This conversation was enough to lure me out of long time lurker mode to actually post something. Trying to figure out what any particular
A should be worth is something that I struggle with. I am like everybody else, I guess; if I were
selling one I’d want to get as MUCH for it as I could & if I’m
buying I’d like to spend as LITTLE as possible on it.
Background; I’ve had horses almost my entire life, still do even at my age (when most people
SHOULD know better). If there is any hobby that you ALWAYS buy high and NEVER sell high it is horses. I have rebuilt or restored several antique tractors and can tell you that you will NOT sell one of those things for anywhere close to what you have in them. Our home turns 100 years old this Spring. When we bought it almost 33 years ago I was young enough, and stupid enough, to take on pulling that thing down to the studs and rebuilding it, including virtually one of everything from the foundation to, and including, the roof. Wiring, plumbing, HVAC you name it. Think buckets of $$$$$. So I think I get it: no matter the hobby or endeavor is … nothing comes cheap. You still have to pay for what you get. The people that have poured their blood, sweat, tears and dollars into getting an
A all dolled up want and expect to recoup that investment.
While buying, restoring, rebuilding, etc. an
A might not be as expensive as doing the exact same thing with any ’68 muscle car, it still costs to do so. The problem I see for
A sellers, is that it is an experience that doesn’t appeal to as large a group of prospective enthusiasts as it did just 15 or 20 years ago. Most people relate to cars/trucks etc. that they were either familiar with as a child, or owned, admired or envied as a young adult. With the oldest
A’s turning 90 years old this year, it is pretty obvious that the built in fan base for these cars is probably well into their 7th or 8th decade of life. To put it bluntly, time is not on their side.
In talking to friends, family, neighbors and so forth that are generally my age (early 60’s) or younger and who are into cars, I have yet to find one that would really like to own an
A. But I can remember a church auction (fund raiser) in my town just over 6 years ago where a ’31 Standard Coupe was auctioned. The people that appeared to be in their late 70’s or early 80’s went nuts over that thing. That older restoration with no touring upgrades and a 30 to 40 foot paint job, at best, went for about $35K. I might have paid 1/3 of that, or less, for it, but no more than that. There was just nothing special about that car. While I understand that a large part of that price was because it was a church fundraiser, the big takeaway was WHO was interested in it. Virtually everyone that bid on it, other than me, was easily 10 to 15 years older than I was. The buyer appeared to be in his early 80’s. I doubt seriously that he will be able to drive that car much longer, if he and the car are even still together. So where does it go from there and for how much? The fact that he paid 35K for it in 2011 is irrelevant.
I’ve already drug this thing out far too long , especially for an initial post, but the bottom line for me is that I have had a difficult time reconciling a desire to be fair, or just, with the seller and yet not put so much into the purchase price that I get scalped when I need or want to get out from underneath it. I am serious when I say that I welcome any and all thoughts that anyone might have as to how these things should be evaluated.
Vanna's time has come and gone and this gal is already qualified she can turn letters on the big board........
