Valuing a project car

[KeysThing]

I have decided it's time to pass my thing along to someone that is more mechanically inclined. It runs, stops and drives but is a victim of rust. Two questions

1. How do you value a project car?

2. Where's the best place to list one? Listings on the Samba appear to sit, or the owners are selling elsewhere and not updating the site.

[Heiferman]

I would shop around for other Things in similar condition for comparison and then list it here and on Facebook MP. It seems like all the old means of selling like Craigs List, newspapers, Nickel Adds, etc are pretty dead or just don't have the reach and traffic FB has. There is also a buy sell 181 group on Facebook.
I hate FB and am only on there for some very specific things like club events and classifieds.
Be prepared to be low balled and ghosted by potential buyers.
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- 1973 Thing, 1970 Ghia, some LandCruisers and an old Ambulance

[wbailey2112]

Look at the Thing/181 value data on Hagerty's website. Also check out the sold Thing/181 data on the Bring-a-Trailer website.

How rusty is it? Does the wiper motor work? Does it have a top? Are the sun visors there? What is the condition of the seat upholstery? Does it have a gas heater? Has it been heavily modified in any way?

All that being said if it runs, stops and drives but is a real rust bucket I think you'd be lucky to get $5K out of it.
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'74 Thing
'83 Westfalia

[lqqkatjon]

Scammers are ruining most places to sell items.

Facebook seems to be the best, but you get totally ridiculed and need tough skin to sell there. if you ask too much, people will bitch about that. If you ask too little, they will pick apart it as well.

there is no real market on these... people pay what they pay. Sometimes I see people happy spending 2x what I paid for mine and the thing is in worst condition. Then the next one selling for the same price that looks fantastic never seems to sell.

ebay sold items, facebook. the samba... all can be used together to determine a price. But hopefully you can sell it maybe for a fairer price for someone that wants to finish the project, rather then working at top dollar and selling to someone who never gets it on the road, or parts it down.

Location is also very very important. someone in california might be willing to pay more then someone in midwest. and cost of transport can add a large % to cost of buying if it is not worth much money.

good luck!

[doublecanister]

Hey Keysthing,

All that have posted are pretty much spot on with the recommendations but, still leaves you with the issue of finding a price.
obviously anyone looking to buy a rusty project would be looking on the cheap. (as if you were to buy it today what would you pay?)

I too am in a similar situation, I have 2 vehicles that could be sold that are requiring more work than I can handle in my shoebox garage.
I still have my first Mustang, was a Grabber blue 302 coupe, $ 600 bucks in 1987, got T boned "ran when parked"
and my dad's 51 F1 pickup. I figured the Mustangs drivetrain would fit in the 51- so I held on to it. but yeah, no idea if it will ever happen.
Wouldn't mind another 71 Mustang but need the 6car garage built first!

Just my suggestion a few things you could think about.

1: Price your thing on it's sum of it's parts, what's good, Engine, seats, wheels, Hood, dash parts, etc, tally that stuff up and see what the price is.
Maybe it would give you a ballpark price idea to ask for. (maybe it would give you a max price level)

2: The "How rusty is it" question... This could be a weird one but could you get it going in some sort of a "Mad Max" vehicle? total Rustbucket Ride but obviously fix the safety
concerns so it don't fall apart on you. I have a buddy that has a 69' 442 that this would be a perfect plan for as it's too expensive to fully restore but with the 10K in the engine it would be a bad @ss "Mad Max" style ride.

3: Shop around as mentioned for a Thing in similar condition and get an idea, put a price on it and see how it goes.
I know when I purchased mine back in 2008, In Kentucky and the states above/below it,
they were finding decent running/driving Things in the 6k range..
At that time I found one here in Virginia that was a 6k car but ended up selling for 7k.

17yrs later, cars in similar condition (well used - no show car but if you did a decent clean/polish some gen maintenance items you'd end up with a decent Thing)
I've seen some clocking in around the 8-12k range, with better quality on the higher price side - at least from a few I looked at in the recent months.
Search sites like hemmings or classic cars and you will see some higher prices ones and get a feel for a figure.

Good luck with it, shame you have to sell it, I actually have seen a few "jalopy things" that were kinda cool but just throwing that out there.

> Or maybe post a few pic's on here maybe we can offer a few price suggestions - may give you a real world feel on what to expect.

I know that In the world of Mustangs, not every one is as expensive as a 1969-70 Boss 429 or a Shelby but Everyone that has a junker for sale thinks theirs is
worth double. I know I paid too much for my 66 Fastback in '88 when I bought it, should have been a $500 car but add 2k to that and it didn't even run at the time. But i wanted another one so you know.......

Anyways, Good luck how ever you roll.

T
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2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8