A-bodies over priced?

[Dart_Guy]

What worries me is the back end is squatted like there's 3 or 4 bodies in the trunk

I keep dead hookers in my trunk and it doesn't squat that bad...

 

[1hry440duster]

here is a pic of the duster i paid 6 grande for off ebay in december and yes it is a 340 4 speed with a 4.56 rear. i did have to work out alot of bugs but well worth it just my 2 cents

 

[DartSwinger]

I bought my Demon in Modesto. Being my first classic car, I definitely overpaid. But I paid just over a fourth of that Swinger's cost. Mine wasn't running though when I got it.

I got my '74 Swinger end of April for $4k, runs great, new upholstery, a couple small cracks on the dash. The most major thing was some rust under the spare and battery, and vinyl roof ripped in back, but no rotted metal.

 

[abodyhotrod]

i found this car the first day it went for sale locally and offered the guy 3 grand. he was thinking more like 7500 so i walked away, but left him my number. it took 2 1/2 months but he called back. 72 340 ac car no 340 but a well worked over 318 w/all the goodies.
i hope our a bodies go up in price i got to say cuz i'm collecting them for that reason. now looking at a 72 duster 318 4-speed for around a grand parked 10 ago needs resto.

 

[AdamR]

I think you would have a hard time getting $16000 for a 340 4 speed car right now. These cars have gone up in price and will never be cheap again but that guy is on crack. $5000 tops.

 

[pastortom1]

I got $16K for a 318 Column Auto. Demon recently, but it was decked out and in show condition with all the goodies added.........and no bugs at all.......

BUT, it's an exception to the rule........You have to WAIT for your buyer for that kind of sale........In Central Florida I'd expect the car featured in the link would sell for about $5500., maybe a little better cause of the low miles.....but think about it...........if it's actually in near mint condition, what's that premium WORTH to a guy that can't do bodywork and monkey with the mechanical end? He might pay that price or close to it..........There's always someone waiting in the wings to pay a lot for a car like that........you just gotta hook 'em up with good wide advertising. :read2:

 

[SlotCarWon]

I don't think A-bodies are over priced. The really good condition perfromance cars will always demand a premium but you can get a nice vintage ride for $5,000.

Right now I think the real problem is the price is too low - with the price of scrap metal at an all time high we are losing many parts cars to the scrappers.

 

[jimmyray]

Supply-Demand, the invisible hand of the market at work. At time marches on, prices will obviously go up, if nothing else just due to the depreciation in the value of the dollar. Throw in some Barret-Jackson magic dust, the fact that they aint making any more of them, and the rise of sites like this that increases the visibility and thus the buyers pool for our beloved cars, and prices will go up.

FWIW, it will sell for what it is worth. That is, if the original car in question is worth $16k to a buyer interested in a rust free, low mileage original car, and he pays that amount, then that is what it is worth.

An item's value is worth what it sells for, not what the asking price is.

For me, the new Challenger is cool, sleek, and muscular, but it sure is not worth $35k, much less the ridiculous amount of $42k, plus $10k for "Avaialbility Premium". What a joke.

A Cuda in 71 that sold for $4200 would sell today for a little over $22,000 in time adjusted dollars. http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm While the new one is more advanced, and has more creature comforts, it sure aint worth that price - to me! However, Since buyers are paying it, then that's what it is worth!

An interesting note. Our local Dodge dealership has had an 08 Super Bee listed at $46k, on top of which they were asking a $5k premium. It did not sell, so they then dropped premium and priced it at sticker. There's no telling what will happen next. But there the Super Bee sits, because it is overpriced in my area, and no one will pay it. Thus, it's true value is a less than what they are asking.

 

[DartSwinger]

Irony at the bottom of these pages...

Seattle Ford Dealer - get a new ford.

