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I'm contacting BAT to put my 36 woodie up for auction. BAT wants to negotiate on my reserve price! They had a 36 woodie recently bid up to $41.8k with an old worn out restoration and didn't meet reserve. My first try at a reserve was $40k which I think is ridiculously low. They countered with $34.5k! BAT charges 5% for commission to the buyer so they would make $2k on the deal if sold for $40k. Seller pays $99 listing fee. Buyer would pay $42k. What an odd business! Thought I had it sold for $42.5k last year but buyer flaked out on me.

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We just finished putting on Woodies on the Wharf here in Santa Cruz, our 25th anniversary of the event. Over 180 woodies showed up and one of the big topics of the day was woodie prices. General consensus is they're southbound and down. Most of us agreed we're just gonna keep 'em and have fun.

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The Woodie market has been soft. Anytime you get involved with broker or auction their goal is to get it sold so they can collect the commission. Cars in the 30's and 40's have been soft on prices. There's stuff on e-Bay that have been listed for the past year and the prices are too high. Why not list it your self? Start with a free ad in the V-8 Times and list it with the National Woodie Club.

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Had it in hemmings last summer.

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I'm not sure how many readers read Hemmings anymore. Most people selling cars have gone to the internet. I know out here on the "left" coast all the car guys I know quit Hemmings years ago. The main reason was most stuff that was for sale was back east and when they would call on cars or parts, most stuff was already sold due to the lag time of magazine delivery to the west. Try something like North West Classic Auto Mall(www.northwestclassicautomall.com). They list your car and five photos for about $30 and carry the ad until the car is sold. It reaches a lot of people and is probably cheaper than a one month ad in Hemmings. A free ad on the V-8 Club website and a free ad in the V-8 Times is also an option.

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[QUOTE=TJ;1772239]I'm not sure how many readers read Hemmings anymore. QUOTE]





I quit when I found most of the ads to not have a price. I have the same attitude most of the time at the swap meets. If someone has the time and puts forth the effort to list / label an item and doesn't price it ,they must either be in love with it and ashamed to list their ridiculously high price or afraid someone will find out their stuff is valuable. I am sure I am not alone

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I can't remember the last time I saw a paper copy of Hemmings.

They really screw their classifieds advertisers by limiting what non-subscribers are able to see in the search results for the online classified ads, too.

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I think that Model T, A and early V8 Ford car values are down. I see a lot of V8's for sale for some really ridiculous prices. I know this is an age old debated topic. Like what kind of oil should I use. The '31 Victoria in my avatar is a really nice car. If I really had to sell it I'd be hard pressed to get $18k for it, maybe $15k tops. I'm 39 years old. No one my age wants these cars. They don't care about anything that doesn't involve their cell phone or a ball. That is not going to change, ever. The reality is when I want to sell one of my early Fords, I'll have to find the rare person that is truly interested and give them a great deal. If my car goes to a person who has their heart into original early Fords and not a street rod, I'd be willing to make that sacrifice when needed.

Another thing to consider is traditional banks won't finance the purchase of these cars. They'll finance a total waste of money boat or some idiotic UTV side by side. But not a V8 Ford. In their eyes it's just an old junk car. I know people who spend all their money on shit like a boat or ATV's, save nothing, have no equity and can finance a RV. When I roll in with savings and liquidity out the ass they'll laugh at me and my V8's.

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:eek:Seth your right about the model T and A, it has to be complete and running then you might break even. restoring these vehicle with shipping and our labor you will never get your money back. From what I see here in new england V8's are still holding there value. Wait a year or so it will go the other way.

Keep trying with the younger generation, getting them off there devices and involved into automotive early does pay off and sometimes being an AUTOMOTIVE mentor to a kid is very rewarding.

Locally for me antique auto loans are hard to come by and rates are better with a personal loan. I twice took a loan against my 2005 E150 to support the resurrection of my 39 P/U and buy my 26 Fordor, my credit union has been very helpful.

Boat, hole in the water to throw money into.

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I am surprised to read that so many here consider financing the purchase of a collector car to be the norm. To me, that's even dumber than buying a collector car as an investment.

I know, there are those in the hobby whose motives tend more to "The art of the deal", and it is those guys who will make a profit on the backs of the true hobbyists.

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I agree, and unfortunately, many folks in our generation, who now own these old cars, are not truly interested in mentoring the younger generation.

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Look at it this way. These cars are 70 to 80 years old, but we like them because they represent our youth. Can you imagine if when we were kids in the fifties and sixties, some old coot came by with a nice horse and buggy (70 to 80 year old stuff at that time), and expected us to be more interested in his pride and joy than we were in the old Fords we were working on? I expect not.

Of course, there were a few young guys back then that were interested in the guy's horse and buggy, but they were definitely few and far between.

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I guess my point was that it's tough for a young guy in his 20's to purchase a nice V8 when the asking price might be north of 20k because most young folks don't have that kind of savings and are probably saving up for a home or paying off debt. I'd never finance the purchase of a V8 Ford personally. It's hard for me to imagine there are folks who see a car for sale and plop down $30K cash but I guess that happens. Either way lets keep these cars on the road and the young guys interested.

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And as for woodies, I would have been better off financially building someone a set of kitchen cabinets in 3 weeks than the three years (of weekends and nights) I spent on a non original woodie..... But like Sinatra, I gotta be me.

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Hard to know? There are younger people getting into the hobby, but not many.

When I was a teen in the mid 1960's, guys were into Tri-5s and the new muscle cars of the day. I always liked Model Ts and As and I had a Model A for a while. My interests haven't changed over the years, now that I have time, a garage and can afford to buy them. It seems that V8s are coming down in price, but are still expensive, even to me. I'd love a woodie. Maybe I will live long enough to be able to afford one...

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It may be dumb, but myself as a 33 year old with a family has had to borrow money on 5 of the 7 Early Ford V-8’s I own. They are fortunately all paid for now but as a young person with a family is hard to fork out $20k plus on a hobby vehicle. I don’t look at them as much as investments so much as to me, I just enjoy them. If the market drops to the point my restored 40 coupe is only worth one thousand dollars, I’ll still enjoy it just as much.

As a side note I have always dreamed of owning a 33/34 station wagon. Thanks to financing that was quickly paid back I now own one.