What's a reasonable price for a solid west coast car ?

I'm looking for the right car to start a build and I live in Alaska. The car will most likely be bought site unseen and shipped to me here. I want a solid, driveable dependable foundation to start with. I'd prefer a standard but will consider an automatic. Body needs to be straight and solid inside and out. Everything working except maybe the windshield washers. Lights, heater, blinkers etc. all "needed" items must work, drive straight and know major steering , braking etc. problems. Interioir doesn't have to be nice but decent, and all there. I figure I'm willing to pay around 4000.00 for a decent car that has everything but needs some paint and interior restoration. I want to then build the motor for it and start with the custom work but want a solid foundation before dumping a bunch of cash into it. What have you all paid for yours and what should I expect to pay for this car as described? THX everyone

 

Know one has an input ?

Is this not a reasonable price for a solid Comet or Maverick ? 49 people have read the thread and know one has any input , is this to cheap or to much ? Someone has to have some suggestions as to what they go for in this condition and how hard they are to find on the west coast ? Would sure like some input from some of you who are considerably more experienced then myself.

 

My 1971 Grabber was not a West coast car but I paid $3000 for it. It was from Ohio and does have some paint bubbling from rust at the quarter panels and both bumpers need to be re-chromed. The interior was in great shape and all the necessities work. It could use a paint job and I did have to do some work on the brakes. If the car is in really good shape then $4000 would not be out of the question. Just my . Good luck with your quest.

 

personally 4k is too much... well thats just me... would i sell one of my mavericks for 4K? yeah proabably alot more. however it really depends on the car... and person.. i wouldn't put a price on anything unless i saw it.

are they hard to find... and yes, getting harder... cars on the west coast will proabably bring high dollars when someone is buying it on the east coast... but a west coast guy looking for a car on the west coast it better well be in damn good shape and the cost better be right... cuz there would be more to choose from then mavericks on the east coast... do you get what i am saying?

i have seen junk and people wanting stupid prices for them... then again within the last 2 years i found two mavericks for basicly for free. one that was in great shape... which i still own (wanna buy it for 7K obo?) lol!and the other was a rust bucket to So Cal standards.

sorry i don't buy mavericks unless they are under 1K... or free i'm cheap! but then again why would i / me want to buy someone elses maverick already fixed up or restored there's no fun in that... i get junk.. ok well not junk.. someone elses hardship... then fix it up.

good luck in your find.


btw give the guys on here sometime to respond... 47 responses are nothing... getting a response quickly is asking for too much besides some people may not have an idea. you much be those one of those guys that wonders why people don't respond back to e-mails when you see them open it...

 

You should be able to get a nice car for that price. Just don't expect to get a Grabber, Sprint, Stallion or Comet GT for that price. The prices have been on their way up for a while now.

 

Just need to educate yourself before you buy anything.

Watch ebay, look at all kinds of websites, like autotrader.com and collectorcartraderonline.com.

Join the Maverick/Comet Club at www.maverickcometclub.org

Subscribe to some auto magazines, like Mustang and Fords, Legendary Ford Magazine, etc

Watch TV shows on Speed and Spike TV about car restoration.

Go around to some body shops and restoration shops in your area and get an idea of what it is going to cost to get work done in your area.


Look into how much it is going to cost to have a car shipped up to you.

Join a message board and read and study what is written there.

Go to local car shows and look at cars and talk to people.


This is just a small list, but doing these things will keep YOU informed of what a fair price is for something. Then you will be in a better postition to judge for yourself whether something is too high or too low.

 

Here is one that I found on Craigslist here in the Sacramento area of California. They want $4,000 for it like someone earlier said you would be looking at spending. But you can find them cheaper if you just keep your eyes open for one. http://sacramento.craigslist.org/car/254652982.html

 

