wonder about certain cars not selling is, are some of these cars that aren't selling too "personalized"? That pin-striping or other paint work that a guy has put on his car may be the hot lick as far as he is concerned but to a guy looking at the car it may be something that he would have to change right off the bat and is a turn off on an otherwise desirable car. Or spendy add on's such as wheel and tire combos that either are not right for the car or the seller thinks they add way too much value to the car. We have all seen the $500 Car with the $5000 set of wheels on it that the seller is asking $10,000 for because he thinks the wheels and tires make it something really special.
Very desirable stuff is selling for 30% less then when the market was at it's peak, not bad considering the housing market is doing the same or worse, and it is a lot easier to sell the car than a house. The crazy prices people were paying a few years back will not return, guys were buying cars to flip and make a profit, thus this created a false market just like the housing market, people were speculating with money that was'ent theirs from their home equitiy loans. Curently , the only guys buying anything are between 50 and mid sixties who were careful with their money and did'nt get themselves into debt, and the europeans are buying cars that hav'ent been oversaturated yet. The younger growd has started to buy bodies and parts again but won't spend more than $3000.00 . If you need money to survive, then part the car out, you will at least break even , except for your labor, or trade the car for something thats easier to sell. Don't sell on e-bay or craigs list, that's a speculative market, take the car to swappmeets or shows so you can reach the hobby people , not the guy trying to make a buck on your need for cash. Only invest in cars and parts that have been collected for a long time and are desirable, stay away from orphan cars and parts. If you can sell your car at a price close to what you have invested in it, sell it and reinvested in something more desirable and easy to sell, they are alot of screaming deals out there, where you can recoop some of your loss. Don't sell till spring starts, and if you can wait a couple of years, prices will improve a little, because alot of cars were shipped overseas and demand for our cars will return.
The Jalopy Journal
