Topic: Ebay car values

[JoeBob]

Every few years a trend starts on ebay where people overvalue their cars. For some reason they think old means valuable. Why would people list pintos on ebay without checking past sales?  An unrestored car Listing for $12,000-$20,000 I just want to scream at them stop wasting your time you idiot. But I guess it's there time to waste.Bill
 

[Wittsend]

Even the most benign, 4 door, stated as "no rust" car (that is covered with at least surface rust), that has dents, broken glass, a tattered interior, either a bad engine/trans or none at all, flat tires and often no title seems to start at a $4,000 listing price. I think people see a $150,000 Road Runner sell to an inebriated Barrett Jackson buyer who had just inherited from their deceased parent..., and thinks their 4 door Plymouth Satellite looks enough like the Road Runner that it HAS to be worth at least 5% of the value. Yet it wasn't that long ago that was a sub $500 Satellite. Years ago no one would touch a 4 door 55-57 Chevy. Now the worse of those go for a $15,000 asking price.

So, reckless spending by foolish (momentarily wealthy) buyers set a high bar and misinformed people price their similar "junk" reflected off those prices. My experience is those cars sit FOREVER and never sell as the seller is too stubborn to price the car reasonably. The sad thing is others seen the over inflated price and think theirs is worth that too. If we haven't hit the peak, it is probably coming soon. The next generation is "Green" and old polluting, gas guzzling cars are not their desire. Some Millennial will probably sell his deceased grandfather's Hemi Cuda for $20,000 to but a mint, 1st generation collector I-Phone.

[caravan3921]

So what's your opinion and 'guessimate' for what my 1978 Pinto might be worth and sell for?.....I'll describe it to the best of my ability: 31,000 miles, always garaged, no dents or dings, moon roof, no cracks, rips or tears in seats, upholstery, headliner or dash, everything works and intact. A small rust spot the size of a dime on passenger door.  Since buying it we've maintained it to the best of our ability.  The car is not "perfect" because of its age, it's not shiny showroom, but it's awesome looking and everything works on it.  One mechanic said it's the best Pinto he's ever seen, and he had it up on the rack. (We bought it on ebay in 2005.  We would never sell it on ebay since ebay now requires sellers to enter personal banking information.)  At any rate, we have it insured for $6,000.

[Wittsend]

My opinion on price likely isn't very valuable in your case. I tend to buy cars that are rather "worn" because I modify them by upgrading engine, transmission, seats etc.. Also, in California 1975 and older cars don't need to be smog tested. So, I would have little interest in a 1978 Pinto regardless of an immaculate condition.

  The #1 criteria for me is rust. That will in my mind devalue a car more than anything. Where as in most states a car rusts from the outside inward here in California I find water gets under the carpet and rusts a car from the inside outward. A car can be put up on a lift and look fine from the underside, but lifting the carpet often tells a sad story of hidden rust. Assuming your car has no rust (hidden or otherwise), has relatively low miles relative to its age and you find a buyer who desires a stock, unmodified Pinto at a place like a Barrett Jackson auction it MIGHT bring $10,000 plus or minus a few thousand. As a private sale it likely would be toward the lower side. But who knows. Scan the internet and see what similar cars bring. That should give you a ball park figure.

[JoeBob]

There was a well known car here called "Jade" it was a 79 hatch. The owner died one week after purchase. The widow did not drive, so it sat in the garage 30 or more years. The new owner carried it on a trailer to shows, never driving it. It had less than 1000 miles on it. When he sold it a few years ago, it was bought by a member here, if I remember right for $10,000. It was for sale a long time with no takers, at a higher price.
   If that car wasn't worth a higher price. I don't think anything is.    Collectors car insurance is low priced. I would insure your car for a much higher value. If you need to replace it or rebuild, it will cost much more. If you could find a comparable car you will still have to ship it to your location, plus it will need things that will make it your own.
    My car was wrecked 3 years ago through no fault of my own. The other persons insurance paid $2000. It made no difference that my car was pristine, that was book value.
My insurance made up the difference to the $5000 repair cost. I had $10,000 invested in my $2000 value car, just to make it showroom pristine. The car was insured at $10,000. That cost me $200.00 per year. I now insure it for $20,000 at a cost of $340.00 per year. I am old and can't build another car, If I loose my car again, I can hire a good builder to make what I want.
Bill 

[davidpinto]

I"M DIGGIN THOSE SPLASH GUARDS ,WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

[JoeBob]

a member here used to make reproductions of Ford's hot pants kit. I don't remember his name. You can google "Ford hot pants" in images and see a poster of a red car with original sales information.

[caravan3921]

I remember your car getting wrecked, and it broke my heart.
I remember the Jade and Geraldine Pintos. (I think they are both in California, owned by a collector.  A while back I dug around on the internet and found a story abou the guy. I may have even wrote his name down in my pinto notes.)
If something happens to our pinto we would replace, and not rebuild or restore, and I suspect we'd purchase at around $10-12,000.  We're having the conversation about the insurance aspect.

[JoeBob]

    It was 21 years ago that I bought my bobcat. I watched ebay everyday for 3 years until I found a car with potential. For me potential, meant no rust and a good engine. After that I put $7500 into the car.
    I look at ebay every day now for 24 years. I am not looking for a car I just like looking. It is possible you will find a beautiful car for $12,000  Other than Jade I have not seen one. If I recall correctly Jade needed thousands of dollars of work. Nothing had ever been done to it. Everything that deteriorates due to age, needed work on that car. The car you desire does exist, but it is likely you will look for years to find it.
    Best wishes     Bill

[caravan3921]

I look at ebay a lot as well for ford pintos.  It's fun to monitor what's out there for sale. Although at the present time I'm not looking to buy.  I'm satisfied with our 1978 ford pinto.  We've owned it for nearly 20 years and it has brought a lot of joy. We've put a lot of money into it.  It goes into the shop today for a new battery. (Besides Jade, there was also Geraldine.  That car reminded me of the one featured on Charlie's Angels, driven by Kate Jackson.  I'd love to know who owns that one!) 

[65ShelbyClone]

Ebay used to be a place that was fairly easy to find good deals without having to wait real long. Now the deals are few and far between; it's just a place to buy something because you can find it there.

I distinctly remember the "ask for twice what you expect to get" phenomenon emerging around the crash of '08. I think a lot of people started flipping to scrape-up money and those types would lowball half of your asking price, even if it was already reasonable. Those same people would try to flip for twice+ what they paid no matter how ridiculous that price ended up being. Non-flipper buyers caught on and would offer half, a haggle ensues, and the flipper would get something a little higher than they paid. And of course the televised auctions and picker/pawn/flipper shows served to further make it harder to be buyer of practically anything.

[Reeves1]

Had a guy visit & looked the car over real well.....then he offered 20k for it !
I told him the engine is worth that !
He went home without it......

[caravan3921]

"Ebay used to be a place that was fairly easy to find good deals without having to wait real long. Now the deals are few and far between; it's just a place to buy something because you can find it there."

Boy, you got that right! I used to actively sell on ebay all the time, it was fun selling off vintage Lionel train stuff to people excited about buying it, but now I only buy.  Ever since ebay changed their selling policies and require sellers to enter their personal bank info...no way are we giving ebay our personal banking info. There's a lot of internet complaining conversation about this as well.  It just doesn't seem right to me. (I still have more 1950s-era train stuff to re-home so maybe I'll have to try Craigslist.)