Correct My Thinking

[joeb99362]

Hey All,

Now before I start I want to preface the question with two statements. First, I first started collecting/working on/ restoring MOPARS at or about 1990. I have owned around 10 cars of varying levels of desirability. Second, I have been out of the hobby for about the last 8 years getting my three kids through the last years of high school and on into college. Now that being said...

I am looking at the prices of cars on ebay, craigslist, etc and for unfinished piles of rust people are asking in my opinion outlandish prices. For cars that were in the $750 - $3500 range 10 years ago, those same cars are being listed in the $12,000 - $20,000 range. Now I know that times have changed, and the prices of goods and services to restore / resto-mod/ etc these cars have increased, but am I the only one who thinks he has fell into the "bizarro universe" (Super Friends Reference)?

I continue to look for the one deal to get me back into the hobby, but Momma will kill me if I drag home a car she used to see for $750 and tell her I just paid $10,000 for it. Or am I just way out of line here?

Regards,

Joe

 

[moparstuart]

Time has moved on with out you , there are still deals out there but your not going to get a solid project for those priced anymore .

 

[1badgtx]

Auctually the price of cars has fallen a little the past few years...What was a complete runner was 30 grand you can get for 20...I think people still want MoPars because they want something different...You just got to be patience there are deals to be had...Ebay is not a good source for whole cars anymore...These guys are just out to make money and know that the mopar guys have money..Not all of us though...Keep looking!!!
Petty Blue 67 gTx

 

[chrisd]

I've got to agree with you Joe.I remember buying running muscle era cars for $400. No more. A 4 door Chevy runs $2000 now. But for me to go further would start an argument about the real value of a car. We've been through that here.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I agree with you that many cars out there are not worth the asking price but also realize the MoPars we all love are not being made anymore and fewer exist in good condition. Yes, times have changed. I bought my 68 RR with a complete extra engine and an air grabber hood in 1982 for $450.00 so think of the sticker shock I had when I started to gather parts for it and my recently acquired 69 RR many years later. I'm still in shock from spending two times the price of the whole car (80's prices) on just the 4 spd console and shifter for the 69. I remember we used to sell the consoles for $20-50.00 or throw them away because it had a crack or two. Even though the $500.00 drivers are long gone something will turn up at a reasonable price eventually. Keep plugging away on your search.

 

[Propwash]

Yep...Prices changed for you over the years, but the good news is you still have a chance to find halfway decent projects. Wait another 8-10 years and see what you find....

I agree that ebay isn't the best place to find projects. Craigslist has worked pretty well for me over the past few years....

 

[joeb99362]

Thanks for the feedback. I knew I couldn't be the only one looking at a 68 Coronet 440 with sky visible through the trunk pan for $14,000, and thinking that was unreasonable. I really wasn't intending to start a debate long settled from what I am hearing. Opinions being as wide and varied as they are, and text being subject to many bouts of interpretation about tone and meaning. I don't want to start something that will end badly. And to be truthful I wasn't looking to score a Hemi Superbird for $5 either. Just searching, and wondering if my expected re-entry price range was just covered in dust. I expected inflation, but jeeeeeeezzzzzzz....lol.

 

[chrisd]

I do agree prices will go up with time. Our cars are no longer being made and there are fewer year by year. And, I'll have to agree with everyone else, keep looking and you'll find what you want. I found this '68 Camaro (and I spelled it right) a little too rich for my blood.
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/2475873229.html
I don't care what anyone says, that's outrageous.

 

[MustangAndy]

My Mopar found me on Craigslist. Dragged a '71 Charger home last October for $1,500. Here it is less than a year later and I almost have it road worthy. I just need to deal with the NJ DMV for paperwork and get a new fuel tank and sending unit.

There are deals out there, you just need to find the people who are still breathing oxygen instead of N2O.



_

 

[green1]

We are almost finished on a 69 Charger.
Car was free- bodywork;4000 plus our labor(our labor is not counted for any of this)
rebuild front end; 1000
brakes and convert to disc; 1000
rebuild rear end 2500
have 440 engine built by Dvorack; 9000
interior; 2800
Rewire dash, new alt, etc; 400
tires and rims; 1400
Misc crap 2000
future paint job; 4000 (we painted interior, trunk and engine bay) 400

Tools and equipment; 10000; shop 60000, lift 2000 We won't count all that.

windshield and gasket; 300
other seals 500
And a ton of other crap; connectors, sandpaper, cleaning stuff, etc.

All the beer and bandaids,

His wife feeding us lunch for 7 months now(3 day work week) and the $ he pays me(un-employed)

50000 in that car. But he wants it.

But this isn't a money making hobby; kinda like the boat I just sold. Endless money pit.

