How much should I ask for my 79 240D?

[rino]

I finally bought the truck I had been looking for yesterday, so I'm now ready to sell my 79 240D. I have no idea how much to ask for, as it is not listed in the KBB and there is a pretty great discrepancy in the prices found on CL for similar cars..

It has been in great mechanical condition for years, it is a 4-spd manual transmission with 105K miles, and looks very good (I get compliments on the car all the time). Only issues, which I should take care of as soon as I get some time on my hand, wiper rubbers need to be replaced, and I also need to replace the passenger side rear mirror (damaged by a golf ball in the golf course's parking lot).
It's absolutely reliable, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country. It's been a California car all of its life, totally rust-free.
This is the work I did on the car about a couple of years ago: new side and rear engine mounts, new bilstein shocks on all corners, new hood release cable/handle, new rear rotors, new front and rear brake pads, valve clearance adjustment, new (all three) belts. I've done maintenance on it religiously for the past eight years..Delo 400 every three months, Redline for the transmission, Mobil 1 for the differential...

What should I price it on CL?

[mespe]

Depends how quickly you want to sell it.
Never put yourself in a position where you "have" to sell a car, and when buying a car, buy from someone that "has" to sell, not someone that "wants" to sell.

[DC Josh]

Variables for cars that are this old can be tricky. As with anything, everything is for sale - at a price. It just depends on what people are willing to pay for it. This can related to a lot of things, but for our cars, here are somethings that I took into consideration when I listed my car for sale:

Market Value.
Comparing your car to others in the local area will give you a starting off point as to where you want your car to be priced. This will also give an idea about how long it will take to be sold. You can price your car for $10,000. And you may get it, it will just take a long time and the correct market conditions (gas spike, for example).

Condition.
Being absolutely honest about how your car places with others in the market comparison. You can have a show room ready, concourse classic, but that may not be what someone else wants or can afford.

Location.
Depending on where you live will have different effects on the condition of the car. Rust belt cars are obviously not going to compare to an Arizona car, but then it will have to be priced depending on what the demand is.

Options.
Is there something different about your car when comapred to the others in the market? Having receipts and a full service history can be cruicial and a huge selling point for most (informed) buyers.

Demand.
When gas prices get crazy and people think that they can brew their own fuel in their garage, then the demand for diesels goes up. It depends on the timing.

Unfinished Business.
How many 'little things' are left to fix? If it takes 5 minutes to change out some wiper blades at a cost of $20, then do it and not have the next buyer deal with it and possibly miss out on a sale that may be closer to your asking price. Giving the buyer less of a reason to talk you down in price is what you are looking to do. If you can fix it for minimal cost for maximum return, than do it.

All taken into consideration, they will ultimatly offer you below what you are asking, so get ready to add a little on the back end to make up the difference. They will want to walk away with the upper hand and feel like they really got a good deal, while you want to recover most (if not all) of your costs or at least make a little bit of profit at the end of the day.

So, I'll make you and offer of $700. And you have to ship your rust free California car to Virginia!

- DC Josh

[Mölyapina]

Around here that, (if it has good body, interior, and ), would go for about $3000 - $4000. I would start with $4000 and go down from there. Less-than-common color schemes (not black or white ) tend to get a little more, especially if the paint looks nice.

Of course, I have no idea what the CA market is like, so my advice is somewhat worthless...

[cooljjay]

Not sure what its worth but looking at a bigger picture of your car.....something is fishy, the seats in the car aren't original....they should have bat wing headrest...on that simple clue....I really question the mileage claim....unless this is actually an early 80s model and not a 1979....which would make it really a 1978...

[rino]

Thank you all....I hope to get a few more opinions before listing it on CL..

As to:

Originally Posted by cooljjay

Not sure what its worth but looking at a bigger picture of your car.....something is fishy, the seats in the car aren't original....they should have bat wing headrest...on that simple clue....I really question the mileage claim....unless this is actually an early 80s model and not a 1979....which would make it really a 1978...

I have no idea if they are the original 1979 seats. I know I got the car in March 2005 with 88K miles, and it was posted here as soon as I got it back then. This is definitely a low mile engine, as it is strong and has been flawless since the beginning. The whole history of maintenance of the car is on this forum posted under this user name, as I've reported here every single repair I've done to the car since getting it, so the buyer will have the history of the car for the past 8 years on this forum. It has never seen a mechanic since I bought it, I've done all the work myself with the help of this forum's members. It was actually a member of this forum who helped me with his advice to pick it at the time, back in 2005. The car is a 1979, not an 1980.

