Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

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Comments

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    An SC is very much a car for the retired orthodontist set to drive to the links, you're going to have to try hard to find any fun there. But as you say, most SLs will be the same...you might have a little more fun by finding one of the oddball 5-speed R129s that made it over, but otherwise, as Shifty says, old SLs are kind of a German Buick. Big, heavy, smooth, cruiser.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    The pitfalls of living on the edge of development. Sounds like you'll probably keep the old place for a long time. And if not...you've already got a nice garage to go alongside any new house.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Many of the early 230SLs were stickshift and those can be kinda sorta fun to drive. A 230SL re-fitted with a 5 speed and a turbo charger would be a neat little car.
  • lemmerlemmer Member Posts: 2,689
    edited May 2010
    This one is just for laughs.

    THis one is for real. I know it is a 4-cyl, but the manual top lures me in. Anyway, it is about as fast as my 944, which is pretty fun to drive. It seems a tad overpriced to me.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    Would it be wise to put a turbo on that clattery little I6?

    But yeah, the revvy little engines of that era can be somewhat entertaining, you have to work to get the car to respond, but it likes to be pushed.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    To say nothing of....er....less than attractive?
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,922
    edited May 2010
    Hahah; $30,000 for a 13-year-old car with less than 5,000 miles. For that kind of money, I would be far more inclined to spring for this E55. I love the lines on that car.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    To say nothing of....er....less than attractive?

    Yeah, BMW usually does beautiful shades of blue, but I'm not too keen on the choking-baby-blue on that one. GM used a color like that in 1977...seems like it showed up often on Firebirds, for some reason.

    Those little 2-seat roadsters never were my thing, but I always thought the Z3 was a sexy looking little car. Unfortunately, they took a page from the domestics with the Z4 and made it fatter and overdone, and to keep with that motif, they even threw in a little orange peel and some fender shims. :surprise:
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    Hahah; $30,000 for a 13-year-old car with less than 5,000 miles.

    Yeah, and not in the best color combo either. Maybe a low mile Z1 would pull this kind of price but not this thing.

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    Nice, same color as my car too.

    I have to worry about the kompressor engines though...I have never got a straight answer as to why AMG/MB moved away from them after only 4 model years. I fear they have some kind of achilles heel.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,922
    I have a friend who owns a white 2004 Cobra that he is trying to sell for premium money because it only has about 4000 miles on it. I think he wants something like 25,000 for it. The problem is, anyone buying the car either is going to drive it (thereby killing the mileage claim) or spend a lot of money on something they never use. Add on to that the fact that this car was essentially a track car (which means those 4,000 miles are not casual by any means) and I kinda think he is holding out for a boat that is never going to come in.... :confuse:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    There's no point in "not driving it"...this car isn't going to become a collectible anyway. If you look at the pricing pattern of older Cobras they are behaving just like used cars---the older they are, the less they are worth. There's no hint in the market that anyone is paying beyond used car prices for them.

    And if he's modified it, then it's worth even less.
  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    wow, nothing better than a robin's egg blue (that was actually factory? Gross.) paperweight, with low miles and pimpy rims, which if it were ever driven, would lose 60% of its alleged 'value' due to the low miles. I love the expected 'don't lowball me' rhetoric.
  • oregonboyoregonboy Member Posts: 1,650
    He should cherish the lowballers. Without them, he would get no response at all. :sick:
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I love that too -- "Don't you DARE try to pull that actual fair market value stuff on me!"
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited May 2010
    FLAUNT IT

    JOEY'S CURRICULUM VITAE

    It's okay, he's in REHAB, so the Lincoln probably won't get totaled. (I just made that up about it being his car---but it kinda fits, don't you think? :P )
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 21,030
    so is Amy selling it for him? I would think Joey know what turbine rims are.
    btw, based on the colors of that car's exterior, i never knew he was color blind. ;)
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    Well, at least the price seems realistic, if that's your cup of tea.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    I like that dark emerald green, but think it would have been better without the white contrast. Maybe leave the top white, but not that contrast on the side.
  • lemmerlemmer Member Posts: 2,689
    I enjoy real lowballers, as long as they don't come and waste your time in person. On eBay and Craigslist, I would regularly get "CASH OFFER" for half the market value of my car. I usually would just send some sort of smart aleck response.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    My brother bought a house in "lower slower Delaware" that was isolated from the developers. The place even came with an apple orchard on 3 acres. It was that way until 6 years ago when a McMansion farm sprouted up next to him. I can't post the things my brother says about those McMansion dwellers here without being permanently banned.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,760
    I wonder how many of those cardboard 'n plywood abodes loaded with Chinese drywall and shoddy face brick are now "bank owned" in this awesome market :shades: :sick:
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited May 2010
    Oh, you mean people who don't even SEE the car and make an offer? I just hang up on them. Waste of time, every time.

