Projects Why can't I sell my 1951 Hudson Super Six?

I am confused I guess, I am not a car genius by any means, but I knew I always wanted a cool looking lead sled to start working on. I could not afford a 49 or 50 Mercury, and I had no idea that how cool the Hudson lead sled looked until I saw one! I finally got the courage and told my wife I am going to restore this Hudson I found, for two reasons, one it is my dream to restore an ole beauty, and two this one was in such great condition and I was getting it from the original owners son. I knew that I would not be over my head with this one, all original parts still on the car that are easily restorable for looks, the motor turns over, easily a driving car, the dash lights all works, even the radio and the heater!! It would not take that many $$$ to make this car brand new looking again. So I did it, I drove to Iowa and got the car, got a good deal on it and trailered it back to St. Louis.

Shortly after I bring the car back and put it in my climate controlled garage, we found out were having a baby. Now we all know what this means. Now my dreams are dashed, but a new one will start soon. I knew and it is the right thing to do, I have to sell the Hudson I just bought.....****S!!!!

So I have put the car up for sale on craigslist and started it at $5000.00 because I was told that is how much its worth in the condition the car is in, and I have almost that in it as well. Well no takers, of course. So I decide, ok I can lose a little bit of money, I have to make the room in my garage and my priority is with my wife and the new baby coming. I lower my Hudson to $3500.00

Now people are interested, it seemed. People called, e-mailed, came and looked at the car. Oh I really want this, could you send me more pictures, can I come by and look at it, and never show up!!! Oh I remember how awesome these cars are and I think I may buy it from you, but when I ask for a deposit you shrug and walk away. Whats the deal? Its a great car and for only $3500.00 is what I asked myself.

So I decide, ok lets lower the price one more time, lets lower it to $3000.00. It will sell now, now I am losing a good deal of money on the car and practically giving this car away. You could buy this car and part the whole thing out and make 10x that amount with the all original parts on the car. BUT nothing, again....

So ask you, some of which know way more than me about cars, specifically Hudsons, what am I doing wrong, why wont this car sell.... My personal opinion is its an AWESOME car and a great minor project car for someone. The car is listed here on the hamb as well if anyone would like to take a look. Its a 1951 Hudson Super Six.

Here is the description of the car as I have it on the hamb.



<HR style="COLOR: #e5e5e5; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and ***le -->

Location: St. Louis, MO Price: $3000.00 ​

<!-- message -->Shown here is a 1951 Hudson Super 6 sedan with the 262 cubic inch flathead inline 6 cylinder engine and 3 speed on the column manual transmission with the rare overdrive and only 83,998 miles on the car! These cars featured a “Monobilt” unibody/frame construction which is VERY rigid and they were the safest cars on the road back in their day. The frame is designed in such a way that it sort of “wraps around” the interior cabin of the vehicle. This also enabled the floors to be very low slung, thus lowering the seats and allowing for the super sleek “chopped top” look with low-slit windows all the way around! These cars look like the chop top Fords and Mercurys that hot-rodders have been building for years, but without any of the custom bodywork and fabricating needed!

The engine turns over freely and will run, but will need a new battery, some fresh gas, and probably some tune-up work to become a driving car. I’m sure it will need some brake work as well as is typical. Everything is intact and complete though, and it should be very easy to get this car back on the road with minimal effort. It’s been sitting in indoor storage for many years, and is really quite well preserved. The gl*** is good. Interior is all-original, intact and very restorable. Except for a little bubbling around the rear wheels, the body is all solid as far as rust is concerned, as is the frame. Most all of the chrome and stainless trim is in good shape except for some pitting on one half of the grille. The tires all hold air and have not gone flat even after years of the car being stationary.

I purchased this car two months ago from the original owners son in Iowa. I currently keep the car in my climate controlled garage. I bought this car to restore it because I always wanted a lead sled, just couldnt afford the mercury haha. We unfortunately have to sell this along with my other car since I have had since high school (1991 Ford Bronco...myother baby hehe) and bikes because we are going to have our first baby!! We found out about a month after I bought this car and I would love to give someone else the opportunity to restore this diamond of a car instead of it just sitting inmy garage.