>>>
Thx guys for the input. I have built several Chevy's and been around the car world my whole life just not much with Fords. My first car was a Comet Gt. and I have since grown bored with the same old stroker Chevies and would like to build one for myself that has some meaning behind it. My oldest Daughter is 8 and I think she is wanting to be involved in a car build that is for us and not someone else...LOL. Unfortunately the internet is my only source of information , Haines Alaska doesn't even have a body shop let alone car shows and quality educated people (when it comes to cars). The few guys here who have nice cars I've worked on or built the motor for and they are Chevy guys with little or no Ford knowledge.
I just sold a SuperBee that I have had for a while so I can start the research and my "quest" (as someone put) it for the 10 second Comet I want to build. Thank you for the input and response, the link to the Grabber for sale in Sacramento was good. I want a west coast car because of shipping, from California to me is about 1500.00, any farther away and it's going to get rediculous. I have been reading the site for a few days now and I'm starting to learn more and more, what to look for, what to expect etc. I will join the other forum mentioned above and start there as well. I've looked via Google for Comet's and Mavericks for sale and there really aren't many to be found, that are advertised. I'm in the middle of a long winter so I have lots of time.
When I decided this was what I really wanted to do and invest my time and money into I wouldn't have expected it to be this hard to find some examples to price....LOL. I figured they'd be fairly easy to find, not really the case. This will make it even better when I build one and know one knows what it is........being different is great! THx everyone and I look forward to the wealth of information provided by the site.

 

You will be able to get a nice solid car for that price. I would try to get one in as much original paint if possible because it is really easy to hide lots of body work under a new paint job, especially in pictures. It may be worth a cheap plane ticket to go check out some cars before you ship them. You could line up a bunch to see all in a few days. Having the seller take a video of the car helps too. When I lived there, I bought a '71 Grabber in Alaska for $100, it was junk then but I fixed it up anyways. It only got to be a 13 sec car though(high school income). It still sits up there with a friend. I had two others given to me up there as well, one that still drives around and one that went to the junkyard eventually. You definitely don't see too many up there.

 

Cheap plane ticket.........LOL.

>>>
That sounds reasonable and I may have too, but it's 500.00 round trip to Seattle to fly plus room & board, nothing is cheap from Alaska. This is 500.00 more I could spend on the car if I don;t fly. I have located two 4 door version early 70's cars here locally for parts as needed. I'm going to look at them depending on the depth of snow this coming week. On the web site mentioned above there is a guy in Seattle that has 3 cars so this is encouraging. If I could find one in Seattle that was nice I'd pay a bit more since the shipping will be less. I also found another big bumper car in Sacremento that's in good condition and has the v-8 I may consider. The fun of the hunt.....LOL.

 

Would a later version be better ?

Would a later version be better....possibly a 76 thru 78 ? Will they have the bigger disk brakes and other qualities that would make them a better candidate for the resto mod version I want to build ? I won't want the A/c option but the better brakes and other mechanical upgrades if there were any would be nice! I can do the fiberglass small bumpers or find a donoer car to give it the sleek curved lines I like on the 70' models.

 

Hello, the West coast is full of Mavs and Comets for the price range of $4,000 you could get a car that needs very little work, of course like has been pointed out the higher dollar cars are going to be the Grabbers, Sprints and Comet GT I have hardly ever see any Stallions but they are out there as well, keep an eye on Craigslist and classiccartraderonline and be patient you will find just what you are looking for, almost forgot check into this Maverick site often as there are members from all the states here that can be very helpful and could possibly be your eyes for you, heck if you see something in the Portland Oregon area I would check it out for you.


Mike

 

Acording to old car values you should be able to get a car with no dents, no rust, all parts working with a good interior for $3800.00 in reproduction or original parts condition. The price for a frame up restoration is considerably higher and the price for a modified car or hotrod is considerably lower. Minor dents and or rust (no rust through) and minor damage to the interior (cracked dash pad, torn seats, worn pedals or headliner will cut the value in half, $1600-$1900.
I will be getting the new issue of this mag in the near future. If you want I can post a copy of the values then.

 

I posted a "Wanted 73-74 Maverick Grabber" ad on San Francisco Bay area Craigslist in May of 2005 and got two answers. I was offering $2500, but I wound up paying $3000 for a 1973 yellow and black Grabber with V8, air, and automatic, in Modesto, CA. Brakes were dangerously bad, and A/C didn't work. I really should have stuck to my original $2500 offer, but overall I'm glad I bought it.

If you advertise in SF, Sac, and Seattle for a Maverick 2-door for $4000, you should have 'em lined up around the block.

Roz

 

I got mine for 1200....and it was in better shape than 95% of the cars out there. You gotta look.

and look...

and look...

and look...