    But if someone (like me, for instance) comes armed with price guides and a good argument, that's worth a listen. Not everyone can face reality at the same time.

    I have sometimes made an offer on a car that was quite below asking price, and written it down on my business card. That usually didn't work, because the seller often wanted to go down with the ship ("What? I'll burn it first before I'd sell 'er at that price!"). Actually I had a wise [non-permissible content removed] friend who bought boats for resale, and if someone said they'd burn it first, he'd offer them his BIC lighter. (He was a very large man).

    Sometimes, though, I got call backs to negotiate. Of course, usually I wasn't interested by then. This happened on the MINI I bought recently. First seller reconsidered, but I had already bought a better one, and for a little less money.

    With old cars, I always tell sellers "never let a suitcase full of money representing a legitimate offer walk away from you". In other words, engage the serious buyer and try to up his offer. Don't let him walk away from your old car with "needs". You may not see another buyer for months.
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    I would regularly get "CASH OFFER" for half the market value of my car. I usually would just send some sort of smart aleck response.

    I like those too, with "cash" emphasized in bold or cap letters. First line of my reply usually is:

    "Obviously it will have to be cash since I don't take payments or checks."

    I'm not sure what else they were planning to pay with: sacks of potatoes, gift cards, or meat? :confuse:

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    Whenever I've made a "cash offer" it was only to signal the seller that I wasn't going to be a time waster-no trade offers, payment offers, etc. No matter how the item was advertised (no trades, etc) many responding parties will make their own pitch regardless. And like a screamer ad, that probably wouldn't happen at all if it never worked!

    But now it's as though "cash offer" is code for "extreme low ball offer."
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    Also love the ones that will dicker, hem and haw, agree on a price, and then ask if you will carry a note. Really did have that happen, and I looked the guy straight in the face and told him nowhere in my ad did it say this vehicle was being offered for sale by the First Bank of Stupid.

    :mad:
  • tomcatt630tomcatt630 Member Posts: 124
    edited May 2010
    For '72, the 442 was reduced to an option package for these four Cutlass body styles: base Cutlass 'post' coupe, Cutlass 2 door hardtop, Cutlass S 2 door hardtop, and the Cutlass Supreme convertible.

    A magazine ad from the time proclaims "Presenting the 1972 Olds 442, 442, 442, and 442."
    :)
  • omarmanomarman Member Posts: 2,702
    edited May 2010
    Well that's a rotten way for a "buyer" to waste somebody's time, but still, good answer! :shades: I'm looking for a link to "Private Party Sales Turned HDS" stories.

    edited: HDS=hammered dog stuffing
    A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    1. When you are selling a *very* cheap car and you've specified that it needs TLC, and they say "I want to take it to my mechanic to have it checked out". This means nothing but trouble.

    2. When someone says on the phone "I'm bringing my _____along because I don't want to get ripped off". Gee, thanks.

    3. When they make an offer without ever seeing the car

    4. When they want to trade you their truck.

    5. When they have to sell their truck before they can buy your _____

    6. When they open the hood, ask you to start the car and then with a pensive look proceed to rev the engine to redline in neutral.

    7. When you are selling a very cheap car and they are test driving it and they say "what's that noise" and you say what noise and they say "listen" and they turn off the ignition and coast.

    8. When they offer to make payments

    9. When they make an appointment and don't show and then call you later and say they had to take their dog to the dentist and they want to make another appointment.

    10. When you are selling a very expensive car and they want you to put "sold for $10" on the bill of sale
  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    edited May 2010
    .....we used to be able to do that in Illinois, til they 'caught on'....your '88 300E cost $250 in 1990, sure. Now IL taxes by model year, although new cars are subject to regular sales tax (in case you live in Chicago, 10.25%!!!). Another reason to buy a hooptie. :sick:
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    Same in Texas. When you go to transfer the title, they check the sales price and then check it against a database of established values. My understanding is that if you are lower by X amount and can show cause (accident damage, bad transmission, etc) the value is adjusted.

    On the recent sale of my dads van, the price sold at was within 10% of what they showed, so it was no issue. And the value they had was pretty much market value for the miles and condition, so the buyer really couldn't complain.
  • lemmerlemmer Member Posts: 2,689
    I've had all those things happen except for number 6. The joys of selling a car yourself...
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    When I sold dad's car, a couple of folks started down the road of "what about this, what about that, does it have any issues with ..."

