How do you go about selling a High price car?

A friend of mine is wondering how to or who to contact for selling his 37 Ford coupe Trailer Queen. I've only seen a few car this good and am sure it's worth $70 or $80 thousand.

He has worked on it for several years and is almost done. Now he realizes it would be a mistake to drive it because of the big investment of time and materials he has in it and doesn't want to get it dirty or have paint chips.

 

Barret Jackson Auctions.

 

Ebay!

 

both of those are great options, i know it costs money to get into barret-jackson though, i dont know about ebay

 

Yep, and BJ pays off a lot better then Ebay. Sure save $5k using Ebay over BJ, but lose $20k doing so,,,, good call.

 

If I ever feel that way about a car I own everyone on this board has permission to beat me with a tire iron.

 

There will be a long line of volunteers.

I'd start with Ebay with enough detail pictures to drown a battleship. A 20G car and a 70G car both look good from 15 feet. You have to proove that this one is really special. I'd include my phone number to answer specific questions. I'd also look into having it professionally appraised. I'd expect it to sell after the auction closes to an interested party that saw it on Ebay but now has the time to inspect the car and make an educated decision.

The last car I sold, sold 6 months after it didn't sell on Ebay. The buyer looked real hard for a cheaper one. He finally realized the market and came back to where he had started. Without the telephone number in the ad it never would have happened.

 

Friend just paid $75K for a '48 Hot Rod Lincoln he found in Hemmings. I sold a six figure car through a Hemmings ad. Goodguys Gazette is also worth a try.

 

As Tommy said, put your phone number in the e-bay ad. I have wanted to contact someone after the auction is over but could not very easily.

Neal

 

I put a high priced roadster and a Shelby on Ebay a few years ago.
The first time neither sold. I had them both setup with a reserve.
Never again with bidding. The second time, I listed both of them as buy it now only. It worked great. Allows for best offers and most of all gets the word out there. Yes, List a phone number.

 

Thanks for the info guys.
Ya I agree with ya all about the Trailer Queen thing. This guy is so picky it almost makes me sick. He's been working on it for 20 years on and off. I met him 3 years ago and he was just finishing up the running gear. He fits and re-fits and re-fits everything, but it really shows. I'll see if he will let me post a picture of it on here.

 

Consider taking it to a few shows with a for sale sign on it...

Woodward Dream Cruise
[SIZE=-1]Carlisle would be a good place as well

other options
[/SIZE]any of the auctions during the Pebble Beach Weekend
as people have mentioned, Barret Jackson
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]

 

There's no easy way other then be lucky enough to sell it locally. eBay is a nightmare, nothing meets the reserve and after the auction closes every Nut Job in the country will call you. Meanwhile eBay's collected their listing fee. The real problems start when you finally locate a buyer and trying to get paid without being ripped off. Remember there a no longer any such thing as a Certified Check. They are now Official Bank Checks and payment on them can be stopped. Giving someone you don't know your bank account # for a wire transfer is looking to be cleaned out. Taking cash can be risky as well, how do youi know the cash is not counterfit. My last sale of a 46 Ford convertible i call it the car sale from hell. Had too many problems to list without typing all day. Good luck selling any vehicle especially a high priced one.

 

I can see being poor has it's advantages, for me being ripped off is some bum stealing the change out of my ash tray..........Jim

 

I would run an ad for it in Hemmings first. I'm presuming it is a restored to stock car and that is the bible for purists. If it doesn't sell out of there I would look into putting into an RM auction. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT take it to Barrett Jackson. The fees associated with selling your car there are astronomical. Also keep in mind they now run no reserve sales which means your car sells for whatever the gavel drops at. You can buy your car back put that will run you at least 10k, probably more with the car in question.
On the other hand RM runs a good, clean, honest auction. Here is their website...
http://rmauctions.com/

They have fair entry fees and commissions. They also allow you to put a reserve on your car. Plus they are nice people happy to have your business. Best of luck!

Now, if it is a hot rod or custom all of the rules change.....

 

Dana Mecum auctions have very fair fees also.


http://www.mecumauctions.com/

 

Your friend needs a reality check if he thinks spending $70-80 big ones on a car doesn't make it a driver. There are literly THOUSANDS of cars in this price range being driven every summer. Top notch body work/paint, interior, drivetrain, chroming, etc, plus the cost of the car to begin with, cost bucks, even if you do the work yourself, or lots of it anyway, stuff still cost big money now days.....even the little stuff adds up. Have ya priced stainless steel bolts lately?? I have. Hell these tiny little latches I need are $225.00 A PIECE! Yes, $70,000 is alot of money but not if your building a decent car to actually drive and be dependable......I'm not talking about building a shitbox here.

