TMW Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Can anyone recommend at reliable vintage car broker? There has been a death in the family and I need to sell various vintage vehicles and parts from my Dad's shop. Some are restored and other are almost finished and yet others are just getting started. There is also a myriad of parts and tools. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Where are you located? What cars do you have? People's answers might be better tailored to your needs if we know the answers. Some dealers are good at selling higher-priced Classics; others may focus on the 1950's and 1960's. Some third-party brokers, in my opinion, are of little value. You can certainly sell them yourself if you wish. Hemmings Motor News, and its accompanying website, are the foremost places for serious car collectors to go shopping. Make sure your asking price is reasonable (many ads have unrealistic prices) and include plenty of good photographs for the website ad. If your cars are supported by an active marque-specific club--such as Packards, Buicks, Hudsons, Pierce-Arrows, etc.-- you should also advertise in the club's magazine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillOutThere Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 https://www.olympiancars.com/ Contact Eric through the site. I have sold and bought cars with his help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) John raises very important points . Where you are located can be as important as what the cars actually are. Relatively inexpensive cars are in most cases going to only be of interest to potential buyers that are close to you. Who except in very rare cases is going to spend an extra $2000. 00 + shipping a car that is only worth $10.000.00. ? On the other hand if we are discussing $100,000.00 + cars then the location really does not matter. A serious buyer at that price range will probably be prepared to travel to view and probably consider transport costs no barrier to buying the car. Cars in this price range and up warrant both national and international advertising. Also, most brokers are not going to be interested in dealing with parts and tools. Why do you need a broker? Good cars , fairly priced should sell in a reasonable length of time. Also some potential buyers would prefer to not deal with brokers. Why limit your buyer choices ? Greg in Canada Edited March 7, 2019 by 1912Staver (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 You may even sell some of them here on this site. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans1 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 https://www.classicautomall.com/vehicles Morgantown Pa. I have visited this establishment a few times and been impressed with the physical layout and the helpfulness of the associates there They take vehicles on consignment. So depending on your location you may wish to check their operation to see if it is a good match for your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61polara Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 It's hard to make a recommendation based on the limited information you have given us. As others have said, brokers generally will sell only cars, not tools, equipment and parts. if you do not want to sell it yourself, then an estate auction may be best, but expect pennies on a dollar. Brokers would be interested in the restored cars and possibly the unrestored cars and you could ebay, craigslist the parts and tools or go with an estate auction. In picking a broker, find someone who deals in the type or years of the cars you are selling. A brokers site that shows mostly muscle cars won't draw the attention to the Model A you are trying to sell. Also, look for a broker who will seek out potential buyers for your cars, not a consignment dealer who only lists your car on their web site if you want a fast sell. Give us more information and we can give you more specific answers. Sorry for your loss and good luck on sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Clean up the car titles . Make sure they match the car also.. You have 12 months as a PR to do this with no push back from the DMV. Get an appraisal for anything over 40K.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott12180 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 What everyone said above. Makes a huge difference if you are selling big brass, Model A Fords, 1960's muscle cars or six figure Classics. Different dealers/brokers tend to specialize in different eras and makes, as does the clientele they interact with. Look on their websites and see if your cars fit in with their inventory. Appraisals are OK but please understand that most appraisals that I've seen come in much higher than what a car would actually sell for. Most appraisals, in my opinion, are for insurance purposes or to value an estate. "Feel good" appraisals are also common. People will hire an appraiser who says their cars are worth lots of money over an appraiser who says they aren't. No car is worth more than what someone will pay you for it. Sounds like a cliche, but I've seen many families trying to sell Dad's cars for huge prices because "the appraisal said it was worth that much". And the cars sit sometimes for years and deteriorate from improper storage or disuse. So it all depends on if you want to sell promptly, within a few months, or have the luxury of holding out for years. -- Scott 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 AVOID GATEWAY!!! I REPEAT - AVOID GATEWAY!!! PM me if you want to hear about the bad experience I had with them or simply go to BBB.com to read lots of horror stories. Good luck.