I have been considering buying a classic car to do cruise-in's and to tinker with. I came across this car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

I think the car is really cool looking but wonder about the flat black paint job long term.

Any comments.

 

Thats more of a rat rod style job. Looks nice. If the paint doesn't hold up it can always be painted in a few years when the budget allows.

 

What do you think about the price? I have seen this car personally and it is as nice as the description.

 

I don't know enough about these older models to comment. Wait for one of the more knowledgeable guys to reply.

 

That car is beautiful. The paint job depends on what paint was used. It could be they used a pre-flattened paint like Hot Rod Flatz.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/kustomshop/ksflatz.aspx

I would call the guy and find out if he did the paint job and if he didn't what does he know about it. The car looks like it is very nice. I am sure the experts on that era of Olds will chime in soon. Best of luck to you.

 

X2. That's a very cool car. As noted, so long as the paint used was flattened topcoat and not just primer, it's perfectly fine.

 

It is a flattened topcoat, not a primer.

 

I love it.

 

That thing is nice! Id take a magnet with you and make sure there's no bondo in the car. Like what was said before just make sure that flat black is a topcoat and not a primer otherwise itll start fading real soon and other problems later on like peeling. My friend painted his truck a flat black primer and within six months was fading and peeling.. could have just been his job as well on the peeling part, but it'll fade for sure if its just a primer.

They also make flat clear coats. Believe its called a Matte Clear Coat. Seen it around, might wanna look for it. Keeps the flat look, but has the protection of a clear coat on it.

 

That's nice, does not look like it needs a lot of tinkering!

 

The Old Cars Price Guide lists the value of a 1955 Olds 88 2-door hardtop in #1 condition at $27,000. In #2 it's just under $19,000. Of course, this car is customized to a certain extent, and the effect of that on the price is not predictable as it depends on taste. His buy-it-now price is not too bad given these values. Who knows what his reserve is, but it's probably less.

 

It does not have AC which, to me, is a necessity in North Carolina. That would probably be my first project.

As usual, when I began looking, I was not considering spending this much money. It appears to be a very nice car but I have to decide whether to spend that much money.

 

But you don't really know how much "this much money" is yet, do you? You know his buy-it-now price, but his reserve might be well below that. Probably not, but you won't know until you stick a bid or two on it.

You need to decide, assuming you want to go after it at all, how much you want to pay. If what you bid doesn't meet the reserve, move on. If the car doesn't sell, he might come back to you if you're the high bidder and see if you want to deal.

I've been tracking several cars on ebay over the last few months, and it's interesting how many of them come back week after week because they don't reach the seller's reserve. You would think that after a while the seller would take a hint and lower the reserve, but they apparently keep hoping that "this" will be the week it finally sells, and they apparently aren't in a hurry to sell the car.

I don't know if this particular car has been up for sale on ebay before, but if it doesn't sell, he might put it back up with a lower buy-it-now or a lower reserve, or neither. It's all part of the fun.

 

Nice car and in a better market it's worth the price. But in this down economy
I would expect to pay in the 18-20k range.

Good luck in your search

 

Very cool, someone spent a ton of money on it..

 

All I can say is it looks cool. I don't think the price is low enough to hardly be a consideration if u really like the car. I think you could flip the car if required and not lose a dime...I am not an expert.....but it just looks great.

 

I NEVER buy a car without personally seeing it or sending a friend or relative nearby to see it and video tape it for me. Also, I never buy cars that haven't spent most or close to all of their life in states that are HOT most of the year, unless accompanied by documentation of a frame off resto. That's just me. Your call. Make sure value of car is priced accordingly.

 

There is an article about that phrase and what it means today in the latest Hot Rod magazine. They came up with about four definitions and said the genre is still evolving. Interesting read anyway. I like the car and would not mind being seen driving it.