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Buying a B Body from a private seller - Lets's hear your stories!

We bought out '68 Charger in 1998. The guy was asking 9K for it. We test drove the car 2 different times and made sure it was matching numbers as stated. My dad told him he liked the car very much and asked him if he was willing to go to 8K, rather than saying the car wasn't worth 9 or he's not paying over X amount. They settled on $8500 and I think the seller left the selling price space on the title blank for us to fill in. He was a nice guy and it was a pleasant deal (I was 14 when it took place) from what I remember...
 
Shoot, I didn't see "B" body when I first posted, oh well. I bought a 68 Charger shell for $2,000, sold it two weeks later for around $6,000. Bought my 69 Charger two weeks later.

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Wow... That was a great profit in such a short time. The $4000 must have felt like found money!
 
I love that. I have bought and sold cars and parts to keep from dipping into the bank accounts. Building just about any car can drain the savings account pretty fast!
 
bought my roadrunner as a roller sight unseen off eBay. It bid under value because it wasn't running. 5 years of elbow grease later it is a beast. Best purchase I ever made. Sometimes i think I'm Irish.
 
I saw one on eBay before I bought mine. Then I saw it on Craigslist after it was off eBay. The pics looked great. It was a black 72 Satellite/ RR clone. I drove 80 miles after talking to the guy. Assured me it was clean. It had a 318, but he had a 340 block for it. When I pulled up I told my sister, it looks good. The paint job was nice, interior was musty smelling. Before I started it he said the valves make a little noise when you first start it. After I fired it up I popped the hood and immediately saw a white wire going through the firewall(no grommet) to a fuel pump. It was just pushed in next to a fuse under the dash. Then I started feeling the body, honest to god the back quarters had an inch of mud. When I called him out on it he actually said what it looks good. He was asking $11,000 I said I wouldn't give you 2 for this and walked away. He got all ticked, I just got in the truck and left. He actually called me after I got home telling me off. I just said you're an idiot and I hoped no one fell for his crap.
 
I found my Road Runner on Craiglist. After talking to the owned I flew out to see it. He picked me up at the airport. The car turned out to be a survivor with no rust and a new paint job. It came with original air cleaner, valve covers, cam, intake, wheels & red line tires. I gave him his asking price and drove it 375 miles home.
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Nice color on that Road Runner.

The only other B body that I have owned was a 68 Plymouth Satellite Sport Station Wagon.

The seller was a local flipper. Nice guy, the type that wasn't into selling cars to get rich, just out to make a few bucks.
The car was a 318/904. It came from Fort Bragg CA, a coastal town that I refer to as "Rio Linda by the sea." My understanding is that cars near the coast develop rust in unusual places. This one did.
Be leery about lumping all California cars into the category of No RUST, clean metal. It had rust on top of the fenders, on parts of the floor, around the door hinges, etc.
This wagon could have been saved. I tried to sell it whole. I paid $600 and with a little bit of work, got it running and driving. No takers at $1800, $1500 or even $1200. After a few months, I parted it out. It had the Sport Satellite/GTX grille. The dash and guages were nearly perfect. I made $300 on the grille. $300 for the dash and guages. $250 for the 8 3/4 axle and another $400-500 for misc other things.
Of course, after it was cut up and scrapped, I'd still get some latecomers calling....Hey, I would have given you $1500 for the car!!!
 
My brother send me a text with a picture of this 65. He said his old neighbor had picked it up and was going to get it running and sell it. He thought it was fairly solid but the rear quarters will need work. I asked my brother how much Phil was going to ask for it and he told me $4500. I told him I'd be over to look at it. He let me leave the car there for about 6 weeks while I tried to sell the 66 Sport Fury (basket case). My brother had a chance to get the car and move it to his garage and we looked it over better and he got it running. I sold the 66 a bit after that and we brought the Coronet to my garage and I work on it when I have time and extra cash. That was almost 4 years ago, ugh. I'm planning on having it driveable over the winter and ready for next spring. Then continue to fix and update it while enjoying driving it.

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