Steve_Mack_CT

Money aside, a couple considerations IMO, having had a '39 Chevy (pretty close to a '37) & a Model A. Lots of advancement in driveability in those 10 years, I always liked the way my Chevy handled, steered, etc. - more speed than an "A", easier to shift in traffic, great around town cars, not too big to manouver easilly like some longer wheelbase cars of the late 30s. Chevy parts, while not supported by quite as many vendors as with the Model A, are not expensive and pretty much everything is available. You cannot keep them all but the '39 Chevy is one I wish I kept.

Seeker, sorry to hear about your Vette, BTW on the other thread. In any event the only time I had someone make a ridiculas offer, I told him to knock on the door if he wanted to get serious and went in the house - he did not buy. Mentally I have always figured anywhere inside 10% if "reasonable haggling space", or a starting point but I know people who have done well making polite offers much lower than that. It is always tough, but in the end who sells for a price they do not consider acceptable? What do others think is the typical haggling range? Does anyone here look at a car with say an asking price of $18K expecting to offer $10 or $12K? Just curious what this group thinks of that..

A.J. every now and then you see an article on some well known coachbuilt cars & they reference fitment issues like that with handbuilt cars, it is always interesting. Of course today if anyone of us were involved in a project like Craig's we would want it as precise as can be. Craig - sounds like patience has really paid off, seems to me you were looking at MB powertrain options some time ago, did not reallize chassis came with powertrain which is a huge plus, obviously! My guess is your builder has more time in this than he will ever accurately bill you for - but he has probably calculated that into the hourly rate...

Great progress on the Special Roadster, Craig. Can you share the approximate amount of hours to get to that stage and what you think it will be in total for the body? What have you decided on for powertrain?

Matt, nothing political there, just a great fresh perspective on this - these are different markets; and your description helps drive that home. That, along wiht Roger's comments about funding someone elses fun really boil the market down. Seeker wants full retail for his car which is understandable, and finding the right guy who is comfortable taking the plunge is the challenge - all that mechanical work SHOULD outweigh the cosmetics, but it takes a while to find that buyer. I bet he is a guy who will need handholding and a reminder of the math behind that car. I once sold a 'vette with a big crack in the nose, among other obvious needs. The advice from older, wiser (as in they never would have bought the POS I foolishly had to have at 21) vette guys was to clean up the car, wash, wax, dress tires - "well, yes but it needs this, that etc." "yes, but people like shiny and can envision themselves in it easier, kid" Your selling an image as well as a machine. Good advice, I have learned over the years.

Eric Mac, you and your wife made a good choice. I think people tend to forget in this hobby, for some unknown reason, that 95% or more of our cars are not investments. Buying and selling in the 5% that are, really requires a different approach, a lot of money is at stake and understandably so, the collector needs to consider that through all steps - purchase, ownership, sale. Even open Full Classics are subject to market fluctuations - if you need to dip into your 401K or other savings earmarked for critical life events, you are smart, IMO to not do that. Enjoy the nice group of cars you already have, and focus on that Lincoln - a true standout for that era. Someone above mentioned is sucks to save for your own retirement, well I would argue that in the traditional pension world companies would calculate that cost into one's overall compensation and one would not even have the option Eric Mac considered, retirement has always been earned, not given. Good for him for making what I am sure was a tough, but right decision. The nice thing about this hobby is that while we cannot all own a Stutz Bearcat or '60 MB 300 SL, there are great cars available at all levels - but that is a whole other discussion. The issue is that these things are not liquid in a sense that you have a guarantee of getting your money back in short order even with a desirable model or bodystyle, hence the reason for Eric Mac's wise decision to forego a Full Classic till he can afford it through some other means besides retirement funds. Sometimes you get lucky - would be good to be a '70 Porsche 911 owner right now if you picked up the car for $15K a few years back, right? Other times, one scratches their head wondering what happenned to their market - say '55 - '57 Tbirds. I do not think Seeker is even suggesting this but if you expect to profit on each sale, you will likely be dissapointed more often than not. For what we are discussing here, I do think a factor is a flat or even declining market for non-Full Classic cars of this vintage, even the price of open Fords has leveled off if you follow them over the long haul. Anyway on Seekers dilemma, IMO if you have been marketing a car at a given price for six mos or so, and had no real interest, the decisions are pretty simple: 1) Change your approach - consider consignment, auction, etc.; 2) adjust price 3) adjust your expectation on timing of sale, and be willing to hold the car as long as it takes to get your price, or 4) take car off the market. The question is how badly you want to sell, or if you need to sell. Heck some of us sell at a loss to liquidate quickly - - so we can buy another car! Crazy, right?

