WE MUST Raise Our Prices

[barbee6043]

as I see it, there are way more people playing with these cars than ever before???? most in the hands of average old car lovers. the inventory of these old mopars is large. when an old mopar ( sitting out behind the garage or cow pasture,) is bought by someone wanting a project, it basically is put back into the inventory of "active" car. whether it comes up for sale in the near future or not. active cars can come up for sale, due to the nature of our hobby, so many more cars at auctions proves the fact of how many more cars are in the hands of active people.?????

for the most part, little activity, in way of investor/speculators.

on FABO, everyday there are several new guys back into A bodies, many times a guy that owned one decades ago and found (usually ) a project, and less often, a new guy that always wanted an old car, just now getting one. why A bodies. other than the fact he owned one decades before? lots of them still to be found. cheap. thus the inventory of active cars grow.

we are simply in a buyers market due to ratio of buyers/sellers, and sheer number of cars out there. and, everything runs in cycles, some short, some longer.

 

[AZBelvedere]

I think allot of the the younger generation are just spoiled with luxury features (OD trans, fuel injection, AC, 4 wheel PB w/ abs, bluetooth connectivity, etc.). Adapting these features to an old car takes $$$ and know-how. Allot of the young people I work with don't even change their own oil and are not likely to swap a trans or add fuel injection. My nieces and nephews seem to view my Belvedere as unreliable because I'm always doing something to it. Its on jack stands now while I wait for parts for my rear end rebuild.

I got into old cars because my Dad always had old cars, but many people my age, 43, view a 1980's IROC Z28 as a classic too. Kinda like how the music I listened to in the 80's can be found on classic rock CD's now. I had a 84 Trans Am for awhile in high school and I wouldn't mind having another just like it.

 

[Auggie56]

Read years ago about how this was less a hobby, and more of a business. I for one just want to keep it a hobby. Another point, is the more interest there is a these cars, the more repo stuff your going to find, so if the price isn't there when selling a car, what's the point.

 

[4spd65]

Exactly.

 

[Donny]

Hobbyists doing it all is a dream, a complete dream! Tools, Time, Shop space and experience often can not be bought based on economic realities we all are dealing with on different rungs of the ladder. Pricing today is tied up in the one-off paint job, whereas these cars undergo hundreds of hours to get that paint job BETTER than the factory did and does -- ever! Priced supplies lately? Gallon of EF8 is over $700.00! There is a market still for these old cars because they are drying up, and people are getting smarter in how and what to do to get them repaired correctly.

 

[tbmopar74]

I disagree Rock, affordable Mopars are better. I don't give a hoot what the Fards n Shuvvys are priced at.

 

[malex]

Hobbyists doing it all is a dream, a complete dream! Tools, Time, Shop space and experience often can not be bought based on economic realities we all are dealing with on different rungs of the ladder. Pricing today is tied up in the one-off paint job, whereas these cars undergo hundreds of hours to get that paint job BETTER than the factory did and does -- ever! Priced supplies lately? Gallon of EF8 is over $700.00! There is a market still for these old cars because they are drying up, and people are getting smarter in how and what to do to get them repaired correctly.

Even for the guy who does all the work himself, he'll be lucky to get back the money he's invested. The bar keeps getting raised and the costs keep going up.

 

[skyman51]

I have been following this thread and just want to throw in my two cents. I am retired and drove these cars when they were new. I have worked hard all my life to afford what I want now. Whether it is a Ford, Chevy or Mopar. if it is the right car it won't be cheap. I make no apologies for having a 1967 Hemi GTX restored to #1 concourse condition with 95% of it's original parts. The car is valued at over six figures, but I could care less. First it is about the joy of having such a car and second it is not for sale. It is not a trailer queen but driven to shows and cruise nights alike. I have lost money and made money over the last 45 years buying and selling cars, but I could not begin to tell you how much. This car is not an investment, but pure pleasure and a reminder of my youth. Don't worry about what your car is worth. Enjoy it for what it is! If it is about how much you can sell it for, then maybe you should not have it. JMHO

 

[malex]

You guys need smarter leaders and voters. Ours are dumb-asses, but at least we have something to compare our deflated dollar, to. Maybe if your country made money by keeping it's garbage/refuse industry in Canada...instead of Michigan, there'd be some more workforce and income. Considering 90% of your population lives within a 100-200 miles of America, I'd say you have room for your garbage. As for the prices, what does your country manufacture? Seems like your government wants everybody else to deal with enviro messes. There's a price for that.[little rant off]

Yes Sir Missile. I'm embarrassed of our PM, his party and the dumbasses who put them there. I'm sickened to see how many people bought the load of crap that got him elected. A majority government decided even before any votes from central Canada and west had a say in the matter. And there's nothing that I would like to see better than more manufacturing. But, my comment was merely intended for the members to let them know that the strong US dollar could net them a good deal.
Anyways, good luck in getting a handle on your issues.

 

[mmissile]

This became a business, back in the mid to late 80's. If it hadn't...there'd be no resto parts.

