Selling a Bug generally difficult

[Thinking of a Bug]

Understandably these little cars are pushing 40 years old for a newer one. Some owners are asking a ridiculous amount so they are not get much attention on the classified or owners have been lowballed so much the have given up trying to sell. I just see the same old bugs in the classified and craigslist. Is the classic bug hard to sell? what are buyers looking for. Note: this is usually Bugs 1968-76 and super beetles.

Jim

[vwracerdave]

Because of the TV auto auctions that sell cars for $100,000 many people think late model Bugs are worth a fortune. They don't sell because they are priced too high.
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[67jason]

for the right price for the right car things move quickly...very quickly. I've seen ads pop up and a few hours or a day or two later they are gone or listed as pending. the ones that sit for months and years are probably not worth buying because there is a reason why they aren't moving.

there is also many many cases where the cars have sold or are otherwise not on the market any longer and lazy sellers never updated or removed their ad...I've run into this several times. then there are the attention whores who post up thier shit - even farily priced sometimes - and end up refusing to sell - they just wanted attention for whatever reason.

over priced turds, distasteful customs and other POS's sit in the classifieds forever. fairly priced, properly represented cars sell.

example - not a bug, but a split bus. i've been looking for the right bus in my budget range for some time. earlier this week i do my daily samba classified section search and find an ad for a 64 standard less then an hour old. called - not emailed - but called the seller. took us about a day communicating over the phone and email to settle on a deal. in the mean time several dozens of interested parties reached out to the seller.... you just got to be patient, lucky and be ready to move on a deal immediately.
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67 bug x3
67 ghia
64 bug

[gt1953]

I was watching a car on Craigslist and it was listed here also. The ad here went away but stayed on craigslist. The price dropped my interest went up and so did all of the picture request to the seller. Went to look at it 200 miles one way. It was better then the pictures. Agreed on a price, less then listed. There are good buys out there and some not so good.
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Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[EverettB]

As someone above indicated, the price determines most of it.

He was also correct when he said the good cars go fast.
People have told me and I have seen cars sell the same day they were posted, sometimes within a few hours.

As the administrator I see all the new ads, including ads that were posted and are already inactive or deleted. There are ads ALL THE TIME that were posted today and are already removed, usually because they sold. This is cars and parts but cars are not uncommon.
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[coad]

A lot of it also seems to be location. A beetle in Bemidji, Minnesota will probably be there a while, especially if they're asking an East or West Coast price for it.

[drscope]

They all look alike. Are you sure those ads you are seeing are for the same car?
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[shortride]

Unfortunately the old saying, "it worth what ever anyone is willing to pay for it" can in some cases apply here. How many times have you bought something that you knew was way over priced but you bought it anyhow? That is what, I think it's fair to assume, what some sellers depend on. I've had two people that are into Beetle Bugs tell me I paid too much for my '66. I don't think so.
_________________
Pearl White 1966 Sedan

Retired US Army - 21 years 11B40, 173rd Airborne Brig. - Vietnam Combat Veteran

[aeromech]

I've found it hard to get much more than about $5500 for nice 1962-1965 bugs.

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VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
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Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[chaosisme]

I think its funny that a few threads above this one there's one called "What's up with sellers?" where the OP writes about how its difficult it is to get sellers to respond to an inquiry about cars for sale.

Last year I sold a '64 bug that was a project car, and I think it was priced pretty fairly considering what it was and what else was for sale at the time. Selling the car was a huge pain in the ass. In the ad I stated I was not interested in trades, yet I had different people trying to trade me for a convertible BMW that had been smashed in the rear, an old Suburban, a dirtbike, and one guy offered me two fancy watches.

Lots of people didnt read the ad and asked me if the car was a daily driver, even though I stated it had been off the road for twenty years.

One guy came to look at the car and complained the price was really expensive compared to the last time he owned a bug (the 80's). Lots of people lowballed me. A lot of people didnt even bother to show up. After awhile its gets tiring when you have to take time out of your day to show a car and people dont show up or they nitpick little stuff on a car when its only $1500 and then insult you with a low offer. Or tell you theres one down the street thats cheaper. One guy who lowballed me actually came back to my house unannounced trying to buy the car after it sold because he realized that my counteroffer was actually fair. Whoops.

In the end, I ended up getting pretty much what I wanted for it, but it was still very frustrating dealing with so many flakes and cheapskates.
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'65 1500 S [quareback]

'68 FI Sunroof Squareback

'70 Westy

OCT3 - Orange County Type 3's

[shortride]

Parts for these cars are relatively expensive. If anyone has completely restored one you know what I mean. Whether you 've restored one or not, just replacing a few significant parts can get into your pocket pretty good. Also, if you research car prices in different parts of the country you will find that the prices vary significantly in some cases. Some of the folks that flip these cars and aren't hard up for the money can afford to sit on it for a long time until someone comes along with the right price. It took me almost 10 years to save enough money to buy my car. There are lots of different circumstances for a lot of folks.
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Pearl White 1966 Sedan

Retired US Army - 21 years 11B40, 173rd Airborne Brig. - Vietnam Combat Veteran

[TMI Products]

I think most of us have the mind set of VW's being cheap like 20 years ago when clean bugs would sell for $3,000 bucks, now selling for $8-10,000. Now people try to pass off cars as OG barn finds when it has never been near a barn in its life or the term "patina" being thrown around rather than saying rusty or faded.
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Mario De Leon
1965 Turbo Mustang Fastback
1966 Type 3 Fastback
VW Division Sales Manager
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[shortride]

[chaosisme]

[KTPhil]

[sb001]