Purchasing a few parts for 1940 Super

[kingrudy]

I just thought that I would share my thoughts on purchasing parts for my car over several years. 

 

I began with the purchase of my car 12 years ago and started a restoration project. I was surprised at some of the prices of parts (not knowing availability, or market value) that very well could come up on Craigslist, BCA or Ebay. Only after several year did I decide to "stop the madness" and decide if the part that I was searching for was really worth paying twice what I thought it was worth, of if I should hold out to pay what I thought if fair and reasonable. I can cite two examples:

 

 1. My passengers side door latch broke and could not be repaired. The part was only used on the 76 and 56 series in 1940. A seller in Idaho offered to sell me one for $200 dollars (I thought this was a little high and declined). I eventually found one from a wrecking yard in Minnesota for $75. I would have paid $100 for this as I don't think that I am being cheap, but I am willing to pay a fair price. Mind you this part took two days of work to make it usable. 

 

 2. I spoke to a gentleman regarding the clear numerals for a speedometer for my car. This part was used on all 40 series and 50 series cars from 1940. The gentleman offered to sell me this item for $150, which took me back just a little. I will have to decline his offer. 

 

I suppose the point that I am trying to make is that several factors make up the value of parts for our cars. Interchangeability helps with the quantity and price of parts, NOS can drive the price up, number of cars built in a given series and probably more that are not coming to mind. I have been fortunate to have made  some friends on this site who have helped me locate parts, or who have offered to sell parts to me at a fair price and to those people, thanks for helping a guy out.  Also the advice that I have received has been invaluable. 

 

Thanks

 

 

[JohnD1956]

IMO I would add that the status of the car will also influence the price I'm willing to pay for something.   Since I am not planning to restore my cars but instead just wish to accumulate driving time while they still run, I am actually willing to pay a bit more than reasonable prices when I need something.  I justify it in two ways, convenience, and overall investment. 

Convenience is the amount of down time avoided by just getting what the car needs to get her going again.  For example, I bought repopped outside rear view mirrors for two of my cars rather than await purchase and refurbishment of originals.  

Overall investment is a rationalization that;    because I am not fixing or replacing everything, the few parts I am replacing can cost a bit more without souring the investment aspect of the vehicle, or overall crimping my "old car" budget.   An example here is that re-cast steering wheel for my '56.  

 

So I may have paid the $200 for that door latch, provided it was working and immediately available.   

 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

For me?   Which side of the bed did I get out of today?

 

  Ben

[kingrudy]

2 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

IMO I would add that the status of the car will also influence the price I'm willing to pay for something.   Since I am not planning to restore my cars but instead just wish to accumulate driving time while they still run, I am actually willing to pay a bit more than reasonable prices when I need something.  I justify it in two ways, convenience, and overall investment. 

Convenience is the amount of down time avoided by just getting what the car needs to get her going again.  For example, I bought repopped outside rear view mirrors for two of my cars rather than await purchase and refurbishment of originals.  

Overall investment is a rationalization that;    because I am not fixing or replacing everything, the few parts I am replacing can cost a bit more without souring the investment aspect of the vehicle, or overall crimping my "old car" budget.   An example here is that re-cast steering wheel for my '56.  

 

So I may have paid the $200 for that door latch, provided it was working and immediately available.   

 

I agree, my car will not be a candidate for any concours, but I would like to have some things improved without being charged an arm and a leg. I expect to be treated the way I treat people and maybe I need to adjust my expectations.  

[39BuickEight]

A part worth $100 to one buyer is often worth $1000 to another.  I put pretty high prices on my eBay stuff with the option to make an offer.  90% of the time, stuff sells for my list price.

 

Being resourceful, I have often found better parts for my cars and then sold the old part for more.  
 

Just stick to your own methods of thinking and it will always work out-unless you put a deadline on things.  Deadlines don’t work for me.  Too much stress.

Edited August 4, 2020 by 39BuickEight (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

I am the impatient sort and I like my cars to be operational and correct and presentable. As a result, I consistently over-pay for everything because I need it in the heat of the moment and I want a part that I don't have to re-restore. I probably spend more money than I have to doing it this way. Meh, if that's my worst sin, I can live with it.

[lancemb]

On 8/4/2020 at 9:27 AM, kingrudy said:

My passengers side door latch broke and could not be repaired. The part was only used on the 76 and 56 series in 1940. A seller in Idaho offered to sell me one for $200 dollars (I thought this was a little high and declined). I eventually found one from a wrecking yard in Minnesota for $75. I would have paid $100 for this as I don't think that I am being cheap, but I am willing to pay a fair price. Mind you this part took two days of work to make it usable. 

 

Everybody values their time differently based on many factors, the most important of which might be how much they have available.  For me, if this $200 piece was ready to use, I would pay it in a heartbeat to save me 2 days of work.  Therefore, I think that is a perfectly "fair" price for a hard-to-find part in very good condition, if the only cheaper one available would require significant work.

 

I have gotten some very good deals on parts, but I have also had to pay very dear prices for a few very rare pieces.  I look at how much my next best alternative would cost me, both in time it would take me to find another one (if at all), time that would be required for me to fix it, and/or how much I'd have to pay someone else to fix it.

 

A lot of prices seem much more fair if you carefully consider the alternatives.

[kgreen]

Sometimes the rare part is less costly because rare also means no market exists and nobody wants it. Sometimes the rare part is very costly because rare also means you are the only market for the part and everyone knows that you need it.

 

I started adding up some receipts yesterday, looks like I've been a fool part of the time and fortunate at other times.  Like Matt, I can live with this sin.

[kingrudy]

5 hours ago, kgreen said:

Sometimes the rare part is less costly because rare also means no market exists and nobody wants it. Sometimes the rare part is very costly because rare also means you are the only market for the part and everyone knows that you need it.

 

I started adding up some receipts yesterday, looks like I've been a fool part of the time and fortunate at other times.  Like Matt, I can live with this sin.

I think that you hit the nail on the head Ken. The door latch in Idaho may have been sitting in the junkyard for 50 years, no way to tell how it functions. Also the latch which is only good for 1940 Super and Roadmaster Coupe, or convertible may sit in the junkyard for another 50 years. Bottom line is, if there is no demand does rare still make it valuable?

 

The speedometer part is another story. This is not a rare part as every Special and Super left the assembly line with this item. My current speedometer looks great, but the numerals are wrong. I can be patient and pay what I consider to be a fair price for this part. I am in the same boat as to your self assessment of past purchases, sometimes lucky and sometimes impulsive But as the car is approaching completion I am trying to curb those impulsive purchases. 

[DAVES89]

Last fall I bought a 1988 Reatta that had better inner door panels then the one in my favorite car. I didn't need the car but the door panels are perfect. So swapped out the panels and am keeping the car for a winter driver. Cost was $1000.00.

 One could say that was a cheap price to pay for a running car, but this is the 3rd car I bought for the door panels. The other two were bought sight unseen and those panels were in rough shape. So my real cost was $2000.00 somewhat offset by parts sold from the first two.

[MCHinson]

For any part that you need for your 1940 Buick, I would suggest you call Dave Tacheny. He is usually the best source for many 1936-1941 Buick parts. His prices are reasonable. There are at least two usual Ebay sellers for this era of Buick parts who buy many (if not all) of their parts from Dave and then mark the prices up quite a bit. You can best reach him by calling him at 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central Time.