Parting out threats

[Bryan Z]

Why do people hold project cars hostage? "If you don't buy it, I'll murder it." "One more week then I'll chop it up for parts!!" The car fell into your hands, do what you want with it. Part away, sunshine! Just don't whine years from now about the awesome classic you once had...
Personally I think it's a bummer to see a rare vintage car get destroyed, but unfortunately they can't all be kept from the crusher. Sometimes people will say they'll crush a car to force a sale or to get a higher sale price.

This "Olds 442" is an example of what I'm referring to...

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/pts/2454717596.html

 

[696pack]

I have done this in the past. I don't consider it holding a car hostage but it will sometimes get people off of the fence that are considering buying a car.

About 10 years ago I had a 1968 Coronet R/T that was a relatively rust free Nevada car. It was pretty complete and was a black car, black vinyl top, black interior with white butt stripe, A/C, console auto car with P.S. and P.B. Pretty rare combo I would think. I had it offered for $9850, then $8500, then $7500 and no takers. I finally said that if it was not sold in 30 days for $7500 I would begin parting it out and for interested people that wanted specific parts to contact me and I would hold there contact info if it did not sell.
The calls started coming in immediately. The car did not sell whole but in less than 6 months I had sold $10K worth of parts and still had parts left to sell.

I really felt bad then and now that I parted the car but no one would step up and buy the car whole. That is just the way it goes sometimes.

The up side is that many others with cars to restore got parts off of it so many others live at the expense of the one that got parted out.

 

[badblack68]

I have a 1966 Belvedere 2 4 door that just may get parted out soon. 273 with a/c southern car. For now it sits until I decide.

 

[70redbee]

I personally don't have a problem with someone saying that they will part out a car if not sold by a certain date. This will give the seller the money he needs for the car even if parted so others can benefit from whatever he has to offer. Many maybe cannot afford to buy the car but can afford the parts he needs to bring his own back to life, so another is saved even at the expense of one. With this said...I do have a major problem with the guy who says if not sold by a certain date that he will send it to the crusher! HOLY **** EVERYONE! To me this person is not a car guy but a complete idiot. So you want to send it to the crusher...SEND IT TO ME I WILL TAKE IT and many others I think will feel the same. So come on guys don't be the idiot... do what is right for the hobby and don't hold our classic cars hostage. I have a passion for these cars like most here do and can't understand the thinking of the guys that don't. If you don't want it...give it to someone who does. When you get a little older would you want your family to send you to the crusher...I think not. Sorry for the rant but I needed to get this off my chest which I have been meaning to do for a long time. So guys have a wonderful day and life with your classics no matter what shape the car or yourself are in.

 

[Ron 73]

Yea i don't have a problem with it myself. But the secret of a good bluff is, don't bluff. always worked for me.

 

[daredevil]

Never used this ploy. A nice car will fetch more than parts if you consider your time. If they are too far gone or undesirable i part them. Otherwise I wait for it to sale and drop price ocassionally till it sells. When youre in a neighborhood parting is a pain in the ***. And when I strip them I cant find half the **** later.

 

[sawdoff]

Its not always a ploy against a buyer. I have a 72 cutlass supreme that will probably get striped and crushed. I have no intentions of giving it away as suggested. I didnt spend money on it to lose. I have never lost money on a parts car. I had the cutlass for sale at 1250 running and driving. Yes it needs work. I would take 1000 but had to start some where. I have turned down offers of 900. I can get more from the bucket seat setup and crushing the hull. I dont want to crush old cars but cant save them all. I have saved and striped several. looks like the cutlass is next. You do understand to save one of these old cars usually means parts from another. Think of it this way we're going green.

 

[70redbee]

Never used this ploy. A nice car will fetch more than parts if you consider your time. If they are too far gone or undesirable i part them. Otherwise I wait for it to sale and drop price ocassionally till it sells. When youre in a neighborhood parting is a pain in the ***. And when I strip them I cant find half the **** later.

I am glad you don't use this ploy, that makes me happy. But I have to ask ...what do you do with the remains after you part out what you feel is good or reach a point that you seem to not be able to sell the rest. I would hope you don't crush what is left. Our classic cars are disappearing at an alarming rate and one day there will not be any. So my feeling is...if you are done with it, then give it away instead of cruhing it. Some cars are just not worth anything so noone is going to buy it or even take it if you give it to them re:the undesirables. These are the ones to send to the crusher, but just remember even the undesirables probably have someone looking for it but it would be too time consuming or too expensive to find this person. So daredevil I am agreeing with what you do.

 

[70redbee]

Sawdoff I never said you should give away a perfectly good car. Part it out and save one car or several as I said. Yes we do lose one when it is parted but one more is saved from the crusher. Get your money out of it and then when you think you are done give the rest to someone who could possibly use it to save one more. Going green in our hobby to me is not having them go to the landfill or to China to make cheap parts for foreign cars. Crush it if you have to but there are other alternatives.

 

[Superfreak]

Unfortunately the left over piece or pieces will probably end up going for scrap by the guy you give to for free, it is what it is.

 

[72Fourspeed]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$

in my area right now there are radio & tv ads blaring out that the recycler/scrap yards will pay $300 minimum & up to $500 per car. And they will haul it away to boot. Hard to refuse cash. That is what drove up the price I just paid for a 65 Coronet 440 4 door I just bought as a parts car. People are afraid you will make money off of them. Guy told me if I did not buy car he would haul it away to the yard. I needed some parts & the car has a good front clip,all it`s trim & appears to be rust free. What you gonna do ? Pay up,I did. And that drives up my parts prices when I do sell it off. It`s money. Don.

 

[Ron 73]

in my area right now there are radio & tv ads blaring out that the recycler/scrap yards will pay $300 minimum & up to $500 per car. And they will haul it away to boot. Hard to refuse cash. That is what drove up the price I just paid for a 65 Coronet 440 4 door I just bought as a parts car. People are afraid you will make money off of them. Guy told me if I did not buy car he would haul it away to the yard. I needed some parts & the car has a good front clip,all it`s trim & appears to be rust free. What you gonna do ? Pay up,I did. And that drives up my parts prices when I do sell it off. It`s money. Don.

The bad thing is your right. Theirs a couple guys hear (Around me) that 15 years ago wouldn't sell me a couple cars, 68 Firebird and 67 Camaro The guy with the firebird told me he knew i would put it back in good shape, paint and sell it, he told me this. He finally took it to junkyard after knifing the brand new bucket seats in it so noone could get them, another with Camaro, last i seen of it was still in his yard buried up to looking in side glass you seen the dirt floor, and for what, "im going to restore it" I live in the sticks i can get away with a lot of things and we do need to preserve the cars, but in some places you cant have them sitting around that hurts our hobby also. giving them away is ok, passing up money is hard. stripping one to sell the parts ive done it and ive tried to give whats left to some guys but when its all stripped in reality know one will want them. I wont fool with people they think ill drop the price down to nothing and i wont. One guy came back to check on one i had, i told him i told him im not dropping it anymore ill strip it first, after that they understand that im not going to say it and not do it, this is a tuff one for sure. we need the cars for the hobby, we all want our money we need to preserve them, and then noone wants a stripped car, sounds like a lesson on Murphy law at the start. My 2 cents...