Thinking of selling my car

[lance leblanc]

Originally Posted by Craig Lewis

...with all due respect this thing is no comparison to the coupe in original post and in fact you might have paid on the high side.

No offense taken, The car that I pictured in my earlier post is not a car that I would want to buy, but as I mentioned it was purchased as a courtacy to an auctioneer and colleague who has an obligation to honour the bid to his consigner.
And as for a comparison, you are right about there is a VERY big difference in the two cars. The point that I was making is that MAFCA, Hemmings, KBB and any others who attempt to establish a cars value, get their numbers from actual sale prices and not what someone has listed as an asking price. At the end of the day we easily have $12,000 in the car. That price is averaged in with others with little accuracy for comparison of condition on cars of this age. "The seller will always say its nicer than it is, and sometimes even the buyer will agree". Still when a car that is worth maybe $17,000 sells for $30, or the other way around, both amounts help set the market average.
I live by this statement. "This car and every other item is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it".
If I where to be put on the spot professionaly I would say the original posters car would sell at my auction (without personal inspection) for around $15k plus fees. If he sent it to B.J. or another collector car sale he could expect more but he will be garanteed higher fees and expeneses. A sellers trade off of sorts.

[lance leblanc]

I said $15,000 but of couse I will be asking for more and will expect it.

"Sorry the salesman in me just came out "

[luckyal]

With all due respect !
You are not guaranteed a higher price at BJ.
I have bought 2 cars in the last year from Barrett Jackson. I buy on the first 2 days when the money and the televison coverage has not arrived. The place is not at all crowed and the bidders have less money to spend. The buys on the first two days are sometimes nothing short of fantastic. I find the prices are significantly less but I also find that sometimes the cars are not perfect. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the cars are usually all show cars and the money people bid with their hearts and not their brains. I have witnessed several people expressing regret for getting caught up in the bidding war.
I agree of course ( common sense ) that it is only worth the amount the buyer will pay in cold hard cash or certified check. And just remember BJ cars have a buyer and seller commission and a transportation cost to get them home.
Food for thought !
Al Luckins

[duffer]

Originally Posted by luckyal

Are you near Farmington Hills ?
Al Luckins

yes , i am in clinton township mich...48035

[luckyal]

I bought a 1931 Chevrolet ( Museum car ) from a lawyer last year in Farmington Hills. It is on a golf course and looks like your street ! Could it be ?
Al Luckins

[Great Lakes Greg]

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I hate selling cars because it always seems harder to get back into the game with a car as good as the one I sold. Your car will be difficult to replace regarding the quality of restoration. My humble opinion would be to drive the coupe this summer before you do anything rash, just to make sure.

[duffer]

Originally Posted by luckyal

I bought a 1931 Chevrolet ( Museum car ) from a lawyer last year in Farmington Hills. It is on a golf course and looks like your street ! Could it be ?
Al Luckins

A lawyer did own this car 2 owners ago....

[duffer]

Originally Posted by P.S.

You just bought the car on August 20th., less than 7 months ago according to one of your first posts. You used to be so enthusiastic about it! What happened?

Yes, having a back seat under the same roof as the front seats is really nice. Yet coupes seem to fetch more money and be more popular than Tudors or Fordors.

Value seems to be all over the place, and has actually settled a little from when I was in the market to buy a Model A. However, lots of things will affect the value, especially how well it runs and if there is any rust on it. I remember some of your first posts were about whether anyone used one of the "car tomb" plastic bag setups. You mentioned that your wife goes in and out of the garage frequently with the door open and salt/snow enters, etc. How much salt has your car been exposed to since you've had it? Can't be much I wouldn't think.

As a somewhat newbie myself, please let me share this bit of advice- If your car really runs well and is in excellent condition, KEEP IT! So many Model As out there that look fantastic but are mechanically deficient. And, a lot of Model A owners don't think it's a big deal to have to rebuild a motor constantly, or have "surface rust". That's just screwy to us non-car guys.

i have had the car in a car cocoon ...i bought that because i did not want it to be messed up...it has been in the sealed bad all winter....the only reason i was thinking of getting a bigger car is because my wife and daughter have a hard time sitting with me in the front, she will ride in the rumble seat now and then but too windy for her. I will always get a model a or model t ..i love the cars too much to get anything else.

[Franchise_24]

Originally Posted by duffer

i have had the car in a car cocoon ...i bought that because i did not want it to be messed up...it has been in the sealed bad all winter....the only reason i was thinking of getting a bigger car is because my wife and daughter have a hard time sitting with me in the front, she will ride in the rumble seat now and then but too windy for her. I will always get a model a or model t ..i love the cars too much to get anything else.

I know exactly where you're coming from. The Coupe in my avatar is what we had first. My 4 year old son and myself are in front, and my wife was in the Rumble Seat. All well and good, when it is a nice warm sunny summer day. But when we go on club meets if it rains, she had to hop in the Fordor sedan my parents drove. It was all well and good, but she always wanted to be in the car with us. So when the day came she said, Neal, lets buy another Model A, I sure as heck wasn't going to argue with her LOL!. We found our leatherback in Michigan and brought her home on a trailer in April of 2012. Took me all summer with help from lots of people to get it running right, and we really didn't get to enjoy it until the beginning of October when it was about time to put her away for the Winter. So next month we will get her out and knock on wood runs good. We didn't sell the Coupe. It was my grandparents car, and they sold it probably 20 years ago, and I had bought it back from the people they sold it to. When I bought it we had no kids, so it wasn't a big deal. I never would have purchased a coupe, but I had to have it since it was my grandparents. I think that's why I can't bring myself to sell it. It probably won't get driven much, but I don't think I could let it go.

