What can you potentially make from a Reatta parts car $$

[Guest my3buicks]

What is the potential easy turnaround money to be made from a Reatta parts car - thinking of picking one up but need to figure out if it is worthwhile adventure.

[handmedownreatta]

that depends on the mileage and the condition of the engine/transmission.

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

You could make it run and drive.

[harry yarnell]

This is a complex issue. What do you want a parts car for? Strictly for the resale of parts? Help as a parts source for your current project? Both?

As for the former, depending on what the parts car costs, it's hard to make a profit.

When I buy a project car (one that needs work to put back on the road), I often will look for a parts car to help with the restoration. Besides, I can experiment on the parts car before I ruin something on the 'better' car.

The items of 'valve' on the Reatta are:

Teves

headlight switch

IPC

Working headlight motor assys

Tail lamp lens

Door vent glass

Windshield

There are others I've probably overlooked; the rest is from the GM parts bin.

[KDirk]

Pretty well concur with Harry on this. If you can get the car for several hundred dollars tops, and have the means to trailer it home and a place to store it long term (without being hassled by local building inspectors or neighbors) you might make out OK. Other pieces that can be worth selling include interior trim (door panels) floor mats (if original) and even seats. But (and this is a big BUT) they need to be in decent condition, something that is unlikely in a parts grade car. Modules (BCM, ECM, ABS, CPS, radio and the like) can be worth a bit if they are known to be in working condition. Remember that windshields and rear windows are difficult and time consuming to remove undamaged, so factor your time into what you can get for those parts.

Another downside is shipping. Many of the most valuable parts are large and/or heavy and thus awkward and expensive to ship. This reduces the demand from anyone outside a local buyer (or at least someone more than a couple of hours drive away and willing to pickup). I would wonder about whether the early models (88/89) are worth more [or less] in parts cars than the latter ones (90/91) and this may have some bearing on the worthiness of the car being bought for parts.

Finally, there seems to be a trend where more and more people are selling parts for the Reatta. Perhaps this is due to the perception that parts are hard to find, or maybe because there are presently a number of beat down cars showing up that can be had rather cheaply. In either case, this can quickly become a saturated market if too many people are trying to profit from it. There are already at least 1/2 dozen people/vendors who have a semi to fully serious parts business based on the Reatta. There is a lot on ebay as well, and probably countless individuals who are doing it casually as a sideline because they found a really cheap car to part out or have ready access to cars in a nearby salvage yard.

At this point I would say there is more value in getting a parts car for one's own use to keep your "good" one(s) running than the potential money to be made in selling it off piece by piece. Then too, the parts car needs (ideally) to be the same year and color combo as the car you own to be most useful in that regard.

KDirk

[Barney Eaton]

Keith........ If you have a place to park/store it without the neighbors complaining that is the first step. If it happens to be the same year as yours or at least has some parts you could use if needed, that is of some value. The real problem is how do people know you have parts? The most recent change in the Reatta Buy/sell may not affect sellers but I am not sure why the Reatta forum has this change and no other AACA forum was changed.

While there is not a listing anywhere, there are several people that have 10 plus Reatta parts cars that sell parts. Most say business has fallen off in the last few years. This could partly be because more Reattas show up in salvage yards and people are buying parts from them and putting them on Ebay. Anyone that has been around for the last 10+ years will remember when vent window assemblies were around $1000. You can easilly buy one today for under $200.

Everything on the car has some value, you could make a list of saleable parts, then check Ebay for prices which would give you a clue as to what profit you could make. However it could take you 3-5 years to sell parts and even break even.

[handmedownreatta]

This is a complex issue. What do you want a parts car for? Strictly for the resale of parts? Help as a parts source for your current project? Both?

As for the former, depending on what the parts car costs, it's hard to make a profit.

When I buy a project car (one that needs work to put back on the road), I often will look for a parts car to help with the restoration. Besides, I can experiment on the parts car before I ruin something on the 'better' car.

The items of 'valve' on the Reatta are:

Teves

headlight switch

IPC

Working headlight motor assys

Tail lamp lens

Door vent glass

Windshield

There are others I've probably overlooked; the rest is from the GM parts bin.

working sunroof or rust free sunroof cover

[Ronnie]

... The real problem is how do people know you have parts? The most recent change in the Reatta Buy/sell may not affect sellers but I am not sure why the Reatta forum has this change and no other AACA forum was changed...

I can tell you first hand that if people don't know what you have for sale you will have a hard time selling your parts.

The recent rule change has really hurt the service I offer, which is to locate a part someone needs for their Reatta on Amazon.com where they can purchase it at a good price. I have nothing for sale. Only service. For my services I receive a small commission from Amazon at no cost to the customer.

Not being able to make a post with a link to my websites, and not being able to have a link to my websites (deemed commercial) in my signature line, has really hurt me to the point I may have to shut down my little Reatta store. The small amount of commission from that store, which helps support Reatta Owners Journal, were mostly generated from this forum. It was basically wiped out by the rule changes.

Not being able to post links to my ROJ website (deemed commercial) has severely limited my ability to help members of this forum solve problems with their cars. My hands have been tied. It's good that other members are able to provide help on the forum. Now I receive PMs asking for help if the questions don't get answered here in the forum.

The new rules weren't applied fairly either. Some vendors still have links in their signature lines to their websites just as always. I realize we need rules but they should be applied equally across the board.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Ronnie (see edit history)

[Guest BJM]

I would say no. You would be doing a service to the Reatta community. I know there was a 90 coupe in the local U Pick It that I got some parts off for Marck.

Sadly, a lot of remote Reattas without large membership groups have some very valuable parts scrapped with the cars. The one in the U Pick It had a perfect windshield and they wanted $40 for it while windshields go for up to $1500 on this forum or in the marketplace.

[Guest my3buicks]

Thanks guys for your thorough answers!!!!

[NCReatta]

I make money at it. It's my job and how I support myself. Granted, im doing it on a much larger scale. I spend a lot of money on advertising and storage every month.

If you do end up with a good parts car, I will likely be interested in some parts.

[padgett]

Personally, I would have nothiing against something short (not more than four lines high) with a commercial link in a .sig

ps I invented class 6 - a car you would pay more for parts than to take the whole car. (anything with rust is a candidate).

[Peter Gariepy]

Ronnie,

I suggest you call me.

520-247-5918

Peter

[Guest RaverReatta]

You know, just by simply selling 2 parts that I didn't want hanging around in my garage, I've made 1/4 of what I bought the car for. Depending on the price, it's easily worth it.