There's pretty much two questions you need to ask yourself. One, can you look past the body issues that are costly and expensive to fix? If the bubbling isn't a big deal and you plan on keeping it garaged, it probably wont get exponentially worse than it is. Two, if you want to unload it at some point, would those problems be a hard pass for the next guy?
What I'd do if I was able to look past the condition of the body is I'd settle on 20k as my high bid. I'd negotiate with him and if he wasn't willing to come down past say 23k, I'd just politely let him know that the condition of the body is why I can't go north of 20k but maybe he can find a guy who is willing to look past all that. Make it seem like it's more you not being able to look past it, rather than it seeming like you're insulting the car or picking it apart. Let him know he can contact you in the future if he changes his mind. There's a possibility he'll call you back in a week or two. You could potentially have sowed a seed of doubt in his mind that it would be difficult to find a buyer at that price point with the body issues and that he might be better off leaving the 3k on the table to make the quick and easy sale with you.
I’d say that’s an excellent game plan for that car. There’s no reason to strip to to bare metal to fix those tiny little bubbles if you want to drive the car. If you want a perfect car, well, it’s gonna cost a lot more than $25k no matter how you do it.
I agree with oldkimmer. If I remember correctly the op said that the quarters and door panels are wavy, that's going to take no telling how many hours to fix. Not everyone has the skills, space, tools for body work. IMO it's not worth the asking price. Once the bodywork starts it very well could turn into a major project. I sure wouldn't want to go to a car show with it and tell anyone what I paid for it. But each to his own, different strokes for different folk's
The quarters on these cars were wavy from the damn factory and the body fits were all over the map.
You don’t own an A-body, you’re not even vaguely close to well informed on them, and you’re the last person that anyone looking to buy a classic should be taking advice from.
If you want a perfect Demon, you’re gonna have to spend A LOT more than $25k. If all you have is $25k, you’re going to have to decide what things you’re willing to compromise on, because there’s going to be a lot of compromises at that price point.
And if you need perfect to go to a car show
1-you need to spend a lot more
2-you’re more worried about your ego than enjoying your car
Another way to think about it.... Let’s just say you bought the car for $25,000 and in a couple years you wanted something different, do you think you'd be able to sell it for $20,000? (I think so) 24 months $208 a month...... Pretty sure people spend more than that a month going to the bar.
Exactly. That would be a hell of an investment if you got 2 years of good memories out of it.
People that need to make money on their resale aren’t car guys. They’re investors. If you’re more worried about your return than enjoying a classic car, well, don’t buy a classic car.