If it's really worth that, try to get it. I have my doubts on it.

I am really getting tired of people "claiming" something will sell for this, or that, without the Bill of Sale in hand. For instance, there's some clown on these forums that claims "his Mustang is worth "$50K+", yet has no Bill of Sale to prove what it sold for.

I don't see how one would sell a car without advertising it? Some of them keep on being advertized again and again, and they are indeed unrealistically priced, but it's not the majority.

Some sellers are NOT motivated sellers. Therefore - it means nothing to them to decline ALL offers for less than their asking.

Many of them are simply "stroking themselves," as to what their UNSOLD cars will bring. They KNOW their cars won't bring asking - they are putting on some sort of show as to worth - built on a house of worthless cards.

The guy around here that claims he can get "$50K" for his daily-driver, high miles Mustang is but one example of sellers in denial...

I think some sellers are comparing their average cars to similar ones with big buck restorations.

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Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

i don't think prices are high. i was in the market for a 240D for a while, and all prices were around 1400 which i thought was low. I ended up finding one in pretty good shape, no dents, couple rust spots, runs great, receipts, 330k miles $650.

eBay is a good place to determine what cars are going for as you can track a sale until sold. Some sellers are unrealistic about the worth of their car and ask too much. These cars don't usually sell.

Some buyers are also unrealistic about what a car is worth and will never end up finding that 'steal'... they may find the car ... but it won't be a steal and will cost them in the long run.

Cars like the pagoda and the xke have hit a point where they will always be valuable. Factors like the economy will impact how long they will take to sell instead of what they are worth.

The way I see it, whatever I sell or buy is between myself and the party that i'm dealing with so I never discuss the price that was agreed in public. It's usually useless information when dealing with 30 year old cars as no two cars are in the same condition and no two buyers have the same requirements.

Furthermore, I don't believe cars are investments, they're not. They may appreciate in value, but as they do, you'll be sinking money into them so if you're looking to invest, then it's probably best to find something else.

__________________
With best regards

Al

What I have noted over the past two years is that the price of "nice" Pagodas did not really vary, but the price of project Pagodas has gone up. In the case of the XKE it seems to me that both the price of nice ones and project cars has gone up.

I titled the thread wrongly. It should have been "is the price of SOME vintage cars going up?"

That is very true. In the case of Pagoda projects, all the ones I've seen were between $8.000 and $12.000 and all had rust issues. It would have taken at least an additional $20.000 and a lot of work to bring them to the level of the ones proposed around $25.000 or $30.000.

Yep, as much as I love my W114 coupes and W116's, they're never going to be collectors cars, but they are excellent drives. You should see my 280SL Gael, it shocking how something can be so neglected. I need to unload 6 of my cars so that I can clear the shop, get the 6.3 up and running and focus on just that car. Even then, I expect it to be a 5 year effort.

The PO bought it in from Germany in the 80's as a retirement treat and then rear ended a bronco (sometime in the mid 80's). He told me that the damage was not bad, so he drove it home and parked it 10ft from his garage where it sat until I came along. He always had intentions of restoring it but 25 years or so later, he realized that he's now too old so he sold it.

If he drove it 10 more feet into the garage, he would have sold it for a lot more.

__________________
With best regards

Al

i always liked this phrase
" some things are priced to sell , others are priced to keep"

.......the ones that don't sell are overpriced.

They could save themselves 100s of hours in labor, to buy one already done in near perfect condition for $35K to $40K or so.

That's my point. Even by doing most of the work by oneself the final cost is often above the resell price. That's true for most vintage cars. So on a purely financial point of view, most of the time it is more advantageous to buy a properly restored car. It's expensive, but often far less than what it took to restore it. In other words, skilled DIYers who spend time and money restoring cars do it at a loss for the benefit of some more wealthy guys that can put the money upfront and enjoy the cars...

Interesting point of view, the wealthy guys spend their time doting and driving their nearly pristine vintage cars, while the hobby crowd does the grunt work.... Makes sense to me.

I would venture the wealthy guys didn't get that way spending endless hobbying hours and dollars of their time restoring cars at a net loss.

I've long been in favor of spending hobby time at something other than your main work, that actually pays ongoing dollars that will transform you into a wealthy guy. It pays better too.

I should really get into spending my hobby time in the lucrative Recreational Vehicle market; in order to transform into a WealthyGuy™ by clogging up highways and chemical toilets.

Do you run drugs in your RV, thereby combining profits with one's hobbies? You could make millions transporting weed across state lines, nobody would suspect some baby boomer's RV as a drug runner. It's just like Warren Buffet investing in the insurance industry.

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1980 240d
1999 SL500

Agreed. If you make a profession of your hobby, you loose both the day things go wrong. But professional restorers do not make money by reselling cars they have bought and then restored. They get paid fortunes to restore cars bought by others who will resell them at a loss...