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Texas GT/CS $37,500

franklinair

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
4,744
They're kidding, right? Mine's nicer, more correct, and I value mine in the mid $20's. Go figure.
Neil
 

vintageracer

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
21
Location
Hillbilly Hollywood, Tennessee
ADVERTISING by a dealer at an inflated price is how you create and inflate the market for a particular brand, model and make of car. History has proven this time and time again. Just look at Ferrari's and Corvettes.

Before you criticize you might want to enjoy the ride!

NO, it's not my car so I really do not care what he asks for the car or what he sells the car for.

This is just my opinion!
 

Midnight Special

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 5, 2005
Messages
3,714
Location
Grass Valley, California
...I paid on the higher side (compared to today's market) over the last three years hoping that a car like this would eventually be at the value this one is advertised. Yet, despite how hard we try to pump up the CS; I see the same old trend of "car bashing" and nitpicking by purists here that can keep us all on the ground...

Oh, I'm just as guilty, I know. 'Trying to stay in groove & all... but maybe we ought to take a second look at how we motivate buyers & sellers w/o offending. A real CS is a real CS - a rare Mustang that has endured 40+ years of... As there is already tons of info here for buyers to become informed to the degree they want to - let's maybe project the problem cars as "opportunities" instead of such nitpicking

I personally like to think I bought mine for the same reasons people did back in 1968 - to drive, cherish & enjoy. Not just to fill with inspection marks, tags & perfection for a critical audience...

But that's just me. I hope the the car finds a good home and the guy gets his price.
 
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Perkchiro

Well-known member
Joined
May 1, 2004
Messages
1,112
Location
Nixa, MO
Hey folks, we have a recent thread that touches on this subject.

http://www.californiaspecial.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5606

From my observations, I think that the increased asking prices for CS's are welcomed and deserved. In general, all "muscle cars" have increased in value with higher demand. One could argue that "higher demand" is not an issue with CS cars. They tend to be more available and at lower prices than the fastbacks and Shelby's of the same era. I was pleased with the above NADA valuations for CS's. They have categorized them as "muscle cars" and I think this gives us an edge in value over just a "classic". I'm not in this for the investment, I'm in it because I love the look and the history of the CS. They are a pleasure to own and drive. Let's not nit pick the asking prices by some with lofty goals of high dollars. Time will tell if the market demand allows prices to stabilize or go higher. Just my 2 cents......again!:wink:
 
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BroadwayBlue

BroadwayBlue

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 26, 2005
Messages
2,900
Location
Hudson Valley Area, NY
I'm all for an increase in the value of our cars.
It's not going to stop me from driving it, that's why I have one - to drive it and enjoy it. It will take a huge jump in value before I stop driving it and when that happens then maybe it's time to sell and get something else or a few of something else to drive around.

I agree we are sometimes critical in what people ask for our cars. I see it a lot but I can't seem to figure out why. Sometimes I think it's just that we are always making sure these cars are represented properly and it spills over from there. I really don't think anyone on the site is intentionally trying to keep prices down (unless they're looking to buy one soon :grin: )

Seriously though, it all comes down to what the market can and will support. There seems to be a steady increase lately in posted values for our cars which is great in my mind. I'm not in this for the investment either but it's great to know the value is going up and doesn't hurt at all.

The car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it at that time.

My insurance company keeps raising the value of the car each year to well over $30,000 without my asking. Yeah they get an extra $10 per year on the premium but at some point I think they don't want to over insure either.

I've had someone talk to me at a show a few years ago that knew nothing about a CS and after educating them they were convinced my car would sell for $60,000. I would tell them currently "it would probably go for around $16,000" and they would say "$60,000 yeah I could see that" ... and I would say "no, $16,000" and they would say "yeah $60,000" ... "no, 1-6 not 6-0" ... and they would say "really? Want to sell it?"
Must be a New Yawk thing. :grin:

Also - didn't Jon having a section on the site for awhile that posted selling prices for the cars. That would be great to have with the date and price to see a historical trend. Kind of like seeing the old and new NADA prices. Hemmings old Mustang magazine used to track sales that way but they no longer publish it.
Maybe I'll start an informal spreadsheet to see the trends.

If anyone has prices they want to give me to include I'll keep track of it anonymously.
Maybe selling date, condition 1-5 (1 being best), selling price, type of sale (private, dealer, auction (live), auction (internet). I'm willing to do it if people want to send me some info - I'll track eBay too.
 

rvrtrash

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
3,683
I think it might also be that a lot of us have owned our cars for so long we keep thinking of what we paid. "What! $37,000? Shoot, I only paid $8,000 for mine (in 1987). That guy must be nuts!" Think of it this way. I keep seeing standard coupes that are daily drivers being offered for $6K-9K. Put $15,000 into a nice restoration effort and then add the value of a limited edition collector and what do you have? Somewhere in the area of $30K? I know if you were going to show up at my door, you better be carrying at least that or you're wasting your time.