 

[Donny]

If one does this soley for a 'return' on his investment, he's doing the wrong thing. This is a venture of Passion. Nothing more, nothing less. I had to learn fast (and it was a hard lesson) that I have to look at what I do as a business, NOT a passion even though 95% of the guys coming over ARE in it for passion, and, want a 'good deal'. I quickly get to the brass tacks of pricing, meaning what they want to pay has NOTHING to do with what it will cost. It's always a rude awakening. But, the end state is a beautiful car, done right, and often done better than the factory ever did.

 

[patrick66]

In the end, boys and girls, ANY vehicle is only worth what the SELLER and BUYER agree to on price!!! NO price guides, reference material, or website is going to change that. The car will bring what someone is willing to pay for it. Period. Dot.

 

[TonyB]

More important to me is what it costs to finish a car, we did a 69 Mach 1, 10 years ago, and recently finished a 66 Belvedere, I can attest to the fact that the Plymouth was far more costly to complete to the same detail as the Mustang even considering the time between both builds. The Mustang got a 351 Cleveland/4 speed, the Belvedere got the donor car 318 Poly/727 Auto. Different rides for sure but both enjoyable in their own rights. Mustang would probably fetch 25K, Belvedere somewhere south of 15K. Both cars were in pretty good shape and honestly the Mustang needed full quarters with the Plymouth needing only paint. Both rust free from west coast. I know I can get out of the Mustang profitably, but the Plymouth is a different story. Wouldn't do anything different though. Seems to me the problem is at a level much above ours with the prices skyrocketing at the top driven by investers not knowing anything about the cars other than their value.

 

[moparbud66]

X2

I have been following this thread and just want to throw in my two cents. I am retired and drove these cars when they were new. I have worked hard all my life to afford what I want now. Whether it is a Ford, Chevy or Mopar. if it is the right car it won't be cheap. I make no apologies for having a 1967 Hemi GTX restored to #1 concourse condition with 95% of it's original parts. The car is valued at over six figures, but I could care less. First it is about the joy of having such a car and second it is not for sale. It is not a trailer queen but driven to shows and cruise nights alike. I have lost money and made money over the last 45 years buying and selling cars, but I could not begin to tell you how much. This car is not an investment, but pure pleasure and a reminder of my youth. Don't worry about what your car is worth. Enjoy it for what it is! If it is about how much you can sell it for, then maybe you should not have it. JMHO

 

[mmissile]

Daily TV auctions aren't helping either.

 

[cudak888]

Raise prices? Spoken like a flipper with a bunch of dead Mopar inventory sitting around.

If you want to see strong prices, first show me a strong community, because this ain't it. I must have posted three to four detailed posts asking for help in the last couple of months, and hardly a single one has a reply - and when I Google the information, it's hit or miss whether the topic has been covered here before. Plus, FBBO seems to be a black hole of reference pictures ("Let's see all the..." threads do not count), and getting a rooting section in the Member's Projects thread (sounds silly, but it really helps to have moral support through difficult parts of a project) is off-and-on.

Need I mention that THIS controversial thread is the only thing short of the "Let's see" threads to have pushed three pages in the '66-70 Mopar forum as of recent?

This isn't the case FABO. Granted, the A-bodies may be more common, but it's not as if there aren't any B-bodies around for projects (and if overpricing is an issue, there should be enough A-bodies around to negate that - and there are). The support that the FABO forum shares with new members is what keeps each newbie with a project becoming a veteran - rather than the project starting up, falling to the side, and eventually sold off to someone else when said newbie gets discouraged.

HOWEVER - having come from the 7173Mustangs.com community, I can say that I've uncovered the myths of overpriced Mopar parts: For not having much of a community of support, FBBO has no shortage of fellows who will crop out of the woodwork to sell you (overpriced) parts if you post a Wanted ad. Same on FABO, but you're more likely to get photos and info from the seller about fit from their experiences, but you're still a hell of a lot more likely to get scammed into buying the wrong part by an opportunist.

Build a better community, and you'll build a better value around our cars.

-Kurt

 

[mmissile]

****...go to the e-body site. Nothing goes on there. The mopar hobby, IS a business....and has morphed completely, at least twice in the 45 years I've been doing it. It was best in the 70-80's, when mopar guys were the weirdo's.

 

[camtra]

:spam dragon:

 

[cudak888]

****...go to the e-body site. Nothing goes on there. The mopar hobby, IS a business....and has morphed completely, at least twice in the 45 years I've been doing it. It was best in the 70-80's, when mopar guys were the weirdo's.

A lot of them still are the weirdos - just not in a good way.

There is an absolute trash '70 Barracuda down the street that is like to make a video with, just to annoy the E-Body purists and rack up YouTube partnership program monies from. Some sort of rusted up, barely running build a-la Roadkill's General Mayhem ought to get some attention.

-Kurt

 

[65Fury440]

The title to this thread made me LOL.
Maybe it's me, but when I think "B" body Mopar, cheap and under priced is not what comes to mind.