 

[Jeffsrt]

Another example?
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/742050758.html

 

[adriver]

With that said why should our A-Bodies be worth any less then let’s say an E-Body. They were are all manufactured within a few years of each other, all made of the same metals and for the most part all have the same engines…

I have always maintained that judging by the numbers, even the original buyers thought the A-Body was the "better" car. In other words they sold more of them. It was obviously a better value. It had the same suspension and engineering.
Plus they have a larger “boot” to boot than an E-Body.
(I got rid of E-Bodies because I couldn’t get anything in the damned trunk when I went somewhere.

Chrysler leaf springs should be almost flat under the car’s weight. Chrysler felt this made for better handling. So these cars typically look like the springs are bad to people. Many people think they are supposed to be raked down from the rear.
Only the AAR and TA’s were.
That being said, everyone is correct. There is definitely something not right about this car’s stance.

 

[limelite70]

Its Becoming A Joke. If We All Get Smart And Stop Buying These Cars The Poeple That Are Selling Them,maybe They Will Get The Point.
Your Sh?t Is'nt Worth What Your Asking .
And I Dont Care What You Saw On Barr Jack Auction.
The Poeple There Are Investers.most Of Them Dont Know A Hemi From A Slant 6.
My Father Laughs At Me.he Says I Could Have Have Bought Those Dusters For $100.00

 

[2 Darts]

I got the feeling when looking for the Demon that people were using on-line listings to run a "fishing" test. What will the market bear for this particular car? They hide behind unrealistic reserves and un-answered e-mails. It's frustrating for someone with some money to spend and desire to do something with the car.
As the economy continues to sour, I expect that some will wish they sold when they had the chance. It's no fun being unemployed with a bunch of stuff that can't be turned into cash. If it has to go to the scrap heap, we all lose.

 

[68 Sedan]

Ok. Which do you think will be worth more 20 years from now....a $17,000 Caliber, or a $34,000 Challenger (whatever, and assuming we're all still using gas in 20 years)

An A body cost 1/2 what an E body cost. And you think there were more A bodies sold cause they were a better, more desirable car?

Dude....pass that hookah over here...cause you be smokin some preeeeemo ****

 

[Vs29H1B]

Recently a car that I inspected at the All Chrysler Nationals @ Carlisle 3 years ago, in the Survivor Tent area, was on Ebay.

Great car, 77,800 documented from new miles...

A factory original, not restored, no rust, garaged, 1970 Vitamin C Plymouth Duster 340...one of the nicest unrestored, well kept 1970 340 Dusters available.

Over the last two years the owner, through a friend, contacted me about my interest in buying the car, because I expressed interest at Carlisle.
Anyway, I'm not in a position to buy, so I declined, but this car is a great original, honestly presented example, by a good guy.

So as a final recourse, he puts the car on Ebay a month or so ago.

Last year the price the owner asked was $24-23-22,000, and the car might have been worth that.

This year, same car, same condition, Buy-It-Now $19,000...
I did not follow the end of the auction, but the last day the car was at $14,000 and well worth it...

What does all this say? Tough times means LOWER actual sale prices, even for the best true, well kept, factory originals like this car.

This is a good time to buy a real Mopar muscle car, if you have the funds.

 

[Vs29H1B]

here is a pic of the duster i paid 6 grande for off ebay in december and yes it is a 340 4 speed with a 4.56 rear. i did have to work out alot of bugs but well worth it just my 2 cents

That looks like a really good buy!

Looks like it has a 1972 front fender (front fender looks like a 1972 - side marker lights=1972) and the grill looks to be from a 1970 Duster.

I think that would be a great street machine, that you could enjoy without worrying about the numbers matching stuff.

 

[71Duster]

My 71 Duster 340 car numbers matching that needs paint was jsut appraised at 21,000 and will but mid 30's when painted.

Cheap a-bodys and let alone non rusty ones are gettign tough to find and with E and B bodies being what they are people look to the next affordable thing and thats an a-body which is dragging prices up.