@DC Josh
Thanks for the advice, and as to your offer: it's very funny

@mespe
I'm not in a rush to sell it. I could wait two or three months or more, plates are paid up to the end of November anyway, so basically the only cost to me for keeping it a bit longer is the monthly insurance $22.50/month + fuel. I have the oil filter (actually three of them) and the Delo 400 for the oil change scheduled at the end of this month. So, waiting a bit before selling it is not really a big deal.

I want to take care of the wiper blades and mirror, though, before putting it up for sale.

[zeke]

You could get a better estimate from the forum with more detailed pics....engine bay, interior, trunk interior.

Would also help solve the mystery of the headrests. cooljay is right, those are 1980 headrests, which makes a potential buyer start to wonder about the mileage number.

I tend to take mileage figures on these cars with a pile of salt, due to the frequent failure of the odometer gearand the ease of resetting/swapping a cluster. My car could have 8k miles on it next week if I wished.

I am more interested in the condition of the interior and engine when I look at w123s. Those are the expensive bits, especially in a 240d (which has few other bits besides suspension!)

[cooljjay]

Originally Posted by zeke

You could get a better estimate from the forum with more detailed pics....engine bay, interior, trunk interior.

Would also help solve the mystery of the headrests. cooljay is right, those are 1980 headrests, which makes a potential buyer start to wonder about the mileage number.

I tend to take mileage figures on these cars with a pile of salt, due to the frequent failure of the odometer gearand the ease of resetting/swapping a cluster. My car could have 8k miles on it next week if I wished.

I am more interested in the condition of the interior and engine when I look at w123s. Those are the expensive bits, especially in a 240d (which has few other bits besides suspension!)

Agree with it all....another head scratcher is the bundts.....they are in really bad shape for a car that supposedly had 88k plus most pre 80s w123s specially 240Ds had rims with hubcaps...

Also highly agree on the speedo's mine stop long before I got it at 150k....so when I installed the replacement I just made it read 150k even though the car probably has 250k....also a commit on the op's claim about the engine....my friend had a 240d with an amazingly shinny engine and ran smooth....it had 450k on the od...

[zeke]

Same was true of my 79....just under 300k, but when I bought it, I would have eaten off of the valve cover. Could use a little wipe down now, but still looks very good at 310k

Actually, the best mileage indicator IMO is the top of the steering wheel.
still really bumpy - <150k
still knobby, but not so bumpy - 150-250k
not knobby or bumpy (feels like a chevy!) >250k
starting to melt - ??? (had a wagon like that)

Much easier to replace a speedo than a steering wheel.

[rino]

OK, great, I'll take pictures of everything this weekend.
One thing though, how would the shape of the headrest make you wonder about mileage? I don't quite understand the connection.
I very much appreciate your feedback, guys. I'll take pictures probably this Sunday.

Thanks..

[cooljjay]

Originally Posted by rino

One thing though, how would the shape of the headrest make you wonder about mileage?

It means the interior was switched out, a 88k mile car should still have the original interior.....if it was switched out, it means it was very worn....and you shouldn't see that on a 88k car...

[Skippy]

If you can prove the 105,000 miles, which I kind of doubt, then you might be looking at something well over five grand. Assuming unknown mileage and going off the condition you describe, I think you could probably get over three thousand. Since you're not in a hurry, start by asking five thousand and see what happens.

If you get desperate to sell it, I'll give you $701 and you DON'T have to ship it

[Mölyapina]

Originally Posted by cooljjay

Agree with it all....another head scratcher is the bundts.....they are in really bad shape for a car that supposedly had 88k plus most pre 80s w123s specially 240Ds had rims with hubcaps...

Of course, since the previous owner switched in different Bundts, could it be that he went to the updated headrest just for kicks?

Originally Posted by Skippy

If you can prove the 105,000 miles, which I kind of doubt, then you might be looking at something well over five grand. Assuming unknown mileage and going off the condition you describe, I think you could probably get over three thousand. Since you're not in a hurry, start by asking five thousand and see what happens.

If you get desperate to sell it, I'll give you $701 and you DON'T have to ship it

Agreed. And I'll give you $720 and pick it up.

[rino]

Please let me know what you think..

[rino]

I have taken more than thirty today...