How to sell a classic

Hello to all you experts.

Please understand that I do not want to misuse this group to sell something. However, I have lived somewhat in a closet and now I find myself in the position that I want to sell my 67, frame-off restored, with all matching numbers, Stingray. I have no idea how to begin this, as I do not want this car to end up with some punk who just happens to have too much money. I have loved this car and cared for it as if it was a baby. So an ad in just some car magazine does not seem to be right. The next owner should have as much appreciation for this car as I always had. I know a few of your guys must feel the same about the car you own. Does anyone have experience of how to let a wonderful car live on with someone else and still get the right amount of money for it? It might sound silly, but I do not even know how to price my car. I looked around at Ebay, but I am still not confident about pricing it. Is Ebay a good place to sell? Or are there better places to reach a potential appropriate buyer? This car has been licensed in the US as well as Canada. I will even hand deliver to make sure nothing can go wrong with my baby.

Cheers Lindy & Michael

Reply to
The Laughing Bear
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I would suggest you check with a couple of the high end auction houses. You might get a lot more than you ever imagined.

Reply to
Charlie

The car has little value, I will give you $8,500.00 for it... That's over twice of it's cost new!

Reply to
±© Flipper

Reply to
Charlie

Hi Charly Thank you for the tip. Do you have any specific suggestions. How do I find out about those auction houses? Some guy tried to sell his "Desert Rat" on Ebay for around $250.000. I found that a little steep. It's about the same car. Mine has only 13k miles since the restauration. Other cars with matching numbers but with a higher milage were going around $150.000 about 3 weeks ago. Do you think that is what I should try getting as well?? If you like to take a look at her (just for kicks), I just put a few pages of her onto my web-site at

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with lots of photos. Maybe that allows you to answer better my question. What model are you driving?

Cheers Lindy & Michael

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Reply to
The Laughing Bear

here's a few site's you can check out

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There's also Christie's Auction House that holds some classic auto auctions, also Hemmings, and the famous Pebble Beach Auction.

I drive 1993 convertible.

Reply to
Charlie

Holy crap that is a very nice restore...

Reply to
ZÿRiX

what makes this an original California car if it has original NY and Ontario tags ? and by the way, If you really loved the car you should have driven it more. Just think how much fun that would have been.

kickstart

Reply to
Kickstart

Hi Kickstart

Hmmm........I can see how that can be confusing. The car was bought and driven originally in Califonia, before it was bought by Lindy's father. From there it was taken to New York (were they lived) and restored. It was a gift to her 40 birthday.

Well...............yes and I know. Lindy had to go back and force between New York and Ontario rather often. The weather was not always predictable enough and she never wanted to expose the car to rain, let alone snow, ice and salt. Also she often needed to rush; and it appears that the police is more aware of sports cars going too fast than a sedan............hahahahaha. Whenever we put it away for the winter, it was actually winterized by a mechanic to make sure the engine would not suffer and the car would not be stored with any dirt attached to it.

You know, it is a quite funny thing - On one hand you want to use it every day, on the other hand you do not want it to get hurt in any way, especially by others. So, basically Lindy only took the car mostly for Sunday rides and visiting friends. She avoided parking lots and too busy roads. She is an awsome driver and therefore knows that it is impossible to avoid little acciddents with other people (who do not care where the shopping buggy roles or do unpredictable things in the road). So, all the joy did get a little damper on it.

Cheers Lindy & Michael

Reply to
The Laughing Bear

A beauiful model !!! Definately a keeper. I always liked that one. Was that not the year of the 40th Anniversary? Did you get one with the 40th Anniversary Package?

Cheers

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Reply to
The Laughing Bear

Sorry Charlie; I totally forgot to thank you for the links. I will go there and check them out. A good start. Thank you!

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Reply to
The Laughing Bear

Lucked out on one like this. I first contacted the local PCA group then called the guy from whom I'd bought my 914-6. Showed him the car and told him I was putting it up for sale. Wondered if he knew of an enthusiast.

He said yes he did. He was interested. We negotiated an honest price that returned all of my investment and gave him back his 'darling' with an engine rebuild, new suspension, paint and interior. (didn't reimburse me for all the 'smog' headaches that I had with that car though!) 8-(

Start local. Circulate the word through Corvette groups. Get opinions from them. Ask for leads. Contact the prior owner or his/her family.

If none of this works, then move the sale out of town -- 'distressed goods' don't play well.

-- pj

Reply to
PJ

No problem, let us know how it turns out. Good luck.

Reply to
Charlie

Yes, it is the anniversary year, but it's Polo green with tan interior and top. It has the 40th logo embroidered in the headrests, but it's not the

40th Anniversary color scheme. I agree that it's a keeper, Polo green was a low production color and I've kept it as stock as I could. It still looks great and I get compliments on it all the time.
Reply to
Charlie

'Please understand that I do not want to misuse this group to sell something. However, I have lived somewhat in a closet and now I find myself in the position that I want to sell my 67, frame-off restored, with all matching numbers, Stingray. '

REPLY: Its not a mis-use to try to sell something in this NG or anothe other NG for that matter. Youre welcome to it and it just may be something that somebody in here wants.

