Parts Prices, WTF?!

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Just toss the rotten one ! The rest will still be good!
My intent was to indicate that a few guys can mess things up for everyone
We gave an old crown Vic to a gal who is a custodian . I’m like some of you guys, I have plenty and believe in paying it forward. Some have said that karma is a ***** but here karma (positive) gives you back more than you ever asked for. If what you said was a joke I must have missed the punch line.
 
My intent was to indicate that a few guys can mess things up for everyone
We gave an old crown Vic to a gal who is a custodian . I’m like some of you guys, I have plenty and believe in paying it forward. Some have said that karma is a ***** but here karma (positive) gives you back more than you ever asked for. If what you said was a joke I must have missed the punch line.
I think Al just meant not to lose faith in everyone else because of a bad experience with one person. Just don't deal with THAT person any more.
 
Bottom line on my above story was.. the stores that handle FedX, UPS etc. as subcontractors screw you bad! Each store makes a huge profit on you. Making $75-100 is huge profit for 7 lb box! I hardly ever have anything that will not go USPS I will never send anything thru those FedX UPS contract stores ever again.
 
OK then I wasn't gonna tell you my fender story, but here it is.

A good friend of mine sold me a nice 69 Charger back in 2004, only missing a fender!
So we went to the Spring Fling that year to find one and NO there wasn't one good one there that year?
I shipped the car home and went to the Fall fling that year too, still no fender...
Following year I went again to Van Nuys and guess what, still no good fender.

So I went and saw a recognised dealer there and he said he was getting some from the Fast and Furious FIVE CARS!
Whooppee I thought and waited patiently for them to turn up in LA.
Then he phones and said he had picked up 4 pairs of 69 fenders 'off the FF-5' Movie cars and was on his way!
Well when he turned up they was all pretty bad except for ONE!
A nice R/H 69 fender and I said ''I will have it''!!!

''Cool he said thats $1200 CASH''...


So I said ''I only want ONE'' and he said ''YEP thats right''!!!
So I said, ''you must be crazy'' and he said ''don't waste my time you limey punk ***''...:drama:

So to save my dignity ''I said I will give you the price of a NEW ONE''.
So he says ''OK'', wow I have just talked myself into a $650 S/Hand fender!!!:wtf::BangHead:

No I'm never gonna use it or sell it,,, I'm just gonna 'look at it' and think, YOU LIMEY PUNK ***', to myself and laugh...:rofl:
ps, by the time I bought it, shipped it, painted it, IT OWES ME $1000...:realcrazy::realcrazy::realcrazy:

pps, I was walking past his stall a few years later and he calls out to me, ''do you need anything for your Charger Limey PA''?
So I shouted back '' yes I do, a hipo exhaust manifold for a 69'' and he said I got one here''.
It has $200 written on it, so I said ''is that for a pair'' and he said ''NO ONE LPA'', BUT, to you its FREE!!!

What a GENTLEMAN!!!:thumbsup::thankyou:

Business is Business...
 
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So many variables enter into what people pay for parts. Driver? Trailer queen? In-between? Concours restoration, resto-mod, just operable? If you have someone with a Hemi 'Cuda and he is looking for the last item to complete a full restoration, like the starter heat shield, how much do you think he will pay for that last piece? The bottom line is that whatever people are willing to pay for a given part sets the price for that part. Period.
 
The flip side of the coin is some people want to restore a car for $10.99 and want change back . If you think A-body parts are expensive , try restoring a tri-5 chevy ,Studebaker Hawk or a '62 Bonneville . This is a Hobby not Barret-Jackson . Prime example : NOS rocker arm for a Gen II 426 Hemi is $165.00 . Crane rocker for same motor is $125.00 . Can't get 'em any cheaper .
 
The flip side of the coin is some people want to restore a car for $10.99 and want change back . If you think A-body parts are expensive , try restoring a tri-5 chevy ,Studebaker Hawk or a '62 Bonneville . This is a Hobby not Barret-Jackson . Prime example : NOS rocker arm for a Gen II 426 Hemi is $165.00 . Crane rocker for same motor is $125.00 . Can't get 'em any cheaper .

The one advantage of restoring a Tri-five Chevy is that virtually everything is available in repop. They are like Mustangs, you could have an entire car delivered to your door in pieces.
 
you would be surprised.. its the reason i rarely ship stuff i have for sale. boxed up quite a few things over the years only to have the buyer back out after they got the shipping price.. screw that crap.. local pick up now.
Joe, these guys already agreed if the shipping was in the ball park. I get their name, address and they get my pay pal. I box it up real good for a quote. Then they say it’s too much. The quote is pretty dam close to what I estimated. Plus I have to insure anything over $100.00 Canadian. To save my *** if it gets lost, stolen or damaged in shipping. I don’t want to be out the part or the money and neither does the buyer. Now most buyers don’t pay the pay pal fee even though I give them the choice to pay it on their end or send me a little extra. I also ask to send it in usd so I don’t have to pay a 8% conversion fee. So for every hundred dollars I get $88.00 when I eat the fee and the currency conversion as most still send it in Canadian dollars even though they can make the simple change on their screen. I have refunded a few payments so the buyer can change it to usd. But now p/p charges me a $2.99 per hundred fee to do that. Rant over. Kim
 
I've learned over the years not to do the final packing until paid for. The tape goes on after the money is in the bank.
 
