Pantera #6684 - 74L on Ebay w/ 3.1K Miles

I don't know anything about this car, but it sure looks pristine.

As a previous Pantera owner, will you be happy keeping this car in a climate controlled museum changing it's fluids every year or two?

Because if you intend to drive this cat, you will certainly harm the pedigree and condition and it will need a lot of work to become a dependable, roadworthy vehicle - all of which will impact the showcar condition.

Which is to say that this price is a little steep if it's a car you will want to drive.

David, thanks, I thought of the issues with such a nice car. I drive my old cars and would want to keep this car as is and for car shows with the local Mustang and Italian car clubs. It is getting pricey and I think the reserve is in the mid $90Ks.

Awesome car! Two items that I noticed don't appear to be stock, in case it matters to you. The brake master/booster appears to have been upgraded and the engine bay has apparently had the undercoating stripped off and been painted.

Art

Thanks for pointing to those to "changes". Makes me wonder about them on a car with such low mileage. Were all of the engine bays undercoated on the "L" cars? DZ

quote:

Were all of the engine bays undercoated on the "L" cars?

I believe later L cars such as this one came exactly the way you see it, with a satin black painted engine bay.

That just leaves the brake master cylinder as the only non-stock item visible from the photo's. Easily correctable if you want a concours standard car.

Julian, I thought I had seen this satin black finish on other Panteras. If it had body in the engine bay wouldn't that show unless body panels were replaced? This car should stay stone stock. Now it makes me question why a master cylinder would need replacing on a 3K mile car and why it wouldn't have been replaced with stock. I'll fly in to see this car in person if I buy at this level.
Zanone
66 230SL Pagoda
61 Buick Electra 225 Convertible

quote:

Now it makes me question why a master cylinder would need replacing on a 3K mile car and why it wouldn't have been replaced with stock.

Maybe exactly that, 3K miles, museum piece = underuse = seals went and/or master pitted. The vendors are tooled up to make reproduction units these days, that hasn't always been the case, so maybe it was a case of availability. Just guessing here...

The low mileage can be one of the downfalls if you want a car to drive regularly. As once you start to use it all those years of no use suddenly present a barrage of failures. Definitely not one to buy without a thorough inspection to see what you are getting into.

Good luck,

Checked out the pics and the front trunk did not appear in the ebay ad (space was there though).

I noticed the detomaso plate at the rear carrier and double clamped green stripe hoses underneath replacing the stock set-up at some time. Isn't the seller incorrect saying "leather" interior for that model?

Here is a pic of my 1972 Pre L stock brake booster for you. Don't know if a L model had something different?

Dave # 3463

Julian & Dave, thanks for the details because I need to know the right questions to ask if I bid to the reserve. I noticed that there is a shill bidder with no feedback driving the price up and he has outbid me without bidding further to the reserve. The Ebay bidding process encourages shill bidding.

Does anyone know what that red button is in front of the washer bottle?

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by Cyboman:
Does anyone know what that red button is in front of the washer bottle?

Michael

Seatbelt interlock. Primitive 'safety' feature. My car has it.

Michael, I'm glad you asked this question because I wanted to know also. Maybe some reset button for an alarm system? A low mileage "original" car shouldn't have too many mods in my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by A Hudson:

quote:

Originally posted by Cyboman:
Does anyone know what that red button is in front of the washer bottle?

Michael

Seatbelt interlock. Primitive 'safety' feature. My car has it.

Do you know if it was factory deTomaso, part of the Ford re-engineering effort, or dealer installed?

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by Ozone:
I noticed that there is a shill bidder with no feedback driving the price up and he has outbid me without bidding further to the reserve. The Ebay bidding process encourages shill bidding.

I noticed that also. Only two bidders driving the price up. And one of the bidders has zero feedback! What a crock of an auction.

Ozone,

If you decide to fly in and see this Pantera for yourself, let me know. I don't live far from it and will accompany you.

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by Panther:

quote:

Originally posted by Ozone:
I noticed that there is a shill bidder with no feedback driving the price up and he has outbid me without bidding further to the reserve. The Ebay bidding process encourages shill bidding.

I noticed that also. Only two bidders driving the price up. And one of the bidders has zero feedback! What a crock of an auction.

A 1974 Pantera with only 100 original miles just sold in Monterey at RM Acutions for $80K plus the $8K buyers fee for a total of $88K. The vehicle is Lot#270 in the attachment:

http://www.rmauctions.com/AuctionResults.cfm?SaleCode=M...gory=Cars&Currency=#

My $ .02:

Shill bids. Stuff changed and described incorrectly. $ 95k > "Don't ever drive it or you'll hurt the value..."

Find a really nice $ 60k Pantera. Drive it. Put the extra $ 35-40K you'll save "in the bank."

Dave # 3463

quote:

A 1974 Pantera with only 100 original miles just sold in Monterey at RM Acutions for $80K plus the $8K buyers fee for a total of $88K. The vehicle is Lot#270 in the attachment:

Thanks for posting. I didn't get to Monterey this year due to other committments. I see some fairly depressed prices.. someone got an SPF GT40 MKII complete for $66K, that's less than the rolling chassis price!

I sure wish I'd got the BB512i I contemplated back when a good one could be had for $65K.

