Is My Price Too High?

[Dayzedandkonfuzed]

Since I'm fairly certain my cutlass won't sell to anyone here given my location, I don't feel like I'm shooting myself in the foot by asking; Am I asking too much? I have 10k or more invested, but yes it is rough around the edges so to speak, and I'm not so ignorant that I think I could get back anywhere near what I have invested.

The thought of selling it for much less makes my stomach turn.... so I'm now at a point where if I cant get at least close to what I'm asking, it's just not worth selling.

Opinions?

https://gbodyforum.com/threads/1985-cutlass-supreme.60815/#post-517206

 

[pontiacgp]

If the car is a solid as the body looks then you're not asking too much. It's not a big job to switch out a cam and lifters nor is it expensive. I don't know about the area you are in but around me most people don't have any play money. If your not in a rush I'd hold the price or even up by a $1,000.

 

[ck80]

Here's my take, worth what you paid for it.

$4900 canadian is probably, what, $3800 US? Around most places Ive lived that is probably a $2500 us car.

I've got 4 or 5 tips for you that would bring you closer to your asking price without a huge investment.

1) $100 - buy a replacement flat hood. Most guys are going to have a red flag for a car that gets rained on the engine and electronics.

2) $80? If you have the cam already - replace the cam/lifters yourself. Again, hearing an engine wasn't broken back in properly is a huge red flag, and few people want to pay top/high dollar for a car that needs to be ripped apart just to run normally.

3) $100 - having changed the hood, cut a patch and buy panel adhesive, fix the hike in your floor. Then buy a new carpet so the holeft in the carper is gone.

4) $500 - my guess is the car looks 200% - 300% better in those pics than in person. I notice every picture has the car sprayed down with water to make the paint look better, wet ground included. Wet sand that clear and get a cheap paint job. Cheap decent paint is a thousand times better than junk paint and cracking fillet when you're asking top dollar, which it seems like you are.

 

[Dayzedandkonfuzed]

Here's my take, worth what you paid for it.

$4900 canadian is probably, what, $3800 US? Around most places Ive lived that is probably a $2500 us car.

I've got 4 or 5 tips for you that would bring you closer to your asking price without a huge investment.

1) $100 - buy a replacement flat hood. Most guys are going to have a red flag for a car that gets rained on the engine and electronics.

2) $80? If you have the cam already - replace the cam/lifters yourself. Again, hearing an engine wasn't broken back in properly is a huge red flag, and few people want to pay top/high dollar for a car that needs to be ripped apart just to run normally.

3) $100 - having changed the hood, cut a patch and buy panel adhesive, fix the hike in your floor. Then buy a new carpet so the holeft in the carper is gone.

4) $500 - my guess is the car looks 200% - 300% better in those pics than in person. I notice every picture has the car sprayed down with water to make the paint look better, wet ground included. Wet sand that clear and get a cheap paint job. Cheap decent paint is a thousand times better than junk paint and cracking fillet when you're asking top dollar, which it seems like you are.

You're totally right about all the fixes being pretty easy. Also a lot of potential buyers probably don't have the know how to do these things or don't realize how easy they are to fix. The worn cam likely is the biggest red flag for most.

However I didn't wet the car down specifically to take pictures to sell it. In fact those pictures are a year or 2 old, I just took pictures after I washed it. But I get where you're coming from, I've seen lots of people do exactly what you're saying, and most people are probably assuming that's what I did lol. The car does actually look that good when its clean and detailed (and dry)

 

[Turboelky]

A cutlass in Los Angeles is as mentioned, a $2500 car at best. Doesn't seem to be very big market on the G bodies right now. I have a buddy selling an el Camino he put about $20k in, for $8k obo and it's excellent inside out. So $10k is a little steep. Sometimes you have to take a loss and call it a day. I have, unfortunately.

 

[theoldsone]

I'm going to tell you what I think and I'm going to be blunt with it. The cars a pricey project. The fact that the engine isn't running properly kills the $$$ big time. Your hood literally has a hole in it...not appealing at all. You knock your own car down a bit by telling ALL. Rust this ding that. Give a brief description of the body and provide pics. Buyer can check out the body himself. To be fair floor issues should be clear. I'm just telling you the way it is. The whole "These wheels don't come with it" thing really puts people off too. Your either selling it as is or not selling it at all. Get pics with current wheels if you don't have any. Then maybe you can get somewhere. Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but thats how I see it. Lol

 

[565bbchevy]

While I agree with a good portion of what was already said I will kind of summarize my thoughts on some of those points.
I do think at this price and the state of repairs it is a pricey project car but I also agree that some of the repairs would also bring you more money without a lot of investment relatively speaking.

1) The hood either replace with another, finish the hole and add a bolt on hood scoop to cover it or if possible fix the crappy shaker hood install.

2) The hole in the floor would be easy to repair properly and either install new carpet or some nicely used if you can find some.

3) For the rims either sell them with the car or find a decent replacement and install those, it is best to not take pictures of items that are not included in the sale.

4) As far as painting the car I feel as a buyer I would rather pay less for the car knowing it needs paint rather than paying more for a freshly painted car that to me would be a red flag that you are covering something up. But this could go either way for some people.

And to me the biggest red flag of all is this statement:
"THE BAD:Needs a cam and lifters. Not broken in properly, wearing fast."
Now when I read this it tells me that the lifters are wearing down the lobes of a the cam and the bottoms of the lifters which creates metal shavings possibly throughout the entire engine so I feel this is far beyond a simply just throwing in a new cam and lifters and would possibly require complete disassembly and cleaning along with new bearings, gaskets and possibly oil pump if there is any unusual wear.

It looks like a car with a lot of potential so I guess it depends on how badly you want to sell versus how much money and time you are willing to spend on it to recoup some your losses.

 

[MrSony]

A thing I've learned is with Gbodies, they don't quite have the status like older muscle cars like camaros and chargers so people generally think "oh it's a ghetto cruiser" or "grandma car" so they won't shell out much more than 3-4k for a really good, mid mileage (50,000-70-80,000) car that has NO rust, no fading, original engine and what not. My car, is is in my mind flawless. Sure it has missing bumper fillers, dents and dings and has worn out suspension. interior is faded, steering wheel chipped and cracked and has aftermarket gauges strewn about. No one in their right mind would pay more than 2k for a car like that at this point in time. We all have our various reasons for like these cars, but other people don't always see eye to eye with us on our cars. Most people just want it as a parts car or all out race car or something to give their kid. You gotta keep in mind that your car you've spent all your time, effort, and blood sweat and tears on for sometimes years is the complete opposite of what a potential buyer is looking for in a car. Long winded, but the truth isn't always short and sweet.

 

[mr evil]

I see a few G's on want ads around BC but I don't think anyone is getting the $$ they want, ad to that the fact a lot of people are afraid to take on someone else's project/former project for fear of a can of worms. I fear we are a few years out yet before these cars become desirable to anyone outside of our relatively small group people who really like them but already have one-or a few lol.

Facebook has a couple BC G-Body groups- I don't know if you've tried on there?

 

[Dayzedandkonfuzed]

Thanks for all the opinions. Even though at one point or 2 it pissed me off lol. But you're all totally right. If I expect to get anywhere near what I want for it all of these problems will need to be fixed. But if I go as far as to paint it too, then I could ask a bit more I think. There's always a silver lining lol.

And I did feel like kind of a dink selling a car with a worn out cam. That's something that needs to be done, then flushed a few times, and had some miles put on it to make sure no damage will be done.