JamesR Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 1952 Ford Ranch Wagon RANCH WAGON | eBay Not an insane price at all, but I'm curious about it. It sold on ebay yesterday, and I was surprised to see they way the auction went, especially with world events being what they are. The bidding was at about 8500 or so 20 hours before the auction ended, then went up by leaps and bounds to end at 15,250. When the bidding was at 8500, I thought it should be valued higher, but the final bid is higher than I would've expected. Does this price reflect actual value? I don't know if bidders didn't read the add that closely, but this "original" and "untoched" [sic] car had had a repaint (substandard possibly) from decades ago, and I'm 90% sure that upholstery isn't original, though I can't say for sure. My interest in the auction is self serving - I have a '54 Ranch Wagon Mainline repainted (low to mid level driver quality paint job) with a refurbished interior, and I wouldn't have guessed it's value (or that of this '52) to be this high. I'd modestly say my car is somewhat more presentable than this '52, but of course patina that makes a car look more original (even though it may not be) has been a popular thing for a while now. Other things that might make the '52 car more valuable than mine: - Original flathead, which is an iconic motor. My car has it's original Y-block, not rebuilt, yet smooth, quiet running. - The '52 claims 46K original miles. My car has 66K original miles. - The '52 has what looks to be original mat floor covering. Mine was cracked and deteriorated beyond repair, so it was replaced. I don't know if those things are enough to make a big difference in the general market. I've been curious about the value of my own Ranch Wagon for a while now because It has an insurance value of $10,000 (and has for years.) Is $15k a genuine reflection of the value of this '52 Ranch Wagon? Or did some bidders just kind of go crazy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 All it takes are two people who want it and get into a bidding war. That’s why you need more than one example to set a value. There is some mystique about flatheads that can up the value. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Check eBay in a few days and the car might magically re-appear. Happens quite a bit..... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Harold said: Check eBay in a few days and the car might magically re-appear. Happens quite a bit..... I think what your saying is that the "buyer" may not actually follow through on the deal? Maybe he had a few too many beers during the last couple of hours of the auction and now regrets it? 😄 Or a shill maybe? I would no longer consider buying a car on ebay unless it were local enough to be inspected first. Most of my ebayexperiences were negative. Nevertheless, I always look at ebay auctions even though it's been probably 10 years since I've bought a car on ebay. It's more fun than TV shows and on occasion can possibly give me a clue as to the value of my own cars. Several times I've seen exactly what you're talking about - the reappearance of ghost cars from auctions past. 😄 Edited March 31, 2020 by JamesR (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 High bids on EBay are not binding in any way, shape, or form. The highest bidder can simply do nothing, and the would-be seller will never see any money. In addition, after the high bidder doesn’t pay, one asks Ebay to cancel transaction, and they then give the high bidder ten days to respond. What this does is, theoretically, tie the vehicle up for that ten days, since buyer could step up and complete transaction at any time. I “sold” a ‘53 Chevy pickup, per above, even specifically asked the question of the fellow bidding “are you prepared to buy”, as he was from Panama. All the above happened, and I still have the truck for sale. I gave a second chance offer to underbidder, but of course by then he’d cooled off and wasn’t interested at his bid.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Most eBag auctions seem to have a lot of fake bids or buyers these days. I've tried a few times to sell cars and parts in the last few years and they always have ended up unsold. No response after the auction closed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 That selling price is not out of the park for a fairly rare station wagon. They had 22 bidders and 46 bids so interest was obviously high. I searched for a good wagon for at least three years before finding my 66 Monaco and learned quite a bit: Today all older wagons are rare because most of them were beat to death. The older they are the rarer they are. The market consists of a few very poor projects, a lot of modified and hot rodded cars, and a few highly restored ones. Really nice true originals are very hard to find. Due to high demand the pricing rivals convertibles, possibly much higher if you get into 50s and 60s hardtop wagons like the Buick Cabelleros. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 If you look closely, you can see a lot of bubbles under that amateur paint job. I would rather see an original car that is "honest", so that I can evaluate realistically what it needs. As far as the motor being iconic as you put it, if it needs a rebuild it won't come cheap, flathead rebuilders are getting scarce. Just too many things that need to be done. I saw a real nice '52 Ranch Wagon last summer for $28K so this car at $15K is one I wouldn't purchase. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 On 3/30/2020 at 8:44 PM, Harold said: Check eBay in a few days and the car might magically re-appear. Happens quite a bit..... Yep! 😄 You nailed it Harold! Less than two weeks later and we have the same car up for auction on eBay again! 1952 Ford Ranch Wagon RANCH WAGON | eBay Only question is: Shill bid from the owner when the price wasn't high enough...or bogus bidder who couldn't/wouldn't come up with the money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 7 hours ago, JamesR said: Yep! 😄 You nailed it Harold! Less than two weeks later and we have the same car up for auction on eBay again! 