-Neal-

[duffer]

Originally Posted by Franchise_24

I know exactly where you're coming from. The Coupe in my avatar is what we had first. My 4 year old son and myself are in front, and my wife was in the Rumble Seat. All well and good, when it is a nice warm sunny summer day. But when we go on club meets if it rains, she had to hop in the Fordor sedan my parents drove. It was all well and good, but she always wanted to be in the car with us. So when the day came she said, Neal, lets buy another Model A, I sure as heck wasn't going to argue with her LOL!. We found our leatherback in Michigan and brought her home on a trailer in April of 2012. Took me all summer with help from lots of people to get it running right, and we really didn't get to enjoy it until the beginning of October when it was about time to put her away for the Winter. So next month we will get her out and knock on wood runs good. We didn't sell the Coupe. It was my grandparents car, and they sold it probably 20 years ago, and I had bought it back from the people they sold it to. When I bought it we had no kids, so it wasn't a big deal. I never would have purchased a coupe, but I had to have it since it was my grandparents. I think that's why I can't bring myself to sell it. It probably won't get driven much, but I don't think I could let it go.

-Neal-

I tried the "let's get another model a" but it didn't go over so good.
It might be hard for me to find another car because i am spoiled by how clean this car is. But i will look.

[CarlG]

It will stay clean as long as you keep it on the sidewalks

[SteveB31]

To answer your original question, If it is really restored mechanically as well as it looks in the photos, I would say $13K-16K. I sell Model A's for a living and that is a more realistic price. You might get more, and you might get less, but based on those pictures for a nice coupe like that I believe these prices are more accurate. Just my 2 cents.

Steve Becker
Berts Model A Center

[Mike V. Florida]

In South Florida this would sell for 13-15.

[Robert/Texas]

I'm in Chickasha now and am surprised how many Model A's are/were there. The pricest are the lowest I've seen in years. Yesterday I saw a beautiful '31 Fordor for sale at 12k and would have taken it home if I had the $/space. I also watched a beautiful '25 T Tudor being sold The asking price was 10k but I don't know what it sold for. My favorite car there was an '06 Model N runabout with a 45k asking price. Even my wife like that one.

[Ross/Kzoo]

In one of the previous posts someone mentioned that if you get out of the game that it's more difficult to get back in. I agree, that happened to me and I'm back in now.

If it were me I would trade my car for the one I wanted. Drive around with a sign in that will trade for ????/ or ?????. Could be that someone who sees it either has that car or knows of someone that may be interested. Get the car in circulation at shows and parades and you will generate interest.

[duffer]

Originally Posted by Ross/Kzoo

In one of the previous posts someone mentioned that if you get out of the game that it's more difficult to get back in. I agree, that happened to me and I'm back in now.

If it were me I would trade my car for the one I wanted. Drive around with a sign in that will trade for ????/ or ?????. Could be that someone who sees it either has that car or knows of someone that may be interested. Get the car in circulation at shows and parades and you will generate interest.

That is a great idea....when spring comes i'll be out driving around , looking for a buyer....or some one to trade...thanks for all the help guys...although you may have talked me into keeping it....and just getting another one.

[JBill]

I'm not saying what it's worth, but I don't think you could come close to restoring a car to that condition for $20,000 or $25,000. IMO.

[luckyal]

That is why I buy fully restored vehicles. It is my opinion that you can buy restored a lot cheaper than have the restoration done. Quite often the restorer gets into the project and can't afford to back out but he realizes he spent far more than he had originally planned. Many times you will see on BJ that the car sold for half of what it cost to restore it.
Al

[duffer]

Originally Posted by luckyal

That is why I buy fully restored vehicles. It is my opinion that you can buy restored a lot cheaper than have the restoration done. Quite often the restorer gets into the project and can't afford to back out but he realizes he spent far more than he had originally planned. Many times you will see on BJ that the car sold for half of what it cost to restore it.
Al

Exactly , I used to build all my cars form rusty and nasty and i would loose money on everyone,( of course the wife thinks i made money). But now i buy them done and add my little things here and there.

[geocoy]

Hey Duffer, I am looking for a car like yours and although I am on the opposite side of the equation, I too don't know what they are worth. I have one in mind that I am looking at. The paint jobs is severely lacking, the paint is chipped and could use some help. The owner instead invested/ concentrated on the interior and the drive train, trying to make it a good driver. The engine has been rebuilt, it has a synchromesh transmission, the interior is mohair ~. The interior looks great and from what I saw the engine looks great so I am not sure what the owner was thinking about when he didn't give it a nice paint job. Bottom line is, I think his car is only worth about $15,000 and he is asking $20,000. Since a new paint job is $4000, I am having a lot of trouble with this if these folks say your car is only worth $15,000.
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