This is what the other bidder has been placing bids on. But you get what they are doing.

quote:

eBay Motors > Chevrolet 2 Seller 1 19h
eBay Motors > Bentley 4 Seller 2 1d 23h
eBay Motors > Ferrari 4 Seller 3 4h
eBay Motors > Trailers 2 Seller 4 6d 13h
eBay Motors > Trailers 4 Seller 4 4d 13h
eBay Motors > Other Makes 9 Seller 1 1d 19h
eBay Motors > Bentley 2 Seller 5 1h
eBay Motors > Bentley

Note: Other Makes is the Pantera.
Jeff

Jeff, on the seller's website (blackhorsegarage.com) they show two different Vin#s for this car 6684 and 6699. They look like a high end dealer but have had this car on Ebay several times without the reserve being met so they lowered the starting price to entice bidders and now someone is shilling for them. If I pass on this trailer queen I'll let them know why.

Hi Jeff,

It looks like you have outed the shill.

Ozone,

In looking at the bidding #6684, it looks as though somebody is under the ether.

If you are going to fly somewwhere to look at a collectable, you might consider this car. The general consensus is that the bumpers are fugly, but the ownership history is unsurpassed:

http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2250045562/m/6990008965

If both the bidders were real they would be starting up a big car collection.
Maybe they won Lotto ! :P

I was the second high bidder but knew the shill bids were there to drive up the price and inflate interest. The dealer said that reserve was $95K down from $120K! What a steal! Unless a European or Asian collector buys I don't think it will sell in this market. I'll keep looking for a nice driver unless there is a fire sale on this one.

quote:

I'll keep looking for a nice driver unless there is a fire sale on this one.

Larry stock (Pantera Parts Connection, Reno) has a couple of very nice cars on consignment at the moment, both priced at $52.5K. Worth a phone call (1-800 DeTomaso) and he'll send you some photo's.

Don't forget to look on the PI cars for sale page too... Mike Mayberry has a very clean green '72 for sale.

quote:

Originally posted by Joules5:

Don't forget to look on the PI cars for sale page too... Mike Mayberry has a very clean green '72 for sale.

And then there's this one...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1972-Detom...trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Is it the one Mayberry has listed? Either way, pretty and original.

Thanks Joules5 and A Hudson I've been researching the cars on this site, Eabay and others for sale and would prefer to buy from and individual and not a dealer or Ebay car.DZ

quote:

Originally posted by Ozone:
Thanks Joules5 and A Hudson I've been researching the cars on this site, Eabay and others for sale and would prefer to buy from and individual and not a dealer or Ebay car.DZ

Was the ebay experience that bad - or just leave a bad taste in your mouth?

You're THE judge on this, but ruling out all dealers and ebay is a fairly broad cut. I've bought and sold on ebay; had good experiences, though not without due diligence. Dealers - I've found - usually have WAY more to protect than Lonny the Seemingly Honest but Poised to Evaporate individual.

Anyway, enjoy the hunt... it's half the fun. At least!

quote:

Originally posted by A Hudson:

And then there's this one...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1972-Detom...trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Gee Adams, I figured you were going to buy that one as a spare.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Charlton:
Gee Adams, I figured you were going to buy that one as a spare.

Mark

When I first saw it, I thought it WAS my car! But yes, we all need a spare, or two, right?

quote:

Thanks Joules5 and A Hudson I've been researching the cars on this site, Eabay and others for sale and would prefer to buy from and individual and not a dealer or Ebay car.DZ

I urge you not to look at Pantera vendors as your typical 'used car dealer', they are for the most part owners like us who took the hobby one step further.

Although Larry is doing the groundwork on the two cars he has for sale, they are on consignment, you are ultimately negotiating with and buying from the owner. In Mike Mayberry's case he is an extrenmely well respected Lincoln-Mercury dealer who has a long history with Ford and selling Pantera's. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Pantera from him.

Now if you see one for sale on your local used car corner lot....

I won't but this email is typical b.s. salesmanship so I email back saying that I stopped bidding because of the shill bidder. Here is the dealer's email to me:
Our 1974 Pantera did not sell on Ebay though it did generate a lot of interest. Please give me a call to discuss a possible sale as I still have not heard back from the party overseas who posted a previous high offer. Also, please note that I had accidentally posted the VIN incorrectly. The correct VIN (as show in the pictures) is THPNND06699. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Best regards,

quote:

Originally posted by Ozone:
I won't but this email is typical b.s. salesmanship so I email back saying that I stopped bidding because of the shill bidder. Here is the dealer's email to me:
Our 1974 Pantera did not sell on Ebay though it did generate a lot of interest. Please give me a call to discuss a possible sale as I still have not heard back from the party overseas who posted a previous high offer. Also, please note that I had accidentally posted the VIN incorrectly. The correct VIN (as show in the pictures) is THPNND06699. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Best regards,

Agreed. The BS is part of the person; the car is not. You're already smarter for having spotted the auction's "funk factor" WAY beforehand, but since the car is what it is, maybe get it inspected - sans BS - to see if its the one for you. The loser won't play into this car's history; you might.

I am also interested in this car. I have not had a Pantera before, and am looking for a show quality car. I'm not happy to see the shill bidding, but hopefully it is thrill bidding and not someone shill bidding for the dealer.
Sounds like the brake master is incorrect, some hoses are incorrect, the shift knob is incorrect...Is the consensus that the red button and engine compartment/undercoating are actually ok? Looking at the pix, does anyone else see a small dent in front of the LF tire in the closeup pic?

Do the Goodyear Arriva tires seem accurate?
Is the drivers side mirror accurate? Is a spare tire missing? Does the radio delete plate seem correct?

Is the price the main thing that appears to be amiss with #6699 just judging from the pictures and description?