Reply to
dave

Actually it is mis-use to try to sell something in this NG or many other NG's for that matter.

Not everyone comes to n/g's to view ads

Reply to
'Key

The 40th Anniversary package included the Ruby Red color only. If it isn't Ruby Red, it isn't an Anniversary edition. All '93s got the 40th anniversary on the seats.

It is the same deal as the '78s. Many think they have a 25th Anniversary or Silver Anniversary model because all '78s have the badge. But only the Silver over gray are the Silver Anniversary models.

Personally, I like the green better than the Ruby Red, but as the old saying goes, I wouldn't kick any of them out of my garage for eating crackers (or something like that).

Reply to
Tom in Missouri

Yeah, I know that, but most the 1993's I've seen have long lost their embroidered headrest. I found a guy here that will build me new seat covers around the original headrest and when I decide to restore my car, I plan to take that route. I like the color better as well, I've had red Corvettes and none of them have gotten the attention that this one has. From infants craning their heads around to look at it, to an 80 year old lady that stopped me in a parking lot to tell me how beautiful it was, to the girl that rolled her window down at a stoplight to tell me she'd love to go for a ride and then tossed her number to me (which my wife promptly took away ), I rarely go anywhere where someone doesn't make a comment about the car.

I'm thinking of adding another C-4 to my ragtag collection of cars when I get rid of a couple of them, it's a 1995 or 1996 triple black that is only 1 of 150 that came stock with the LT-4 engine. It belongs to a friend of ours and she's thinking of selling it.

Reply to
Charlie

On Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:41:54 -0700, "The Laughing Bear" wrote something wonderfully witty:

E-bay isn't going to get where you want to be in price, and will rape you on posting fees & commissions. You really need to contact one of the higher end auction houses where the buyer pays the premium. Do a web search on Classic Car Auctions.

Reply to
The Wolf With the Red Roses

First off, all '67 Corvettes are not created equally. As such, the price range spread is beyond belief to most people. Removing the 20 L88s and the

16 L89s from the picture, which will go anywhere from $200,000 to $1,000,000 based on condition, originality, etc., you have basically complete, good condition or better running big blocks going from $100,000 to $250,000.

The Last Sting Ray is an exception, for an important reason.

Small blocks are much cheaper, which is why so many have them. They will range $60,000 to slightly over $100,000 based on options, conditions, originality, and so on.

The Desert Rat is similar to yours only in that it is a '67 coupe.

Matching numbers is a salesman's term today. It means little in real value. Originality is what counts and matching numbers does not mean original.

The pictures are nice, but you have skipped the details. Anyone paying big money want to see the details. These three items need large clear pictures that you can tell the marks in the metal:

  1. Engine stamp pad in front of passenger side head
  2. Trim tag under glove box
  3. VIN tag under glove box

These need to be clear, sharp, and large enough to tell the small items such as the broach marks on the pad, the edges of the tags, and more. A picture from 5 feet or any without using the macro function of a camera is worthless. Any that are slightly out of focus do more damage than good, as it seems you are either an idiot who can't use his camera or trying to hide something.

While the body was off, you should have taken pictures of the frame VIN.

Your car is a base engine automatic. For some, the automatic is desirable now with their worn-out knees and 65 to 80 year old bodies. But the four speed still has the majority of the market desire. The 300 hp is a solid car, but it will hardly get better gas mileage than any Corvette newer than

1984. I bet it is lucky to be pushing 20 mpg and more likely around 17-18.

You do have the advantage of a recent body off restoration, and several desirable options such as air conditioning and power windows. However, they won't drive yours that much higher than others.

You have a restored car, but there seems to be no mention of Bloomington or NCRS awards. These make a difference in price and indicate the level of restoration.

I'd guess that $70,000 to $80,000 is the range you will be getting. A good auction can drive that higher through buying frenzy, but if the auction house decides to go easy, it could actually go lower. The January 2007 Barrett Jackson was like that on midyear Corvettes, and made many mad at how they had announced these cars were not gaining and were possibly losing in value. Then the very quick push through on many let the prices slip more. An original owner restored Z06 coupe went for only $185,000 and should have been around $225,000 to $250,000. The Last Sting Ray only went for $600,000 and they were expecting around $750,000. So timing is everything. The right auction at the right time and you could be $100,000 but on the regular market, my initial price range stands.

eBay is good for exposure on high dollar cars. They usually do not get the big bucks, as the millionaires who by them don't normally scan eBay each day. So for $85 and a high reserve, you get to flash it before thousands and maybe even sell it. The best time is often a few weeks before a big auction for exposure, or after a big auction to take advantage of the price gougings.

Do a search for "classic car auctions" to find auctions.

Good luck with your sale.

Reply to
Tom in Missouri

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