Thread: Putting a value of your car

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first and foremost, i realize that anything is only "worth" what someone is willing to pay for it, but how do you go about putting a value on a unique street rod or modified classic?

sue, if it's a '67 shelby or a rully restored '40 ford, you can get a general idea because more than one exists and they have the same parts and features. when you get into the world of custom building, things get complicated.

when i look on ebay at "similar" cars, i can kind of get a ballpark idea, but there are always things that shift the value. i mean, how much bearing does, say polished suspension parts (just as an example), have on the value a a full-fendered car?

you can always sit down and add up receipts, but i doubt few home-built cars sell for what the builder spent on it.

what's most important? exterior, drivetrain, suspension, interior, power features?

Each and all of the above. Every buyer could be looking for something different. Some would want a running car where they can finish the interior or the exterior themselves to make it uniquely theirs, others might want the car completely done, aka, a turnkey.

It would be rare for a car to sell at what it cost to build. Usually you can buy one for the parts price alone with only a little going towards labor. A 32 hiboy roadster might cost $50K to build but you may only get $35 to $40K out of it. Best bet is to look at a lot of different cars for sale (check all car sales websites and publications, such as Hemmings) and compare to what you got, adjust the price for somethings you got or don't got. You should also consider the kind of car that it is and the usability of the car in all markets. Set the price a little high and be open to negotiate down. Don't set to low otherwise, you have no place to go with negotiations. Some people just like to haggle price so they think that they are in control of the sale. Most times they are not.

Good Luck.

Although it will cost you to do it, you might want to get the car appraised by an appraiser who works with collector car insurers. Might be a good starting point for your pricing.

some peoples trash,is other people's treasures!
for a start i agree with mopar34, get you're little gem apprised by a third
party!depending on what it is you could be supprised! good or bad the couple hundred bucks it costs it will at least tell you where you stand!
even if you're toy is only 80% finished ,if its rare or unusual enough,maybe you'll want to carry storage insurance,just in case..

You've got the basics down Andy, now it's just a matter of a dispassionate assessment of features/condition, how much marketing you want to do, and how badly does the car have to be sold. I'm less enthusiastic about the appraiser approach as many of them are in the business of doing reports that could be subtitled, "what number do you want to hear?". If you got a good one who has a lot of experience, is honest, and will listen to you about your motivations they could be useful in pointing out both strong and weak points.

Books have (or should have) been written to cover all the bases, but a lot of it comes down to general condition, and style. As an example, if you were trying to sell a car today with an '80's pastel paint color with swoopy graphics on the side vs one that's painted something like a straight black, red, or some other popular color, the "simple" paint scheme will get a better price for the car (assuming equal build qualities, and ignoring the "one in a million" person who's only going to be in love with the dated paint scheme). Likewise interiors. A car with 5 or 6 interior colors and textures of fabric, bunches of "stuff" (console on the front floor, in the headliner, in the back, through the trunk and on into a matching trailer), high back buckets with a traditional exterior, and so on, is going to be a lot tougher to move than a car with something historic looking , or in tune with the overall theme (unless it's a fad deal)and only one or two colors.

I'm sure others will pipe in with other examples, but this is where the rubber meets the road on that oft repeated phrase "Build it to suit yourself/your tastes". Well, if you've got poor or weird tastes it'll cost ya at sellin' time. Certain themes are repeated over and again because a lot of people like them. The longer the line of people who are interested in what you have, the higher the price. If your car would only appeal to you and Liberace..................well...........he's dead and not the buyer. And that's why it's tough to really pin down anything more than generalities.

