I still have my 69 convertible for sale, at $17500, but have found that it has been a difficult try at selling it. Had one guy look but he really wanted a Camaro vert for the same money, haven't hit my reserve twice on e-bay, have one guy negotiating from Pennsylvania (I am in Indiana) but he has some issues and has offered $16K. I spent 3 yrs. and 25K on a ground up resto and the car is getting no respect. Would I be better to take it to a big auction? Sorry just venting my frustration.

It's just the market. I had some 'hard knocks' when selling my TA. The people that are in the market are mostly sharks, dreamers and high dollar snooties. LOL It's not as fun as it used to be on the selling side of the hobby. No money to be made. I bet you have been dealing with sharks that only want a quick 'flipper'. One thing that you will find is that if you have it priced right the sharks will not bite. You need a real consumer that just wants a nice car for themselves. It takes time. I tried to sell my TA for years and in the end took barely what I had into it. If I would have sold it three years ago I would have gotten almost 10K more for it.

I took my car to a Rod shop recently to get their thoughts on some welding I wanted done... the owner of the shop offered me his unsolicited opinion that I should simply walk away from my car, as it would never be worth a fraction of what a full resto would cost. "It's not even a Camaro" he said.

I think it's been discussed before on this board, and unfortunately, you may be living it right now: FGF's are undervalued, at least in the opinion of enthusiasts around here.

I have to wonder if all the cars supposidly selling for the high numbers actually are. Stories like yours seem to be common.
But then you see junk that'll take $25 grand to restore sell for $3000 and end up where you are. I can't figure it out.
Just like the 68 I tried to buy here, the buyer from Michigan drove thousands of miles just to pick it up. He pretty much now has over $3000 in a car with no running gear, no interior, no title and needs everything. It makes no sense, even for a keeper car.
But yes, you might do better at an on site auction. Like a goodguys show or musclecar auction house or maybe Norwalk has one at the Nationals? Listed it in Hemmings?

you may need to advertise it more , more places...there are buyers out there.....just had a local guy looking for a 68 vert or coupe for up to $20k....had a hard time find one...but eventually did...
have you tried CollectorCar trader? Hemmings?, Classical Pontiac?CarsonLine?...here, PY...Craigslist..?

My perfect...PERFECT...'66 Le Mans Sprint with 37K miles took eight months to sell at my price (high end price for a Sprint). If it had any V-8 it would have sold in a month or less for the same price. It was listed on CCTOL, the OHC forum, this site, PY, and CP.

I just sold a project Firebird within weeks of listing, again at my price. It was a non-numbers matching coupe and brought a fair amount.

Your price is definitely reasonable for a nice convertible. How original is it, what engine and trans, what options? This is the time of year to sell a 'vert, with the right listing in the right places you should get some action.

I tend to go along with the rest of the gang here. My example will be based on my '66 Grand Prix. When I bought it, I told the wifey that it would be one to sell and profit from. I put a sign in the window and an elaborate list of attributes, with a high price. This was to satisfy the the wife's thirst to sell. We drove the car a long time and had a lot of people thinking I was nuts, then someone saw it and had to have it. I tried every way in the world to convince this girl that she didn't need a project
like that, but she was determined and paid my asking price.
I miss that old car like you wouldn't believe.
Point being, IF you have the time to find them (or them find you)
there is SOMEONE out there that is looking for a car like yours.
The other side says, don't sell if you will regret getting rid of it. I miss old GrandPa somethin' awful.

You said a mouthful. Lots of smoke and mirrors. Then someone who thinks the illusion is real pops up and pays the money..... I think we are at a time again when you buy a classic car and you spend money on it that you will never see. Better be in it for the fun of it because you can't eat a car!

Only one in several hundred cars is an "investment". It has to be rare, desirable, original and in good condition. The rest are a hobby, especially if you are underwriting the restoration.

I do think Pontiacs are undervalued. But the market ebbs and flows, and the Mopar and GTO prices have softened over the last two years other than the rarest of the rare. It's hard to say what the next trend will be.

i cany figure it out.if the car is total junk,it will bring 5 k.if it is relativly nice and a great driver,it only brings slightly more.case in poing,a rotted out rst bucket 400 car brought almost 5 k here in fl.my green car brought 8 k and the guy never followed through with the sale.the rotted car needed a 40,000.00 dollar restoration.my car is almost turn key.and firebirds wont bring the money they deserve as long as firebird owners sell them cheap.i wont sell mine cheap.i value it more than any 69 chitmaro

It's easy Terry. The unbelieveable deals you speak of are most likely "Unbelieveable". Somebody is lying about what they got for their piece of shite. Somebody bid and didn't follow through just like on your greeny.

I have personally seen cars that my local junkard wouldn't want to tow away sell for a couple grand. The buyer sees what they want to see. Issues may not be seen as extensive as they are in the quest to buy a dream car.

IT ALSO SEEMS THAT EVEN THE MENTION OF 4 SPEED WILL RAISE THE PRICE OF ANY KLUNKER.WHERE I CAME FROM,STICK SHIFT CARS WERE THE MOST UNDESIREABLE

Well, also I think you have a lot of people who want a car, let's say a FGF and there is no way on earth they can afford to buy one already done. Therefore, they are willing to pay what they can afford ie: 5-7k for a junk box that they will "fix" not realizing that they never will actually "fix" it up because they can't afford the parts etc. As Yellowbird says, it all depends on what the car is, motor, oprions, origianl etc. You see so many cars where people put "30k invested, will sell for 20k" well that's fine and well, but if you spent 30k to weld a Camaro front end on to a FIrebird, well then you should have thought about the re-sell at that time. That's just an example. But nonetheless people do some weird stuff out there and think they can sell it for big money etc.

