Finding a fair price within the club

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dochawk

Junior Member
I'm less than certain how to phrase this.

If I buy a car at an auction, it's kind of by definition a fair price.

But how does one find a fair/market price for a private sale within a club, especially for less common models? Hagerty seems to have a sample size of one or two on some of them.

I'm a retired lawyer; I do not want to get into actual negotiations with friends.

I don't want to pay someone less than it's worth, but I also don't want to overpay.

So how do folks do this?
 
The question is sort of incoherent. There is no single “fair” price on collectibles. Each one is different because of its provenance and exact condition. The only question is how much would you pay to own this car. I’ve made lots of offers on items that were below market price because the item wasn’t worth that much to me. Sometimes the seller accepts and sometimes they don’t. Whether your offer is fair is for them to decide, not you.
 
if you buy within a club, expect to get a better car and prob pay 20% more. the "deals" will be in the outside world, where someone needs a quick deposition and cash. which do you prefer?
 
I’ve found within-club sales to be more “fair” because in general, you are dealing with a more knowledgeable group that the seller will have to live with after the sale. People tend to disclose more about the cars, warts and all, so that wharever the transaction, it tends to be more transparent. Are in-club sales the lowest price? Not necessarily, but there can be good deals. Of the two recent in-club purchases that I’m aware of in my own club, I think both were transacted at prices for those cars that were well below what I would have expected, primarily because of motivated sellers. OTOH, our newsletter lists some cars for sale that appear on the surface to be overpriced, at least by what I would pay if I was looking. (Maybe that’s why they haven’t sold - others agree with me.) I dislike haggling, so if something appears to be unreasonable, I won’t even explore it. As alexiskai stated, it’s what the car is worth to you, and if you and the seller are both happy, it’s “fair”.
 
Personally, I prefer "in-club" purchases. Here's why-

First of all, almost everyone in the club knows stuff about everyone else's cars, that's just the nature of club tours and club "seminar" shop days. Chances are, lots of people in the club have wrenched on that car at one time or another.

Next, the person selling the car is likely a friend, or at least someone not unfamiliar to you or others.

Here's the important part- That seller is someone who will still have to see and interact with you and the rest of the club AFTER the sale, and probably doesn't want everyone to hate on them for ripping-off a fellow club member.

Out of the 7 Model As I currently own, 5 of them were purchased from fellow club members. I regret NONE of those purchases! The 2 I bought from so-and-so seller?......Regrets.
 
To get a feeling on the price of cars, check the selling price on BAT. Also the selling price on eBay and Craigs List. Do not go by the asking price, some are widely over inflated.
 
Remember not every club member is your friend. I was takin advantage of when I joined our local club 25 years ago. I got so disgusted I basically went inactive several years ago. Next year marks 25 years for me and I will no longer keep my memberships current. Buyer beware.
 
Every year our club helps sell cars when the owner has died and the estate just want’s the money. Good deals can be had when buying “estate” cars.
Even if your best buddy in the club is selling a car I would inspect the heck out of it.
Negotiating is fine as long as you keep it friendly. I always tell a potential seller that it’s not just about what true value is, it’s about what I can afford to pay. Values are dropping like a rock so when determining value you can’t even go by what something sold for a year ago.
 
Tacoma Bob said:
Remember not every club member is your friend. I was takin advantage of when I joined our local club 25 years ago. I got so disgusted I basically went inactive several years ago. Next year marks 25 years for me and I will no longer keep my memberships current. Buyer beware.
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It is funny in that when I first read Ronn's comment above, I actually cringed a little because of several of my customer's firsthand experiences with so-called 'Club Members' that IMHO they grossly misrepresented their vehicle during the sale to what later made them became my customer. I do think that Neil's comment about Club Members are more knowledgeable was factual some 40 to 50 years ago however I think that was a period in time where Model-A Club members actually restored their own Model-A. Now, most members do not have actual hand-on experiences, and so they either give advice on what they have read on social media, or by what they have watched on YouTube. Both of these resources can be very inaccurate as we all know. :unsure::oops:

