UPDATE: Is this a good trade? '47 Ford for '60 Bel Air?

I think the 60 is worth more than Ford.. It's hard finding a 60 that solid.. The Ford has been painted with the stainless removed and you don't know what's under the paint.. Your asking a very fair price for the 60...

 

Which one would you wanna have as your only car? As in daily driver for the rest of your life?

 

I agree that the 60 is prob worth more. I would think more than your asking price of 6.
However, times are not so great and things seem to be selling for less then their value.

That being said, do what YOU want! You could be dead tomorrow, then it wouldn't matter. So why should it matter now. If you dig the ford, trade. It does look solid as hell. I hate when I see someone holding onto a car they don't want for years because of money. Just me I guess. I have a rep for selling stuff way to cheap, but I'm always driving the car I want to be in with is big stupid smile on my face.

 

I agree that the 60 is prob worth more. I would think more than your asking price of 6.
However, times are not so great and things seem to be selling for less then their value.

That being said, do what YOU want! You could be dead tomorrow, then it wouldn't matter. So why should it matter now. If you dig the ford, trade. It does look solid as hell. I hate when I see someone holding onto a car they don't want for years because of money. Just me I guess. I have a rep for selling stuff way to cheap, but I'm always driving the car I want to be in with is big stupid smile on my face.

 

I like both cars....a lot, BUT 47 fords are easier to find than a good 60 Bel Air. Your car looks super nice in the pics. peace

 

If you trade you'll be sorry

 

Like many have already said -- make a few changes on the '60 and it will become "new " again. I passed on a black '60 Bel Air two door a few years back and regret it.

 

What's the verdict?

 

No trade. 47 Ford two door sedans are not exactly a desired body style.

 

Keep the Chevy. That Ford will always be ugly.

 

I can't believe my eyes. A 60 Chevy 2dr sedan more desirable than a 47 V-8 Tudor? Wow, have the times changed! The Chevy is the one you settle for when you can't afford a good Impala HT. The 47 Tudor is one you settle for when you can't afford a 40. Consider the fact that 47 Super Deluxe Tudor just auctioned off for $11,500 3 weeks ago, and it was far from a great restoration. Sort of shiny paint, decent interior, ran well, but no more quality than what you'd see at a weekday cruise night. Not show worthy by any means. Just a point of reference.

 

I would keep the Belair.

 

To me a 60 chev is a tank and much uglier than a 46-48 Ford. I do prefer a small block chev motor to a flatty though, but not enuff to own a 60 chev.

 

No verdict yet! I'm still thinking about it and you guys are giving me a lot to think about.

The guy with the Ford sent me a video today of it running and you can hardly hear the engine running at idle.

I will definitely keep you guys posted as things work themselves out.

Thor

 

It would be easier for me if the Ford was a coupe or the Belair was a hard top. The Belair is newer and parts are cheaper but the '47 is classic. I like the Chevy and the Ford for different reasons. both are great cars. A tough choice, be nice to have both cars.

 

You've made the decision to sell the '60, so trade away. If it don't suit, sell/trade again.
If it were me I'd do the trade.

Scotty

 

If you really want to part with the BelAir, I´d look to get more $ out of it, then buy whatever you want. If that´s a 47 Ford that´s fine, but then I´d ask 3-4k on top of that trade... That would sound reasonable to me... But I don´t know your prices nor preferences over there

 

Nail on the head, the ford looks very clean. Chevy guys will say its junk older ford fans will say trade. But it's up to your interest. Sometimes we all need a change. I love both cars, I don't think one is way off from the other. I don't think you will loose either way. My two cents

 

I followed a 47 Tudor over a week ago up the freeway for almost 30min. The car was admittedly a "street rod" but it had a stance to almost die for. I don't know how far it went below the skin, but from the outside it was pretty stock looking other than the wheels. It was my least favorite color, dark burgundy, but the car had a magic vibe to it cruising at 70MPH. How anyone could think they're ugly and not desirable confuses me to no end. Big enough to haul the family around or load with gear for long trips, classic Ford lines, post-war styling (which I tend to gravitate to), I guess this topic just confuses me that much more thinking about it. I passed on one in 07 for $10K that was simply split boned and small blocked, dumped to the perfect stance, again dark burgundy (the main reason I passed), and a really nice near stock interior. It sold for very close to his asking price back then. Are there more desirable Fords? Sure. 28-31, 32-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, and of course 40, but the cost of admission is much higher. If that's where I ultimately wanted to be, in one of those earlier cars, I'd think a 47 Tudor is way better trade bait down the road. I guess I'd better get my ass in gear on my 61 spt cpe. It's gotta be worth $40K+ finished by the tone of this thread...

