<VV> Old Car Price Guide and you points

Sun Mar 23 22:23:58 EDT 2014

Hi Doc,

Getting back on your points:

#1.  I don't know about the "sellers tool" aspect.  I view it as helpful to either buyer or seller - and also to an owner who wants to determine a proper insurance value.  A number of years ago, I would have agreed that the OCPG prices seemed to be on the high side - by maybe roughly 10 -15%.  In IL, they seem to be much more in line with reality currently.  

#3.  Ties in with #1 in that AFAIK it is a national (not regional) price guide and this is why I mentioned IL above.  So, yes, a mental adjustment for location is probably appropriate - but this might be a difficult thing for a first time buyer with no prior experience in the Corvair world.  I think that most of us who have been into them for a while all know to look West for good bodies and East for good (low mileage) engines.

#2.  I pretty much view the OCPG number as a starting point for negotiation.  As a buyer, you cannot fall in love with or "marry" a car during the negotiations.  Both sides need to do a realistic evaluation of what class is correct for a particular car.  If (as is common) the seller has more into the car than it is actually "worth", the buyer needs to point out that he also had the use and enjoyment of the vehicle over the years and that some things need attention presently.  The buyer needs to walk away if the seller cannot understand that.  This can be done pleasantly with something like - here's my phone number, please call me if it does not sell in the next couple of months.

I still feel that the car in question is a class 3 and after viewing the pictures, might place it toward the lower end of 3.  It would have been nice to see pictures from underneath and the bottoms of the doors and rockers and I wonder why there are 4 tail lights and no backups.  The BU switch is destroyed?

PS...  I have a full set of 4 cocktail shakers in the garage and would be happy to negotiate a price for local pickup.  They are just to dang heavy to ship.

Later, JR
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: RoboMan91324 at aol.com 
  To: virtualvairs at corvair.org ; hmlinc at sbcglobal.net ; joelewis33 at cox.net 
  Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 11:53 AM
  Subject: Was 1965 Monza; Now Old Car Price Guide 

  J. R. and Joe,

  You said that the OCPG is not a bible and I would like to elaborate.

  I haven't used the OCPG in years because I haven't bought or sold a car in years but I assume the publication hasn't changed that much.  So, 3 points.

  1.  For the most part, the OCPG is a seller's tool.  I have found that it consistently overstates the value of cars in every level of restoration.  This excludes cars that have been "over" restored if that is what you are looking for.  I have never, ever paid anywhere close to the estimated price in the OCPG and this isn't because I am a super negotiator.  Again, this opinion is based on past experience but the present day OCPG may have become more realistic since I last used it.  Maybe others here on VV can weigh in.

  2.  In the past, when faced with a seller with the OCPG in-hand, I found that they were sometimes optimistic about which category their car was in.  This is the old double whammy where you are faced with both the inflated values in the publication and the owner's inflated view of his car's condition.  This could be the normal optimism a seller has when viewing his "baby" or it could be a negotiating ploy.  Either way, it could be difficult to bring the seller down to a reasonable price when he has what he believes or hopes to be "proof" of the inflated value of his car.

  3.  I don't recall if OCPG has regional editions but values of cars are different in different areas of the country.  Here in SoCal, cars survive longer than in New England, for example.  A true Class 2 car in NE would be more valuable than one in that condition here because of the "law of supply and demand."  If the OCPG is standard across the nation, the stated values should be adjusted depending on where you are.

  If the car is a Class 3 at a stated value of $7430 in OCPG, my opinion is that it has lower value than that for the reasons stated above.  If the owner has set a starting price at $10,500, it may be a tough negotiation getting it to the OCPG price much less below it.

  The fact that the owner pointed out the flaws is great. assuming he was doing it honestly.  I always do this when selling a car for several reasons.  First, it saves time.  Second, it tells the buyer that the price was set with full knowledge of the faults and his pointing them out is not a negotiating point.  Third, it minimizes the risk of an unhappy buyer after-the-fact when he finds some faults he didn't notice when he made an offer.

  By the way, I have been lucky in the past that the "cocktail shakers" were in the ragtops I have owned.  However, I understand that they are quite difficult to come by which means they are costly.  You should check into this.

  Good luck,

  Doc
  1960 Corvette, 1961 Rampside, 1962 Rampside, 1964 Spyder coupe, 1965 Greenbrier, 1966 Canadian Corsa turbo coupe, 1967 Nova SS, 1968 Camaro ragtop

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