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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 12:04 PM
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A friend of mine is selling his 73 coupe; 40k+ original mi, L-82, 4spd, silver and black. Decent shape, needs some minor cosmetic work. Pretty unmolested card; some work done to bushings, ball joints, etc. I'd say 8/10 exterior and 7.5 interior.

Price range? he's thinking 18k, I'm down around $10k.
thx

Jim
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 01:42 PM
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I think 10 - 18 is about right.


With no pics and all that subjective info (ok, 40k miles if truly accurate is very low, and a plus) "decent" shape? "pretty" unmolested, "some" work done... That's why I think a wide range is all I can give without firming up the description with pics.
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 01:55 PM
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Well, not to be a smarta$$ in reply. I'd estimate it's 90-95% unmolested. He's the third owner and i believe the car has been a garage queen all it's life. I believe the mileage is correct; he's owned it for almost 20 years. Paint is in good condition; very minor cracking on front and rear facia's. Original motor, verified the VIN; L-82 seems to run good, engine clean; but not a show car. Most of the replacements would be considered standard for a vehicle this age; bushings, hoses, plug wires, tires, etc. He's tried to keep it original, as possible. I'd estimate a high-end driver vehicle; a couple of thousand (5?) to bring it right back to original shape less the paint. Interior is pretty good, some minor issues with seat cracking and mildly faded carpet. Past that, from what I can tell and his input, a pretty close to a original stock '73, well taken care of and not abused,
That help?
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 05:45 PM
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A couple of thousand (5?)to bring it back to original "shape" is wishful thinking. Have you ever worked on a 37 year old mostly original car before?
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 05:58 PM
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Well, sort of, not NCRS level; however. I was estimating (hopefully high) on the remaining parts required; not labor nor paint. I've seen estimates on cars not as nice of this in the $25-30k range to fully (body off) restore. Wasn't thinking that; just getting it back to reasonably original configuration; something to local show, drive and enjoy.

I have done several vehicles, by the way. A 69 camaro ss and a 68 AMX; both fun projects with good starting chassis's. So, instead of a full-on project, I'd start somewhat further down the road.

Any feedback on price? I'm trying to be fair to him; though, I know there is a lot of work to do.
Jim
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 06:10 PM
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To the OP.....your thread is useless without photos. Sorry, you are asking the impossible.

Stay in tune....
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 06:34 PM
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OP- understand that we aren't being difficult when we say without pics its tough to say. Ive heard pretty detailed descriptions like yours before. Then Ive gone out an seen the car and their estimate of "unmolested", "correct" "doesnt need much" etc varied wildly from mine. This causes me to guess $15ish at the outset, then change it to $8k when I see it. You know what I mean?

It sounds closer to your guess than his, based on your very general description.

Is it originally silver? Is there evidence of prior body repair? Even apparently "unmolested" cars have body repair trails that are 30 years old. Did you check the frame closely?
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 06:57 PM
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I don't want to offend anyone, but the reality is that '73 coupe is probably the least desirable of the chrome bumper cars right now. The L-82 and 4 speed help a lot, but if he is looking for big money with a '73 coupe, he is pushing water uphill IMO. For that car to be worth $18,000, I would expect it to be in absolutely immaculate condition. It sounds like this example isn't there.
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 06:59 PM
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Jim
I guess you know what is involved and wish I knew more about current market values. To me, the purchase price is not near as important as what one ends up spending. NADA says the car is worth between $17k low retail and $38k high retail. Take that for what it is worth, probably not much. The cost to restore any year C3 in the same condition does not vary that much. Depending on that condition and the level or type of restoration desired, one could spend even more than 25-30k and not touch the paint, chrome or interior...even doing most of the wrenching yourself. Ask me how I know this. So if you decide to buy the car from your friend, try to have a really clear vision of where you want to end up with the car. Whatever you think your are going to have to spend on parts, double or triple it. I'm not kidding.
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 07:18 PM
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. Yes, I'm not an expert on these vehicles. I've gone over the car; trim tag points to a original silver/black car. numbers seem to match, I believe the paint is original; if not, it does look like it needs some work. It's a inland west coast car and looks to be pretty well rust free, I've climbed under, over, all gauges less clock work, and from what little restoration reading I've done; it appears solid. I'll try and post some photo's, though, not sure that would help much. Anyway, appreciate the feedback and maybe we'll agree to somewhere near my price. Yes, the Bluebook pricing with respect to the current market is nuts.
Thanks.
Jim
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Old Aug 7, 2010 | 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Faster Rat
Jim
I guess you know what is involved and wish I knew more about current market values. To me, the purchase price is not near as important as what one ends up spending. NADA says the car is worth between $17k low retail and $38k high retail. Take that for what it is worth, probably not much. The cost to restore any year C3 in the same condition does not vary that much. Depending on that condition and the level or type of restoration desired, one could spend even more than 25-30k and not touch the paint, chrome or interior...even doing most of the wrenching yourself. Ask me how I know this. So if you decide to buy the car from your friend, try to have a really clear vision of where you want to end up with the car. Whatever you think your are going to have to spend on parts, double or triple it. I'm not kidding.


True post.

I thought this was "pretty unmolested.":



After starting to fix stuff, it went thriough this phase:



And you absolutely don't want to know what the final bill was to get here:



The bills pile up at an alarming rate, and as a previous poster alluded to, new paint for a $50k car usually costs the same as new paint for a car worth $20k when you are done.
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