Bob, I am in the same camp with you as one of the Clubs will likely never see another dime of mine too. Enough about that but IYKYK.
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
It is funny in that when I first read Ronn's comment above, I actually cringed a little because of several of my customer's firsthand experiences with so-called 'Club Members' that IMHO they grossly misrepresented their vehicle during the sale to what later made them became my customer. I do think that Neil's comment about Club Members are more knowledgeable was factual some 40 to 50 years ago however I think that was a period in time where Model-A Club members actually restored their own Model-A. Now, most members do not have actual hand-on experiences, and so they either give advice on what they have read on social media, or by what they have watched on YouTube. Both of these resources can be very inaccurate as we all know. :unsure::oops:

Bob, I am in the same camp with you as one of the Clubs will likely never see another dime of mine too. Enough about that but IYKYK.
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Maybe my club is an exception, but most of the active members actually did restore their own cars, albeit maybe 40 years ago. In the last couple of years we have attacted a few new, young members - young being anyone younger than my 73 years - but our predominant demographic is retired. Far cry from 40-50 years ago when active members were working-age with young families.

We too have estate sale cars from club members (more each year, regrettably). One thing about those is that often someone in the club remembers helping the owner restore that car. We also get requests to list cars from non-club members, owners and cars we know nothing about. Those are the ones that I would have serious reservations about.

I certainly did not mean to imply in my post above that buying from a club member is a guarantee or that buying from a non-club member is a scam. In fact, the car that I found the most unpleasant surprises recently was one I bought from a very sweet couple that were quite active in another MAFCA chapter. My point was that the more you know about a seller, and the background on a car, the less likely you are to find yourself surprised and possibly disappointed.
 
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When looking to buy a particular car, negotiating the price is important. However, just as important, to getting a fair deal, is negotiating the actual condition of the vehicle. You must do a thorough job of inspecting the car. The seller is always going to present the vehicle in its best light. Whether buying from a friend, a club member or a complete stranger. do not be afraid of offending the seller if you insist on looking in every corner of the car and asking the right questions.
 
Prior to buying my Model A from a reputable classic car dealer, I spent several months scanning classic car sales sites like BAT, Hemmings, Classic Cars, etc. After looking at dozens and dozens of Model As on these sites and seeing some of the sales prices vs listing prices, you get a more informed opinion of how much to pay and in what sort of condition. By definition, fair market is what a willing seller is willing to sell for and a willing buyer is willing to pay.
 
I've been selling stuff all my life,and the internet brought changes and people that you really don't want to deal with.It got to the point of,the asking price will be the selling price.Not open to offers.I'm pretty well done with A's,and would like to get rid of a couple.I don't see it happening for a while though unless I give them away.I have a pretty nice 28 phaeton that I can't drive,and have been making a half hearted attempt to sell it.Looks like only the rich are exchanging cars for money right now.Getting downright insulting offers from people.The phaeton makes a nice couch in the cellar to watch TV or listen to the radio from.I can still drive my coupe if I have the window down,I can't drive any closed A for more than a minute or two with my arm in the car.
 
A fair price is what you and the seller agree on. Negotiation is the byword of car sales. Fixed prices on cars didn't work out so well for Saturn.
You need to do a lot of homework prior to a purchase. You need to know what you want and if a car is "close" how much it will cost to make it your ideal car. Club newsletters are a great place to shop. All I could find when I was searching Craigslist etc was flippers and kids selling grandpas car. All of them thought they were gold.
I started with the local MAFCA chapters and just kept widening my search until I found a few prospects. I had it narrowed down to 3 and when the new newsletter for his club came out he'd dropped the price $2 grand. I called the deal was set. He even trailered it to me 200 miles for the fuel.
PS - An auction is not an indication of a fair price. The seller invested in the sale - a few hundred to get a favored auction time, transporting the car to the auction site and 8-10% of the sale amount. You also pay 10% for the privilege of buying from the middleman. Say the seller expects $15,000. His car will need to sell for nearly $18,000. Once you buy at 18 your actual cost is $19,800 plus the money to get it home. So the fair deal price of $15,000 is bumped by over 30% in fees and transportation.
 

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