Steve
 

vintageracer

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
21
Location
Hillbilly Hollywood, Tennessee
Wow! Maybe some attitudes are changing!

The fact of the matter is that it costs almost the same to restore a complete 68 Shelby GT350 as it does to restore a complete 68 CS/GT in the same/similiar condition. You are doing the same work to both cars. There is a little difference in unique parts however I did say to restore "complete" cars. The ONLY difference is the value of the cars when you purchase them initially and the value of the cars when the restoration is complete.

In MY OPINION, you are foolish to restore ANY car that has a finished value of $15K or less since the cost of the parts, labor and finishing is the same for a car worth $1K and one worth $50K in most cases. Yes, I know there are instances of the unique parts but the the painter does not price his work based upon the value of the car, the mechanic does not price his labor based upon the value of the car and I have never had Advance Auto Parts ask me for the value of the car before they priced their parts.

The ONLY CONSTANT I have seen in 25 years of collecting and selling cars has been the steady increase in parts and labor costs. The value of the cars has varied widely but labor and parts continue their relentless climb. All the more reason NOT to restore ANY car with a finished value of $15K or less.

Given these continued cost increases, many of the cars you "may" think are over-priced "may" be a bargain when you consider what it would cost to buy a similiar car unrestored and then begin to restore (another nice word for spend lot's of money) that car to the level of the the car for sale that you percieve to be over-priced! Restoration is EXPENSIVE particularly when you also consider (most people never do) the time frame needed to restore a car. There is a LOT to be said for riding now instead of 2 years from now!

As the collector car market continues to slow quality will be the key! BJ in 2007 was AWFUL from a quality standpoint. Much worse than in 2006. This is something that the average TV watcher could not see. I will be very intersted next week when I get to BJ and the other other auctions to see the quality of the cars presented for sale. My predication is that the cars presented for sale in 2008 will continue the steady decline in quality of cars offered for sale. The folks with the REALLY good stuff are not selling at auction. The really nice cars are sold privately and not actively for sale so when you see someone trying to bump the market for your favorite collector car, give him some slack as he is ultimately helping you the enthusiast!

Of course that always precludes the fact that the car is represented by the seller, private or dealer, accurately with no hint of fraud or mis-represenation.
 

RedGTvert

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
262
As the collector car market continues to slow quality will be the key! BJ in 2007 was AWFUL from a quality standpoint. Much worse than in 2006. This is something that the average TV watcher could not see. I will be very intersted next week when I get to BJ and the other other auctions to see the quality of the cars presented for sale. My predication is that the cars presented for sale in 2008 will continue the steady decline in quality of cars offered for sale. The folks with the REALLY good stuff are not selling at auction. The really nice cars are sold privately and not actively for sale so when you see someone trying to bump the market for your favorite collector car, give him some slack as he is ultimately helping you the enthusiast!

The reason for this, is when the prices went to where they did in 05/06, people with any piece of crap thought they would instantly hit the lottery.

You are right. When I went to BJ Palm Beach last year, the one that really made me shake my head was supposed to be an original unrestored 30K mile GT500, that you could clearly see was the nice high quality Nordan bumpers.
 
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BroadwayBlue

BroadwayBlue

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Joined
Apr 26, 2005
Messages
2,900
Location
Hudson Valley Area, NY
I agree with your points on the cost of restoration.

Often the cost of restoration is more than buying a car that's already or almost done.

I did that with my current CS, I figured it would have cost me a lot more in money and time to restore something to it's current condition. In my case time was a big factor. I wanted to drive it and enjoy it now. Having young kids and a job that takes up a lot of my time, time isn't something I have a lot of to spend on restoration work. I assumed everything would take me 3-4 times longer that it should in my current situation.

Someday in the future I'd love to work on a car and do more of the restoration work but for now I'm enjoying what I have.

I think BJ tends to inflate prices and be more of a "show" and who can outbid who. I enjoy watching it but I personally don't look at their prices as what the real market is although it has some impact on it.

I've been watching a lot of the Russo and Steele auctions on TV lately and in my uneducated opinion their values and selling prices seem to be more realistic.
 

John McGilvary

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
321
I think it might also be that a lot of us have owned our cars for so long we keep thinking of what we paid. "What! $37,000? Shoot, I only paid $8,000 for mine (in 1987). That guy must be nuts!" Think of it this way. I keep seeing standard coupes that are daily drivers being offered for $6K-9K. Put $15,000 into a nice restoration effort and then add the value of a limited edition collector and what do you have? Somewhere in the area of $30K? I know if you were going to show up at my door, you better be carrying at least that or you're wasting your time.

Steve

I know just what you are saying, I paid $3,700 for my CS 40 years ago.
And now there are all kinds of guys that want to buy my car for more money than I have ever dreamed of.
It is good to see more people on this site talking about the value of thier CS's, and not about how much thier CS is " NOT " worth.
IMO the CS hase always been in a class of its own.

John
 
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