Questions for the masses

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moper

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I'm considering thinning my heard of projects so call this as market research...

If you were in the market for a project car, something that needs work - how would you want it presented?
Apart? Assembled? Running? Primer? Showing bad areas?
Or maybe a better way to ask is "[You] wouldn't even look at it if it wasn't ...... "

I am considering parting out vs assembling (not finishing, just attaching the parts that are included) vs a quickie assemble and paint, vs working a deal with a buyer to finish it to a given level.

Any comments welcome. I won't discuss the models or figures. All hypothetical.
 
For me I'd prefer together and not in primer. Running is not a big concern to me if its being sold as a project. I'd be more concerned with what's missing, and how much leg work to locate god knows how many missing parts.
 
As the old adage goes, polish the turd up as nice as you can until the diamond starts to show through.

Like everyone else, the more honest information the better. With pictures for the net of course. Brightly lit up. Missing parts that are not in the car that you have, should be cleaned if possible & pictured with the car and a close up separately.

A description that doesn’t down play it and certainly not over glorifying the possibilities.
(Look!!! HEMI DUSTER, all you need is A HEMI!)

If I was looking for a project car, an EZ assembly would be most favorable. I wouldn’t mind towing the car out but I wouldn’t want to drag it out. Low rust to none is a base hit to home run of course. But a cleaned car (even the engine bay) creates better eye candy and produces pipe dreams. Thus desire and wanting. Same for the interior. At least a clean one even if there are a few crummy short comings.
I don’t mind doing floor pans but I don’t want to dig to get to them first.

While you said “ theoretical sell”, do you have any pictures of what your friends may want to get rid of? That would help for that car and maybe others as well.
 
I usually follow the my basic limits I set for myself: Money..Tools..Talent..Time..Space. If you have the abundance of all of the above, your ahead of the game. Me, I have some money, some talent, lots of tools, time, and space. So I choose the project with the strength and weaknesses that I have.

So “I” look for a project that is a complete roller/driver with all the parts and pieces and the minimal amount of rust. I do not spend much time looking at cars that have been modify distastefully, or half baked, butchered, and abused to point of just short of being junk. So to speak I rather spend the extra to have a good start, then reworking over someones' mishaps.....
 
If it's a project car, IT'S A PROJECT CAR. put the parts in a basket and sell it for what it is A PROJECT.
 
when i started my 74 duster build, found one for $1400 ,need floor pans, fenders, trunk pan, and rear quarter panels not to mention headliner,dash pad and was green interior, found one for $3500 that headliner was good,floor pans was good dash pad good ,door panels good and surface rust in spare tire area, and it was a black interior,which i was looking for, so if you have the welders, and supplies and want to deal with all the rust, its going cost more to buy the parts ,plus your time to deal with all the rust versus paying out of pocket to start with a good foundation,so i jumped at the $3500. My point is, sit down and count up your cost to get the $1400 one up to the level of the $3500 dollar one.So i would rather see the diamond in the rough and no what i am dealing with than a so call polished turd.
 
As the old adage goes, polish the turd up as nice as you can until the diamond starts to show through.

Like everyone else, the more honest information the better. With pictures for the net of course. Brightly lit up. Missing parts that are not in the car that you have, should be cleaned if possible & pictured with the car and a close up separately.

A description that doesn’t down play it and certainly not over glorifying the possibilities.
(Look!!! HEMI DUSTER, all you need is A HEMI!)

If I was looking for a project car, an EZ assembly would be most favorable. I wouldn’t mind towing the car out but I wouldn’t want to drag it out. Low rust to none is a base hit to home run of course. But a cleaned car (even the engine bay) creates better eye candy and produces pipe dreams. Thus desire and wanting. Same for the interior. At least a clean one even if there are a few crummy short comings.
I don’t mind doing floor pans but I don’t want to dig to get to them first.

While you said “ theoretical sell”, do you have any pictures of what your friends may want to get rid of? That would help for that car and maybe others as well.
Ya what Rob said! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Clean it up, take good photos, be honest about the downfalls and let's rock!
 
The best time to sell anything is BEFORE you invest any additional time or money in it.
 
I appreciate the feedback guys. I'm looking for personal tastes. No pictures, no comparables, no "stuff from friends". I just want what "you" would want to see if you were looking. Keep it coming. It's all helping.
 
