Wow! Set of 4 "D" Wheel Covers for $1,247.00!!

[Go240Zags]

It's hard to afford anything when there are people out there willing to spend anything for parts. I think I'll double check my spares for some gold. The winner of the hubcaps, old_guy99, has bid on lots of auction dealing with 240Z type items. I guess I'll wait until he has everything he needs.

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewBidItems&sort=3&userid=old_guy99&completed=1&all=1&rows=200&sacategory=-1&nojspr=y&sspagename=h%3Ah%3Aadvsearch%3AUS&sofocus=bs&sosortproperty=1&satitle=&catref=C6&sorecordsperpage=50&sosortorder=1&from=R7&nojspr=y&pfid=0

[EScanlon]

As far as the bills, you usually put it in front of you on the edge of the stage. The girl comes by and picks it up and will "personalize" her dance for you. If you're a "regular" she might offer various means of "tucking" the bill, as long as the bouncer, etc. are ...shall we say... "oblivious" to what's happening.

As far as supply getting scarcer, it is. We all know that. Look at the prices that "European" tail lights were fetching a year ago, can you imagine what a new set would fetch now?

There are many parts that are now selling at prices MUCH higher than we would have believed. The Heater Control Panel, the Series I Ash Tray / Fuse Cover, unblemished Dashes, tail-lights, reclining mechanism covers, are all parts that, for those who had the foresight to stock up, yielding great profits. In a way, we ALL want that to happen. As the desireability of a complete and unblemished car goes up, so does the price. Whether it's because you're investing (a stretch) or because you hope that you can recoup some of your expenses, we're all hoping to benefit from that rise in prices.

As far as the exorbitant prices, it also boils down to "I'm not letting this one get away" fever. With the scarcity of the "D" hubcap in ANY condition, followed by the even scarcer unblemished, and then in NEW condition, I'm not surprised by the final bid.

Enrique

[26th-Z]

I didn't think to save pics of the lighter. It was 25330-E4100 in the old red-white-blue box. I can take a picture of the clips I bought from Chloe for $6 if you like.

[EScanlon]

Maybe old-guy read that Wall Street Journal piece and is hoping to cash in on it. Then again, maybe it's one of the buyers for "Overhauling", and if so, has any one of our members discovered his car missing? Or, it's actually Paris Hilton deciding to fund one of her boyfriend's hobby.

Enrique

[26th-Z]

I'm with you Enrique. The trouble is that a new part at the high price is still less expensive than restoring the old part. I have just a little less than $300 in each of my restored hub caps.

[EScanlon]

...a new part at the high price is still less expensive than restoring the old part....

Exactly. By the time you add in your time AND the possibility of failure in the middle of the process, it is MUCH cheaper and quicker to pay a higher price.

Hey, doesn't this sound like what we tell prospective buyers? Buy the BEST car you can afford, even if it's way more money than that "fixer-upper"?

How many times have we seen bumpers that "could use re-chroming" sell for $100-200 dollars, while new ones go for $400, and then discover the guy paid $250 to get it stripped and re-chromed. The extra $50 (low Side) or saved money (high side) sometimes isn't enough to offset the effort.

This isn't to say that there aren't bargains out there, but as more and more people get into the "hobby", those will get scarcer and pricier.

Then again, there are people out there that CAN effect repairs and restorations cheaper than buying some of those NOS parts, but they are also in the minority.

Enrique

[EScanlon]

Am I the only one that's noticed the post time for the site is off by 3 hours?

Anyhow, I'm off.

Good Night and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Remember that sometimes that it's just as important to be thankful for what you do NOT have (illness, poverty, etc.) as what you DO have.

Enrique

[26th-Z]

Yep. Of all the low VIN and early car guys I know, the crowd leans to the side of guys restoring parts rather than buying new replacements. People like me tend to buy a couple of each item with the intent of selling the spare when we finish the restoration. I will re-chrome several sets of bumpers, for example. Bumpers I bought for $35 realizing what the re-chrome effort was going to be. It won't be very long (5 years) before there aren't any new parts and the resto parts are going to be this expensive. At least for the early cars.

I also want to say the eBay is NOT the only place to find this stuff and that it tends to be the most expensive solution.

[Bambikiller240]

Am I the only one that's noticed the post time for the site is off by 3 hours?

It's been way off for a long time. Months ago Mike indicated (when it was pointed out in the SHOUT box) that it tended to "drift" and he seemed to think people were complaining about something trival. (I'm not speaking for him, but thats the way I read his response)

[lonetreesteve]

This "Beck" at Beck Systems who paid over $200.00 for a pair of plastic inspection lid clips must be one of those Wall Street Journal readers we have discussed in these forums. He is probably doing a full concourse restro and wants his '70 240z to be perfect and is willing to pay big money for the rare NOS pieces in hope he gets a big return on his investment. We may not like this, but in the long run, we are all benefiting from it!

[MikeW]

This "Beck" at Beck Systems who paid over $200.00 for a pair of plastic inspection lid clips must be one of those Wall Street Journal readers we have discussed in these forums.

It's Carl Beck who runs the internet Z car club (www.zhome.com) and who posts here occasionally.

[lonetreesteve]

Oh yes, I thought the name sounded familiar, thanks Mike. Like I said, the higher these parts go for, the more our 240Zs and our hard-to-find spare parts go up in value! The future looks bright!