jensenracing77

this started out by thinking i would list it higher than i thought it was worth. i wanted to see what (if any) kind of response i would get in this economy. at the same time i figured i would sell it if someone wanted to pay the price. i listed it for $8000. it is original paint and completely rust free so i knew that was the biggest selling point. now i have 3 guys interested. one i feel is a tire kicker. another is very interested and a 3rd guy wants me to hold it for him for 3 weeks till he can come get it, he said he would give me full price for it if i will hold it for him. i know the 3rd guy and he is serious, this guy also would not buy it if he didn't think he could make some money off of it. so now what? we wanted to paint this car another color and change the interior to black. i figure we could just get another car like this in the color we want but now scared i won't be able to find another rust free car. any thoughts?

Rocket Richard

Well around here rust free is definately hard to find, and when you do find a rust free car the price reflects that. Some things to consider if you plan on using the money from selling this car to find another... finding the color combo might not be easy, and yeah, finding something rust free may be hard. Plus it seems whenever I buy a car as old as these classics, there are always a bunch of repairs/upgrades that have to be done to make the car my own. This cost should be factored into your decision I think.

Also, if you were to change the paint and interior on your car, it would be what you want, and the condition would be good/new. If you get something else you may not be able to find something in as good condition.

Maybe continue checking out what other cars are available right now and see if you feel comfortable letting this one go.

2blu442

Good morning Eric. Its your car, if you've not made a commitment to one of these guys then you can still change your mind and keep it.

What are your goals? It sounds to me like this car is an original survivor and it's highest value would be to keep it that way. If you want something else, then could you sell it for this price and purchase a project car to get more what you want? Remember the 1971 442 4 speed project I'd posted from Craigslist a few months ago? In this economy I do think you can find a nice project car for $5,000ish. It likely won't be as clean as what you have, but if you'd rather have something else and don't mind building/finishing a project it might be OK to sell your car and upgrade to something else. Especially if your willing to spend $1,000 getting one shipped from California or a similar dry climate. Even if you don't get top dollar for your car, if you can buy another at a good deal you may still be upgrading.

So if your unsure about what you should do I'd say sit down and write up what you want, pro's and con's of what you have, and pro's and con's to getting a project car in it's place. Time, money, etc.

I don't remember the link but last year someone posted a way to search Craigslist all over the country with one query. That could help you see what kinds of cars are out there. Hope this helps! John

tonycpe

for some reason i can never replace a car i sold for the same money.
Everyone always wants more and the car is never in as good condition as the one i sold.

Lady72nRob71

As nice as that think looks, it is worth more than 8K to me. A rust-free original is VERY hard to find. This one is much too nice to go changing the colors on. I would try to sell to someone who will keep it as is, as they are only original once.

If you really wanted one another color, sell this one and seek out another one to replace yours. You will need some time to find the right one though. If it needs repainting, then it is fair game to be any color you want and minor rust can be repaired as you go. Think of it as saving another Cutlass and your own custom project!

If you like the colors on this one, keep it. Heck, just get another for your custom project...

jaunty75

I have a few.

You're experiencing "buyer's remorse," except in this case it's "seller's" remorse. When you listed the car for sale, you were vaguely assuming it would sell, and now that it actually all but has, you're suddenly rethinking every thought you had about selling it, including the asking price.

About your asking price. In spite of the weak economy, one could argue that you undervalued it. I don't know if yours is a Cutlass, Cutlass S, or Cutlass Supreme, but the Old Cars Price Guide puts the value of a #3 condition (car show condition) 1972 Cutlass Supreme 2-door hardtop at $9,000. In #2 condition (showroom), it's $14,000. I don't know that yours is in showroom condition, but it certainly sounds like it's between #3 and #2, so a value in the low teens ($10,000? $11,000? $12,000?) is probably reasonable. At $8,000, it could be seen by a knowledgeable buyer as perhaps a bit of a steal.

But you need to ask yourself some hard questions. Do you really want to pursue the idea of getting another car in the color you desire and doing the fix-ups you want? Or do you just hate the idea that you'll have let this car get away for less money than you could have gotten? You could change your mind here, decide not to sell the car, then decide a month from now that maybe you really do want to sell it after all, relist it at a higher price, and end up with more difficulty selling it.

My guess is, since it appears that potential buyers are beating down your door, you wouldn't have much difficulty selling it later, even if you listed it for a grand or two higher.

