[does442]

I was recently informed that my 1968 442 Post Car (4 speed) is a bit more rare than I originally thought. Is there a link or contact that anyone knows of where I can validate this with my VIN #? Thanks for your help - Dorene

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by does442

I was recently informed that my 1968 442 Post Car (4 speed) is a bit more rare than I originally thought. Is there a link or contact that anyone knows of where I can validate this with my VIN #? Thanks for your help - Dorene

The whole "post cars are more rare (and thus more valuable)" line of reasoning has been promoted by various vendors in multiple forums over the last couple of years. Time for a sanity check.

Rarity does not equal desirability or value. The Pontiac Aztek is rare, for example.

Post coupes are rare because they were unpopular when new and remain so. The post coupes were primarily the bottom of the line cars and carried a low-rent stigma. Hardtops (Holiday Coupes in Olds-speak) outsold post cars (Sport Coupes) by about 10:1 when these cars were new. Most of the post cars were low-end F-85s. The rest were primarily bought by racers because the Sport Coupe body was slightly lighter than the Holiday Coupe.

As for the value of your particular car, there are several price guides for old cars. All should be taken with a grain of salt. With the possible exception of Camaros, Mustangs, and Corvettes, there simply aren't enough of these cars sold at auction to develop a statistically valid sample size. More importantly, auctions like Barrett Jackson are NOT the real world. A better source is to use the "Completed Auctions" function under ebay's Advanced Search function. That allows you to search actions that closed in the last 30 days. You will find that nearly all of the high dollar cars do not sell (reserve not met, usually) and the ones that do sell often appear for sale again a couple of weeks later.

[talarico8447]

Joe, well said.

[trimacar]

Agreed, well said. I once owned a 1947 Davis 3-wheeler. Rare? Well, geesh, there were 17 of them made. Valuable? Not like Tuckers, that's for sure, they just don't sell for much.

It's always a funny thing, this rare thing. I used to have early Mustangs. The bench seat in the 1965-66 Mustangs is rare, and I had one back in the 80's. No one wanted it. The guy who bought it promptly took it out and put in "normal" seats.

So, dead on. Rare does not mean valuable.

[BJM]

Joe is certainly accurate and I do not mean to play devil's advocate. It was my understanding that a post car offers rigidity over hardtops and convertibles as a street racer and so some mystique was built up that purchasing a high horsepower post car was more desirable for the "solid" feeling it would give in resisting twisting.

I agree that post cars should not be any more desirable. Overall, I am sure they are not. However, they continue to hold a small cadre of fans who will "minimize" the look with dog dish caps and so on and there are collectors who buy them specifically for that reason.

Therefore, it's not so much that these post cars are more valuable, but they remain marketable and collectable for their intrinsic lack of embellishments.

Nobody fails to mention that it is a post car if it is a post car. It's always the 1st thing mentioned.

[BJM]

Originally Posted by joe_padavano

You will find that nearly all of the high dollar cars do not sell (reserve not met, usually) and the ones that do sell often appear for sale again a couple of weeks later.

Very accurate and post insertion fee ebay, this is an interesting anomoly. Basically ebay has become a national for sale site, no longer an auction site.

Sure that is what the format looks like but in fact, with no $40-$50 insertion fees, there is nothing to lose for sellers. I have seen on 39 Buick on ebay for one year, offered at restoration cost of $45,000. When I alsed the fellow about this he said "so what?" It costs me $2 for addtional photos each week and runs for ever.

Thank god for Craigs List, which forced ebay to delete insertion fees simply to run an auction. Now - what if ebay really killed the golden goose and said no RESERVE auctions anymore?

I say 90% of reserve auctions the reserve is not met. It might even be higher.