Seeker, avoidance of tire kickers is another plus of consignment, each of the cars we sold that way went to distance buyers who were comfortable with the deal. I only showed one to a local guy through the dealer, yep a long afternoon, a nice ride in the countryside, all spares inventoried and discussion on shckle bushings that I had but needed to install. Two legal pad pages of notes followed by "do me a favor please do not sell until I have had a chance to consider my offer" followed by.... crickets. A few days later "say what ever happenned to joe blow?" "Oh, the heard squeaking in the rear suspension and thought that was not the car for him" Translation: Joe blow had a free afternoon and figured he would kill it dreaming... Been there, done that, work enough that my free time is more valuable. Everyone's situation is different, and I know you can kind of comingle business with the hobby but expect this for every serious buyer that you get.

Yep, not sure if you saw his ads, A.J. ( guessing you did as you appreciate these flattie Mopars as well) but they seem to be well done to me. Could be if he needs to sell now as opposed to trying again down the road price needs to drop a bit. I did not initially think so as I have a perception about the value of open cars 1948 and prior, but market does slot these significantly below Fords and even Chevy contemporaries - they are undervalued but it is what it is. I will say even in a slow market, I have seen some cars sell in days that seemed like good cars at good prices, so slow, but not dead. Model specific factors do matter, with the SL for example, certain services such as timing chain/guides are fairly expensive and most buyers who have done minimal homework will ask about that (also not a good idea to take an R107 chassis SL around the block if it has over 60,000 miles and this has not been done, so it does make sense in this case as a major factor..) which is not a real big deal on many other cars. I would only add it is a crowded market at this price also, which is just another factor in the mix that could require an adjustment if Mrs. Seeker wants that bigger house bad enough. Admittedly, when we consign I tack on a bit more to the initial ask and kind of "split" the difference of the commission that way. This is only because I believe people expect to pay a little more with a dealer. The couple dealer friends I have will say otherwise, but that is my thought and so far it has worked. You can always come down, and dealer will advise if they think you are way off base, which benefits no one - they don't want the listing as badly and they are not magicians, and you can expect less effort on an unrealistic price. I am just saying it is worth it to consider carefully, and hold your ground - make them earn it, rather than price it so cheap it will sell itself..

Steve try Lebaron Bonney in MA, they have tan canvas without the Ford logo in the size you need, I believe somewhere between $50 & 75; I bought one a few years ago and was really pleased with it.

On description, I would agree with A.J.'s comments and lean towards having a lot of detailed photos available; having seen Seeker's description of this car here and even on CL, to me it is ideal for the serious buyer; photos show the strong points fo the car and where it is less than perfect; and the description is just what would peak my interest. I am always more confident in the seller that shows the good, the bad and the ugly vs. one who shows car in passing and spends ad copy on the history of the "Jenson Super Special, one of ten due to the tri tone interior option.." The only other consideration is if it makes sense to consign it and let another party make the distance buy comfortable as well as market the car full time (obviously with others in the consignee's inventory, point being they are actively pursuing a buyer as a full time job vs. doing what you can do when you can do it in what is a down or at least slow market) - there are a lot of advantages to this approach but you need to accept the fact you will pay for the service. Most reputable dealers should be able to explain how they will go about marketing our car(s) and if you are in a position to consign more than one, I would definately discuss the terms at that point, making it a little less painful. It seems some buyers are actually more comfortable working with a dealer, just as some homebuyers gravitate towards realtors vs. owner sales - especially first timers. Another big advantage here is a generally wider market reach, beyond local market conditions which I think are really what is driving this now, IMHO.

Congrats - these are very popular, from what I hear, for hauling speedsters... Please keep us updated on your adventure!!

This tops the young lady I saw driving on 3 tires and one brake drum (hey, it's round, right?) prior to cell phones & camara phones, It was in a section of Hartford where you routinely see interesting things like that...

Seeker, I noticed your Plymouth a while back, and think it is priced very fairly especially considering the ton of work you have put into it. Body seems sound, it is presentable and ready to roll. I am surprised it did not sell. You may recall I PM-ed you on this car some time ago, when you first got it, well, we have spent a good deal on the SL this past year and jumped into a T Speedster project in the interim, so I am not a player - just commenting on the deal itself. You seem to be at market, maybe a bit under if one is sharp enough to figure out the time, effort and $$ spent on getting it road ready. Frankly, I am surprised because it seems like it should be a mid - high $20s car if painted, but it is not like it is primed or rusty. We were up in Lake George area this past weekend, and the thought crossed my mind to have a look but I would not consider wasting yours or anyone elses time unless very serious - as I have had that done to me enough over the years. I guess bottom line is you seem to be doing all the right things to market it and someone getting serious should have enough info to make a decision to come for a look; it honestly could be a reflection of a really bad economy, I can tell you nobody seems to be doing much they do not have to in CT, imagine NY is the same? I certainly would not put this in the same class as CL wrecks that sit out there for months with drive asking prices when they are really field cars. Other than ebay run, have you done more than this site and CL to advertise them? Those are likely not enough. This is a great site, but once you have exposed the car here for a week or so I would guess most serious buyers would have seen it by then. Same for CL, I am sure you had some nice offers of 20 year old pick up truck swaps, etc. from CL... Anyway, good luck with it, the Plymouth sure seems like a nice car for someone.

