http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5382654680.html Not mine. What's a realistic value for this car if it all checked out correct?
Your question really begs for another question and answer. That question is,"Would you be better off financially buying a similar car already done?" And the answer to that one is "Yes." I do not think you can buy this car cheap enough to surpass a deal you may find on a car already done.
Jim's answer is right on the money, no pun intended, this thread is similar to the other couple threads on here lately asking the same thing. One is the triple brown 70 GS in Canada, the other is a 70 GS convertible. You cannot buy and restore a turd cheaper than you can buy one that is already done. Prices have come down on the cars, and the price of parts, labor, and refinishing supplies have skyrocketed. Short answer, Buy a done car, and the 72 in question, 4500, and that would be to have a beater driver that you could say, "yeah, I got me one of dem Stage 1's at home".
In the ad he says "I do not need help selling this car." I beg to differ. That asking price is just that. Asking. I think a closer inspection of all the important Stage 1 correct parts would be a must before even taking a guess at the real world price of it.
with all the threads on whats my car worth puts us all in the buying price frame of mind/degrading every one we see!!! yet we either have a rust o mod or a great driver that walks the line of a sought after collectable Lets be more positive on the GM a bodys
You are equating an honest, accurate and experienced observation which should be made with "degrading". I stand by what I said.
Stand by what I said as well. Not going to sugar coat things when talking prices on cars needing resto work. Just painted the side of my 69 a couple hours ago, quart and a pint of base coat was $150 at cost(friend is a paint rep), this doesn't include reducer or activator, nor does it include the cost of the clear,reducer, and activator. Now go price some rolls of 3/4 inch tape, a $40-50 gallon of body filler, primers,reducers,activators,etc. This stuff adds up quick, even if you can buy it at cost. There is a reason you see a lot of project cars for sale, 1) person finally gets honest with themselves and admits they can't do the project 2) they got some quotes and figured out there is way less pain and suffering in buying a done car. Let the next uneducated dreamer buy it and find out the hard way. When buying a classic car, you will never go wrong buying the best car needing the least work that you can afford.
Not enough information or pictures here to really make that assessment. We have to make some reasonable assumptions: Totally rusted out..(trunk is gone, rear window gutters are shot, quarters and doors rusted out to some extent) Interior is gone- will need good used parts for a driver, all new stuff for a really nice car. Engine is buildable.. which he does not say it is.. it could have a hole in the block.. Needs every line, clip ect.. it's all rusty.. but the frame is ok. I would put a value on that car in the $2500-3000 range. Half that if the OE engine is not buildable. The market for project cars is really soft right now, with finished cars being available for reasonable prices, and with the cost of materials and labor at an all time high, and only going up. What it would cost to make this car into a strong, presentable driver?.. I will give you two prices. As I look at it personally, if I were to buy this car and re-do it, as a resto guy with the experience and ability to do nearly everything in house, I would spend at the very least about 25K on this project. And that's fixing panels, and driver quality replacement parts. Start getting picky and buying NOS stuff, and the price escalates quickly. No labor costs here, I have decided I want to spend the next 2-3 years worth of nights and weekends working on this car.. As I look at it as a shop owner, to throw some kind of number out there for a customer pay deal.. there is not much chance your going to acomplish that project for less than 65K... There is an easy 600-800 hours there to make it nice.. not perfect.. nice.. At my shop rate, the labor is going to be 45-50K.. And what's a 72 Stage 1 bench seat HT worth nowdays?.. in number 2 condition(a nice car)... Well, here's one.. http://www.cars-on-line.com/72781.html Your so much better off to buy the 36K car, that is why you got the repsonses you did when asking what this car is worth. Now I realize, not everyone has 36K laying around to buy a car, but just beware of what your getting into with a project car. JW
Both Tom and JW make very valid points. I sold a project - a very rare project that ended up in the scrap heap - a few years ago because I was NEVER going to have the funds to give it its just due. It just wasn't financially feasible. I just don't feel like it makes any sense to buy a project that you'll have to dump $40 or $50K into that's only going to be worth somewhere in the $30K dollar range. Like JW also mentioned, labor costs are rising and the market for project cars is soft. The best (and financially smartest) move would be to pick up something that needs little to no work - just get in, turn the key and go. Just my .02. That and a couple bucks will get a cup of coffee.
I agree , BUT On the flip side you don't know what your buying with a completed car, it would suck to have 36k in a car that's covered in filler 1/2in thick or half ass rust repair just waiting to bubble back up, bearings on their way out etc etc, its a gamble no matter what you do
Its come to the point that it simply isn't really worth it to restore a GS. Truth be told. The rising cost of used parts, rising cost of labor Vs. the value of the end product. Its ugly. Most restorable cars have already been restored. There a few left out there that are decent and a few "barn finds". Anything that needs major sheetmetal repair or missing lots of parts isn't worth it. Unless of course the owner doesn't mind being underwater.. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this...
Not really Joe, this is not news. Buicks in general that don't have stripes on them have been a tough financial decision to restore, since the 90's.. In fact we turned a real 70 Stage 1 HT into a back half drag car in the early 90's because without the original drive train back then, it was worth only slightly more than your average clean skylark coupe. And I am talking about a nice car here.. Traditionally, most of the GS cars that have big coin spent on them, are done for reasons besides return on investment. Always been that way, save for a few very special cars out there.. JW
I completely agree. This is why I am trying to spend a little more money than I want to on a car that is ready to go, hopefully by the end of this month. :Brow: Thanks for all the great responses though, didn't expect that kind of reaction. Thread was kind of hijacked into "is buying an already restored car more cost effective" which it completely is. Jim Weise answered my question in the best way possible. I would never consider a car like this because I don't have the resto experience, I was just curious what this car should realistically bring just because it is a Stage 1 car, despite being a rust bucket. But like many said, I guess it would depend on what plans someone had for it.