 

[YY1]

There was a 69 Coronet 440 with minor quarter rust and 318 with a/c down here for $3500, sat on craigslist and ebay for 6 months and never sold. Was bronze w/ nice black int.

I know where half a dozen solid rollers are, in the $500-$2000 range. ~~~67 Coronet 500 big block, Volare Super Coupe, 67 Dart GT V8, 69 318 3 spd Barracuda, etc. I just don't have the space to store them, and I'm still trying to finish my garage.

They are still out there, just not so many "tier one" Six pack SuperBees, Chargers and Challengers.

Looked at a 73 318 a/c Charger SE that was being parted out over the weekend. Was a complete car, disassembled with all of another 74 SE excluding the unibody. Had buckets, doors with p/w, new top and headliner, floor patches, rally dashes, running 318 with eddy carb, new front end parts, etc. etc asking $1500 for all. Needed small metal patches, seat covers, paint and reassembly.

67 500- 318 a/c-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...em=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&autorefresh=true

 

[696pack]

Well, a b body these days will SCRAP for about $500. these days so anybody that know this is going to see that as the bottom for a rusted no-salvagable price. If it has good saleable parts it doesn't take much to put it well above that.

Sounds like you have the skills to do a resto but you still have to look at what your time is worth even if you spent it just drinking beer or better yet some quality time with your wife and family. The deals today are on done cars and the fact that you can start driving it NOW If you have to justify the price work some time and 1/2 overtime if it is available to you to make up the difference that way and you will be WAY ahead.

 

[brandon64]

I'm just a youngin' at 22 YO but ever since I've been in the market for cars the price has dropped considerably. I see cars that would have sold for 60 grand in 05 sell for 20 grand now. I just bought a 64 dodge polara witch has always been my dream car for 500 bucks, and it runs. When I first started looking at them They were going for 30 grand at the least restored, now I can get a nicer car for 15 grand. I'm going to get as many projects as I can and sit on them until the economy picks back up.

 

[YY1]

Our local scrapper is giving $12 per 100 LBs, so I figure my 5th Ave will almost get me back what I paid for it, after I've removed the brakes and engine

There are signs all over the street corners down here saying "$200 or $300 paid for all junk cars". At that price the haulers probably make 1-2 hundred per car.

We do have a VERY cool yard about 60 miles away in DeBary, that sets all the classics aside, and parts them out, or sells them whole if they have a title. I LOVE that philosophy.

They also pull anythig else they think they can sell out of the scrap heap. I just bought the medium sized HF sand blast cab for $45 (130+tax list) and a 40" Craftsman tool box that needs paint for $40 ($299 +tax list). They sell structural steel and aluminum for 10-25% over scrap price- SWEET.

 

[Mo70Road Runner]

They are still out there. Keep looking

 

[cr8crshr]

Yes they are...

They are still out there. Keep looking

And, I might add popping up quite often. That being said, I think that when looking for a project platform one must look beyond their local area. Really have to be able to go nationwide in their search. Yes sometimes they will pop up locally. I had to go to the Reno NV area to get my 66 Sat Roller. I cannot give you a figure on the amount I have spent up to today and the amount upon completion will be even more. That being said, I wanted to build my B Body my way and cost be damned. Although my favorite B Body is the 70 Plymouth series of RR, Sat, and GTX. Those lines are the best. However the 66 Sat grabs me just as hard. Go figure. Anyway, I am now able to finish what I have been doing to the Sat as a result of the sale of my 66 Chrysler 300. I threw it up on "the bag" for a while with no hits or low baller's. I decided 3 weeks ago to put it up on Craigslist here in NW FL and it sold within 36 hours. I just priced it at 3800.00 to see if there was any interest and the chap that bought it didn't even want to negotiate or haggle on the price. Paid me 3800.00 in cash....:blob1: It was in really good running shape and little or no body work required...just a re-paint, etc. So just keep looking as they are out there. Finally, just to smooth the bruised ego for the 750.00 to 2000.00 price range, most that are selling MOPARS these days are quite often in a state of denial. They don't look at the economy as it is at present and believe that what they are asking for the junk they are selling is in line with what most of the Auctions on TV are. Why even parts are getting crazy...the link for the radiator, above...is a prime example. One can do a lot better and for less if they will just be patient and keep looking. Good luck with your search though. Something will pop up. Just be ready to move though because as the saying goes...You snooze you Loose....Tuck. Attached is a pic of when I got it for 2800.00 up near Reno NV....

 

[joeb99362]

Thanks again Gents for all of the reply's. I knew I couldn't be the only guy with sticker shock. I appreciate all of the suggestions, and be sure, when I fine "The One" I will post pictures. Until then, I will try to exercise more patience and remain in search mode.