One Z At Mecum This Friday

[Z fan]

Only Z at this California auction , https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail.cfm?lot_id=AN1114-197528  an indicator that even in California they are rare .

[Kurbycar32]

any news on if this sold or not?

[Carl Beck]

Bid to $11,500.00 - no sale.  The car was a rat with a salvage title. when the spray painted under the hood, they painted over everything.. including the accelerator linkage. What a mess… we would call it a $3.500.00 car.

 

amazing

Carl

[Z fan]

^^^ can you really buy a Z like that for 3.500.00. 

[lonetreesteve]

Hey, it's still a Series I car. Yeah, it still needs a lot of work, but people were willing to pay up to $11.5k for it at the auction.  $3,500.00??  Really, Carl? 

[DaveBonds]

Seems like a nice paint job, but the under hood disassembly and preparation were nill.

If the seller had taken the time to do a little more work, it would have gone a long way in value.

Its silly, how much paint means to people.

[lonetreesteve]

I agree with you, Dave. If the seller had taken the time to do the paint correclty, it probably would have met the reserve and sold.  Paint is really important when it comes to the value of classic cars. Too many Z owners take short cuts and do half-assed paint jobs on their cars because they are too cheap to do it right the way. Quality body work and a quality paint job makes a significant difference in the value.

[Hardway]

With only 4 pictures its hard to tell the exact condition. Even with the massive overspray in the engine bay and condition of items and a few items missing, if the car is driveable its worth $6K - $7K on the traditional open market. Without seeing the interior that would be my best based on the ad. I agree, $11K is crazy but with a little more time spent on the details it would have brought closer to $15K and possibly more.

[Carl Beck]

Hey, it's still a Series I car. Yeah, it still needs a lot of work, but people were willing to pay up to $11.5k for it at the auction.  $3,500.00??  Really, Carl? 

 

Hi Steve - 

 

Given the usual negative replies about the "price of Z's" - - - I said; "we would call it a $3500.00 car" -  a somewhat sarcastic remark - did not really mean to put an actual value on it.

 

On the other hand - how much would you pay for a Salvage Titled 240Z? Would it make any sense to pour much money into it - knowing that most people won't want it.? About the only reason to buy a Salvage Titled Z - would be an extremely low price, and knowing that is what you would hope to get back out of it when you try to resell it.

 

Still way to many Z's with good titles out there…  that don't have a shinny new paint job hiding who only knows what.

 

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Carl Beck]

^^^ can you really buy a Z like that for 3.500.00. 

 

Not quite like that. That takes some work. You can buy a wrecked / totaled out 240Z - from the resellers that buy them from the insurance companies or junk yards - with a Salvage Title. The few examples we have seen on this forum seemed to be around $1000.00 to $1500.00 or so. Then if you can find enough used parts cheap enough - you might get one put back together for another couple thousand dollars.

 

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Patcon]

I rebuild salvage cars and have watched several wrecked 240z's roll through the auction recently. They all sold for over $3000 excluding fees and transportation which is another $1,000 or more. These are wholesale auctions and some are dealer only. I was surprised what they were bringing because salvage title does discount a car, but even the car I am restoring know would carry a salvage title if it had an accident today. The front end has been hit and the radiator support replaced, which is more than enough to salvage title a car. How many Z's are out there that have had an accident and been repaired but don't carry a branded title.

Charles

[Carl Beck]

Hi Charles:

Good point - I just want to be sure to understand what you are saying.

1. Wrecked 240Z's are selling for more than $4K at auctions.

2. Wrecked 240Z's with Salvage Titles are selling at auction for $4K.

 

… you later mentioned that the car your working on would get a Salvage Title if later wrecked. 

 

Also - yes today - I wouldn't be surprised if Salvage Titled 240Z's might be bringing a bit more than the previous examples we've seen on this forum. The value of even good used 240Z parts has gone up significantly over the past few years.

 

In #1 you aren't dealing with a Salvage Title car, in case #2 you are. I would agree that a damaged car without a Salvage Title is worth quite a bit more than a damaged car without a Salvage Title. I think in the past the Salvage Titled cars sold to the public - will bring 10 to 20% more than the junk yards will pay.

Most likely a lot of 240Z's have been damaged and repaired. Usually the one's that were repaired fall into one of two categories. Private owners that simply pay for the repair themselves, rather than settling for a low ball figure from the insurance company, or 240Z's that were covered by an Agreed Value Classic Car Policy.

 

Usually - not always - but usually the owners or the insurance companies themselves - do over-see the work being done - and exert some quality control over the process. Likewise if you are buying damaged Z's with good titles - you can afford to put more money and thus higher quality into the repair - because with a good title you have a good chance of making a profit on the effort.

 

The normal course of events however over the past 30 years or so - has been that the damage cost more to repair than the insurance company felt the car's ACV would justify. They declare the car totaled and thus the salvage title.  The largest problem with Salvage Titled cars has been created over the past 50 years or so, by cars taken out of the junk yards getting slip shod and very questionable repairs - cleverly hidden. In effect they are flipped to made as much profit as possible. Which unsuspecting buyers only later find. So in that case the Salvage Title is a Red Flag {justified or not}. So when it comes to Salvage Titles - why buy a potential problem down the road when you don't need to? Unless a super low price sways you.

 

FWIW,

Carl B.