vette1500

Greetings All,

I hate to even ask this question, but here it goes. I am known to be into Corvettes in my area and someone has contacted me by e-mail with a 1963 SWC that has been sitting for 15 years in a garage. It is a 300 hp car. I don't have any details on it other than it has not been started or ran in that time. The buyer wants me to put a number on it before he will even let me see it (I know nice eh!). Any thoughts on the cars value?

Thx!

vettebuyer6369

Based on the info you have provided, somewhere between $35k-$75k.

More or less.

BADBIRDCAGE

You can't see the car before YOU establish some type of price? Then it is priceless unless the person marketing the vehicle can set a value on it. I call B/S on the seller. Priceless doesn't have to mean expensive. It could be between $0.01 and infinity.

Frankie the Fink

Give him a price that will get your foot in the door to look at it and then you can negotiate based on what you find. Its not like you're signing a contract... If he's misrepresented things you can still walk...(and should!)

ChattanoogaJSB

I may be cutting off my nose to spite my face, but if he won't let you merely discuss a range of prices with the understanding that you have NO way of knowing myriad possibilities that affect the value without seeing it, I would be tempted to decline. It will be a very hard car to buy if you are starting off bidding blind.

ChattanoogaJSB

He may well have been watching too many televised auctions.

ricks327

I agree with the above comments, no way to know w/o first seeing the car. If you do get to see it first, remember, you can always go up but you can't come down.
Rick

bluestreak63

Boom...this...

Easy Rhino

No way.

If it is a million dollar car, the seller is a fool.

If it is a basket case, any price quoted unseen would be foolish.

Does the seller look like Monty Hall?

desertpilgrim

Between 3K and 40K - use that to illustrate how big a range is possible, depending on condition.

MikeM

Tell him $50,000 and the price will go DOWN from there for even the slightest flyspeck you find on it that is less than perfection.

Best thing to do is walk and don't waste your time.

Boyan

He is shopping for a price to start so he can tell someone else that he already has a buyer sight unseen for $xxxxx. Tell him you cant make a serious offer until you see the car.

Or $63,300

Boyan

colo63sw

The OP says that the BUYER wants him to name a price…. Maybe the OPer is an appraiser 'into corvettes in his area'?

vettebuyer6369

What does "name a price" mean? That it's an "offer" that cannot come down if the car warrants it? What does the seller get out of not letting people see the car?

If he doesnt understand that there's a huge range based on a list of reasons, then I wouldn't deal with the guy anyway.

Randy G.

Could be a very rare 1 of 1 all original 427 tri power '63.

rtruman

If its a Z06 I would not offer any info .Two can play that game

Frankie the Fink

Either that or the guy has no intention to sell.

There are some rather creepy owners who just "get off" knowing they have a desirable car that others are after. They'll never restore it and never sell it. They love telling friends and family, "..yeah, I turned down an offer of such-and-such for my split window the other day!"

Their cars will sit around in sorry condition as mute testimony to their desire to be envied by others. I've met a few of these types in my time; even crazy money offers won't budget them -- that's not what they are about

hedgehead

If he allows you to see it, what would he want for you to inspect it or touch it??

TJefferson2020

The seller is trying to put you at a negotiating disadvantage and control the process.

He is going about it wrong. He could be just an idiot who inks he is a great negotiator.

I would simply call him and explain that you are interested in making a fair offer, that you are a serious buyer and you must inspect the car before attempting to estimate its value to avoid wasting the seller's and your time.

If he still resists this common sense honest approach, wish him luck, give him your number if he comes to his senses and move on.

Frankie the Fink

On reflection, that's prob best approach. You've taken your shot and reduced the potential frustration level. I'd only add that you should tell the owner that anybody that would make a hard money offer "sight unseen" is prob not honest in their dealings in the first place.