A bit of a rant

[Willowbilly3]

I have been out a couple times to get the 37 Ford cab I had made a deal on, waiting for him to remove it. So I hadn't been there in a couple weeks and drove over today. The guy tells me his kid this and his kid that, well he was on the internet and the truck is worth $2000-$3000. I had the cab bought for $200. I told him I just watched an identical truck on ebay close for under $700. So we visit a while as he proceeds to tell me how valuable all the old stuff is. I asked about the pile of 30s-40s Ford frames and he starts going on about how some guy told him the wishbones were worth $400 per (insert heavy sigh). I said tell me where because I know where there are several I can get for free. Stutter-stammer yadda yadda some guy told him that someone told him yadda yadda. I politely wished him well selling his stuff on the internet and told him the country is full of old stuff and I need to get going to get after it. So the deal on the 37 falls through. You need to strike while the iron is hot.

 

[pablo]

I fell your pain, whats worse then that is the guy who has the nice tin and tells you " well I am going to resotre it" ya right. there was a guy who lived down the street form me who had a convertable 67 LeMans that need to be rebuilt. it sat in his dive way all thru high school. i kept telling him that i wnated to buy it and he just kept saying, " no no I am going to put right back to the way it was" a year after i graduated form high school i see it leaving my nieghborhood on a trailer, i chase the guy down and he proceeds to tel me that he picked it up for 500 bucks, tells me he had seen it there for a few years and just thought that he would pop in and see if the guy wanted to sell it. aagghhhh!! your killing me here!!

Pablo

 

[donsrods]

Geez, sorry to hear about that. Somebody got to him.

I had the same thing happen when I lived in California. Went to see a boat advertised in the paper on a Wednesday. Told him I wanted it but wouldn't have the money till Friday, would he hold a check and I would come back on Friday with cash to replace the check............sure, no problem.

Next day he puts the check back in my mailbox and says "his Son decided to take it instead." I called him and told him we had a deal, a firm contract, Told me to pound salt. So I had our Attorney at work write him a letter saying I was entitled to either the boat or the value of what a comparable boat would be if I had to find one elsewhere.

He called the next day and said "come get your boat, but I want CASH!!" I told him that was the plan all the way through. He was not very cordial when I picked up my new boat!!!


Don

 

[harleyboy]

Way to go Don

I'm glad you made him stick to his deal. I always stick to my deals and I expect everyone else to also. I have a problem with people that don't stick to their word. HB

 

[Unkl Ian]

Most people fall into two catagories.

1-Anything "old" is worthless junk.Get rid of it.
Only shiney new stuff is worth keeping.
or
2-Anything "old" is big bucks.Doesn't matter what it is,or how rough.
Even if they don't know what it is.I think they spend too much time
watching "Antiques Roadshow".

I like to think most "old car guys" fall in between those two extremes.

 

[dmw56]

Most people fall into two catagories.


Then there are the guys that think everything is "Rare" and worth a lot. Its usually rare because no one wanted it in the first place!

 

[Unkl Ian]

Also depends on who is buying,and who is selling.
It's in the sellers best interest to try and inflate the price.

Some people expect Top Dollar for anything they sell,
but expect Bargain basement prices on anything they buy.

Maybe that should be group #3 is the list above.


Some days I miss going to Swap Meets.
Some days I don't miss them at all,dealing with
idiots trying to get rich selling trash.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Most people fall into two catagories.

1-Anything "old" is worthless junk.Get rid of it.
Only shiney new stuff is worth keeping.
or
2-Anything "old" is big bucks.Doesn't matter what it is,or how rough.
Even if they don't know what it is.I think they spend too much time
watching "Antiques Roadshow".

I like to think most "old car guys" fall in between those two extremes.

I guess this guy changed from one to the other in a month. At first it was just junk and he was almost ****ed he got the job of hauling it away for money. Now his genius sone sees a decent running 30s Ford truck for 3 grand and their beat up half a truck is the same. Same deal on the frames, they were poundage a month ago.
So I decided to jack with this guy. We take a walk through the yard, past piles of rear ends and I start telling him this or that is worth a lot of money on ebay. So now the next guy will get that price and him and his genuis son can set there and listen to tin rot.

 

[flatheadgary]

i was just on the egay site and searched rat rods and what a joke the prices are. i think i am glad that i don't build correct antique cars because i couldn't afford some of the parts prices. if you need a '53 ford truck steering box or something of that nature, you better bend over and smile!!! that is one reason i think are kind of cars will outlast the traditional types. we are not afraid to use something that is not period correct.

 

[Unkl Ian]

People started using less popular old parts,to save money.

Now the old oddball junk parts are "worth" more than the
common streetrod parts they were replacing.

Strange cycle.



I guess historical re-enactment can be expensive.

 

[HOT40ROD]

When someone is like that I always till the person what I will pay for it. Give them a business card and walk away. I have got a lot of phone calls a week or two later asking me if i was still interested. Got it for the price I offer.

 

[luckylou]

i hate the people that watch Barret Jackson, sees a car that looks like there pile of junk in the driveway go for a half a million dollors, now thinks there car is worth lots, so they hang on to it while it sits there rusting away even more and finally scraping it insted of selling it to one of us gear heads for the right amount of money, not stupid money

 

[joehalford01]

tell me about it! by the time you get done with shipping and paying extra because it's a "rare" part, you could have bought a brand new whiz bang with all the bells and whistles!

 

[zzford]

I used to work at a VW shop that also sold VW parts over the counter. A guy came in and wanted to buy new floorpans and asked how much. Our counter man said that they were $65 apiece. He said he could get them down the street for $50 a piece. Parts guy said then why didn't he buy them from the other outfit. The guy replied that they were out of them. Our counterman said that when he was out of them, he only charged $20 apiece !

 

[Wildman]

When someone is like that I always till the person what I will pay for it. Give them a business card and walk away. I have got a lot of phone calls a week or two later asking me if i was still interested. Got it for the price I offer.

I cant count the number of times that has worked for me

 

[RatHead]

I sat with my word on things..if i say it i back it up..alot of people are nuts thinking they are going to get the prices they ask...they finally learn after a few months when it isn't sold.....