1952 Ford Ranch Wagon RANCH WAGON | eBay Only question is: Shill bid from the owner when the price wasn't high enough...or bogus bidder who couldn't/wouldn't come up with the money? My vote is for shill bidding. A number of years ago I was seriously considering bidding on a '51 Plymouth on eBay. I checked the seller's other items and feedback rating and found that he and two others would bid-up each other's items (this was back when eBay published all this info). There was a very obvious pattern with these people. I decided not to bid on the Plymouth and, sure enough, the seller's friends bid it sky high and then dumped it on an unsuspecting buyer. A few years later the buyer put the Plymouth back on eBay. The original seller actually bid on it, but maxed-out at 1/4 of what it previously sold for. PS: I alerted eBay about this scheme when I discovered it, with a list of item numbers to back it up, and they did nothing about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 I would estimate that as many as 80% of the "buyers" on eBay are not actually buyers. They just like pushing the button with no intention of actually buying the car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 All comments said, my guess is the price is about right (2K to 3K too high though) for a really decent car and you probably would be hard pressed to find one better (thus why the 2K to 3K is probably justifiable to some degree), but it also is a really homely version in a horrible tan and very few trim options (equally horrid base model hubcaps). My guess is more mainstream rarity is applicable plus it takes two to tango. It does have about $750 of Porsche 356 headrests in it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, John_Mereness said: It does have about $750 of Porsche 356 headrests in it. Good eye, John! I hate to admit this, but I didn't even notice the headrests. Once I decided the originality of the upholstery was suspect (and contrary to what the seller claimed) I stopped paying attention. I guess a third case scenario is that a sincere but inexperienced buyer wasn't paying attention, either. Then after winning the bid war he realized he wasn't getting an "original untouched" Ranch Wagon after all, and couldn't go through with it. Edited April 11, 2020 by JamesR (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 I think that there is a basic misunderstanding by the general public of what “original” means. The don’t see a repaint or interior refresh as an issue. In fact I would bet that a percentage consider a restomod that looks old as original. The current lusting over “patina” notwithstanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, plymouthcranbrook said: I think that there is a basic misunderstanding by the general public of what “original” means. The don’t see a repaint or interior refresh as an issue. In fact I would bet that a percentage consider a restomod that looks old as original. The current lusting over “patina” notwithstanding. I agree as to general public - I tend to see terms related to restored, part restored, or original. I would not call this car really anything other than "maintained" - ie there is really not a great descriptor for it. Edited April 11, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Kingsley Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 It seems most people, even in the hobby, consider original to be the original color, basically a term for "not customized". It doesn't mean unrestored to most people. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 My guess is that one of his friends saw the car and talked him out of the purchase. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Their is a lot to be said for base model life in the period, but the poverty hubcaps on the base car with no extra trim matched to boring tan is just TOO PLAIN JANE. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Make no mistake about it...I really like this wagon. I'd love to have it if I didn't already have one (if it's function and mechanicals approximate it's visual condition, that is.) Not as a show car at all, of course, but a cool driver. The repaint and upholstery don't bother me at all, as my car has the same changes. Just wondered why the original auction bid as high as it did. I got the feeling maybe some bidders were misinterpreting the car. It now has about the same time left on the auction as when I discovered it the first time around. Be interesting to see if there's a flurry of bidders tomorrow like last time. Here's my '54. (Still haven't fixed the Ranch Wagon script.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3macboys Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 At first glance I thought that the Ebay car wasn't a bad looking car but every time I look at it I see more and more that would need attention. The wiring is a combination of new plastic coated wiring and braided wiring which to my mind makes me question what all is going on it with it and that I would want to put a complete new harness in it. Take a good look at the sills and bottom edges of both rear fenders - that rust is way more than surface rust and is going to involve some serious attention. I'm always suspicious of the undercoating pictures, great that it's holding itself in place, but what's above it? I think some body tried to make it look pretty with rechromed bumpers and polished the rest of the bright work and is looking to make a quick buck on a flip. I'd say buyer beware. As a side note take a look at the bidders after about the $8500 mark - very low number of transactions and 0% positive feedback - things that make you go hmmmm. Bidder before that 100% positive. I'd say that was the last serious bidder. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Okay, this time it only "sold" for $9400, which is closer to what I suspect the value is (my opinion.) But is it really sold? That's the question. I figured it was about a $10,000 car. Averaging out the pluses and minuses between the two Ranch Wagons, I'd say mine's likely equivalent value. Or maybe slightly higher as it's a bit more presentable and I fully rewired it last year. Nevertheless, I hope the '52 stays sold and both seller and buyer stay happy. 1952 Ford Ranch Wagon RANCH WAGON | eBay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Seems a reasonable price to me. There have been comments about rust, but it seems the body is in very good condition and the rust is minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Winning bidder has a feedback of "1". Second-high bidder has a feedback of "2". Stay tuned for round 3...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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