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) Beware of the Appraisals valves. Some are two high and some are low.. I got this one done.. It as 55k.. He did not know what he was looking at.. or what it was missing.. He just judged the car and took the old price guide.. He did not ask what was done to the car. I think I spent 23K to make it correct.. The biggest turn off . was he told he judge car better than mine.. or seen one... The guy was a joke.. He told the tire were good.. The tire were from the 70's not safe to drive on.. Edited March 7, 2019 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 I think the best place to begin is with the deceased's friend's a and his local club. They may have the answers you are looking for as well as know the vehicles.. This community of old car nuts is usually well informed and localized. Selling off partially done vehicles is always hard unless inventoried and then the cost of completion is subtracted from the value. Value and selling price are two different things.. i doubt that brokers will be to interested in projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 all good info, but bang for the buck, list the finished cars on ebay and get your best bang for the buck. Brokers will eat up money and not necessary when selling cars valued under 30k. I am assuming you have some in that range? You will get paid in a week and the pu is the responsibility of the buyer. Nothing easier then that. Also sorry to hear of your loss. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 X2 on the eBay recommendation! TAKE GOOD PHOTOS, the better the photos the more they will sell for. Highlight flaws, give an honest detailed description. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 3 hours ago, 1937hd45 said: X2 on the eBay recommendation! TAKE GOOD PHOTOS, the better the photos the more they will sell for. Highlight flaws, give an honest detailed description. Bob X3 on this. You're going to have to do some work to sell these. Time invested in listings will pay dividends. Four pictures and two sentences will not suffice. Be prepared to answer good questions and annoying ones. Be prepared to relist if you get a flakey buyer, require a small immediate deposit at auction end and don't refund it if they change their mind about not buying the car. In this day and age with the internet its really not that hard to sell cars yourself, the wildcard will be the buyer though. Sometimes they are serious other times they yank you around, just part of the game. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 You may wish to talk to Joe Bortz. I know he specializes in helping heirs and estates. You can go to his web site for information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 16 hours ago, Lebowski said: AVOID GATEWAY!!! I REPEAT - AVOID GATEWAY!!! PM me if you want to hear about the bad experience I had with them or simply go to BBB.com to read lots of horror stories. Good luck.... Oh my lord! I checked out the reviews on Gateway, unbelievable. Can't think of where I've seen that many constantly bad reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gossp Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I have actually had a more or less positive experience with Gateway. I am sure the different staff at different locations will yield different experiences. You can usually talk them into waving listing fees and it’s a great place to put a car all winter with a price on it that won’t hurt your feelings if it disappears. That said, I wouldn’t give them a high dollar car, a too old for their market car, or something I really wanted to sell in a timely fashion because there are guys (a couple of which frequent these forums) that I believe could do a lot better, faster, and with less hassle. To that I add, time is money and a couple thousand less dollars with a two week turnaround on eBay is better than a couple thousand more dollars and keeping an estate unsettled for two years. Look at how the big boys market a car. Tons of pictures, history, driving notes. If you put together an auction listing and have less than a day involved in its creation... you are leaving Money on the table. Having been involved in selling deceased car friends collections off in the past the biggest hurdle is managing their heirs expectations. I have seen people disappointed when a car was “given away” for what I thought was nearly twice real value.... and ecstatic at the high sales price on a car that I thought was sold 15% below its potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 1 hour ago, bewemo said: Just wondering if anyone can recommend me a customs broker who deals or has done car importing from Japan to the United States. Tried googling, but haven't really found anyone or a site that seems top notch. You should post your question as a separate thread in the "General Discussion" category. Many people will see it there. We have several members here from Australia, and they might be able to make recommendations. Please be sure to make your title specific, such as: "Importing a car from Japan: Know any brokers or other tips?" All the best to you in your quest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gariepy Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 Location location location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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