1968 Selling a '68 GT/CS

[Jerry]

It's time for me to sell my '68 GT/CS. I'm caring for my elderly parents and need to sell it though it will hurt. My aunt bought it new in 1968. She was the proverbial little old lady in Pasadena. It had only 100,000 miles on the original engine when I got it in 1989. Since then, I've put just 25,000 miles on it in 25 years but it did have to have a new engine put in about 10 years ago. The new engine only has 1,000 miles on it. It has sat in my garage for the last 5 years without being driven so it needs the fuel system flushed but it was in excellent running condition when it was last running.

It's a C code and is completely original exterior and interior except for the new engine, even original paint! Exterior has parking lot dings along the ribs but otherwise excellent. It's never been in an accident. The interior is very nice except for a torn headliner. I have a replacement headliner but have not installed it in case a buyer wants to repair the original. Engine compartment is very clean and detailed nicely but not professionally.

I've looked at ads for the last year and it seems I should list it between $15,000 and $30,000 but I'm unsure how to figure out where in that range to price it.

How much does the single-family owned and nearly 100% original nature factor in? How much of a negative is it that it's not the original engine?

Opinions? Best places to advertise it? Anyone here interested before I advertise it?

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[sam]

Jerry, I think you have a pretty good car as described. I am sorry that you must sell it and wish you the best at this time in your life. There are some great more qualified folks on this sight that can advise you better. It would be helpful for us to see some pics, serial no. and even a Marti report. Best to you & family.
Sam

 

[Don]

Value

You can start with the Hagerty value guide and go from there.

https://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vbe=90690

The market is fickle so the more you can set your expectations in advance the less frustrating the experience will be. When you say new engine do you mean the old one was rebuilt, a donor motor that was rebuilt, a crate motor, and is the motor a 289?

If you had original motor, paint, interior etc. then a premium may be had for being a survivor (depending on actual condition). Also if you have original documentation (original window sticker, service records, etc) some will pay a premium for that.

Of course most will want to see a Marti Report.

Good luck with your sale.

If you have the stomach for it list it on ebay and set a high reserve. You will get a lot of crackpot inquiries but you may get a real lead or two that way. Ebay is a cheap way to get exposure for your sale and you may list it on Craigslist concurrently (just be prepared to filter the real inquiries from the kooky ones).

 

[rvrtrash]

Jerry, I think the replacement engine will hurt it some. Matching numbers increases the price. Headliners generally can't be repaired and must be replaced, and it's a bit of work to do it because you have to pull front and rear glass. Personal opinion only, "single family" isn't as important as vehicle condition and options. Is the glass and stainless moldings scratched and pitted? Does it need new tires? Has the suspension, steering, brakes, transmission been rebuilt? If not, you're realistically looking at some level of restoration to make it reliable. 125K miles is pretty worn out for cars of that era. What color and interior is it? Some colors aren't very popular and people will skip right by them. I'd post it in our classifieds section to start. Without seeing pics, I'd say start around $20K, and expect to actually sell for about $18K. You can always lower it if it doesn't sell. This is all just opinion of course, based on limited info and no pictures.

 

[Jerry]

Thanks

Great information and comments from all of you. Thank you so much.

Wimbledon white with black trim. Suspension and brakes have been done recently (in terms of miles). Transmission and steering have not. New tires. The chrome bumpers are pitted. I have a lot of service records and some original sale documents.

Here's the Marti report, pics to follow.

Many thanks again!

Jerry

 

[p51]

In addition to the Hagerty value guide mentioned above you can also use the Nada guide to get another idea of price range. Hagerty is probably better than Nada but this will give you another data point and price range...

Nada Price guide for classic cars:
http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars

Specific 1968 GT/CS
http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1968/Ford/Mustang-California-Special/2-Door-Hardtop

There are also some threads on this site (most in the "Classified Ads" section) where members have been tracking sales both in general and of particular cars. Reading through those threads will help you get an idea of what prices are paid and thoughts on various cars. You will see that there are lots of opinions as well... :wink:

My general take on what you've described is that you have a good car for someone who wants to buy an GT/CS and do a little bit of fixing up on the car themselves. Having a sound body/chassis, straight with no rust is a big plus. The new, low mileage, engine is (IMO) generally a plus. But if you still have the old engine it is even better since you could sell the car+engine to someone who might want to restore a numbers matching car. If the car has lived it's life on the west coast (esp CA/NV/AZ) that's a plus (usually means rust-free).

As far as selling is concerned. If you can be patient you can sell it for higher price. Ebay sales prices seem to be lower than average (~-15%). Auction prices (eg Barrett-Jackson) are higher (~15%+). East coast prices seem to be higher since there are fewer GT/CS's there.

If you really want some good input from the group here, post some pictures...

 

[BigJim]

Depending on where you are located this may be a bad time to sell a classic car. Here in the midwest we are getting ready to put our classics to bed for the winter. Since most potential owners don't want to store and pay insurance for a car they won't enjoy for the next 6 months they tend to low ball sellers. The opposite is true in the spring. People are looking for a car to drive and enjoy right away and will pay more for a nice car.