• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Looking to buy a muscle car, why do the dealers have all the nice ones?

Paul G what are you looking for? Your inbox is full.

I will go clear that out. It would be nice if we got a notification when the inbox is full.

Looking for another project car. I do not do full restorations. Too much work and I am too impatient to wait three years to finish a car. Body work is hard, my old body cant do that anymore. I prefer to find cars that need some TLC, reconditioning, or mechanical repair.

What I am looking for is probably what the dealers are selling at a premium. Dealers polish up cars and make them look great while hiding many problems, and then selling at top dollar. That is what dealers do. I have many friends that have bought classics only to get them home and find out how much does not work, is done wrong, or completely hidden until they find it themselves. Correcting those issues is what I do. I help friends fix cars regularly. Keeps me busy. Mechanical and electrical especially. Except body and paint, no body and paint.
 
I wouldn't automatically throw classic car dealers as all bad. A friend of mine had two cherry cars he was selling in AZ and a dealer back in OH came out to look at them and bought them for $50k and shipped them to his dealership. Later found those for sale on their website. The asking price was around 5 grand each more than what he bought them for. Seems as though it was in the ballpark for the cars. Anybody looking to drop a nice sum on an old car should look it over very carefully knowing what to look for, or find someone who is skilled to do so. I've even done this on daily rides I've bought, get it in the dealer's shop on a lift to look it over as part of the checking. Some will ask permission to contact the prior owner. I stopped trading in my vehicles years ago as it's a joke what the trade-in prices are. But they have costs to prep and safety check, repair...it's a business; not a charitable org. Conversely buyers wanting to save cash buying private party lose some of protection. When I sell 'em I have a sign-off sheet "SOLD AS IS".

One time I sold my Dakota to a guy and couple days later his wife calls all mad cuz the fuel pump went. She went on to say how poor they are and how many kids they had...etc. I had-had my mech shop install a new pump like two weeks before I sold it and he made good on the warranty to swap in a new one. Lol, I wanted to tell her if they're so poor stop having more kids.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top