What is my car worth?

[Frog2Spider]

I just had my car professionally apprised for insurance coverage.

1981 Spider - 42,432 original miles - original paint, interior and motor; all in A to A+ condition.

$ 21,000

This may be a 'bench mark', but yup, I'd say, the values are going up.

[blakevan]

I have kind of left the car in current condition to show its' true nature. This is not a show car but an honest 33 year old vehicle that has been fun to drive and hasn't left me anywhere or cost me tons of cash. The hole in the dash is from the clock and I should re-install it for first impressions.

Thank you for all the feedback. I don't expect a ton of cash for it but want to get a sense of where is might fall.

I am pretty much on the same page with this unless there is enough documentation to show that much of this has already been done and the maintenance has been kept up since the work was done. Some rust spots by the thresholds potentially indicating more underneath, some damage to the front bumper, top needs replacing and an empty hole in the dash do detract as do the absent visors. Shiny hardware shows front suspension was gone over and that the rear diff had some work done on it so that's a plus as long as it was not required due to the event that damaged the front bumper and lower facia. Tire wear seems to indicate its holding its alignment which is a plus also. If it starts well and runs smoothly without smoking that would help get the upper $5,000. Filling the hole in the dash with a voltmeter may make a surprising bit of difference too and would not be that costly. You may not recoup what you need to invest to get the price much higher though.

It really depends on who is looking and how caught up they are with the thought of owning an Italian Convertible. You may get someone going through midlife crisis who will pay whatever his checkbook can float. I had a client buy new off the showroom floor two Dino's and a Buick Grand National over a 3 day period of time on just a whim that kept escalating so they are out there.

Too high though and the expectation that generates may lead to a confrontation after the sale if something breaks down shortly afterwards. You know the car and would be the best judge of its reliability. Yes I do know people who polished up cars to make them look nicer than they really were an had to face an irate person standing out in front of their home with a Mossberg pumped up and ready to fire so be mindful of what can happen if the price is too high and the car doesn't live up to what was presented. A bone-fide Texacan might be inclined to raise some what of a ruckus if things start going sour after a high dollar sale.