    Gave them my standard answer; "This is a XX year old vehicle with X miles on it. TO MY KNOWLEGE, the only problems it has are these, if any. It has no warranty. It has been running great with no problems, and I hope it continues to do so for whomever buys it, but I cannot predict the future of the cars reliability anymore than I can predict whether or not it will be in an accident."

    If they feel the need to argue with that, let them go buy a new car with a warranty.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Hey, good answer!
  • lemmerlemmer Member Posts: 2,689
    OK, I think I am willing to up my price range for this2001 Boxster. It is within a couple of miles of the Porsche shop my father-in-law frequents, so I could get checked out, and probably for free. Now if I could just talk my wife into it.
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    All good points Shifty. I also don't get people who negotiate anonymously over email without asking one question about the car. I always ask them if they're prepared to see it sight unseen. The rpely is obviously "no" so I ask them to see it before making offers as the offers don't mean anything if they come and see the car and don't like it for some reason.

    Also #10 is a good point. Here in BC you can even "gift" a car to someone, but you have to provide a letter as to why it was "gifted" to a stranger. This way you pay no tax on the purchase. I never ever agreed to this although strangers asked me to "gift" a vehicle to them. Unless it's a close family memeber, it makes no sense to put yourself at risk and do that.

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,452
    Years, ago, maybe in 1990, I was selling at basically straight 100k 1980 Dodge Aspen. It had a smaller dent in the trunk lid but was basically clean. The car had transported my back and forth from Long Island to college at New Paltz (about 125 miles) for a year and had a brand new exhaust. I was asking $400.

    Some doofus shows up and is test driving it and starts harping on 'what's the sound??? are the pullies bad????' I told him that I never noticed and that I've been getting trouble free use out of it for a year and about 12k miles. Well, his Dad had a slant 6 and it didn't sound like that so mine needed 'about $800 of work to get on the road' and he offered me $200. We're talking about a straight running car here. I asked the guy that if it needed so much work, why did he want it at all and moved on.

    I sold it to a nice single Mom the next week and knocked off $50 without hesitation because she asked and didn't act like a jackass.
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    I did the same when I sold Dad's van. Nice young married couple with a new baby. Figured dad wanted 3K out of it, listed at 3300, they were very nice and asked if I would consider 3K as that was what they had cash from the grandparents. Took it, tweaked the baby's nose, got a giggle, and called it a done deal.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    Heck, if I needed a car in 1990 and found your $400 100K Aspen, I would've wondered what was wrong with it, because the price seemed so reasonable! I sold a 1980 Malibu in 1990, 100K miles, for $500. However, it had one mis-matched tire. And the front clip was off of an '81, as I had rear-ended someone a year before. The fender had also gotten pushed into the door, so it would rub when you opened the door. And to open the hood, you had to pull the release, then get out and slam the door, and THEN the hood would pop up. :blush:

    I had also cut up the interior a bit, as I had installed an aftermarket stereo, which I kept and put in my Dart. And the headliner was falling in, and was pushed back up with some thin wood strips. Oh, and the car also hadn't been registered in about 8 months, and I couldn't guarantee it would pass inspection and I knew it wouldn't pass emissions.

    When I see a car for sale for that cheap, honestly, I feel bad even bargaining. The last cheap car I bought was my '79 New Yorker. The car's basically solid and shines up real nice, although the paint oxidizes really quickly. Now, when I was talking with the seller, I did ask him questions here and there about what worked and what didn't and so forth, but mainly to judge whether I thought the car was putting up with. But I didn't use its problems as an excuse to try and bargain him down. Heck, when he said he was asking $500, I said "SOLD!"

    Alas, this is the same car that I've complained about, which will usually get me to work just fine in the morning, but leave me stranded in the afternoon. So maybe I shouldn't have said "SOLD!" :shades: But, in a masochistic sort of way, I do like having it. When it's running, it's a smooth, roomy, comfortable car. It's just that sometimes, it's a crap shoot as to whether it'll start or not. Although back in 2008 it got me all the way up to a classic car show in Macungie, PA and back...a round trip of something like 390 miles. I guess if it could do that, it's worth at least $500. :)
  • jrosasmcjrosasmc Member Posts: 1,711
    How is work on the DeSoto coming? Are you going to have it ready for show season this year?

    By the way, I watched the movie 'Christine' (the horror flick from 1983) for the first time a few days ago - I like the car but it's truly one of the more scary movies I've seen. That's beyond the point...I know Christine is supposed to be a '58 Fury, but what motor was 'she' supposed to have in that year? In the opening credits, the car is seen on an assembly line and one can see a glimpse of the gold air cleaner when the hood is up. I'm guessing '58 Furys and Belvederes could be had with a Hemi?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    Last time I talked to the mechanic, he said the DeSoto would probably be roadworthy again by the end of summer. Hopefully. :sick:

    As for Christine, well the '58 Fury came standard with a hot 318 that put out 290 hp, IIRC. However, there was an optional engine, a 350 wedge (first year for the big-block wedge that would ultimately begat the 383, 400, 440 and yes, even the legendary 426 Hemi), which put out 315 hp, IIRC.

