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Car Prices Reality Check...

Really good discussion, glad it wasn't a flame out!!!!

Hagerty thing I guess is a gauge, but I would take that with a grain.... How many (#1) condition 69 383's do think are out there? Who would buy a $80k 383 car? You certainly could get a 6 pack car for that, maybe not a #1, but who cares? Maybe even a Hemi car if you get lucky...

I guess if you bought a car and it was appraised as a #1 car, then if the barn burned down, that's what it would be worth. That doesn't mean you could sell it for that....

The classic muscle car market is much more vulnerable then some of the other classic cars, especially the Mopars. Even the Superbirds aren't bringing the price the used to....
 
kdtjb said:
http://www.hagerty.com/price-guide/1969-Plymouth-Road_Runner

You have to go to trends to find out what average insured values are. But it looks like the average #3 car is being insured for 25,000 bucks. #2 and #1 cars are probabaly way above that. Look at how they rate # 1 threw #4 Thats very informative also.
Click to expand...

I just checked this site out and it is very informative. My 69 Coronet 440 average worth is $13,700. Right now it's worth less but when it's finished it should be worth more. To me it will be priceless!
 
Oh and just because its an R/T original 4 speed car with original bucket seats and A/C doesn't mean that its any more deserving than that satellite sitting in the little ol grandma's garage....I'd start with the satellite.
Great Thread! Yep, I'm the 4th owner of a '68 Sport Satellite I bought a little under 5 yrs ago. Luckily I live in CA and it was rust free and RUNNING! Picked it up for $5500. I think I got a pretty good deal. Since it was a 318 car, I've been able to do what I want with it. The #'s matching 4 speed HEMI cars are really cool, but I'm more about the body shape and how it feels driving it. That's why the Big Block motor swap is coming soon!


My advise is to shop smart and choose your battles
( projects ) carefully, you really have to think hard and decide if you really want to take ten or more yrs to complete the project.

It definitely is a project for more than 90% of these cars. Mine was running and I could have left it, but I decided to restomod the suspension and steering, then paint, then interior. It's a ton of work and I outsourced more than half of it. It's still taken over 4 yrs. In the end, my $5500 good deal has turned out to be a $35K investment, but I wouldn't change any of it. I've only spent cash and I've learned a ton and met some wonderful friends who have helped me along the way here on FBBO. If I sell the car in 5 or 10 or 20 yrs, I'll probably never get back the money invested, but who cares? I'm happy to save the car from the crusher and enjoy her while I can.

If you're looking to get a good deal, unless you're an experienced body guy who can do that work themself, #1 rule of a smart car investment is to buy the best rust-free damage-free body you can find. Often times that comes down to where the car has lived most of its life (west coast or desert).
 
What I was most impressed with, was how flat the the line was over the last 7 years. It reminds me of my wives 401K. I have always said my cars where my 401K. But over the last 40 years my cars have out preformed the wives 401 more than a little. She was supost to be a millionare by now. They are still telling kids if you put in one of these, you will be wealthy when you retire. At least I can walk out to the chicken coop and look at my 401.
 
Kind of like the housing market, coincidence?.........
 
Got a lot of great feedback, and a lot of great ideas here about how to be smart and pick the right jobs to start - hopefully in the end you might end up with a goldmine and be able to use the money later in life. What about if you're working on the cars for manual, hands on, enjoyment of the project . . . I program computers, and I look forward to getting home at night and going out into the shop to work with both may hands and my head. Well hopefully my head, while I'm still trying to figure out what "exactly" I'm doing here on my restoration. My idea for for my Mopar, which my Uncle got me hooked due to his drag racing, was to get one that is "unique". That's the reason I have my 67 Belvedere Convertible - have not seen many of them on the roads. Granted, I love the Chargers, the Road Runners, The Duster and Comets ( the list goes on ) . . . they're all great looking cars - but I like the uniqueness of my convertible too ! And the joy that I get in the shop from seeing the progress of my labors it therapeutic - and it sure beats being in the bars all night ! ( probably cheaper in the long run too ! )

I'm hoping to have my own unique creation, with the help of FBBO re-built the proper way, built to be a daily driver, and be able to enjoy driving the car for year to come - that's my goal. My car may not be one of the "highly sought after" vehicles, but it is "mine", and that means the world to me. So I'm going to enjoy re-building her and getting her back on the road . . .
 
theres a sucker born every minute! my brother bought a 73' challenger online for $12k 8yrs ago that was torn apart to become a drag car, a real pos! he invested around $36k total in it. the guy that did it quoted him way to cheap of a price! It looked real nice then the wife said good by and so did the car. when theres someone with more money than sense people are going to get the big money they want. oh right after he bought it I found 2- 73' challengers (1 driveable n 1 a partscar) for $7500 localy!
 
That and the fact that one man's trash is anothers treasure...
 
conv67bdere said:
Got a lot of great feedback, and a lot of great ideas here about how to be smart and pick the right jobs to start - hopefully in the end you might end up with a goldmine and be able to use the money later in life. What about if you're working on the cars for manual, hands on, enjoyment of the project . . . I program computers, and I look forward to getting home at night and going out into the shop to work with both may hands and my head. Well hopefully my head, while I'm still trying to figure out what "exactly" I'm doing here on my restoration. My idea for for my Mopar, which my Uncle got me hooked due to his drag racing, was to get one that is "unique". That's the reason I have my 67 Belvedere Convertible - have not seen many of them on the roads. Granted, I love the Chargers, the Road Runners, The Duster and Comets ( the list goes on ) . . . they're all great looking cars - but I like the uniqueness of my convertible too ! And the joy that I get in the shop from seeing the progress of my labors it therapeutic - and it sure beats being in the bars all night ! ( probably cheaper in the long run too ! )

I'm hoping to have my own unique creation, with the help of FBBO re-built the proper way, built to be a daily driver, and be able to enjoy driving the car for year to come - that's my goal. My car may not be one of the "highly sought after" vehicles, but it is "mine", and that means the world to me. So I'm going to enjoy re-building her and getting her back on the road . . .
Click to expand...

