Parts Car?

[RetroJohnny]

Hey everyone, I have been meaning to post this for a while but about a month ago me and my friend saw this Reatta while driving around and within the next few days I was at their door asking if they would mind me taking a look at it. This poor Reatta has been sitting for over a decade, at this run down chunk of land right on the mississippi river in TN. I was interested in a new taillight assembly for super cheap, and this Reatta had a fine looking taillight. So I brought up me buying parts from it, and she got angry at me and said, "Honey If you ever want this car you gotta buy it in full." So I asked how much and she wants 1,200 dollars for it. The interior is quite trashed and who knows what really works on it. She said ALL it needs is a fuel tank, I smell a lie on that one. But the rims were immaculate and the CRT was in one piece atleast, and brand new looking seats, steering wheel, and body components. And it is crazy that this Reatta has been sitting not 20 miles from me this whole time, and apparently her husband, who was at work, is an avid Reatta enthusiast and supposedly has a "garage full of em" somewhere in Northwest TN.. But is it just me or is 1,200 bucks way too high for something that doesn't operate?

[KDirk]

As of right now, I'd say $1200 is too much for a parts car, certianly for one with a trashed interior. A few years ago, $300-400 was pretty common to pick up a rough but running parts-use only Reatta. That said, the supply of such cars has been drying up noticeably and the value of the Reatta in general seems to be increasing, if ever so slowly. If it has a good windshield, that is worth several hundred bucks right there. Consider scrap value is up pretty decent right now too, well off it's bottoming out several years ago, so the floor limit value comes up just on account of that.

 

So, $600-800 for a non running parts car in this market isn't outrageous in my opinion, especially if it is rust free, has good glass and is complete as far as electronics and such. Nice rims are an added bonus, if you don't mind the stock wheels; I know they don't have many fans here though. You said the tail lamp is nice, that is getting hard to turn up as well.

 

Keep in mind you'll need to rent a trailer and transport it (unless you have or can borrow one) and have help from several "pushers" to get it on  the trailer if it won't run. Then you need a place to park it and dismantle that won't get you hassled by local code enforcement or nosy neighbors. Finally, you need to dispose of what is left with a scrap processor. You'll usually pay to have it flat bedded away if there is little of value left on the car, so factor that in as well.

I've done this several times now, and have come out good. But,  I've never paid more than $400 for a parts car yet. I suspect the days of finding those deals are nearly over unless you find someone who has to sell because they are getting fined for a derelict on their property, or are moving and have to get rid of it quickly.

 

The key thing here is not to insult the seller with a major lowball offer. You do that, and you probably killed any hope of a deal. Especially if they aren't really looking to sell, you need to sweeten the pot to get them interested. Some people just don't care and would rather let a car sit and rot than sell it for a dollar less than they insist it is worth. This happens a lot with old cars, and it's stupid, but sometimes sentimentality and stubborness cannot be overcome by common sense. Good luck and let us know how you make out (or not).