 

[5.7Dart]

To the poster who said that A Bodies are being "artificially" high just like oil;

Go back to school--Economics 101. Scarcity. Without it, there would be no prices or economy. Everything would be free. Utopia.

Fat Chance. The reason these cars are worth money is because.................
They're worth money.

You'll understand one day when someone offers you $1500 for your car.

 

[71-440-Duster]

I like the ones asking almost $10k for a 4 door Dart...that's my fav!

 

[pauly v.100]

Here's a very nice early A with history, but is it worth it ???

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/car/730404904.html ..guess it got zapped.

 

[JR]

Do you think that in 1951 people thought that a 49 Tucker would be worth what they are today or maybe a rotted out door of a 26-27 T would be worth more than 15 bucks? You have to figure that any car/truck/van/wagon built after 1983 is a classic. That means that those crappy Camaros with the plastic bumpers and leaky *** T-tops are going to be in demand, hell they already are, I see one that is "restored" driving around here all the time.
Lets face it our A-bodies are old cars and people like and want old cars so as much as it will suck the parts and the value of them is just going to go up even if there wasnt a big over priced auction.

5 years ago if I was driving my 73 dart 4 door down the freeway people wouldn't have even noticed it and if they did they would be thinking "hey, I need the front brakes off that p.o.s. 4 door". yesterday on the way home I had a guy hang out the window of his car on the freeway just to give me the thumbs up and yell out "cool car".

I will laugh my *** off and say it has gone too far when there is an A-body section at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and we are all standing around in our FABO shirts and fancy straw hats.

 

[375inStroke]

With that said why should our A-Bodies be worth any less then let’s say an E-Body. They were are all manufactured within a few years of each other, all made of the same metals and for the most part all have the same engines…

That's like saying why should a 318 Coronet be worth less than a Sixpack Superbee? There were more A-bodies built because they were cheap economy commuter cars. E-bodies were flashy expensive sporty cars. More people wanted them, but couldn't afford them. People at work talk about getting back from Vietnam back then and how much money they were making and what they could afford. Now they make much more money and could afford the cars they wanted back then, and that drives the price up. They don't dream about the '72 slant six Duster that got away. All the better for those that do like A-bodies. I got a '69 smallblock Swinger from my neighbor for $2000. Around 90,000 miles, from Arizona, zero rust, original canary yellow paint like that Craigslist Dart, but bad seat covers. $16,000 is incredibly high. Looks like it's in good original condition, and only 16,000 miles, but it doesn't do much for the excitement factor, and that's why it's not worth that much.

 

[375inStroke]

I do question the leaf spring stance on a 16,000 mile car,,,a bit saggy,wouldn't you say...if I was going to pay top dollar,,,I would want to see some serious documenting

The front's just cranked up too high. Looks fine in back. Do you really need documentation for a 16,000 mile car? What documentation do you want? Can't you tell if things have been replaced, the car repainted, how much wear is on the car? You think someone can take a 100,000 mile, or even 50,000 mile car, and turn back the odometer and be able to fool anyone?

 

[375inStroke]

Look at Mustangs and Corvettes. Everyone owns one and even though their are so many they bring in good money because they are popular. (Just watch Mecum... Every other car is a Corvette) But the onyl Mopars are the E-bodies with big motors.

They only made between 20,000 and 30,000 Corvettes each year in the 60s. That's not that many, but they have been making them for over 55 years. That adds up to a lot, and the survival rate may be higher than other throw-away cars like the Mustang. Mecum is a place for those cars. That's why you see so many there. By watching Barrett Jackson, you'd think they made more Hemi cars than Toyotas. Those first years, they made what, 500,000 Mustangs each year? How many of those survive today? Although you can say the same for Mopars, and the most popular ones were made for a very short time. With oil prices the way they are going, I wonder how many new Hemi Challengers they are going to sell.

 

[375inStroke]

I keep dead hookers in my trunk and it doesn't squat that bad...

Meth heads don't weigh that much.