Advice on buying a '75 dart.

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Nice car, $6k? Its a $6k car to whoever would cough up that kind of dough. Offer him $4k-$4500 and tell him your reasons why. Mine would be having to spend the $$ relocating seats and any other upgrades you can think of.

As far as the seats go, I wish I had a rear seat like that in my car when I would go on a date to the drive-in theatre, life would have been much simpler and more comfy!
 
make sure to bring a small magnet and see if it sticks to the doors, fenders, the works (if it sticks, there is metal under the paint, if not...then there is bondo in them there hills)

oh, and ask the seller to post a picture of the VIN tag
once you post that here, we can see what options should be on the car, and see if they are still there, aswell as figure out the original paint
 
Bring a magnet.

1975 is actually a little unique. It's the only year that had a taillight trim panel
across the back.
 
If you see fresh undercoating underneath make sure to REALLY check the frame rails and floors. Also watch that video, that car ended up having a vin swap but see how quickly Tony checks the thing over and picks it apart. Be super critical of the car, there are lots of cars around don't fall for the first one to come along.

 
Thanks for posting the photos. Looks good but then a light coloured car with pics taken at the right angles can be deceiving. As others have said, bring a magnet.

In advance of making the drive there, ask him for a photo of the fender tag (which is different from the VIN tag that someone above mentioned). The fender tag shows some of the options the car had and it’s located near the battery on the horizontal surface that the windshield washer fluid is bolted to. It’s a metal tag that’s about 2”x 3” and screwed to that surface. Will have a bunch of codes (mainly three characters like N95 and G51) along with the VIN of the car along the very bottom row of the tag.

If the seller professes to not know much about the car, it’s an easy question to ask why he thinks it’s worth $6k compared to another number. If he says “I’m not sure” or “I saw a Dart sell on TV for $20k so this has got to be worth $6k” then provide him with your info/reasoning as to why think it’s worth less. The off brand seats are one hit, your magnet test might also justify a price drop too. Overall the ‘73+ A bodies are not that desirable compared to the earlier A bodies. And I’m not slagging them since I’ve got a ‘75 Scamp!
 
Ok guys. I've got more pictures.

dash.jpg


dash1.jpg


driver.jpg


engine.jpg


fendertag.jpg


passenger.jpg


side.jpg


side1.jpg


trunk.jpg


trunk1.jpg
 
I normally would never say this but, that seat installation is honestly a tasteful upgrade. I’m usually always a stocker kinda guy but, those ford/Lincoln seats look aces. Paint job looks great too.

$6k seems like a lot for a not as popular A-body styling (near the latter years of it’s production/last generation ) but, this car does have much nicer appeal than most of the rusted ‘73-‘76 Dart Sport and Dusters in my area. It really could be worth paying close to the $6k if you don’t plan on having to change much on this vehicle.
 
Nice looking Dart, this alone is a positive, but I would take the car for a long drive and run it as if you would be driving it everyday if it was yours. No pictures from underneath of the car, I would have to take a look see if the frame rails are OK, along with exhaust, oil leaks and the such.
If all checked out I would be in at 4 to 4500...... tops @ 5000 if the guy does not want to barter AT ALL I would just walk away, cash in the pocket is a great motivational speaker......
 
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Maybe I am overly sceptical but I would try to verify if this guy is really the original owners son in law. Thats a good story to tell while demanding a higher price and also distancing himself from the car at the same time. If the title is still in the original owners name he should have some kind of paperwork giving him ownership and the legal right to sign the owners name to transfer ownership. If the title is still in the original owners name and is already signed meaning not currently titled to the guy your buying it from, I say flipper.
 
Maybe I am overly sceptical but I would try to verify if this guy is really the original owners son in law. Thats a good story to tell while demanding a higher price and also distancing himself from the car at the same time. If the title is still in the original owners name he should have some kind of paperwork giving him ownership and the legal right to sign the owners name to transfer ownership. If the title is still in the original owners name and is already signed meaning not currently titled to the guy your buying it from, I say flipper.

This is a good point. I asked him and he said he has a clean title and it is now in his wife's name. The car is not currently registered?
 
I never thought it may be a scam U better talk to the wife then. She may or may not be the old guys daughter. Then they are scamming u. I hate to think their are ppl out there like that, but it’s getting worse everyday. Kim
 
I would want to know if the wife will be there on the day your going to look at it to sign the title if you buy it. Thats a fair question. Unless your state accesses penalty fees to you for the car not being previously registered I wouldn't care if it isn't registered.
 
I have a 1974 Plymouth Scamp that is light blue. Mine has the same blue steering wheel and steering column, but every part of my interior is also light blue, including metal dashboard and the dash pad. If the interior color was changed, I would check every VIN location on that car. If the metal dash frame was changed instead of painted, it would likely have an incorrect or mis-matched VIN from the rest of the body.
If you can verify the body VIN locations match the dash VIN, then at least the scam part is not much of an issue.
Then it just comes down to checking the body carefully for signs of hidden rust. In the pictures, it looks like the trunk was re-painted to me. I could definitely be wrong, but there is usually a layer of undercoating sprayed onto the inside surface of the quarter panels for sound deadening. It also looks lighter or maybe white in the spare tire well area.
The one picture showing inside the trunk, right side of car, where quarter panel meets the outer wheel house and trunk floor extension, kind of looks like paint has flaked off of rust. That is a common spot for rust.
Realistically, who cares what we think about the price. I would have no problem paying a little more for a solid car, if I can be pretty darn sure it's legitimately solid and dash and body VINs match, even if I thought it has really changed hands several times without title transfers. Ultimately, it's worth what YOU, or someone, is willing to pay for it.

I hope it's a legit car because I do like it. I also always recommend bringing someone with you that knows what to look for. Since they are not excited about the prospect of getting a new toy, they will look more critically at it, which helps in finding hidden rust you may miss.
 
Hey Guys,

I just wanted to let you know that I did end up buying the car. The story was legit and the car is great. I drove it back 3.5 hrs on the freeway and had no issues. The slant six isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It needs shocks and a good tune up. I'm super stoked to have my first driving A-body.

I found out why there is a prospector emblem on the front of the car - the owner was a coal miner his whole life so he thought it would be cool to add the prospector emblem.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Logan good deal, I am sure the Dart will give you many happy Mopar (s)miles....
 
Congrats on the purchase! Glad it turned out to be as good as it looked in the pictures.
 
Good job Logan, as mentioned above, enjoy it as its a nice looking car. I'm sure it will serve you well! :thumbsup:
 
Glad it worked out for you. If you haven't already, read up on the ampmeter mod, adding headlight relays, bulkhead connector problems, replacing the metal fuel pump to carb line with fuel injection hose, and running a fused wire from the alternator to the starter relay.
 
If 6K is a good price for a not-so-desirable year, with the least desirable engine, (and the need for substantial interior work to remove "dat funk"), what's a nice, 70-71 with even just a 318 worth?
I'm not hijacking, just trying to get some perspective.
But, I suppose Logan is on his way to see it.

EDIT: Whoops, I didn't see the 2nd page of the thread. Glad it's a good one, Logan. A nice driving, well documented car can be worth extra.
 
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