That really is the way to do it. Build it for yourself and be different. I never look at my Coronet as an investment. It's my project, if I can't make it mine than what's the point.
 
I love this thread. Sometimes we pay very little for a pos and sometimes too much for a pos. I found the true value of ol Ma Mopar a few years ago when I decided to start restoring cars and sell them to supplement my falling wages from a Chrysler dealer that lost it's franchise in the bail out. Getting back to why I started working on cars years ago to begin with and trying not to get to attached to them. I sold my first done car {69 Roadrunner A4 383 4 speed O/D w/ 4.30 posi} to an older guy who said he had a 70RR years ago and just want another one. The guy drove 20 hours to come see it and was amazed with the car said he wanted to drive it home but his leg probably would not last the trip{he walked with a limp and a cane}. We haggled a little and I gave in being in financial stress and only made a small profit. I spoke with him several times within the next few months and he LOVED the car. I then finished my second car and I got an email from him saying that if I built another one like his I would have very satisfied customers for life. I emailed him back and asked him if I could use him as a reference but never heard anything back. So a few weeks go by and I call only to find out that he had passed away from this world to the next. His wife told me that one of the very last things he ever did was drive his Mopar with a huge smile on his face. Kind of a sad but very true story. To me having someone drive their Mopar with true happiness as one of the last things you do in this life is their true value that no dollar amount can match.....
 
For years I would have loved to have another charger but would not pay the high prices and did not want to fight with the rust issues. So for 17 years I would occasionally look at what they were going for and the dream would go away. Then one day a guy approached me and asked If I was interested in an old charger? I Bought the car for $400. I could not pass it up. The car is clean, Interior is in great shape, very little rust Due to it being from CA. The only issue it had was the 904 was bad and he lost interest. I found the receipt from when he purchased the car and it looks as if he gave 12,500 for it. So Value comes and goes! Remember if its got tits or tires its gonna cost lots of money.
 
BeastlyBirdie said:
And now its on craigslist
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/4090166155.html
Click to expand...

That's hysterical!!! He's saying the cars worth $40 to $45k!!!! I think at $20k, that was a good deal for a unmolested car, but it's nothing special. I'm getting dizzy from seeing that thing flip so may times!!!

Doing a build from scratch is expensive and very time consuming, the rule a thumb has always been buy one already done, it's way cheaper. There's only one right way to restore one of theses cars no matter how solid they are, strip it to bare metal, and build it up.... just my $.02.....
 
4ever69 said:
That's hysterical!!! He's saying the cars worth $40 to $45k!!!! I think at $20k, that was a good deal for a unmolested car, but it's nothing special. I'm getting dizzy from seeing that thing flip so may times!!!

Doing a build from scratch is expensive and very time consuming, the rule a thumb has always been buy one already done, it's way cheaper. There's only one right way to restore one of theses cars no matter how solid they are, strip it to bare metal, and build it up.... just my $.02.....
Click to expand...

Unreal.
 
I don't think it flipped, it's still on ebay, item 111173700493. Has the MD address, and everything else corresponds...
 
Its now over on moparts, b bodies for sale. Hey, the poor guy only wants to make $12,000 over what he paid.
 
BeastlyBirdie said:
Its now over on moparts, b bodies for sale. Hey, the poor guy only wants to make $12,000 over what he paid.
Click to expand...

Can't knock anybody for trying to make a buck, if somebody is willing to pay that, god bless him...
 
I HEAR YA!! I'm trying to find a decent fixer-upper that is not pretty, but can drive and it's hard! I've tried Hemmings and Carsonline and the vast majority of the cars for sale(Mopars, including barely uncollectible, stupid 4-doors) have already been mostly or completely restored or fixed up nicely, so the prices for the more popular ones starts around $10,000. ! Good grief! Thanks to the well off retiring Babyboomers for jacking up the prices of what was once a blue-collar hobby and pastime.
4ever69 said:
I work at a Mopar shop here in the east, we do mainly upgrades, suspensions, drive trains, interior etc... I know my way around them.... I just wanted to get a feel for people really think some of these cars are worth, just the run of the mill vehicles, not Hemi, or 6 pack cars....

From what I have been seeing, a nothing special, 4 speed BB car restored, lets say between an 6 an 8, goes for anywhere from $20k to $30k all day long... I've seen RR and Chargers, some E bodies, all about the same price range. I've seen some maybe a solid 5's going for $12k or $15k What I have seen that kind of cracks me up, is crazy prices for partial or project cars.

Maybe it's me, but why would spend $5k on a car that's missing A LOT of crap including a motor, and needs a full rotisserie restoration, when you buy a 5 tenths car for $12k?

Anyway, just had to vent a little bit.......
Click to expand...
 
I'm putting mine out there for sale in the $16,500 area and it's a pretty nice driver. It's a Sport Sat (GTX clone) Only selling due to financial difficulties. Kid going to college. Otherwise I'd keep it. I love it. View attachment 142588
 
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