Hi Everyone. I have a question about purchasing a 1950 Buick 2 door 56R. Exterior paint is decent, but the interior is shot. It's a running & driving vehicle with very little rust, but there is some rust through on the front driver side floor. The guy wants $12500.00 for it & won't budge on the price at all. I really want the car, but think he's asking a little too much for it. Is this a good price for this particular year & model car in this condition or should I just pay him the $12500.00. I've looked & looked & this is the best one I've found in my price range after many months of looking? Any advice would be great. Thanks, Josh
The "56R" is known as the Super 2 drs Riviera hardtop. It had the highest production total of the model year 1950 Super series with the short wheelbase. Be patient, in time he will realise that he's asking too much, or you will come across another one in better condition and with a better asking price. Do you use services like "Oodle Alerts" and "Ad Hunt'r" to find other cars like that? And maybe you should post a lot of photos of this 12,500 US$ car, from the description alone, I think it's too much money.
It's a nice car - my first car was a '51 Super 2-dr ht. Having said that, it's not the most desirable car of the era. If you are trying to bring it back, it will cost a surprising amount of money. Until you have actually restored/overhauled an older car, you do not realize how much money it can absorb. If this is a "gotta have" car for you, and you want it $12,500 worth - go ahead. Just be aware that you will be extremely unlikely to get your money back. I agree with Erik, the owner will sooner or later realize that it is overpriced, or he may choose to be buried in it. I bought my "running" model T last may, and I have about $2,000 into it and will spend at least another $1,000 on it (plus many, many hours of labor) before it is really ready for summer touring. It still won't be done, but it will be as reliable as a T can be; it's a survivor - I have no plans to restore it.
Thanks for everyone's I advice. I really do like this car & I don't really ever see many come up for sale in my price range. Here are some pictures. Do give you a better idea of what I'm looking at. Let me know what you think. Thanks, Josh
It sounds like the price is a little high but if it only needs interior it may not. If the car has good chrome, a solid body top to bottom and fully functioning drive train, the price may not be bad. Keep in mind that rust repair costs add up very fast and lots of rust can be well hidden. I pulled these numbers from NADA.com. [TABLE="class: tbl-pricing used-pricing, width: 630"] <tbody>[TR] [TH="align: right"][/TH] [TH="class: help, align: right"]Original MSRP[/TH] [TH="class: help, align: right"]Low Retail[/TH] [TH="class: help, align: right"]Average Retail[/TH] [TH="class: help, align: right"]High Retail[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Base Price[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$2,139[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$6,100[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$14,300[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$28,600[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: tbl-pricing-total"] [TD]TOTAL PRICE:[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$2,139[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$6,100[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$14,300[/TD] [TD="align: right"]$28,600[/TD] [/TR] </tbody>[/TABLE]
I have found from experience that there is a huge difference between the prices that the various price guides quote and what the actual selling prices are. My T was advertised at $13,500 which is what the Kelly bluebook stated. I told the seller that there was such a huge difference between his price and what they were actually selling for that I would not insult him with an offer. He came down many thousands of dollars after doing further research. I wanted that particular T and paid his new and much lower price. I still paid $1,500 too much for the car. I'll never sell it, so I don't really care about the price, but I am really PO'd at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who decided that the Kelly price would be what the sales tax would be based on. I will get that tax money back, one way or another.
I would say that $12,500 is a bit steep.That car needs quite a bit of work to put it in the $12-5 category. That thing is just a nice body, and that could be suspect. I wouldn't pay more than $5000 if I really liked the car. There's still over $5K worth of work that needs to be done. You see a ripped and wrecked interior like that, you're looking at a body job, the interior alone looks like it's got over 130,000 miles or has been left to the elements. Just my nickel's worth, we don't have pennies here any more.
I agree with Marc $12,500 is at least double what I would pay for that car. It's a nice car and i would like to have it. But, not for $12,500
If it's for sale by that Classic Car Museum in Utah (noticed that in the last photo), it was already in their inventory in 2011. Click here :Comp:
Agree with others. $12500 is about double what I'd pay. You have to be careful and not let emotions be too much of a factor. Value of an old car is ultimately in the hands of the buyer but if you are looking for advice on real market value or a value you could expect to get if you bought it then had to resale this is reality. Could go a bit higher but not too much. There are always exceptions but advice provided is very good. Obviously you really like the car and if you have enough money to buy it for his price and put another $5-10k into it and be happy then thats OK. But otherwise ad that 5-10k to the 12.5 and think what spending say $20k for that model of car could get you. A stunning turn key example needing nothing but a driver. If you continue to pursue the car, you should thoroughly investigate what you mentioned as "some rust through". Some rust through can become "major rust through" once you start poking around. Good Luck Try posting your question over at the AACA Buick Forum. http://forums.aaca.org/ Theres more folks there that know those cars inside and out and upside down.
[h=2]Re: 1950 Buick Purchase Price Question????[/h]Hey Guys. Thanks for all the advice. At least it will give me something to think about & yes it is the one in Utah. Sounds like from what you guys are saying that the guys been hanging on to it for some time. The problem Im having is that I've been looking for close to a year & this is literally the only car in my price range that has come up. Most are way above what I can pay. Yes it has to be a 1950 2 door Super or Special. I don't like the long body of the Roadmaster. Just my opinion. No offense to those that like the longer body though. But the 1950 grill is & always will be my favorite. The first time I saw one I fell in love & now that's the only car I want. I'm just getting tired of waiting for a car that doesn't seem to exist & I feel like the values aren't getting cheaper by waiting. Anyways thanks again for everyone's advice. All of it has been very helpful. Josh
I did some poking around and found that Hemmings hasn't had an ad for a '50 Super 2dr ht in at least three years. The $12,500 seems quite high to me, but it is more-or-less in line with what the prices for a car similar to the one that you had found are asking. I did say in a previous comment that in my experience, there is a significant difference between asking and real-world selling prices. I would tread very carefully - rust is usually a lot worse then it appears to be at first glance. To do that interior will cost some bucks, and it has to be done. It does appear in the photos to be better than a $6,000 car. If I really wanted it - and I like the '51-53 Buicks better - I might go $9,000 - $10,000 for it, but if the owner won't sell it for that amount, I would ask him if he would allow you to have an independent appraisal. BTW: Was the air cleaner removed for the photo, or is it missing?
Class 3 money on that car is $13K, class 4 is $5,800. It's somewhere in the middle. 50s are my favorite or the 49 to 52s.
So, is it a 1950 that sat in inventory then released in 1956 as new? Now it is in a small tucked away museum? Good eye John :shock:
No, the link takes you to a .co.uk website that has nothing to do with that museum. At the museum website, the car is listed as a model year 1950 Buick :TU: Click image below to visit the 1950 Super page at the website :Comp:
Sorry, I was joking around about the missed year quote on the museum web page. They noted the blue 50 Buick in the photo as a 56 Buick, 84 Camaro Z-28, red 84 Jag... The way that is typed it makes it look like a 1956 Buick. OK bad joke. Great info you posted though.
