I have been snooping around ebay the last few weeks seeing if there was anything to pick up for a deal. I picked 13 firebirds and put them on my watch list. 10 of the auctions have ended but not one reached reserve. Is the market slipping or are the sellers just hoping for an ebay home run? All of them were bid more than I wanted to pay. Some were restored cars some were parts cars. I couple were 400 cars and some were sprints. I called two sellers and I thought they were dreaming on the price and they did not make reserve. I am too cheap I guess but I don't think they realize how much it takes to finish a project car or that most of the time when you sell a finished plain Jane car you don't get your money back. It has been a big waste of time. I will not spend much time looking on ebay again. I have contacted sellers on a few Pontiac sites and am waiting for some info on some cars. If they do not pan out I think I might just step back for a while and see what happens.It seems very nice cars and / or rare cars keep selling and I think that will always be the case. I wonder if some of the more average cars are about to make a price adjustment?

One side note all the cars I am looking at have been 67-69 Firebirds. I was looking for more of a plain Jane or unfinished project or parts car. Really did not even look at anything over 15K maybe my play money fund is not keeping up with the matket.

It does seem to me that prices have fallen over the past 14-16 months, but the overall economy has as well.

I think I got a very fair / low deal on my "plain Jane" 326 convert project. But I bought mine for a father / daughter project, and probably won't sell it for 20+ years. And it was numbers matching, so I was happy about that. (the ad didn't say matching numbers, I discovered that after the fact)

So I think if you are looking for a car to flip, this isn't a good time to buy, but if you are looking for a long term investment, prices will likely be higher whenever the economy turns around.

If I describe my '67, would anyone want to "guess" my purchase price?

This might be an eye opening experience for many of us, lets describe a "project", and then fellow members can "bid" (not for real) on what they think a fair price would be. Anyone interested? but you would have to be honest on what you would really pay. (no dreamers)

Not many deals to be had on ebay. I searched for awhile for my latest project car. Paid more than I wanted but it came with enough extra parts to sell off to get it back to where I thought it should be.

You'll pay a lot less for something needing a lot of work. But paying more for a complete car does not always put you ahead either.

I'd suggest to keep contacting sellers, eventually you'll find one hungry enough to sell it after he doesn't get his dream price.

I'll post my latest car in a new thread if anyone wants to pick it apart in a mock sell. It was an incomplete car when I bought it. Pretty much a project buy.

ho428,

I posted mine, go ahead with yours.

I think "overall" market is down, people are scared by the media, plus there some jobless situations...esp. up north

I`ve been checking (just for fun) Triumph TR6s for awhile on EBay also , to see 'going rate'...many keep coming back, and 80% or more never reach reserve...I think its a typical right now

I got a killer deal on a 67 vert around xmas time. Special circumstances, estate.... But it was advertised in a local paper in New Jersey. I tried looking near home but it seems like everytime I found something somebody else had more money to spend on the cars. I looked for years before I found the car in NJ. It was worth all the looking and waiting to find a keeper exactly like I wanted.

I think the cars are holding their value. Just no 'feeding frenzy' when they go on the market to drive the prices sky high right now. Good cars are still demanding high prices when they get advertised properly.

It looks like the housing market collapse has really hit home. Previously, many people with taking loans out against huge equity build-ups on their houses and that "disposable" income was really powering the economy.

I see what happened around here with the housing. A bunch of people got subsidized housing that couldn't afford it. They squat on the house as long as they can. Don't pay a dime, then get foreclosed on. I remember a speech a while back by Bush bragging about how so many people have just discovered the American dream of owning their own home. What a 'smoke and mirrors' way to make people think the economy is good. It's just another veil being removed from the wizard behind the curtain. American dream my a$$. American nightmare for those who actually pay their bills! OK Now I'm the angry whitey!

It's all about finding the right buyer for the right car. Years ago I had a perfect 1995 Audi Sport Quattro. After 7 years and 70,000 miles, it was time to sell (got married and a baby on the way). Trade in value was a dismal $5000 because this type of car people wanted automatics, althought I disagree.

Anyway, I held on to the car and put it on Autotrader in mid summer. Not too much activity during the summer months, but as soon as the weather turned, I was getting 2-3 calls per week.

I ended up selling the car for $10,000 to a kid from pennsylvania who had this exact car, but was totaled by some idiot who ran him off the road. When he drove it, and the ported throttle body kicked in, I knew the car was sold.

When I went back to the dealership (family friend) to pick up my new car, I ran into the used car estimator, and told him I sold the car he offered $5000 in trade in (Book value) for $10,000 he politely asked me if I had ever given thought to selling used cars?

So it's all about finding that special buyer for that special car.

My opinion on tire kickers, is that most people want something for nothing, holding out for the miracle barn find, that doesn't exist.

The market is good for a buyer and bad for a seller. Too many people in financial trouble. Wait another 6 months for the real good deals where the sellers have exhausted almost every other liquidable asset to keep their houses..

And the car is the last thing, usually, to go.

I would always look for a numbers matching, mostly complete and solid car in primer that needs some interior work and no sheet metal replacement. By the time you get into repairing sheet metal versus buying a solid car (initial expense) You will likely save 70% of the repairs on a buying price of $2-3k extra for the solid car.

You can sleep in your car. But you can't drive your house around.

I really don't think it's slumping.. I got beat up a bit on ebay on my last car purchase....April is just around the corner let wait and see if the market heats up... Should be interesting once our shows start up to see the winter projects come out...

I have a numbers matching 27k 68 400 HO 4 speed for sale.

I would be lucky to get what Jim Mattison suggested it would sell for.

Hang in there and you'll find the right car. With a bit of persistence you can find a very decent driver for 12k - 15k.

I purchased the car in my sig for $7500 in 2004.

John