Beautiful 69 on Ebay - He's Looking for $17K

[SeldomSeen]

My multiple award winning, condition two '66 MGB always gets more nice comments than my condition three 124 spider. The B always attracts small crowds and has folks gushing over it. All I ever get with the Fiat is: "Hmmm, nice. I had one of those years ago." That is why MGs are worth more. I just don't see it though. The Fiat is much prettier and better built. Funny thing is, if I had to sell one of them, it would be the Fiat.

[maytag]

c'mon dood.... the MG is a $h!tty car, no matter how you look at it.
the only reason they are worth more is the popularity, as opposed to the Fiat, which nobody knows what it is. hell, most of the time, the comments I get in my Fiat are "Hey! Nice MG!"

[SeldomSeen]

Maytag:

Maybe it's the same state of mind that makes some folks dream of owning a Travelair or DeHaviland Tiger Moth more than a Mooney or Piper. Sure the latter two are far better aircraft but the former have a certain intangible... something.

[Danno]

Brad, you know I love a beautiful old Fiat, and I hear what you are saying on one-owner and unmolested, but it's still a Fiat. He's about $5,000 over insane, $7,000 over misguided, and $8,000 over proud. I'll watch this auction, but I don't see it bringing more than 7K , and that's even with the right couple of guys who have got all giddy with bid-fever.

well, there you go. Only went up to $8,900. I figured it would go for $7000, but said that $9,000 would be asking price if the guy was considered "proud" of his car.

A thing's cash value is only what someone is willing to pay for it. I haven't heard of anybody willing to pay what he is asking, but lots of people who wish they could. It's nice that we all recognize the true value of this beauty, but somebody needs to recognize with cash, or it's all just fantasizing.

Ebay isn't the end-all for car sales, I wish there was some way we could keep track of this car to see if it ever sells and for how much.

[maytag]

Ebay isn't the end-all for car sales, I wish there was some way we could keep track of this car to see if it ever sells and for how much.

You're right, that Ebay isn't the end-all. But it IS very indicative of the marketplace as a whole.
Yes, it is possible for a car like this to hit one of the major auctions and find an uneducated buyer willing to pay waay too much, as we've seen recently. But for the most part, you can look to ebay and expect to eventually get no more than 10% over that final bid amount if you wait and wait and find the "Right" buyer.

It's nice that we all recognize the true value of this beauty, but somebody needs to recognize with cash, or it's all just fantasizing.

funny: I fantasize about these cars going DOWN in value, and nobody else liking them. Because then they'll be plentiful and cheap for me.
I still don't understand the need for the marketplace to validate your feelings for the car.

[giuliot60]

I saw pics of your car on another site. It's looking amazing, especially the engine.

Out of curiosity, would you ever sell your car, and if so, for how much?

[bradartigue]

I still don't understand the need for the marketplace to validate your feelings for the car.

I agree for the most part, but marketplace value is going to represent the sentiment towards the car as a whole. This has an impact on the kind of buyer and whether they are willing to invest in keeping the cars up, which then impacts the availability of quality parts.

Spiders are undervalued and will likely continue to be because the marque is never going to be considered much more than a pedestrian brand. FIAT doesn't and did not make much interesting, the Spider and X1/9 begin the quirks (thank god) of 90 or so years of continuous, uninspiring designs.

[maytag]

I saw pics of your car on another site. It's looking amazing, especially the engine.

Out of curiosity, would you ever sell your car, and if so, for how much?

HMM. good question.
I would more likely part it out, rather than sell it. NOBODY would be willing to pay more than $3500-ish for my car. (If they were, they'd be nuts) and yet I've got a TON more than that invested.

It's worth more as parts. (but still nowhere near the investment)

I did this once with a Ducati Motorcycle. very customized to my own tastes. Sure, everyone thought it was AWESOME, but who would buy it? I got a bite on it at $4500, and said nevermind. Parted-it out and got over $20k.




Seriously: with my car, if I were to sell the wheels, carbs & manifold, header, ignition, cams, pistons, etc etc, it doesn't take long to get to $4k at used-parts prices.

[maytag]

by the way: don't look too closely at that picture..... I removed the timing belt covers and ran without them!

[giuliot60]

Maytag - I think you could easily get more than your estimating, whole or parted out.

But it would be a shame to take it apart

I paid $3K for my original owner, rust free, good paint, very good interior '81 Turbo (removed but have the parts) with original 81K miles this past spring, and it still needs plenty of TLC. I couldn't find much in the Charlotte NC area for much less or in better condition.

I did notice the timing belt on the Ducati, but wasn't quite sure. Nice!