What would you be willing to pay for this car... - 1984 Regal hardtop (no landau roof) with 80k miles - very clean body and undercarriage, not rust or rot - rosewood color, excellent, newer BC/CC paint job - burgundy interior, excellent, bench seat reupholstered - chrome is excellent, many new pieces - weatherstripping and seals replaced - 1973 Buick 350 - 4 barrel, refreshened heads & cam - engine compartment clean, A/C not hooked up - 350 transmission rebuilt - posi 7.5 rear end rebuilt - chrome Buick rally wheels, rears are 8" wide Overall the car is pretty nice, but not a trophy winning show car. I think he wants too much for what it is, but I understand his time & money. I already know what is a fair price to pay, but I want to hear your opinions. Thanks.
$4000 Sounds like a nice regal. No rust, no bodywork, decent paint, rebuilt trans and rear. Good start for a 455 transplant at a decent price. George
It sounds like the car has been pretty well gone through top to bottom--I would pay as much as $6-8,000 if it is in really good shape. After all, this is a "restored" car, not a project car per se. If you're looking for something to throw a 455 in I would go with something that isn't finished and is therefore worth a lot less. Now if he was selling a nice restored body/chassis minus the drivetrain that would be a different story. Now for a little rant...for too long now g-bodies have been WAY underpriced, which is nice when you're in the market for one but I don't think that its reflective of the rarity of one in good restored or especially orginal condition. Take the description of this car and apply it to a number of other makes and models from the mid '70s to mid '80s and consider whether anything under $5,000 would be fair for all the time and money that it takes to make a car nice. When I bought my Cutlass about five years ago the little old lady that was selling it was asking $1750 because that was the mid level blue book price--it was a black '79 two door Supreme with a V8, Turbo 350, a million factory options oh, and I almost forgot--completely orginal, never winter driven, flawless paint and...28,000 miles! I told her basically the same thing that I'm telling you (which she patiently listened to with a little-old-lady smile) and I ended up giving her $3,500. I would have given her more but she thought that was fair. After all it was her husbands pride and joy for a number of years and he had recently passed away, I couldn't stomach giving her $1700, but maybe thats just me. Anyways, ignore this whole paragraph if you want just be fair and pay whatever you think it is worth.
Thanks for the replys. I like the very mild 350, wouldn't want a 455, I drive like an old lady these days. Think of it this way... Lets pretend the car still has the 3.8 V6 in it. What's it worth? Probably $3500 max. What's the engine swap worth? Maybe $1000. I think $4000 would be a decent buy, I'm willing to pay $4500 max. He wants $6000, probably would take $5500. I just feel that's too much for that car, because for $6000 to $7000 the money would be better spent on something else. If you were to ask 100 car people what they think it's worth, I'd bet 90% of them would say $3000 to $5000. That car is a very tough sale, it's not a very desirable product. It has a niche market, only dorks like me want it. :grin:
Modifed Regals aren't worth much. Period. Turbo cars? Yeah, good money. Former 3.8 cars with transplanted 350s?? Maybe $2000.
true true false... depends on a lot of factors. I've seen V8 Regals worth $10,000 to $20,000. If you offered this guy $2000 to his face he would probably punch you in the mouth, $2000 would be an insult. IMO... this car is $3500 at the LOWEST and $5500 at the HIGHEST. That would be a fair market value range assessment.
I dunno were you are at in PA, but there was a car for sale that fits that description floating around Butler County. It had a new paint job like a mirror! Now that car will go for more simply cause of the beautiful paint.
I would say that the money is well spent if you get the car that you want If the car isn't worth what he's asking then pass and find something that you like, but I think that such a car even at that price has a market (though it is an admittedly small one). As for the 90%, true they probably would say that, but they would follow up with "Camaros Rule" :spank: I rest my case.
Agree... But if there is one thing I have learned in the last 20 years where I have owned 20 different classic cars is, you can't give large overpayment. It's ok to pay a little more because you really want it, but I found if you largely overpay, not only is it a poor decision economically for resale reasons, but more importantly your left not feeling too good about your purchase after the initial sting wears off. That's the hard part. I'm specifically looking for a Regal hardtop swap for summer. (I buy a different toy every Spring, sell it in the Fall) I found 3 other Regals I'm looking at... 2 are very nice cars, all 3 have buckets & console, all 3 will need engine swap, all 3 are out of state. Where as THIS guy lives 5 minutes away, very nice car, engine swap already done, lots of other nice work done, but I need to install buckets, console, and shifter, wheel, and other misc. Even though I still have work to do to make it mine, the dirty work is already done. It's all in what you want, how far your willing to travel, and how much your willing to pay. The funny thing is... after typing this message, it becomes clear to me that this local car is the smart one. Yeah it might be a little overpriced, it might not be the greatest color, but look how much I'm gettng for my money, I don't have to travel far to get it, and it's "almost" exactly what I wanted. Go figure.
having 2 regals with transplanted motors, id have to think the car would be worth 4-5k if it was a nice solid car that was transplanted properly. hell just getting a regal with all good chome and a rust free body in the northern part of the country is hard enough. i had to 1 from georgia, and the second one was great on the outside, but once i got it home and dug around in it, ohio salt made me extra work.
Agree. Take one of the 3 I'm looking at for example... 85 Regal, hardtop, rust-free, 231, burgundy on burgundy, buckets and console, 25k orig miles, excellent condition, $3000. That's a good buy. Excellent foundation for the engine swap plus other add-on goodies. Is that your black Regal in the picture? Looks nice.
It's a personal thing... As I read everyone's replies, all I can say is the obvious -- it is worth what you are willing to pay for it. The market goes up and down. I never start a project car with selling it in mind -- you will lose money every time. If the car is as good as you say it is (it is hard to get a feel for a car in an ad only), then $4500 is a good price. One thing that I do when purchasing, is to sit on it for a week or so, call the guy back and see what he thinks then. All of the lookers will be gone (you know, the 17 year old kids that can't afford it anyway). If you start adding up the paint, engine swap, and other nice things, the car has $7,000 in it if the paint is 'good' paint. Ask him what he has in it and I am sure he will tell you. My advice is to sit on it for a while and stew over it. It helps with the impusliveness that occurrs when you see a car for the first time. I am sure we've all done it -- that 'little' bit of rust is ok, the engine runs 'good enough', I can fix that in five minutes, etc. Call him later and look at it again and take notes. (I never buy without looking twice - I have lost a ton of cars that way but I do not regret it.) I looked for a g-body for about a year and a half. I live up north (Iowa) and could not find anything without rust. I finally found the Regal I have now -- 68K, 307 Olds, but pillow top seats (yuk). I paid $1600. Deal? To me it was, I had not seen a car that clean in a long time that was not 'modified'. I only wanted a platform to build on, not a small block chevy in a project gone horribly wrong.
Personally... I'd buy the one that has the interior I wanted. I'd get the $3k and just do the transplant myself... as a 3.8 to 350 swap is insanley easy. At his price... you're paying for his effort, plus.... I wouldn't like an engine that had work done by someone I didn't know (or trusted to do that sort of thing). Just my .02
regal if your looking for a nice regal i got one with a 455 already in it. that has all the goods on it all ready. power everything, 9 inch for and the list goes on. if interested give me a call 814-932-3642 i'm in altoona pa. thanks john
your call No one can tell you what to pay for a car it all of what you want and like the same car that you would pay 5,000 for the next person would only spend 2,500 on. Value is what you make it. A person can spend 20,000 on a regal but when hes done its still a regal that may blu book out at 1,500 if you buy or build a car jus remember dont expect foe everyone to have the same appreciation for the car that you do