 

Okay, here's an update.

Spent all week thinking about the trade with lots of emails and texts between me and the kid that owns the Ford and a few phone calls too.

This afternoon we each drove about 65 miles and met in the middle. I looked the Ford over and it is every bit as clean as the photos showed it to be. It was somebody's restoration project. You could barely hear the engine when it was running and there was zero rust. The kid has had it since April and realized it is just not his style. Everything looks good and we both want to make the deal.

Whoops! Hold on, there's one small problem. The kid is jumping the title and has never registered the car. We discussed this and he was going to get it registered on Friday but couldn't because of work. The he was going to have his dad register it and that didn't work either because his dad had other commitments.

The person that the kid bought the car from had filled out the title and had filled in the purchase price just like you should when you sell a car. When we discussed an even trade I said I did not want to be money out of pocket and once he decided that he couldn't get the car registered he would have to pay me the amount of money it would take to pay the tax - in this way it is truly an even trade.

Well, long story short he doesn't feel he needs to pay the tax. I stick to my guns. He talks it over with his dad and offers to pay half. I politely told him that that wasn't going to work and that wasn't what we had discussed. I apologized for my contribution to the misunderstanding and I got back on the road.

I am bummed. The car was awesome and I had already done some legwork on getting a t5 lined up for it. If I can sell the Bel Air outright I will probably still try to buy the Ford but for now the deal is off.

I really appreciate everyone who weighed in on this. If something changes I will give you guys a heads-up.

Thor

 

you did the right thing. Keep the Chev

 

mcnally,

You are right - either way would be okay. I'm just disappointed the deal unraveled the way it did at the end.

Thor

 

How much was the tax? I'm afraid you cut off your nose despite your face. Sorry but I liked the Ford

 

I don't think that's the case at all. I like the Ford too, but the Chevy is fun and paid for. Principles are worth something and I was pretty clear with the kid as we planned the trade. I held up my end of the deal. Like I said, it is unfortunate that it unraveled like it did at the end.

 

Did you tell him to call you when he got the paperwork legal since you want the trade.

 

Let's say the kid paid $6K for that car. Not sure what county you're in, but here in Calumet, that's $300 worth of taxes. He offered to pay half. Principles are great and all, but if it were me and I really wanted to make that deal, I'd have just kicked in the $150 and I'd have it.

Really not trying to be a dick, but just want to put this all into perspective. Putting your car for sale, finding a buyer and closing the deal for cash, then going after his car, seems like a shitload of work to avoid paying $150 on principles, unless you think you can sell your car for a fair amount more than he'll take in cash for his.

 

So, do you think you'd have no tax when you trade? In MI, they tax on value, so would you pay $360 (6% in MI) when you do your deal? If so, the seller picking up 1/2 is a bonus. Principals are for schools sometimes...

 

Well sure he'd have to pay taxes on his end of the deal but why should he pay the kids taxes too? If I read it right the kid still had to pay to put the car in his name and then trade. This guy would have been paying taxes (or half) twice. I wouldn't have done it either.

 

Having been through my share of title hassles, I think you did the right thing.
If if the kid had gone and registered the car it would be a completely different situation.

 

I called the Wisconsin DOT last week to find our what the rules are for trading cars like we were planning to do.

In this particular example, I was told by the guy at the DOT that we each would write "even trade" in the box where the selling price is supposed to go - that is if both titles are clean. Neither party would owe the state any taxes on the transaction. Of course regular registration and title transfer fees would still apply.

I discussed this at length with the kid and I wasn't willing to carry his share of the freight too. This situation wasn't a surprise to him and I am baffled at how he thought I should take care of his responsibilities.

Did I lose out on a pretty cool car?...probably. I've seen people being really rigid in situations where they really need to be flexible but I don't think this is one of those situations. I really love cars but I'm not willing to sell my integrity for a few hundred bucks. Some folks allow themselves to be flexible that way but I don't.

Hopefully the kid and I can still work something out. If we cannot there will be other opportunities down the road.