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

[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

[dhutton]

Originally Posted by 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.

I was told by someone I know who sells quite a few classic/muscle cars every month that the money is in buying nice clean cars, adding wheels and lowering springs along with engine bay and trunk detailing etc. Once you start making the sort of changes wanted by members of this forum it gets a lot tougher to make money.

Don

[GregWeld]

Making money on cars is all made on the BUY side....


I agree with Don... you can't make money on cars building them to be real cars. There's just nothing left in 'em.

[ironworks]

I have just seen a lot of nice deals lately that are begging to make some money on. I understand the cheaper it is the wider the market in some respects, but also narrows the market as some guys want nicer stuff. M6 business is just focused around selling hours which means you want to get paid for all the hours you flag, ideally. But also finding guys to build cheaper well built bolt together kinda cars is a lot simpler then guys who can do high end fab. So just looking at options to grow the business.

And just think about a side of the business I have not really looked at before.

[chichirone]

[QUOTE=ironworks;572280]But my questions is what are the elements people look for at different price ranges?

I believe that people look for the most they can find for the least amount of cash required to obtain it. The examples you provided are terrific samples of the cars and market prices people can acquire, but I feel your question is a bit loaded. I would be asking how big the market actually is for pro-touring cars. Search "pro-touring" in the search line on fleabay and you get a $250k fully customized g-machine to a completely stock 1st gen Camaro in the mid-twenties. The best part is, of the thousands of cars on the site, only 20-40 show up with the pro-touring moniker. The buyers market is very thin for the cars we have in this hobby.

Does one suspension MFG command more resale value over another?

NO...I do not believe most people have a clue about different MFG's and those that do, recognize the value of the parts AND the way they work. We are talking a very small sliver of the market will pay more for the suspensions we bolt on or are custom made. I definitely would (and have) paid more but I am a realist and know that the average buyer is not going to have a clue. What may open the market a little more is knowing it has a 4-link, Watts, 3-link or other suspension type versus leaf springs.

Does the high resale value make it worth the added cost and possibly labor to install? NO...there is not a HIGH resale value of a PT car. And NO there is not a high resale value for labor. The ride and feel of the car with no rattles or squeaks will tho. That will recoup a greater percentage of the parts cost, kind of like Blake mentioned in his response.

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

More than one with a crappy stance. HA! Sorry for the sarcasm. Look at the dealers and guys that buy and resell a lot on CL and eBay. Tires, wheels, dropped leafs with lowering blocks, a shiny car wash and a chick in the picture. Their cars are always $5-10k more than the same version with stock wheels and stance. My dad always told me if you want to sell your car, go buy some chrome wheels. Wheels make the car more than any other modification IMO.

Do mini tubbed cars command enough money to pay for the additional labor expense on a street car?

YES...This is becoming more mainstream. Big tires are more attractive than other mods. There is a mini tubbed 69 Camaro leaf sprung car with 345's for sale locally for $65k. Other than that, it's a carbureted sbc, 4-speed, with a stock houndstooth interior and clone baldwin motion paint job and stock suspension.

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?

Yes, to those that know what the brand name is and how much horsepower is "bigger horsepower". Again, a very small sliver of the market pays attention to this. On this site we see 1000+ hp builds. On the street, 500hp is a shocker to many people. A guy with a 268hp Camry is going to sh*t himself with an LS3 5th gen Camaro SS. It's all relative. I think FI versus carbureted is more attractive to buyers in todays market.

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.

Start with the same brand and models of the cars we see getting built on this site. Camaros, Mustangs, Chevelles, Novas, etc...Add a little lipstick and rouge, drop in an LS or EFI SB or BB with a 5 or 6 speed or modern automatic, lower the stance a little with some coil overs and turn them quick. If you can sell 15-20 cars a month with an average profit of $3-5k, you can make a little bit of money Gas Monkey Garage style. Target price is $35-50k. I agree with Greg tho, if you want to make a profit, go elsewhere. Investing 102.

This is a great thread. Really makes one think about our hobby and the cars we love. No wonder only 3 people showed interest in either of my cars when they were on the cars for sale page.

[carbuff]

Here is an example which had to be painful for the seller (I didn't search for it, but there was a build thread on this car here in the past).

https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail.cfm...=CH1014-195872

The selling price was $87k, then subtract the 6% seller fee. I know that car was for sale on eBay a while back with a BIN price around $180k. Ouch...

[Build-It-Break-it]

Wow that is an extreme kick to the wallet.

I think that maybe people are scared to pay top dollar due to depreciation value. What's cool today may not be so cool in ten years. Mini trucks were OK when they first came out but are they cool now? Not so much.

I'm personally building a "pro touring" car for myself but I'm building it for myself. If your building these cars with high end aftermarket parts trying to make top dollar then you haven't done your research. Most people at auctions pay for nostalgia and properly build stock /restomod cars at auctions, not highly modified ones.

You have to take your personality out of how you build cars to resell and build what EVERYONE can relate to at auction, young and older crowd.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by carbuff

Here is an example which had to be painful for the seller (I didn't search for it, but there was a build thread on this car here in the past).

https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail.cfm...=CH1014-195872

The selling price was $87k, then subtract the 6% seller fee. I know that car was for sale on eBay a while back with a BIN price around $180k. Ouch...

Was this the "Mobile Closing Office" built by AllSpeed??? If so I remember the build and seeing it at OUSCI... the 87K paid was too much.