"what "you" would want to see if you were looking "

A good woman at my side.
 
honesty, because if I find 1 thing that was lied about (hidden), my offer just went down. if I find 2 things 'hidden', I walk, no offer at all, because I don't want to find the others, then.....or when I get it home. agree with a lot of others thinking from above. don't put money into it if you can't get it back, you're throwing good after bad. if it's time to go, it goes "as is", with an honest description, conversation, all inclusive. the more bare bones it is, the more I can see (fresh paint scares the hell out of me, unless it's a high dollar vehicle with lots of documentation, pictures and receipts, all verifiable). clean it up? if it doesn't cost a lot of time, you bet. you know what you have, and a basic knowledge of what it's worth. price it accordingly for what it is, or you won't get interest in the vehicle. if it's a basket case (parts in boxes and in the trunk) sell it as it is, or you will put time and money into it and price yourself out of a sale. price it accordingly for what it is, and most of all, be honest. to be blunt, it's like buying a home. if you paint it and put carpet in it......I might not like those colors, I'd rather do it myself and buy it for a little less, so I can.
just my 2 cents here.
oh, and I just purchased a car 2 weeks ago. guy was nice, and honest. I looked the car over/under/sideways, then drove it. talked with the owner about what I found (not downing his car) and that it would need some work. shot him an offer with cash, we found the number he would take, and I would pay. it's in the garage now :)
 
If a car is being sold as a project, as a buyer, I would want it apart to be able to inspect it closely, obviously its best to know up front what you're dealing with so there are no questions down the road. Rolling is always a plus too to facilitate transport. In a perfect world, your take off parts would be organized, labeled and if possible come with a list of what's missing.

As a seller, being straight reduces the chances of someone coming back at you thinking they got ripped off or even just asking you to look for something that should have been included. Attaching parts seems pointless since whatever "it" is will likely need to be refurbished or replaced. Again, just keep it organized.

And, if you really want to sell, price accordingly and have a thick skin, no one wants to pay for someone else's mistake or lost interest. I've basically lost money on all my projects!
 
Both my current cars were bought as rolling shells. My 68 Fastback cost 700... My 69 340 4sp Swinger was 1200.
I dont want to buy a 7000 car that is together but needs everything replaced .
 
I doubt I will buy another person's project car again. My current duster "project" has been a complete nightmare. So much crap work was hidden by the p.o. until I started working on it, it really started to surface. Ex// complete floorpan was installed, seamsealed and painted. Looked nice, but i couldn't find the seatbelt holes. Started scraping and uncovered sheet metal screws holding the floor in. The entire floor! Not 1 weld. That was just the beginning of the chaos of **** work that was done. I ended up gutting the entire care to the bare shell and started from scratch. I would rather have a untouched, rusted mess with a blown motor, than another person's unfinished project again.
 
Different levels of this and that mean different levels of money. Primer sucks. If I see primer, I see Improper preperation. It may be prepped correctly but I do not know. I am going to strip it no matter what it is.
 
I doubt I will buy another person's project car again. My current duster "project" has been a complete nightmare. So much crap work was hidden by the p.o. until I started working on it, it really started to surface. Ex// complete floorpan was installed, seamsealed and painted. Looked nice, but i couldn't find the seatbelt holes. Started scraping and uncovered sheet metal screws holding the floor in. The entire floor! Not 1 weld. That was just the beginning of the chaos of **** work that was done. I ended up gutting the entire care to the bare shell and started from scratch. I would rather have a untouched, rusted mess with a blown motor, than another person's unfinished project again.
Now that is kind of screwed up. But that’s back work that the previous owner ether thought was OK (yes, I know people like that ) or he was dishonest about it.
I’ve purchased a few cars and after the cash changed hands and the paper work was signed, I said, “Now, is there anything else you want to add by chance NOW that the car is mine?”
MH! Agreed! Hate primer cars.
 
Now that is kind of screwed up. But that’s back work that the previous owner ether thought was OK (yes, I know people like that ) or he was dishonest about it.
I’ve purchased a few cars and after the cash changed hands and the paper work was signed, I said, “Now, is there anything else you want to add by chance NOW that the car is mine?”
MH! Agreed! Hate primer cars.

A good solid roller-------------little to no rust , no wrecks-----
 
Now that is kind of screwed up. But that’s back work that the previous owner ether thought was OK (yes, I know people like that ) or he was dishonest about it.
I think both, but more not knowing what he was doing at all. UCA's were on the wrong sides, 1/4s held on by sheet metal screws as well and covered with tiger hair and bondo. Car was a complete disaster. The plus side of it was it came with all new parts still in the packages. Complete Legendary interior, crate engine and a pickup truck load of parts to complete it, (Mostly new) which made the deal somewhat ok. I gave up on the car for a few years, and had just started working on it again. Maybe next year I will have it driving again.
 
80%-90% assembled, and no bodywork been done, roachy original paint on it even better. I hate finding sins hidden under fresh primer. Doesnt have to be running for me. But all the major **** needs to be there, and it needs to roll to put it up on a trailer.
 
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