Discussion about the actual resale value of a Pro-touring car

[GregWeld]

Hellfire will bring top dollar.... BirdNest.... not so much. LOL

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Hellfire will bring top dollar.... BirdNest.... not so much. LOL

Now I know why said person is clearing his stable.. That or the futureliner.

[DBasher]

So take this one for example.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/4685754768.html

Assuming you don't touch the paint and the interior is good. Talk him down to 18k.

Add fuel injection and an OD trans
RideTech bolt ons
Same rims, new tires to match the new height

Nice vintage muscle that looks and drives better than new, nothing crazy and can be put back to stock. Average dude at the local XXX having fun and getting the looks.

What's it worth?

[214Chevy]

Originally Posted by Musclerodz

and the uneducated buyer that wants the look like but doesn't know what to look for.

....and that's why mine will never be for sale. Other than some unforseen family emergency, uhhh...nope. But now, like Mike mentioned, if an uneducated buyer just has to have it and offers me some stupid, ridiculous amount of money, it'll never be for sale.

[onevoice]

Originally Posted by ironworks

First off everyone knows that it costs more to build these cars then it does to just purchase one from some one else done. I see alot of guys sell pretty nice cars from 60k to 100k. That cost 2 - 4 times the amount they recoup. But my questions is what are the elements people look for at different price ranges?

With a 30-45K camaro, it would be pretty stock suspension, older paint but still nice, But very reliable, probably small block, or big block or LS1 but not done super nice under hood with an LS.

45-60K camaro would have and LS engine modern billet wheels, probably an LS engine, with possibly aftermarket suspension, Nice new paint but not show stopping perfect.

60-100k - Definitely after market suspension, probably LS7 or higher, mini tubbed, high end detailed interior. Possibly lots of professional quality work.

My questions, Does one suspension MFG command more resale value over another? Does the high resale value make it worth the added cost and possibly labor to install?

How much more money is a car worth that has great stance?

Do mini tubbed cars command enough money to pay for the additional labor expense on a street car? Or does the matter more when the car has bigger horsepower?

Does say an LS9 command alot more money then say an LSA? Or even more if it was a high end builder like Kurt Urban, Mast, Wegner?

What is the ideal platform to make money on in the Gas Monkey Garage kinda builds that are built for resale? Camaro..... Obviously rust free is an obvious first start.

Just wondering.

Thats a lot of questions, but a couple of obvious points stick out. I think your prices are on the high end. A mostly stock suspension nice good small block car isn't in the $30k-$45k range. I listed my 67 about a year ago, and it was a helluva lot nicer than that description and got real offers in the high-mid twenties. I decided to keep it for now.

You are a shop so I assume you are looking primarily at how to make money from your last question, ie the GMG type builds for resale. My opinion from watching the for sale ads for a while and trying to sell my car is that the money is ALL in negotiating a cheap buy, and working the advertising on the sale. Not to mention you can't believe anything you see on TV, especially buy /sell amounts. The car in the craigslist ad a couple of posts up is a perfect example. Probably a 20 footer, 4wheel drum, with a little rust hiding. Selling a personal car is a huge pain in the ass, and the money is in watching it for a while, pointing out the flaws and then lowballing. People get so tired of dealing with crackpots, they often take the money to end the misery.

Your problem as a shop is that the your reputation rides on every sale, unless you want GMG's hack reputation .

[Schwartz Perf]

Neat topic.

I agree with MuscleRodz, in that there are different types of buyers.
If I was not in the business, but had similar knowledge that I do currently about pro-touring cars, I would care about the suspension, brakes, engine, and how good the bodywork was. I feel this would be the same for any pro-touring educated individual.

Now, talking about the average guy who doesn't know about the pro-touring world, "oh man.. this thing has 4 wheel discs?? AND a 383??? SOLD"

As the pro-touring trend grows, (and economy gets better) I do believe that the 100k cars will sell better, but it seems like right now it's still not to the full potential.

It's just like building a house.. basically the same principles apply. I would pay a little more for a house that had been outfitted with 220v for welders and lifts, compared to a Joe Schmoe who plugs his 1hp air compressor in to fill up his lawn mower tires.. because he doesn't have a use or desire for 220.

In my personal opinion, I don't think resale value should matter all that much if you're building a car, as long as its your car and you love it because it was built to your specification. If they're quick flips where little to no bodywork is required, that's ok.. but 95% of the cars we've had through here have had a rough history in one way or another.. which ends up costing the end user more money since they're doing a full build & don't want to skimp on something that matters in the long run.

-Dale

[214Chevy]

Originally Posted by Schwartz Perf

compared to a Joe Schmoe who plugs his 1hp air compressor in to fill up his lawn mower tires.. because he doesn't have a use or desire for 220.

Hey, no need to get personal and make fun of us guys. Besides, mines is a 3 HP.

[Vegas69]

Actual Resale of a Pro Touring car? Way less than the owner's blinders can let him see. I always like to see the for sale threads and all the comments about what a steal it is at that price. They just aren't the buyer.

I think my car and Max's are a good litmus for the hobby. His sold for around 50k mine sold for $87,500. Which now seems like a big number to me.

I think loud colors like red and orange, nice wheels, right stance with economic parts, attention to detail, and not to personalized for max profit. A car in the 30-50k range has the largest pool of buyers that are more likely to buy off emotion and impulse.

[ironworks]

Like has been said here many time actual build cost can be vary a lot. I'm just curious the add items that bring the most money on the block? I'm not really talking about the super duper over the top half million dollar cars built that are usually build for certain awards. I'm more talking about nice driver cars with some accessories. Not the cars built per spec to what the owner wants, everyone knows you can buy a car close to what you want for way cheaper then having a car built.






This has been a topic of discussion in my world lately.

[DBasher]

Rodger are you looking at buying and flipping less expensive cars or is it just a discussion?

I've always done well buying beaters. A little clean up and detailing, some tuning so they can be driven daily and then make them sit right. The guys that buy em know they aren't perfect but feel like they are getting into something they can improve on. Win win.

You're in a position that if you had a driver condition solid rig that sat right, more people would see it. Your selling a dream to a future customer, he's now part of the cool kid club without going broke...yet. We did this at the shop I worked at years ago, we always had a shop bike, car or truck that was for sale. Used for parts runs, grabbing lunch or going to local shows....always made good money and most the time a new customer.

Do you have a good amount of traffic buy the shop?

Dan