Jrzyboy

Hi everybody. I'm new to the site and right now i've been looking to purchase a 3rd gen. camaro. Problem being is I don't understand where people come up with some of their prices. I Blue Book and N.A.D.A. the cars and prices are what they are, but when I go on the computer classifieds, people are asking crazy money for a beat down POS. I love the 3rd gen cars but I just didn't know when they became so overpriced for a POS needing $20,000 in work. Over the past few days I went and looked at several cars, 1st one asking $4000 o/b/o said new paint, rebuilt 350 motor and trans, new brakes, shocks etc. said it needed an interior over $10,000 invested. When I got there... Maco paint job (door jambs and under hood not painted the same color), paint chips everywhere body work needed, motor was rusty, brakes and shocks weren't new, nothing was as advertised. The owner stated I know what the car is worth just needs a little work. 2nd car asking $4500 o/b/o same story new paint, 1995 vette motor and trans beautiful shape...guess what same story paint is shot, motor was from a vette a very slow vette. I mean come on! I've wasted more time looking at overpriced POS...it's crazy. Maybe someone can explain where people are getting the values of the these cars? I haven't seen these cars sliding across Mecum's auction block as classic, hard to find, rare cars. I think they are awesome cars but really... an 1986 Z28 with 150,000 miles, needs everything car for $5000????? What crack are people smoking? People who own these cars need to realize if you put $100,000 in it your not gonna get your money back. These cars are rare, rare if you find one intelligently priced in good shape, there are a bunch out there just all beat on just a dam shame. Sorry if I'm ranting it is just super fustrating. I feel better now, thanks for letting me rant and I hope someone can shed some light on this.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

you must be looking in the wrong place then. I do agree that people seem to think their **** is worth gold, and have drastically different ideas than i do as to what "rust free" and "mint" mean, but you can still get 3rd gens cheap, just have to look around for a bit. took me a few years and looking at almost 15 cars before i found my 92. Just wanted a clean reasonably priced car with under 100k miles. Looked at a lot of reasonably priced cars, 3k and under, but they all had rust issues. I had to dig through a pile of crap cars to find it, but i did.

give it time, ignore the people wanting stupid money, and you'll find something.

that all being said, prices are going up on 3rd gens, and overpriced auctions like barret jackson dont help that. people see cars there go for huge money and think their crap box must be worth that much too.

two-if-by-sea

iTrader: (22)

As a seller, it's a thin line to walk, between fantasy and reality prices.

I just posted my old sport coupe on Craigslist Thursday night. Desperately needs paint, nice interior, original LG4 with 158K and rebuilt tranny, I have owned the car 20 years. Runs as well as it ever did. I listed for $1300. Within 12 hours, I had over 25 emails from people wanting to buy. It was crazy, people sending 5 emails offering more than what I listed it for. Rabid people getting an attitude with me because I had not answered their email that was just sent 4 hours ago. Long story short, first guy that looked at it, bought it for my asking price. Apparently I listed it too low.

In the future, should I ever sell again, I will list much higher than what I think it will realistically fetch. I'm kicking myself in the rear end right now, asking why I did not ask more.

And of course I listed it here on TGO. Just over 100 people have viewed the listing since Thursday, no questions, no emails, just chirping crickets.

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

These cars have been out of production for a long time and are never going to be produced again. They range from 20 to 30 y/o now. Alot of people realize this and can ask for some more money than years ago, even in a lousy economy. It's going to effect low and high end cars. As you can see from the post above, a decent amount of buyers realize this also. It's funny how alot of the general public sees them as fun, cool cars that have or will have a value, but some so-called enthusiasts often don't seem to get it.

Jrzyboy

Hey guys thanks for the replys. I do understand values on these cars are going up and that is inevitable. It's just those who feel the need to overprice their beaten down rust bucket and think because it's 30 yrs old they have a gold mine. I'm looking to spend $4000 so it's not like I want a perfect car for a thousand bucks but something that has at least one good thing going for it. When they say mint condition and the next breath say needs inter., paint, and motor work I mean come on. The car is actually going to be my gf's car and today we go look at one more. She said it will be the last one for awhile if it doesn't pan out, just might wait and see what else comes down the road. Well thanks again guys for your input wish me luck.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

It's all part of bargaining for used cars. Sellers have to balance having somewhere to go I the price with not turning people off the deal completely. Buyers have to balance between paying too much and pissing off the seller so they don't want to bargain.
When you find a car that's misrepresented, politely point out the flaws and then tell them what you think it's worth because of it. Maybe they will meet your price, maybe you will have to wait until they get a dose of reality and accept your offer.
Bargaining is Becoming a lost skill that is still very important in the auto world. You will have a huge advantage if you hone your bargaining skills and don't allow your emotions to mess up your business decisions.
I buy many firebirds, most have ridiculous prices on them. It usually doesn't take much for me to make them see reality, but occasionally I walk away. All part of the fun.

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

Agreed with that. If someone says a car is mint and it has alot of problems, point them out and say what you think is a fair price. If they're not willing to budge, just walk away, unless you really want the car for some reason. To be honest though, as soon as I see few misrepresentations or lies from a seller, I'm usually ready to walk away instantly and take the safe road. Most people selling cars can't be trusted and there's usually more problems than there seems to be.

Jrzyboy

Hey guys happy to say that things always appear darkest before the dawn. After several failed attempts we purchased a beautiful 85' IROC Z from keebler98 today. Here was a guy who posted here on 3rd gen and represented the car as it truely was...beautiful. It was posted last night and sold today not only found a great car but a honest, in the know guy you could call a friend. The car is a beast with a fat 355 well built motor, rebuilt trannyand loads more. Thanks again. I'm off to play with the new toy.

Brock Lee

To those reading this looking for buying tips : Look for the ones that appear nice and straight, but don't have current registrations and never move. Knock on the door and ask if it is for sale. You may have to go through this a few times before you score. There are a number out there that people tried to sell 5-10 years ago, but the values were dirt. So they put off selling. Offer them a fair price and they will most likely take it fearing they will never get offered that much again.

Motown

This is exactly how I got mine.



Oh and Jrzyboy, congrats on the car!

NCGuy68

Gents...

Always remember that any given car offered for sale on any given day is worth what a willing seller will accept.

The price guides are nice, but don't often reflect real world transactions.