Guest Grumpy's Auto Shop Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 4 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said: It's the overwrought ads where the seller obviously believes he is sitting on a gold mine when in fact he has a mediocre car that is not worth half what he thinks. Those are to be avoided. Clumsy ads written by sellers who don't know what they are talking about, and obviously don't care about the car and don't put much value on it, may conceal a diamond in the rough or a good car that they are willing to sell cheap. This doesn't happen with every ad but often enough to be interesting. Dealers make money this way all the time. Buying a neglected car from an owner who doesn't want it. Take a $5000 car, clean it up, wax it, pump up the tires, give it a new battery, a tuneup and fresh gas. Spend $1000 or $2000 then advertise it for $25000. Knowing that someone who turned up his nose at $5000 and refused to even look at it, will now pay $20,000 for the same car prettied up with a pretty ad. I would rather buy the dirty car from a lousy ad and save $13000. Others feel different. And Armor-All. Definitely, lots of Armor-All. (I'm an excellent Detailer...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/5719062792.html Not much info on this. Could be a scam but they do give a phone number that corresponds with that area. Looks good for the money. 1969 elcamino for sale - $12000 (canastota) 350 auto, nice body, ,ice interior. sale only. (315) 335-2377 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 On 8/1/2016 at 1:08 AM, cahartley said: I forgot to mention........do you have any idea how far a $1000 goes at a body shop?....... Not to far, maybe buys 15 hours of labor...... maybe,,,,, I am living it now! Started with some damage pulling it into the trailer. I just gave them another 5 grand on Friday and still waiting for color..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-El-Camino-Base-/322219576404?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4b05c88c54:g:jioAAOSw6WdXimLz&item=322219576404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 8 minutes ago, auburnseeker said: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-El-Camino-Base-/322219576404?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4b05c88c54:g:jioAAOSw6WdXimLz&item=322219576404 That one looks real nice; however, careful reading of the description reveals this: "A new reproduction front floor has been replaced and sound proof added." The reason that floor pans are replaced is because the originals rusted out, and the "sound proof added" is probably undercoating which can hide a host of problems. This is not necessarily a "red" flag, but it is certainly a "yellow" flag of caution, especially when at the end of the next paragraph, the seller states: "No rust." I detect a basic contradiction here and would advise an interested buyer to check this Elco out very, very carefully. Personally, I would look at this Elco if it was nearby, but I would not drive more than 50 miles to look at it. Good luck, Grog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Nice thing, is there seems to be alot of them out their. A little diligence and the original poster should find a nice one. I don't scrutinize the ones I post. I just post what look like possible candidates that don't scream run with the first photo. They are in the North East as well so in the Original posters realm of reasonable travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 2 hours ago, auburnseeker said: Nice thing, is there seems to be alot of them out their. A little diligence and the original poster should find a nice one. I don't scrutinize the ones I post. I just post what look like possible candidates that don't scream run with the first photo. They are in the North East as well so in the Original posters realm of reasonable travel. I appreciate your posting interesting ads for El Caminos that are for sale, and no, I don't expect you to scrutinize each posting. Please don't take my comments above as a dig at you, I was merely pointing out a couple of sentences which caused me concern about the experience or veracity of the seller. Cheers, Grog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Agree there are a lot of "diamonds in the rough" but first you have to know diamonds from paste. Albany car looks good from the top but the bottom is just as important. I always like to see air cars since there is a lot of heavy duty stuff (alternator, battery, radiator, clutch fan, shroud) that comes with it. Even the heaters work better. Hoses indicate this is not a show restoration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 See it sticks to the body especially the rockers and quarters (magnet) billy joel came to my house 2 years ago and pulled that on my surface rusted 36 chevy coupe- I asked him what the heck he was doing? you could planely see the car had a nice light covering of surface rust-do that on a 5-10 grand paint job and you are likely to get tossed on your ear! never saw anyone with a magnet in my lifetime have a clue to what they were buying.............. (I found out a week later it was him and was sorry I was so harsh on the poor guy!) he knows nothing about cars- but he sure does like them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Everyone here has good advice about what to look for when examining a potential purchase, and I would listen as they're experienced and smart. As someone who buys and sells daily, the best advice I can possibly offer you is to spend more and get a good car. Every single person that comes into my shop, regardless of price level, is looking to get something on the cheap rather than trying to get the best car they can--I can sell a turd if it's cheap enough. Buyers often neglect to look at what they get for the money, focusing only on the price rather than the car. They'll pay 100% of what it says in the "price guide" but they won't pay a little more for a vastly better car. It's very frustrating to try to describe quality to someone whose only fixation is spending as little as possible. When you buy a good car, you always get what you pay for. When you buy a cheap car, you always get what you pay for. Or, to put it in terms that another forum member used (I'm sorry I don't remember who to credit with this, perhaps 60FlatTop Bernie): The bargain hunter always screws himself. Spend more than you think you should for a good car. Go look at it with your own eyes. Pay to have it shipped home, wherever it is. The right car will be a long-term joy. The wrong car will be the Death of 1000 Cuts and will drain your bank account just the same as spending more for a good car in the first place. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 22 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said: The wrong car will be the Death of 1000 Cuts and will drain your bank account just the same as spending more for a good car in the first place. Sorry Matt, you're wrong on that one... the wrong car drains the bank account at about 3x what a good car would cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I use a strong magnet covered in tape & touch not slide. OTOH I can usually run my fingers or push on a surface and tell. Am usually more interested in what the underside looks like. Guess on a expensive paint job you would need a digital paint thickness meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 2 hours ago, capngrog said: I appreciate your posting interesting ads for El Caminos that are for sale, and no, I don't expect you to scrutinize each posting. Please don't take my comments above as a dig at you, I was merely pointing out a couple of sentences which caused me concern about the experience or veracity of the seller. Cheers, Grog Not a problem. Not taken as a dig. As I said I didn't waste my time on the whole ad. I do a quick peruse of the ad to make sure nothing screams run away then I say here is one for sale. I never meant it to be this is the one to buy, just here is an option in what will probably be a list of 20-30 possibilities from what I can see is available out their. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DrinkMoxie Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Hey everyone it's really cool to see how many people are chiming in to lend me some advice, tips, and leads on my little car adventure. Which is why this next part is such a bummer. I've been running the numbers over and over in my head, and I think I may have slightly overestimated my financial situation at the present. I think the smart move right now is to focus on paying off my current boring car. If I really manage my money well I can get it paid off inside of 6 months. Also, it's late enough in the Summer that I might be better off just grabbing any overtime I can get and saving up through the Winter (Winter in NE...NOT a good time to buy a new car). I think I'll see where I am come Spring, and take another swing at this. Thanks again to everyone for all your help! -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grumpy's Auto Shop Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 15 hours ago, DrinkMoxie said: Hey everyone it's really cool to see how many people are chiming in to lend me some advice, tips, and leads on my little car adventure. Which is why this next part is such a bummer. I've been running the numbers over and over in my head, and I think I may have slightly overestimated my financial situation at the present. I think the smart move right now is to focus on paying off my current boring car. If I really manage my money well I can get it paid off inside of 6 months. Also, it's late enough in the Summer that I might be better off just grabbing any overtime I can get and saving up through the Winter (Winter in NE...NOT a good time to buy a new car). I think I'll see where I am come Spring, and take another swing at this. Thanks again to everyone for all your help! -Dave Pragmatism is good! But don't let that stop you from shopping because you never know when the right opportunity might arise. Just be sure to count to ten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Up north often the best time to buy a car is in the winter. Also March/early April is a good time because people are paying taxes. Spring is when everyone is looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GT52 Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 21 hours ago, DrinkMoxie said: ...I've been running the numbers over and over in my head, and I think I may have slightly overestimated my financial situation at the present. I think the smart move right now is to focus on paying off my current boring car. If I really manage my money well I can get it paid off inside of 6 months... It's commendable that you're being responsible...an old car is a luxury, not a necessity. Put yourself in a position to be able to buy, then let the car come to you, so to speak. The right car will show up eventually, and you'll do better than if you just go looking with an urgency to buy something. Whatever you see, it isn't going to be the last El Camino that's available... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 You will probably know when you find the right one at the right price at the right time. Even if you have decided not to buy now, you should consider attending the Eastern Fall Meet in Hershey PA. You will see more antique cars and parts than you are likely to see anywhere else. You may find one that is the right one at the right price or you may just learn a little bit more about antique cars that will come in handy when you do find the right one to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 My advice is to go through a copy of Hemmings Motor News and look at everything. Take a pen and circle a hundred ads of cars you could stand to have in your garage for ten years. You might find something you like. I think each issue has over 3,000 old cars and trucks FS, so if you're going to wait til you save more money, you have all winter to make it through one copy. September is the latest issue...you can even go online to look at the previous one free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Just a thought but when I have fixated on a car, the first thing I do (after seeing if there is a forum now) is to buy a Chilton, Haynes, or Motor manual covering the model and years. Then learn everything about them down to what years had what. Once I decided on model/year/color/options the next purchase was a factory service manual and parts book (many available on CD now). Often had these before the car. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frantz Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Do you actually enjoy drinking Moxie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DrinkMoxie Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 1 minute ago, Frantz said: Do you actually enjoy drinking Moxie? Yup. Moxie was the soda of choice for the Punks in my high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frantz Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 We have a can at my parents that's been waiting a brave soul for over a year now. I did drink a can, not bad, but not my first pick. I'm a Cheerwine fan though! The El Camino is a good pick for mechanical easy and has a pretty strong following overall. I'm an orphan car sucker myself, so I always get amazed when buying a popular model how easy parts are to find. So it's all about perspective. The more specific you are for what you want, the longer, but possibly more rewarding, the process will be. You state this will be your first classic. Do you plan to make it one you keep forever, or are you looking for something to enjoy for awhile and then sell and move on to something else? If you plan to sell for something different, or to upgrade to more rare/expensive options, then resale has to be a big part of your purchase decision. Assess what you can/want to do yourself, and what you will have to farm out. If it's your one and only, you can probably justify putting more money into perfection. If you plan to flip, then you should take some "honest shortcuts". These are things I consider okay and moral to skip because they won't necessarily hide what will need to be done, but aren't required for your tenure of enjoyment. Each person would have different tolerances of this. For example, I recently acquired a '54 Ford Fordor. Nothing special, and not worth a whole lot even when perfect. It's a solid vehicle, so I plan to just enjoy it as a rusty patina car. If I decide to keep it long term, then I'll eventually make it perfect giving the time and money. For now though it's just about getting it safe and enjoyable on the road. This maximizes my potential profits and enjoyment on the project. It's easier to resell a dream than a half or poorly completed restoration IMO. With your budget you can afford a decent car that might already be in the condition you want. So it's just a matter of finding it for the right money that you can break even, or make a few bucks on when it comes time to upgrade. All that being said, I love seeing fully restored 6 cylinder cars. It's a big part of history that doesn't have as much market value, so rarely do they get the proper care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Buy something with the best body you can get. Mechanicals are one thing but body work is a whole 'nother ball game........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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