Maybe you should cancel the sale, step back, catch your breath, and take a little time to decide what to do. Maybe you should try to nail down a few leads to a car you would buy to replace this BEFORE you sold this one. At least you'd know what's out there and how easy it would be to find another car in the color and condition you want for what you want to pay.

Bluevista

Who said, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"?

Real "rust free" cars in good condition that haven't been messed with are really hard to find, you may spend years looking for one as nice as yours.
I would keep it or have the car I want lined up before I sold it if possible.

That guys mistake is that he should of haggled with you and not offered the asking price so fast, I bet you wouldn't of even thought twice about selling it if he did.
You never offer anyone the asking price at first, even if you know you'll gladly pay it.
It always makes the seller think they didn't ask enough and start doubting themselves, even worse when it makes them think they're being taken for fools.

vette442

It's just my opinion of course, but my view is that you're going to spend a few thousand dollars changing a perfectly good Saturn Gold and saddle survivor to something else. You can use that money to find one of the many thousands of rust free cars from out west - which are cheaper out there - and ship one of those in to make it what you want. Seriously, if you're doing paint and interior anyway, start with a blank canvas, don't paint over the Mona Lisa. The number of originals is withering away. Just my two cents.

Terry

jaunty75

Well put.

Higgins

I never sell anything anymore. I still have regrets selling some cars and motorcycles 30 and more years ago. 1969 black 442 convert, 1975 Norton Interstate for example.

jensenracing77

thanks guys. the problem i am having with keeping it is just what some of you are saying. i just can't bring myself to goof up a "survivor", even if it is only a plain cutlass. we are not that satisfied with the color and would enjoy one the right color much more. some of you that remember, a couple years ago we sold a 1991 Quad 442 W-41. we took part of that money and got this and the rest was to repaint this car the color my wife wanted. well we still have the left over money and if we put it with this we could get into a higher category of finished car or a cheeper car that needs a paint job or even engine work. i am very willing to fix up a car but must have a body that don't need major rust repair. this car needs a paint job to be a great car. the paint is thin and you can see the primer coming through. i don't want to sell it to cheep but i sure didn't think this was cheep with the paint thin.

when it come down to it, we are not happy with it the way it is and i would not enjoy changing it. i think my original decision was right to list it but now i am just thinking to much. it wasn't this bad with the 91 442. i knew the market for it and wanted something my wife could enjoy. thanks again guys, and would appreciate any other thoughts you have.

kjr442

It is your car,so do what you want with it! If it has thin paint, I say paint it! If this car were the color that you wanted it to be, you would not want to sell it, so who cares if it is not the original color. I think if you do sell it, to get what you want will cost more in the end. This is not a W30 or H/O and it can be put back to the original color and interior if someone wants to. Remember it does need paint,and as soon as someone else paints it, even the original color, it will not be original. But no mater what it will be a surviver. Someone will paint this car, it might as well be you,and the color you want.

oldspackrat

Others have said about how hard it is to find a clean, unmolested, rust free car & I agree 100%! I made this point to a friend of mine last night. Cars like this are very hard to find, at least for me, & they will do nothing but go up in value, assuming that they are well maintained. I would rather change/modify a rustfree, unmolested car, than another car that might have been hacked or that might have hidden rust repairs.

vette442

The world and resale market are already full of bright red, parts catalog OAI hood, rear winged Cutlasses with incorrect stripes rolling on 22s, and there are fewer survivors left for those who are looking for one. There's a reason people are interested in buying your car as it is now.

1969w3155

If guy #3 is really interested, then he should give you a down payment, otherwise don't save it for him.

kjr442

Ok, I do agree with you about the wheels,and anything else that goes along with that sort of thing.
I do consider myself as a purist to some degree when it comes to cars, so I do see both sides of this.
My flame orange 72 has the factory paint on it, but in the 1972 assembly Manuel it states that the stripe that is on on my car was discontinued. When I do paint it, it will have the correct stripes for a 442. My car had a vinyl top too, but the body tag does not reflect that. I will not have the vinyl top on my car when it is repainted. This is my car, and will never sell it, so why would I care about the next guy. The same holds true with the car we are talking about, it is his car, and if he changes it to what he wants then I do not think that this car will be for sale.
This is just my opinion.