As for marketing, it gets back to that line thing. The more people who see the car, especially in person, the better the odds of your getting a good price. Just as an example. There's a red '41 Chev two door sedan in my gallery. I took it to Pleasanton (one of the biggest shows in the West) in '89. I hadn't planned to sell it so didn't have the title with me. A buddy I caravaned with talked me into putting it up for sale by telling me to ask "too much" and see what happens. I had repainted it so it looked fresh, and had redone the upholstery because it was 5 different shades when I got the car. It looked good, even though it's not one of the more popular models. On the second day two couples kept coming around to look at it. Next thing I know I'm having to figure out which one was first to say they wanted it, and because they were aware of each other's interest there was no haggling on the price! One of the few cars I actually made money on (not factoring in anything for my worthless labor ). One of my favorite parts of this story is a well known rod writer, Pat Ganahl, had stopped by and basically told me I was crazy asking as much as I was. So much for "expert" opinion.

Find the best marketplace (getting tougher now as the season winds down, earlier is better), ask as much as you can, and see what happens. You'll get plenty of feedback from the folks that matter most............the one's with $ in their pocket and an interest in buying "something". Everything else, this missive included, is just "interesting" talk.

Value at time for resale and value when you're not really trying to sell the car, just looking for offers are different. Then of course there's yet another value when you're trying to get the best deal on insurance for it.... Guess it depends on what you need the value for.....

I usually refer to actual car sale prices. I have used Goggle to locate lists of these. Try searching for different phrases. The shorter, the better. I would start with cars with the same basic body style, then look at the extras on both to try to arrive at a "real world" value.

thanks for the tips. i'm not really motivated to sell, but it's starting to creep into my mind. for the last 6 years, i've wondered why so many other builders build something sell it, then start another. i always thought i'd be too emotionally invested to be able to get rid of it. well, now that i am 99.9% complete i see why most of those guys did it. money. i've put in nearly 40K in my car, and i'd love to keep it forever, but i want to keep building cars, and i don't have a money tree.

everyone asks me, "how much would you sell it for?"...not that they are interested, just nosey. lately, i've been thinking about how much it would take for me to say "sold!"

i haven't seen tons of cars, but i am realistic about where it stands on the craftsmanship totem pole. it isn't perfect, but it looks good where it counts. it's all black, so it's never going to look dated. plus, it doesn't have a 350 chevy in it.

I guess I never worry too much about what others think it's worth. When I sell one of mine, I put my price on it if you want it, you buy it. Well, other then negotiating a trade in....I love tradin'!!!!!

I never have had the problem of getting attached to anything I build for myself. Usually by the time I'm half done I've got so many ideas for the next build that I'm ready to sell!!!!! I guess the thrill of driving them has long since gone away. The build is still my favorite time....Driving them around is easy, most anyone can do that....

You all hit it on the head, they sell when you least want to for more than you figure. If your desperate to sell, you will be lucky if you do and for a great loss. Getting the greatest exposure is the best advice, if it's a great car it will sell itself.

Yup, and all this internet site stuff certainly has made the exposure issue a whole lot easier to get!!!! Here in the poverty belt, nothing sells for a decent price. Access to the internet and marketing there is the best thing that every happened to me selling cars!!!!!!

I spent over $5k on my '67 Falcon 4dr so far, Finished. I couldn't sell it for any less than $7k, will I get it, maby if the value goes up on 4dr's in a few years, but probably not. fair market value for the car is around $3,000 restored, regardless of the Turbo. build the right car if you want to make money.

Thats a hard lesson to learn but there you go again with looking for that one feller that loves the car as much as you do. I learned that lesson myself, I had a 66 plymouth 4dr for a long time I couldn't get 800 out of, finally traded it for a dodge trk. I will never by a four door anything as far as collector cars go again.

Four door cars are coming into their own, many are becoming very desirable. They may not ever get to the price level of some two doors, but they don't cost as much to acquire either. Thing is about 4 door cars is that nearly all of them are steel and decent quality steel cars are getting rarer and rarer. This is one factor that will cause many 4 doors to increase in value over time. Also, 4 doors are many times a much better cruiser than many 2 doors, especially if you want to take several people with you. More convenient and usually more comfortable. It may be shortsighted to simply assume that a 4 door car will never make a good investment. Just my uniformed $.02