Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

It's pretty simple really.

Let's say the seller has a reserve of $65,000 and very few people are seriously interested except for a couple of guys. One guy (let's call him George) figures he can live with white and would pay $50K. The other guys is named Mark and he only would buy a red car (or yellow if it was really cheap Wink) and he'll pay no more than $23,200.

Even though George placed a max. bid of $50K, the next increment to Mark's bid is $23,300. Since George's bid didn't trigger the reserve, $23,300 is the highest bid seen.

At least that's the way I understand it works.
Well yes if you are going to pay a vendor to do it for you, then bring the check book, title, house deeds....and first born.

I think the attraction of these cars is that they are old and simple (much like many of us Smiler) and we can still do most of the work ourselves.
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Charlton:
It's pretty simple really.

Let's say the seller has a reserve of $65,000 and very few people are seriously interested except for a couple of guys. One guy (let's call him George) figures he can live with white and would pay $50K. The other guys is named Mark and he only would buy a red car (or yellow if it was really cheap Wink) and he'll pay no more than $23,200.

Even though George placed a max. bid of $50K, the next increment to Mark's bid is $23,300. Since George's bid didn't trigger the reserve, $23,300 is the highest bid seen.

At least that's the way I understand it works.


Yep thats how it works untill the owner and his friends bid it up to $100 less than the reserve. Then the next bid gets it!
quote:
Yep thats how it works untill the owner and his friends bid it up to $100 less than the reserve. Then the next bid gets it!


Yep, but not necessarily always owner and friends, believe it or not there are Ebay 'dreamers' or more correctly 'serial bidders' that do nothing but bid up to just under reserve with no intention to buy.

I traced back a couple bidders on a car I recently bid on and one guy had bid on all sorts of otehr exotics, never exceeding the reserve on any. He was high bidder and the seller dropped the reserve with a few hours to go and his bid automatically drops to $100 below the reserve, he never reenters the bidding.
quote:
Originally posted by jeff6559:
With that kind of mileage, how much do you think it will take to bring it back and make it a safe car to drive? $10k?


Here is an old post of mine that I did after buying my car (with minor revisions to bring it up to date). All told, I think I have about $15K into it. Most of the work was done by a shop, so I'm sure others could have saved a bundle.

---------------------- Old post:

I once thought I could fix up a project Pantera for $10 grand. Several people told me it wasn't possible, and I am eternally grateful for their advice, and that I took it.

Instead, I paid a lot more and purchased a 72 Pantera GT5 conversion that ran and looked great. It already had all the important upgrades and previous owners had put a LOT of money into it. I knew it would need some work as it had been sitting for four years. I drove it for a few weeks, had a few expected problems and then sent it to the shop to work out the bugs.

Turns out that "working out the bugs" of a good car costs what I thought it would cost to work on a project car (did I already say "THANKS" to Coz and everyone that said "don't buy that beat up GT4?)

I went through the car and worked on/replaced things that were dead or dying. It was a (mostly)labor of love. Here is the list:

Check motor compression (perfect, runs great)
Motor tune up (new plugs etc.)
New distributor, cap, rotor
New carburetor
New electric fuel pump
New starter
Check ZF (already safety wired)
Change all fluids
New hoses
New filters
New fuel lines
New belt
Adjust valves
Remove, clean and lube seat rails
Front and back wheel alignment
Check all tires for leaks and rebalance (until I get new ones)
New tires (tires for a widebody are expensive)
Fix minor fluid leaks
Weld plates under car to fix prior towing damage
Replace rear engine lid seal – adjust latch
Fix small dent – top driver-side fender
Fix front air dam cracks – blend paint
Flush evaporator and expansion valve on AC
Recharge AC (worked for about a week)
Two new 1350 cfm fans and new relay
New stainless coolant pipes
New thermostat
New water pump
New battery
Clean and tighten all fuses (already has new panel)
New flasher switch (so turn signals work)
New alternator and voltage regulator
Get headlights to open (and aim lights)
Get horn to work
Adjust shift linkage
Get AC fan switch to work
Pay extra for wild motor to pass smog
Window tint
Put original seats back in (bad move)
Put aftermarket seats back in
Dynomat inside firewall (working on rest of cab)
Remove L bumpers

I may have left some stuff out (clamps and little things, plus whatever I have blocked from memory).

It still needs things: new engine lid shocks, ZF gound strap, motor mounts, maybe tank the radiator, change intake manifold gasket, fill holes from bumper removal and paint.
quote:
Originally posted by Joules5:
Robert, I'm interested in this one! Does it read 'bung the tester a few bucks' or what did you do to get it through smog in the end.


I paid $100 (instead of $19.95) and they made whatever adjustments were necessary for the car to pass. That is all I know. How they got a my carb and cam to pass is beyond me, they must be tuning wizards. :-)

R.
It is entirely possible that it wouldn't take much at all. New tires, maybe new hoses.
Flush all the fluids.

I don't think that is the problem, but I don't know what the problem is with possibly the location of the car.

Awhile back I knew of a guy that had a 427 Cobra for sale. A real one. They were going for around $35,000 at the time.

The car was in Montana. NO ONE would go to look at it. The guy literally wound up cutting the car up for parts and selling it piece by piece.

My excuse is easy. I didn't have any money AND I didn't know anything about it till it was too late. Does that let me off the hook?

There is no limit to the depths of stupidity people can achieve. My wife is always proclaiming that there should be an IQ test required for passing a drivers test. I like that idea. The roads would be nearly empty.

I could pass the IQ test, just don't ask me to spell it.
Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×