I've learned over the years not to do the final packing until paid for. The tape goes on after the money is in the bank.
I'm a serious buyer, when I say I'll take it...I'll take it. I usually ask for a pic all boxed up and ready for the post office then I pay. Far too many times I've paid, then the seller's life gets busy, and because they already have the money the boxing, packing etc drops on their priority list. Then I have to start chasing and that makes me crazy.
 
I can understand that. As a seller once I'm paid then that part is no longer mine and I want it gone.
 
Just too many times I had a package all ready to go only to have the buyer turn ghost on me. So not only did I have time in packing it up but now time in unpacking it too. Especially something big like a pair of doors or fenders.
 
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Nothing worse than being 'ghosted'

Hurts even more when its your friends...:wtf:

But I know they will be back when they need a 'laughter-shaft and/or some giggle-pins'...:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
I have parts I've been trying to sell for literally 10 years. They are trunk finish panels. When I do get a potential buyer, they disappear when I tell them it would be oversize to ship. Same with truck door panels(ford). When I say it's oversize, they are gone. How do they not know it will be oversize? I've been trying to sell a couple grills, again for 10 years. 64, and 65 Dart grills. No takers. I went to Garlits a few years ago. Couldn't sell anything. There was no one in the swap meet. I'm just trying to make a few bucks, and move them on, but no takers. I'm getting to the point where I'm going to put them in with my wife's soda can recycling.
I decided i don't want to sell any of my cars, because the prices for parts are ridiculous. I paid $40 for 340 engine mounts 10 years ago. It was the going price. No as someone posted, someone wants $400. Hard to take a 100% price increase. My Dart was a pos when I bought it for $5500. Now people want $20-30k for a car in similar condition. It makes the car not worth doing, because I would be into it for several times what I could sell it for. The greed I see now makes it not as much fun as it used to be.
 
I have just about reached the point where I don't want to be bothered anymore with projects and buying/selling cars, trucks, parts, whatever. I've spent most of the last half dozen summers working on one project or another in my garage, and I'm finding that I'm tired of always working on something. Seriously considering selling my Dart and all of the parts I have accumulated again and buying another motorcycle, it's been 15 years since I sold my last bike and it feels like it's time to get back on two wheels.
The fun that I once had with my cars is just not there anymore, I'll likely keep the 76 Ventura, but it needs nothing except to be driven more, still has only 40k miles on the clock.
 
I have just about reached the point where I don't want to be bothered anymore with projects and buying/selling cars, trucks, parts, whatever. I've spent most of the last half dozen summers working on one project or another in my garage, and I'm finding that I'm tired of always working on something. Seriously considering selling my Dart and all of the parts I have accumulated again and buying another motorcycle, it's been 15 years since I sold my last bike and it feels like it's time to get back on two wheels.
The fun that I once had with my cars is just not there anymore, I'll likely keep the 76 Ventura, but it needs nothing except to be driven more, still has only 40k miles on the clock.
Yep. Losing my Mopar mojo.
 
I started in the Mopar hobby about mod 80's. So I can compare the fun factor all along the way. I agree with above, not near as much fun as it was, for many reasons.
I am getting old and wore out. Tired of looking at way overpriced projects. Tired of seeing everything I have to buy get more expensive and in many cases less quality. Tired of the cost to build a project, and no one wants to give you back your parts $ you put in, much less anything else. Don't want to hear the "its a hobby speech".
I think maybe I am just tired!
 
I have just about reached the point where I don't want to be bothered anymore with projects and buying/selling cars, trucks, parts, whatever. I've spent most of the last half dozen summers working on one project or another in my garage, and I'm finding that I'm tired of always working on something. Seriously considering selling my Dart and all of the parts I have accumulated again and buying another motorcycle, it's been 15 years since I sold my last bike and it feels like it's time to get back on two wheels.
The fun that I once had with my cars is just not there anymore, I'll likely keep the 76 Ventura, but it needs nothing except to be driven more, still has only 40k miles on the clock.

I sometimes find it hard to strike a balance between riding my bike and driving one of the cars. I find that I like both as just a nice getaway from the day to day, but I think I just have too many cars. I’m getting to the point where I’m getting tired of the early A bodies, and am whittling down my running cars one by one. Parts cars too, although those are harder to say no to, they are what keeps me able to spend money on the hobby. It’s finally nice here in the Mitten, and I’ve already had the bike out once, and the roadrunner out a few times. I’ve been driving the convertible to get miles on it to sell it, and I just don’t get that “gotta drive it” feeling from it, so it needs to find someone who will feel that way about it.

We change, our interests change, and that’s ok. If we all stayed the same all the time, we would end up dying with a hoard full of parts that did us no good! Ride on, brother. Get some wind in your face and clear that head, maybe it’s time for that bike this year!
 
Just too many times I had a package all ready to go only to have the buyer turn ghost on me. So not only did I have time in packing it up but now time in unpacking it too. Especially something big like a pair of doors or fenders.

Same here , but I leave them boxed up , mark them so I`ll know whats in them at a glance --------
 
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