I sold my Dad's '37 Downs body, 5 window, real folding top convertible at the Nats in L'ville a couple of years ago. Parked it on the circle in a power parking spot and had it sold quick and easy. LOTS of high dollar rides change hands in L'ville each year....some more then once.

Dad has also had good luck with selling his cars in the Goodguys Gazette. Gary Meadors and his pals always seen to be the first callers......funny how that works.

62wagons Dad had great luck on Ebay selling a high dollar woodie wagon not too long ago, and I mean got a GREAT price for it. He's in the process of building another and is going to try to sell it the same way.

I really do feel sorry for your friend. Spending all that time building a car then having even the slightest thought that you spent too much money and not having that GREAT feeling inside of WANTING to cruz the wheels off it......well I just feel sorry for the dude.

 

lol, i have that in my car and it's not even finished and may never be painted. Buying the right parts to make a fast car reliable isnt cheap.

But I'm going to put a LOT of fun miles on the sucker to make it pay me back

 

Whatever route you take in selling the car, do it right. Poorly placed ads whether on an internet site,throught a consignment dealer, or in a publication can actually hurt the vehicle if the photos look bad and/or the ad is improperly worded. If you consign the car to an auction house, make sure you consign it well in advance so the auction house can properly advertise your car in long lead publications, discuss it with possible buyers in advance, get it included in their direct mailings, etc. Often times, we get consignments at the last minute and these sellers do not get the same promotional efforts due to lack to time.To try several poor selling attemps will actually hurt the car as it becomes "shopped" and people will tend to stay away from it. There are alot of strategies to selling a car, but, in general, the most important is to "do it right the first time."
If you would like to contact me directly, I'd be glad to offer advice about selling the car . I work for the RM company and can discuss auction options with you or the owner. -GZ
[email protected] or [email protected]

 

car as commodity....ugh....

 

One option is - www.cars-on-line.com $49 one time until it sells. If your friend is new at ebay find a dealer or someone with a lot of feedback and that knows how build a good ad. Low feedback will scare big $ away.

 

I've had the best luck selling higher end cars on hotrodhotline.com
On the feature page I think it's about $100 includes 6 pictures and unlimited text, runs for 6 months. Hate to say but also the Goodguys Gazette seems to attract high end car buyers. Gary

 

The first thing he should do is figure out what it's worth so as not to be disappointed. Unfortunately I think your friend is way over priced on this car, a perfectly restored '32 five window would maybe bring that money. '37 Phaeton/touring cars barely sell for this much and they are rare... theres a very nice restored one in hemmings for $59,000. After they dropped the price from $69,000. Hemmings is probably the way to go for a restored car or maybe the Ford Barn.

Tell him to stop being a baby and drive it, if it's as nice as you say it'll be worth the same or more later.

hmmm... Is he gonna cry if the new owner plans on driving it or gasp.. worse yet hot rods it! Probably look good with a nice chop!

 

I would take it to Louisville(NSRA), or Columbus(Goodguys) and try selling it there. There are many people carrying small cases with large bills in them for just that purpose! From what I've seen, a $75k trailer queen for sale at those events is pretty comon.

 

Exactly. I understand your point, and I feel that many on this board would feel the same way...but...

Im 28 with a house of my own, and whatever time Im not spending on the cars or with my girlfriend (who trumps cars in priority, say what ya want) the house is a time sucker. Now, its not only where you live, but its also equity. Not a commodity...equity.

Now, granted I am looking to sell soon, but every minute I can spend on the house making it nicer, not only improves my dwelling, but also my equity.

The point is, with a car that can command a price like that, you have to more look at it as an equity, not a commodity. If you dont want to possibly scuff it up, and can get that kind of money for it, go for it.

That said...I cant wait to get the time/space to build my 51 Merc 2 dr project with the donor 77 Olds to drive the wheels off of. And if some shopping cart hits it, oh well...I dont care. It may get a ding, but it makes the simple tasks of grocery shopping and the like an absolute blast!

 

Tell him to drive 10 grand off that thing before he sells it and makes 20 cents an hour for his labor.

 

or sell it to me at a walmart price!!!

 

Uhhh, that would be more like soup kitchen price. Gary

 

im tellin ya gary! if youd just take food stamps, your 60 would be parked at my double wide!

 

I am getting ready to sell a steel 3 window 32 ford full fendered street rod. it is very nice from a long time friend who died a few yrs ago and now it is time to sell the old car. he had had it since about 1959. I am going to ebay with it soon. I think it will do 60K or up on there...........