These cars are quite rare, and have a very sleek design to them. I’ve listed this cool cl***ic car at a very fair price, it is on Craigslist as well and I lowered the price from $5000.00 to $3500.00 and have a good, clean ***le to go with it. Now the car is only $3000.00 Don’t miss out! Thanks for looking!

You may contact me on my phone at (314) 517-0693 if you have any questions or are interested in purchasing the car. You may e-mail me as well at hugo3425pd@hotmail.com

 

You might have better luck putting this in the cl***ified section. In answer to your question , you would have a better chance selling it if the car ran or at least even started. "but will need a new battery, some fresh gas, and probably some tune-up work to become a driving car.",

 

Perhaps its the mechanicals that need to be addressed that scare people of..not that it is anything any old car that has been sitting will need but. Most folks can't do all that work themselves so tack on about another $2000 for that work and thats provided not a lot has to actually be replaced,,looks like a very nice car,,but it is a project

 

You posted the car for sale not too long ago. Some things don't sell overnight. Bump it up every 3 days. There's other mediums to use for selling besides this forum and you should consider those, as well.

 

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Old cars in general, and project cars in particular, just aren't selling in this uncertain economy. Compounding this problem is the reality that Hudsons are just not everybody's cup of tea. Hopefully you can afford to keep the car - it looks like a great one - and ride out your temporary financial pinch. Good luck!

 

sounds like a fair price to me, so why can't you sell it? First off, ditch the drama and focus on the product. We DO NOT care why the car is for sale. In fact all the discussion about why you are selling it and what else you have to sell distracts from your car. FOCUS! Second, the public wants instant gratification for any money spent. ESPECIALLY during difficult economic times. You have had the car for at least two months and have not made any improvements. That right there throws up a red flag that you just seek to flip the car and the whole story is bogus. I am not saying any of that is true, but that is the impression you have created.

Now back to the car. So you have had it for at least two months and all it needs to run is a battey, some fresh gas, a possible tune up and some brake work...so DO IT. Heck, the wife is already pregnant, so your time isn't needed for that duty. Spend a few hours and get it roadworthy. You said yourself that it will be very easy to get it on the road and that will take minimal effort.

My summary: 1. clean up the ad and focus on your car's quality. 2. Spend some time on it and get it roadworthy. 3. stop advertising it for a while 4. start over with a higher price.

If that doesn't work for you, PM me. I might just buy it from you! But isn't that the premise behind the thread anyway?

 

Clean it, clean it, clean it...

 

Sometimes it just takes awhile.

Also, that's the Craiglist way. Email and call the buyer tell them you coming by to take a look at what you're selling, then never show up. It seems some people have too much free time.

It's a free service, so I guess you have to deal with that aspect.

 

It takes 9 months to cook a baby. What are you? 3 months in? You've got 6 months to spend a few hundred on the car to see if you can get it to run/drive/stop. That will increase the value dramatically. Get the new gas (in a can with a hose is fine) the new battery (6V are available at the farm stores on the shelf) and the tune up kit (NAPA for under $100 for points, plugs, and wires I'd expect), change the oil and see what she'll do.

And Craigslist isn't the only place! Look at HAMB, Rodding Round Table, Hudson clubs, everywhere that you can if you really want to sell it. Get it fired and running and go back to your $4000 or whatever. I don't know who told you $5000 but if they were so sure of it, where did they do their research?

Welcome to the old car hobby. You get cars you think are golden and then can't get rid of them. I took a year to sell a $1500 '54 Chevy 210/Bel Air that ran and stopped. The guy drives it that I sold it to. Everyone else just wanted to tire kick and offer less.

Also, add Hudson to your tag line! The car isn't a Ford, it isn't a Mercury yet you've not put Hudson! I don't care if you can only tag 5. I hate seeing those words in the craigslist ads just to get the search engines to work!!