Want to Pay to Restore and then sell my 1956 Mark II. C5601503

[Amcontinental]

Interesting: the picture # 7 is from an Avanti dashboard!

Great pick up!! That’s another car I inherited from my father. Don’t care nearly as much about that one.

[Amcontinental]

Correct no labor. This was a veiled attempt to demonstrate that the business plan of paying someone to transport the car, fix the car, detail the car, and sell the car is not a good idea. It is a plan which most likely ends in a negative cash flow. All of these costs are expensive and the selling price points are low. There isn't much margin here. He's not going to get back dollar for dollar.

Another option is sell it on bring a trailer, it could bring $12,000 to $20,000 as it sits.

Thanks for this. Are these cars really not worth much? My car runs, but overheats; so it wouldn't take much to get into drivable condition (I think). So as beautiful as these cars are, they are really not "collectibles"; more like " sentimentals," right? A drivable version in great condition can't go for $50K?

[jdsnoddy]

That's why you need a professional appraisal.
Values range from around $12000 for a complete project.
To $750,000 for a flawless #1 car.
You can take it to a professional restorer and easily spend $300,000. Most cars currently for sale are in the $45,000 to $35,000 range. These cars are drivers; they are not show cars. Larry had a 99 point car for sale for just over $100,000. He had a flawless car and countless hours invested. So, in short, values vary based on condition.
It is super easy to get upside down in any classic car especially when you hire out all the work. Everyone gets paid but you.


Please go to the for sale section of this forum. Look at the cars currently for sale. Getting $50,000 for these cars means you have a car in superior condition and it usually costs big money to hire people to get it there.

Many cars for sale start out overpriced. They stay unsold for many months or years. Eventually prices are reduced to a reasonable price based on market conditions. It's a very competitive market and your car has to be the best at that price point; economics 101.

[Milsteads Garage]

I did a post not too long about overheating and steps I took to correct it. Not the end of the world.

[Knickoliss Iv]

A Mark II is not an investment car. I am in somewhere around $8,000 in parts for the chassis assembly only. Front and rear suspension all related, driveshaft, brakes, all lines, fuel,brake, and exhaust. There is still more I need. Hardware, paint, tires, miscellaneous parts. I have about $200 in on metal to make brackets just to mount the chassis on the rotisserie. Oh and a days work making them. In a shop you will pay that so there's about $1,400 (at $150 per hour shop rate) for something that will never be on the car when completed. Further down the line is the physical cleaning, media blasting, painting, and finally reassembly of all parts. I am doing all of my own work if not imagine how much I'd be upside down in labor. You have to restore a Mark II because you like it, not to make money. They aren't very valuable indeed because of availability. It was a special car back then so people held onto them so the advantage that so many are accounted for is also the disadvantage economically. Did I mention that this is all for the chassis assembly only?