Congrats on this Joe. They are pretty cool. Not an owner but I do like various vintage VWs. Anyway, seeing little feedback here (we know this is not the best forum for foreign postwar stuff, right?) I thought I would pass this along in case you have not already discovered it: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ This link is to ads but the Samba forum is like this one - several sub forums, but vintage VW focused, thought you might find it helpful.

While described as a four passenger coupe, this Packard might fit the bill: http://www.tomlaferriere.com/1926_packard_236_eight_cylinder.htm I have seen this car Tom has now sold (twice) and the interior is really interesting in that the rear seat is a sort of half seat, and the pass front seat is a sort of jump seat, that you fold away to get into the back. Admittedly Tom has forgotten more about Packards than I will ever learn but I do wonder if this is really a "3 seater coupe"?

Check it daily. I was initially intrigued by this local car, still would like a soid T series MG but look at his comments "Hey, I have had a lot of positive feedback from this ad, so the price is going up" -- really, I know from experience how many tire kickers will waste one's time so I wonder if he has a false sense of value for this RHD unrestored TD: http://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/4544608617.html At the end of the day I just think that is a poor approach. Also prefer ads with a solid price vs. this sort of thing - as we require here on the forum.

Interesting and informed feedback, Craig! Car has a lot of eyeball, but makes that Duesenberg II Victory Motors has for $45K look like a screaming deal to me. To me there is a big difference between a rebodied car on an authentic chassis & using correct running gear than a car like the one above - it is really, really nice but tough to value as it is a complete recreation vs. a car with some authenticity to it. A Talbot Lago sold locally out of F-40 a couple years back with steel, true coachbuilt body was more in line with your $250K estamate; fiberglass would be a big issue I would think, at his asking price.

Any thougths on this one guys? http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/mercedes_benz/540k/1654563.html http://www.540kspecialroadster.com/

+1 - great looking car and very fair price. Not a player but had to comment on this one, you don't see these everyday smart lookin even in a four door. "Brad, can you please hide these in the back of the cruising vessel"

It is rare that you would miss that A.J. - I fear Suzanne Summers must have clouded your judgement...

Bulldog, a "Birds nest option" might have been the answer but even back in 2004 it would have been unthinkable by the safety police to put the grandkids in a contraption like this, from a '57 Tbird:

Just in case you did not see this project and you get bored with the current grouping this one has been for sale for a while: http://www.nepclassiccars.com/1924kissel.htm Saw a real nce Kissel in Greenwich a few weeks ago - really cool cars!

Greetings, Jay and contrats on your find! If you have any interest in CCR-AACA (Central CT Region AACA - we put on Glastonbury show each June) PM me.

As someone with an eclectic interest in everything from brass & Classic era to postwar european sportscars and US luxury cars to current vehicles I do think we are back in a rich era of interesting vehicles. I also think we are on the cusp of seeing some great technology roll out. So yes, assuming the cyclical nature of the hobby continues eventually some standouts of the era will be collected. As you said, the high performance, high dollar offerings are obvious, as are the retro sports and muscle cars. Here are three others from different worlds: 1) Cadillac CTS, this fresh, all American design has helped reposition Cadillac to a popular brand with appeal to younger people, and set the styling tone for the line along with the XLR. Personally I think the second generation really refined the look best, and would think that is a car that will look sharp still in a few decades. A "V" is nice but pushing your price limitation. 2) Subaru WRX, while not my cup of tea, these brought blistering perfromance in an inexpensive package, loads of kids will remember tuning these like other generations recall flathead Fords or Chevy V-8s. 3) Audi A-5, earler model likely with base engine to come in under the $50K mark. Another example of a fresh design that does not emulate another car (a pet peeve of mine so typical today) and sort of bridges the gap between the now virtually extinct personal luxury car and a european sports sedan - a great modern GT. The challenge in the future will be finding super nice originals of the real world non exotics due to the increased complexity in all cars these days. Restoration will make less sense. Maybe if interest drops off as some predict, a small numer of nice survivors will be enough to meet demand, who knows...

That Lincoln has been out on CL since January; my memory could be hazy but I think he actually had it priced at one point. Makes one wonder what it will take for the seller to feel he has enough info to price??