Thread: A couple of questions.

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If you lived nearby I could help you more, but the next best thing would be some good pictures. Even at that opinions will vary, but at least you'll be able to narrow it down some. As Bart said, it's LIKELY (but not absolutely) that the $2k is low, and VERY LIKELY the $25k is WAYYYYYYYYYY high. Just a general rule of thumb that will serve you well throughout life, and not necessarily only with cars; the value of something is only set when a willing seller and an able and willing buyer agree on a price. Everything else is just talk. Money on the barrel head is real, opinions are just gas. Sounds cynical, but's how the real world works.

We're in a soft market right now compared to a year or so ago, and sometimes timing has a lot to do with it. If there's not somebody out there looking for something like you've got it won't sell for anything. If there's more than one potential buyer looking, you're in a good position.


I'll give you an example of what I've got going right now to give you an idea of the market. I'm not saying you should do things the same way I do, and with school and storage prorblems you've described it wouldn't be practical, but it will give you an idea of what you're up against. For the past several months I've been trying to sell a '40 Ford sedan project. It was a pretty complete car, only missing an engine and trans. So, not driveable was an issue but not unusual for this type of car. Some people think '40 Fords are very desireable, and comparatively they are. But right now, the market is a little more picky so the most desireable body styles (coupe and convertible) are moving, but not so much the sedans. I advertised in a number of reliable venues that have moved cars for me in the past and got quite a few replies, but mostly online/phone "tire kickers". Nobody came to look. Generally that's not a good sign. Usually the first diagnosis that would be logical would be that I was overpriced. This is where opinion needs to be tested. My solution (again, not saying it would be best for you, but then again it might be) was to sell the car off in parts. Several knowledgeable friends told me I am crazy (and there's a 50/50 chance they're right), but none of them put any money on the table to back up their opinion. As a seller who needs the space I need cash buyers. So last weekend I changed my ads to read selling an almost complete car in parts. The emails and phone calls came rolling in, people came over, pictures of Ben Franklin changed hands, and the car is going away..................a piece or 10 at a time. I'm on track to end up with somewhere about $2k more in my pocket than I was asking for the car as a whole. While that's nice, the back side of that is I'm having to work harder to get the money, but at least now the car is going away instead of sitting there.

The point is, we may not be in the kind of market where you can get best dollar for what you have. And if you can't play the parts game as in my example above, then you may have to take less for the truck just to move it if that's your primary need right now. So, give us some help identifying what you've got (with some good pictures) and we'll try to give you our best guidance. But be prepared, as we'll only be giving you a best GUESS, unless someone here is willing to put their money where there mouth is.