GoodOldsGuyDougie

:to the person who wanted to buy it: Sorry sir, it appears the car was flood damaged in the severe snow storm and flooding that hit our area this past weekend, good luck finding another car. Now Keep the car and do whatever you want to it. I can guarantee you won't find one like that one for that much money sitting in your home town,

hinz57

I agree with Kjr. I am in the process of doing the same thing to my 1972 Supreme. In similar condition as yours, although the original color (Bamboo) had been changed to White. Purchased in 2007 for $10K, California car with documentation and mostly rust free. I'm not convinced that any of these 40 year old cars are "rust free" anyway. But I know what you mean! Couldn't handle the Saddle interior so changed it to black. Don't like the Bamboo or White exterior so changing it to something else. I don't believe you will ruin the value of the car. Just as many people will find the changes you make desirable as the people who support leaving it original. I think a good quality interior color change is fine. A rattle can upholstery dye would not be my idea of quality. I plan on adding a vinyl top on my car, which didn't have one originally. Is that bad? I don't think so. If you were to upgrade the suspension, engine, brakes, wheels etc. does that ruin the car? To the so-called "purists", probably. On the other hand I have found that this process is very expensive even when doing most of the work yourself. Would I be able to find a quality car with the color and options I want? Maybe, but likely difficult. I thought I couldn't afford a 442, so I went with the Supreme. With the money I put into this one, I could have had my 442. So I understand your plight!

IMG_2346.jpg

100_4215.jpg

IMG_0012.jpg

IMG_0023.jpg

hinz57

I don't know who own's this car, but I have shown it before as an example of change. Although I appreciate an "all original" car, this inspires me to make the changes that I find appealing. Has this car lost it's value? I don't think so...[
[ATATTACH]24863[/ATTACH]TACH]24864[/ATTACH]

scott_442

Hey Eric...thought we had a deal as the previous owner that whenever you decided to sell, I would get first divs !? I know exactly what you're going through...whenever I wanted to change something on the car I was hesitant to mess with the originality of the car...you haven't mentioned it before, but aside from you and me the last couple years, the car was basically a 1 owner car which makes it even more 'rare'. If the color is the biggest holdup, I say keep it and paint it the way you want and not worry about the next guy or diminishing your value. Yes, it's a really nice original but it's not a 20,30,40K car...and besides, paint is easy to change. Replacing missing original parts, rusted body panels, etc is not nearly as easy!

I have to admit I sometimes regret letting that car go...yes, I replaced it with a big block 442 but this car is not nearly as original and doesn't have the history that you have with that car (receipts since new, orig cali tag, the handicapped card, etc)!! Maybe you could just lighten or darken the gold to make it more satisfactory to you and the wifey. I still search for Olds almost every day to some degree and I don't recall the last time I came across an original, rust free, unmolested Cutlass, same owner for 36 years, with receipts since new, etc...they're just not out there for sale everyday!

Or, relist it with a price that would make your decision a no-brainer...it doesn't sound like the current price is working for you!

My opinion...paint it and keep it unless you're going to agonize over every modification from now on...I know you talked about changing it over to buckets/console also...that was more than I was willing to alter it.

Anyway, Good Luck with your decision but I hope you decide to keep it.

jensenracing77

sorry Scott. to tell you the truth i didn't think i would really get a response. at the same time i felt embarrassed that the price was to high and didn't want to post it here because of that. i figured that people would think i was nuts in this economy.

i think i may take the advice of some of you and hold off for just a little while longer. both sides have great points. at the same time i think the economy is going to get MUCH worse in the next couple years and may be able to get a great deal on something else if i hold onto the money. the guy that is willing to pay full price will be willing to do it later. i know the guy. thanks again for the advice.

Destructor

I bought my 70 Cutlass on the spot because of the condition, it was a rust free car in Mass. I almost gave up looking. I looked at a lot of cars, some of them in very good condition but after repairing rust on a 71 Caddy Deville (and it wasn’t even that bad) I wanted a car that wouldn’t require any cutting and welding. I did eventually get a new paint job and yes some minor rust repair under the vinyl roof. I had considered selling it but I realized it would require a lot of effort to find another rust free car around here. I will probably never sell it and I was recently pleasantly surprised to find out that when the rear window was removed to fix a leak there was no rust in or around the rear window channel. Sellers remorse set in after I sold my Caddy, that is what led to my Cutlass. My 2000 Grand Marquis is rusting away because of the winters here while my 70 Cutlass sits in cold storage till spring.