I had an MCCI member mail this to me. He found it in a new magazine called Hemmings Muscle Machines. It was in an article titled: Mile High Muscle by Craig Fitzgerald. This MCCI member thought that we should initiate a letter writting campaign to complain about what was written about this car. At first, I somewhat agreed, but as I re-read the article, I realized it was a 4-door car. My thoughts....the owner should have taken the $2500 and been happy with that much money for a "squash yellow" 4-door. Yes, the car might be worth more than that, but it is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. $2500 seems fair to me, but what do you guys and gals think?
trick question Craig, this is a trick question, right? I just spent 4 hrs looking at 3 local mav/comets....uuugggghhhhh......If the car in the article was garage kept, 50,000 miles and ran well, it's worth the $$$. Looked ok in the pic, but 4-dr, it depends on one's tastes.....this car costs what new....$3000....and the one that bought it, daily driver or resto project.....who knows, take the $$$ and be done with it......Robert p.s. where was it sold.....big city,small town?
If you look at the article, the bids went up to $2500....but the seller had a reserve on it and wouldn't sell it.
It's a 4 door !! Take the money and run, man!! So much for me ever being president of this club, huh Craig? Seth
Values Ive been told that a car is worth only what you can get for it! OK, I paid a good price for my Maverick and to me, its worth more than I paid, much more. I can't put a price on answered prayers. In most cases I think to determine a fair market price the car should be apparised by a professional and then evalauted buy the owner as to the age, condition, options, rarity of a peticular body style. Its not a Comet GT but it is a V8 car with deluxe trim. I think the owner should hold off. There is someone somewhere looking for a car like that. A lot depends on personal expection of the car! Joe
I agree with.... Jerry. Who is this guy or anybody else to determine what a person "should or should not" take as a selling price for a car. Whether it be maverick/comet or anything else. Obviously the owner thought it was worth more than $2500.....more power to him. There comes a point where fantasy collides with reality. Some people take the collision in stride and move on. Others get mad or just do not want to face reality. Take my car for example, I put over 10,000 dollars in my car this past winter. You take that plus everything else I have bought for my car and including what I gave for it, does that make my car worth $15,000+...........to me, yes! To anyone thinking of buying it.......NO! Would I ask $15,000 for it "IF" it was for sell.....NO! I had that "collision" and realize that I will never get back what I put in it and I am OK with that. Some people are not the same, I say let them be. If they think there car is "worth" whatever they have got in it.... let them. If everyone out there is as passionate about there cars as I am, I can understand why some people will not let there car go for such and such a price. My theory behind it is this: Deep down, they really do not want to sell it, so they put a price on it that is NOT going to be given by a normal, sane person. And again I say thats OK....let them. This is a crazy country we live in and it is full of all different type of people, you know the "collision" people. That my friend is what makes this country so great! Each and everyone of us are entitled to and are expected to have our own opinion. Others do not have to agree with, thats the beauty of this great nation. Even the fellow who wrote the article has his right to write whatever he feels. Do I think he should have wrote it? No. But apperantly he did. Do I think the guy should have sold it for $2500? Maybe, maybe not. I have seen ALOT worse car go for ALOT more. It was HIS choice. I have no ideal where all this came from. I just started typing. Sorry for taking up so much room, Stefan. I apologize to everyone else for being so long winded. I guess I am getting old.