    As for the Hemi, no Plymouth ever got a Hemi...at least, until the 426 came out. Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge all got their own unique Hemi engines, and while they were similar, nothing could really be swapped among them, so it was probably pretty cost-prohibitive.

    I always found it a bit odd that Chrysler, the more premium brand, started using cheaper poly-head engines in 1955, while lower-priced DeSoto was all-Hemi in 1955-56. In those years, only New Yorkers and 300's had Hemis. Now, in 1957, when the cheaper, Dodge-based Firesweep came out, it used a Dodge poly-head engine, the 325. But still, the majority of '57 DeSotos used a Hemi.

    Now, those old Hemis weren't in the same league as the 426. However, they were still pretty impressive in their own right. For any given displacement, the Hemi would usually give more hp AND better fuel economy. And, while a 425 hp 426 Hemi might be brutal on the race track, it's a pain in the butt to use as a daily driver. In contrast, a 375 hp Chrysler 392, or 345 hp DeSoto 345, was fine on or off the track. Now the 390 hp Chrysler 392, that was more of a race engine, meant to go flat-out, and wasn't very good as a daily driver.

    As for Christine, they used something like 12-13 different cars for that movie, most of them probably Belvederes. In the scene where Christine rebuilds herself, shortly before running down that fat kid and smearing him in the loading dock, you can see under the hood, and that engine was definitely a big-block. So, if correct, that would've been a 350.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited May 2010
    Even today, the Hemi engines used in top fuel, although machined from forged aluminum, are no different in basic design from that of a 1952 Chrysler Hemi.

    Only difference is that a Top Fuel can put out 7000 hp. (but only for a few seconds of course) and a Top Fuel dragster is said to out accelerate a fighter jet launched off a carrier.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Heck, one of my roommates had a nice clean 1980 Dodge Aspen with the Slant-6 engine in it. It was beige-yellow with a tan vinyl interior. I remember helping him put a water pump in it. The car replaced a 1977 Chevrolet Impala which was stolen off 45th Street in West Philly. The car was kind of beat, but he kept a very nice set of tools in the trunk which was probably the thief's goal. After that incident, I stopped keeping my tools in my car's trunk.
  • ghuletghulet Member Posts: 2,564
    not an Impala, but pretty much same difference, I honestly think my '77 Caprice was the best car I've ever owned. Of course, in that case, I bought it from the original owner who kept very detailed records, so no surprise there. I miss that thing, really (though I wish it had a better color combo and some different options).
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    My first new car was a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. I bought it as a leftover on December 19, 1987. It was something of an oddball as it had a 4.3 V-6, had power door locks but crank windows. It was black with a gray cloth interior. I traded it for a new 1989 Cadillac Brougham which I still have to this day.
  • au1994au1994 Member Posts: 3,771
    GM must have had some strange combo's back then. I remember a Delta 88 of the same vintage that had the same configuration on the windows & locks.

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  • gsemikegsemike Member Posts: 2,452
    I had a 72 or 3 LeSabre that had power locks but manual windows
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,117
    My '79 Newport had power locks, but crank windows. My '76 LeMans has power windows, power seat, but manual locks. Back in those days, options were pretty much a'la carte, but you'd think that if someone wanted one thing power, they'd want it all power!

    Another thing I thought was kinda strange is how, in the 1970's, GM at least, offered several types of power seats. My LeMans has the 6-way, where it goes forward, back, up, down, and can tilt forward or back (the whole seat though, not the backrest). But, I remember seeing a 1978 or so Olds 98 coupe for sale at Carlisle that only had, IIRC, a TWO way power seat. Fore/aft, and that was it. Maybe it went up/down as well, but my memory's a bit fuzzy on that. I don't think it did, though.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 21,030
    i have been to Delaware many times starting in the late 90's for the races at Dover and usually staying in Rehoboth.
    North of Dover, several developments sprung up over time and I always wondered, where do those people work?
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 21,030
    i think the time may be right to enter my mustang in a local mustang only car show.
    one of my nephews, who is a great kid, stopped at a ford car show near where he lives and sent me a picture of a mustang he really liked.
    there is a mustang only show coming up next month, so i thought i would let him enter my car, but i need a fire extinguisher.
    i saw one that is ABC for about $33. is it in the ballpark or too much?
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
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