PS I was not refering to this post, just in general.

When i got the GTO last year, several people offered $2-3K more then what i paid.
Now that i'm out of $ to finish the FB, these same people are no longer interested.
Of course them finding out what i paid didnt help.
And not going to let it go if i dont have to.

Maybe if you take it to some shows and say it's not for sale,
someone will be more eager to buy it thinking it most be the real deal, just not a get rich ploy.

That's a good point, the entry level price. I've bought really good driveable non-correct cars for what a rough project matching car would cost. And I've spent more for cars I really wanted. And I've bought cars that are little more than a shell with docs and turned them back into cars.

If you're planning a full stock restoration, find the best sheet metal and the matching numbers and factory options you want. If you have to wait longer to save more, it's worth it. As seen on a recent post, a "little" quarter panel rust can go a long, long way and replacement steel just isn't the same. And yes, four speeds command a higher price on performance cars, even if automatics were the more expensive option when new.

There are cars at every price point. The trick is to find the best one at a given price point, if you want the best value. By doing so, you may spend a long time looking especially if you have certain "must-have" specs on your list.

Then again, the perfect car might appear out of the blue. So it's important to know what your actual budget is, and to have the money ready to buy at a day's notice.

Ponchoshop, that's a good way to sell at your price. Take your car to the park, to drive-ins, to cruise-ins. When someone starts asking questions, invariably one that comes up is "How much does a car like that cost?" Here's where you list your asking price. And when the response is "Wow, that's not as bad as I thought" then continue the conversation...because you have someone who has thought about buying a classic car. Casually mention that you've thought about selling it, and hopefully you have a good reason because there is a natural suspicion against cars that look good being sold. If it's so great, why is it for sale?

great point...
when I was looking for mine 7plus yrs ago, I wanted
in decending order
1) First gen Firebird
2) a convertible
3) a 68
4) a 400
5)automatic (so wife could move it if necessary)
6)Verdoro Green
7) not over $18k

well, I flew to St L to look at a beautiful 68 verdoro 428 with parchment...had col shifter...but found out it had bad engine...I took my $13,000 check and my $500 cash back with me...

I drove to Atlanta with my buddy to look at a repainted blue 68 convertible 400 "$8000, runs great , no leaks, no problem driving to Houston" didnt even get out of the car as I drove up next to it, it was that bad!!...

etc,etc...
finally "settled" since I found my RED, 69, former 350, fromerly green car,now with w a 400, needed a lot,but it was in Dallas , could drive it back, for $8000...

didnt find anything "good" in my 'range' of 13-18k, so decided to do some work...

well, yes , I did find one , a red 68 convertible, "restored" for $14k in San Antonio, just before I left on vacation...guy was getting married ,needed the money...he promised to hold it for the one week I was gone, so I could come get it.....You guessed it...he didnt keep his promise

I also missed out early on a 67 red "original paint" convertible found here...Al Yeltons car , while I was selling my other...we negotiated a trade, were to meet halfway , switch cars...but three weekends in a row ,bad weather on two, one he was gone...then upcoming weekend we`re set...wed he calls me " I sold the car"...WTF? " I got cash"...

just a couple of the stories... so, I settled, just wanted something to "drive"..

Thanks for some answers, mine is a 350 with the correct YE block but not NOM, th-350, with factory power disc brakes and deluxe interior. Basically everything is new or been replaced except sheetmetal which is original or GM. PHS docs and Build Sheet also included. Reason for selling is relocating to Florida in August and could use the $$$. Would Florida be a stronger selling market? Also have a full set of 15" Rallye 2's with trim rings available for $450+ shipping. Bolt pattern will fit FGF. Thanks.

Sent you a PM Poncho. Have a buyer in Florida that might be interested.

Amazing! Complaining that you cannot get enough! (See my post on smoking good stuff.)

Ponchoman, where in FL are moving too? The reason I ask is that I am also relocating to FL before Sept. 1st. We are looking at the DeLand area, just north of Orlando...

I'll give you a hint why your potential buyers seem ungrateful. As the car is a non-numbers matching 350 2bbl, auto trans, buyers see it as such. They don't care that you've spent $25,000 on the restoration. They know that 350s aren't "worth" as much as 400s, that autos aren't "worth" as much as 4 speeds, and that 2 bbls aren't "worth" as much as 4 bbls. Same issues I had with my Le Mans. Same place 4 door Tri 5 Chevys were 15 years ago. Now 4 doors of some makes fetch good money where at one time you could scarcely give them away.

The money spent on finding and rebuilding a correct YE code will not likely ever be regained. Dropping a 70s era 400 would probably bring more return on investment. It does not make sense from a restoration standpoint, but it shows in the market. People want what they want, and the 400 is supposed to be "the" engine. 350s are considered the low end, even though a good running 350 is no slouch.

Your buyer will likely be a family or older couple looking for a nice family cruiser. And it will fill the bill admirably.

I think it would...all year round top down....