4 doors... ..take a 4 door anything to an auction or a pro auto appraiser and the first thing that he will see is the spare door handles on the back. That is long before he looks under the hood. I am not trying to put a price tag on it, but I bet he won't get $2,500 for it sitting it out in the front yard as quick as he would if it only had 2 exits. Four door cars just aren't as collectible as 2 doors. It's a fact guys, take what you can get for them and move on. Seth
It would be interesting to know what his reserve was. True its his right to place whatever value he determines on it But getting it may be a different story. Jan
The whole issue with values and the media is an interesting topic. I follow the market as to values and the auction reports. It makes for interesting reading. One thing that has become clearer is that the auctions, regardless of whether Kruse, Mecam, or whomever is running it, the cars that generally sell are the "desirable" vehicles. By sell, I mean command the big bucks and a lot of attention by bidders. A lot of other cars get sold also and ones that you might not think would. Recently, at a Kruse auction, for example, a '65 Galaxie 4 door in #4 condition (numbered condition goes from #1 meaning virtually perfect to #5 being a basket case) went for $3400. So, the "undesirable" cars really do sell sometimes after all. One thing I see missing from the auctions on a regular basis are '70-'77 Mavs/Comets. Why? Good question. No, I do not have an answer for sure. Opinion? Maybe is is because our cars do not command the values yet that makes it worth paying a commission to have one for sale sold at auction. Another source of interesting reading are the comments on specific cars auctioned like the article Craig posted here. One thing that you all have to remember is that these are the opinions of one person. The only difference is that this person has access to written media and that makes said opinion more prominent, not necessarily right. Inflammatory, often, but not necessarily right. Bottom line in this hobby, just like with antiques which I have some experience in restoration as I did it for a small company in the past, is that any collector market has price guidelines to help in value and selling. Many antique dealers have pieces that they are "married" to because they have X number of dollars invested and refuse to sell it for below "value". Antiques, like cars, have more "desirable" pieces and less. Regardless of what any price guide states something is worth, anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Many of us, regardless of what classic is owned, put much more into it than was the "value", but that's ok. That's what the car is worth to YOU and in the end, isn't that all that matters? Same hold true with purchase prices. Whatever the market can bear, and WE are the market. Take those comments in the article for what they are worth. Always remember the saying comparing opinions and butt holes. It's very true!
I think $2500 is all the money for that car. As brash as the writers comments are, it is the byproduct of people putting ridiculous reserves on avergae cars in auctions, looking for their winning lottery ticket. I'm willing to bet that the present owner of that car wouldn't pay close to what his reserve is, if the situation was reversed. Auction reporters and the auctions themselves are getting a little weary of these types of sellers, who are really wasting everybody's time.
put the ketchup on the crow o.k. that 4 door does look good enough to drive daily. Whose???...........Robert
that is a really cool 4 door, it looks even better in person, it really caught my attention at the roundup.. and the owner was nice i can't remember his last name though. he is the man that runs the maverick connection
Yes, that car belongs to MCCI member Chuck Stalnaker. He bought the car out of the MCCI newsletter off of a fellow member in South Dakota. The car had some rust in the quarters and front fenders, but the interior was real nice. I think he paid $650 to $950 for it. Him and his Dad painted it, and he also put the wheels on it. It is a V-8 car. Before picture:
Me again, time for the ugly truth. In the evenings I sell cars at a local Buick/Pontiac dealership. The dealership is so small, the sales force consists of the owner, 1 full-time salesman, F/I man, and me(part-time). To appraise a car we walk around it and discuss gut reactions. The inflated NADA book rarely ever comes out, mainly the black book of appraised values. The most we give(in real Money) is 90-100% of rough value. We do this so that (we hope) we can wholesale the car and make $100 or so dollars. If it is a nice one owner type, or we sold it new, we will retail it out on the used car side. This serves us well, but the customer usually is not sure of the value(over allow for the trade). I would say 1 in 20 people put a realistic $ value on their car. If the car is worth more to you than a wholesaler will give you for it ($2500-$3500 below NADA book retail) then the best bet is to keep your car. The 1974 Comet, 2 owner, 64,000 miles, straight body, with a/c that got me into this whole thing was ACV'ed(actual cash value) @ $200. The only reason I had to pay $500 was a wholesaler offered the dealer $550 that afternoon. A car is worth whatever someone will pay for it. I have shed a tear over a few cars in my short time. The car I met my wife in was one. This is a phenomenon not unique to the US, but maybe seen in it's greatest capacity......sorry for rambling, but I think if you are on this board, your car is worth a little more........to you.........but not to most............Robert
