MustangWorks.com : Ford Forums - View Single Post

Unit 5302 · 06-11-2006, 09:29 PM

No stock in ebay. As I noted above, I don't like them as a company. You've heard horror stories, I've heard horror stories. I've also purchased vehicles on ebay before, and I've purchased vehicles locally through classifieds. If you buy a classic car on ebay without asking for any pictures of the common problem areas, and you don't review the sellers feedback, you're opening yourself up to problems. However, it is the normal reaction of irresponsible people in our society to place blame on somebody else. Ebay in this instance. Ebay doesn't give a crap about you or anybody else on their site, but people also fail to take responsibility for their own actions.

I can tell you right now that I nearly bought a 1970 Mercury Cougar off ebay on Friday. It was a rare local car, and I went to view the vehicle. If it were not for the pre-disclosed title issues, I would have purchased it. It was in excellent shape for a 70 Cougar. The underside was amazingly clean, the trunk was nearly spotless, and the floor panels had only minimal rust. Also as disclosed, the landau roof had held some moisture and rusted the roof a little. Nothing major. The car was better than described, an awesome project car to be sure. For every horror story you hear about on ebay there are probably 1,000 good stories.

You are right about one thing though, you usually get what you pay for on ebay. Which is why you don't see many '65 Coupes with a relatively common 289 selling for $20k. Ebay is not deflating the selling price of classic cars. If anything, it's inflating the price by making them available to FAR more people who are interested than ever before. If you're basing your idea of what a car should sell for on a Barrett Jackson TV show, I could see how your logic might be working. Let me assure you, Barrett Jackson should not be used as a realistic source for classic car selling prices. The people that attend those auctions are looking for the best of the best, and they have insane amounts of money to spend. They don't want to drive around and call around looking for cars. They want the cars to come to them, and they're willing to pay A LOT to avoid the hassle of car shopping.

If you thought you were going to turn a profit on restoring that car or even breaking even, you probably chose the wrong project car. There are very few people that make a profit on selling repaired/restored cars, historically speaking. The cars those sellers make money on are almost always rare or very coveted. A '65 Coupe is neither. That's why you're getting offers for less than what you have in it. The harsh truth is that people don't give a crap how much money you have in it. They care about how much the car is worth in terms of the market price. I can spend 20k restoring a 1977 Mustang II, but would I expect to be able to sell it for that? Of course not. The market won't support a $20k Mustang II.

The only reason I was recommending ebay was if you're not asking more than your car is worth, it will probably sell. Based on what I saw on ebay after reviewing several auctions with sellers who have excellent feedback ratings, including dealers, your asking price is way too high.

BTW, I'm not all bent out of shape, I'm just answering your question "What's up with this?" , and providing you with valid advice. I did get a little annoyed when you insulted buying/selling on ebay because that's an indirect slight to me. I apologize you don't like the answer.

06-11-2006, 09:29 PM	#7
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Re: What's up with this? (selling car) No stock in ebay. As I noted above, I don't like them as a company. You've heard horror stories, I've heard horror stories. I've also purchased vehicles on ebay before, and I've purchased vehicles locally through classifieds. If you buy a classic car on ebay without asking for any pictures of the common problem areas, and you don't review the sellers feedback, you're opening yourself up to problems. However, it is the normal reaction of irresponsible people in our society to place blame on somebody else. Ebay in this instance. Ebay doesn't give a crap about you or anybody else on their site, but people also fail to take responsibility for their own actions. I can tell you right now that I nearly bought a 1970 Mercury Cougar off ebay on Friday. It was a rare local car, and I went to view the vehicle. If it were not for the pre-disclosed title issues, I would have purchased it. It was in excellent shape for a 70 Cougar. The underside was amazingly clean, the trunk was nearly spotless, and the floor panels had only minimal rust. Also as disclosed, the landau roof had held some moisture and rusted the roof a little. Nothing major. The car was better than described, an awesome project car to be sure. For every horror story you hear about on ebay there are probably 1,000 good stories. You are right about one thing though, you usually get what you pay for on ebay. Which is why you don't see many '65 Coupes with a relatively common 289 selling for $20k. Ebay is not deflating the selling price of classic cars. If anything, it's inflating the price by making them available to FAR more people who are interested than ever before. If you're basing your idea of what a car should sell for on a Barrett Jackson TV show, I could see how your logic might be working. Let me assure you, Barrett Jackson should not be used as a realistic source for classic car selling prices. The people that attend those auctions are looking for the best of the best, and they have insane amounts of money to spend. They don't want to drive around and call around looking for cars. They want the cars to come to them, and they're willing to pay A LOT to avoid the hassle of car shopping. If you thought you were going to turn a profit on restoring that car or even breaking even, you probably chose the wrong project car. There are very few people that make a profit on selling repaired/restored cars, historically speaking. The cars those sellers make money on are almost always rare or very coveted. A '65 Coupe is neither. That's why you're getting offers for less than what you have in it. The harsh truth is that people don't give a crap how much money you have in it. They care about how much the car is worth in terms of the market price. I can spend 20k restoring a 1977 Mustang II, but would I expect to be able to sell it for that? Of course not. The market won't support a $20k Mustang II. The only reason I was recommending ebay was if you're not asking more than your car is worth, it will probably sell. Based on what I saw on ebay after reviewing several auctions with sellers who have excellent feedback ratings, including dealers, your asking price is way too high. BTW, I'm not all bent out of shape, I'm just answering your question "What's up with this?" , and providing you with valid advice. I did get a little annoyed when you insulted buying/selling on ebay because that's an indirect slight to me. I apologize you don't like the answer.