Hi all,

New to the forum, but rather than intro (since I may not be an owner for a long time), I thought I would post directly into this sub-forum for some guidance.

I read the sticky on what to look for in buying a C3 (VERY USEFUL), but not sure what some good tips are for selling, for a somewhat unique car like this....

I have a 76' Stingray that I inherited from my deceased parents. I have kept it up for the last ten years and have throughly enjoyed it, but do to my own growing family, time & space constraints, money concerns, my own limited ability to do repair/maintenance, etc...it is time to part with it. I am really not much of a car guy to begin with, but kept it/kept it all this time for sentimental reasons (and all repairs done by expensive pros, with bi-weekly weekend drives). Not saying I am over those reasons, but due to the concerns above, I think it's time to move on, and maybe find a buyer who would consider selling back to me down the road, should my situation improve. So some initial questions to get me started:

- What info matters most for a potential buyer, that they can't just get knowing the basic model/year/eng and some well done pics? I did not own the car for 30 of the 40 years so may have to track certain things down, and as mentioned my mechanical skills are fairly limited, but I know it's not modded, all numbers match, and it's now in great running condition

- What is a good forum for selling? (not looking for absolute top dollar but prefer a low/no cost selling route). It doesn't seem like sight unseen sales are frequent and/or suggested, so is it basically just put a sign out on the yard thing? (lol)

While not the point of this thread, I'm sure users wouldn't mind seeing what I am talking about so posting a few pics I just took in the parking to enjoy Quick stats, 40K miles, all original except for back bumper, obviously newer tires, brakes, fixes to some guts, but the engine block is original. Lived 30 years in an Ohio garage, spent the last 8-9 year in Texas, and currently in Bay Area CA (Not registered in the state currently).

Any thoughts/tips are appreciated ! - Chris

 

Well you are off to a good start by asking for advice. I have bought and sold a number of vintage Corvettes and the first thing one needs to do is be realistic about their car's condition and current value in the marketplace. Plenty of photos help and good exposure. I have used this site, Craigslist, eBay, and usedcorvettesforsale.com. For a '76 I would post it here and Craigslist first. The 4 speed and low miles help. You need to evaluate the frame and what you can see of the birdcage (windshield posts). These are questions you are going to get plus anything that doesn't work. Prices are probably a little higher on the west coast but from what I can see your car will probably sell in the $9,000-11,000 range. The mid C3 Vettes (74-77) have to be really nice to sell at prices much above this range. Good luck and I hope it sells if that is what you want to do. Put an ad with lots of pictures in the for sale section. There is also someone on here looking for a red interior car that might be interested in yours.

 

Welcome to the bay area.

For all the pretty shots you see online most don't get into the rust areas like they are trying to hide something.

Take some shots of the birdcage, frame and windshield frame. That will go a long way for most buyers.

2nd if your going to sell in in CA you will have to SMOG it so go a head and get that don't 1st. Unless you plan to not sell it to an owner in CA.

3rd You have Corvette Connection Services in San Jose and he is great.

 

I always spend the time to detail the exterior, interior and engine bay if needed. Its always worth a little elbow grease to show a car at its best.

From the pics it looks like your car is pretty clean already.

 

Thanks, good to know forum members are comfortable with seller posts, if they haven't contributed to the main discussion forum. Some of the guitar forum guys (myself included), it kinda seems a little fishy. I will need to put some time into take some good photos, cleaning a bit more, and drive a little more for fun, before listing (in reverse order I should say).

I was totally in that range (the low end really) so good to hear my expectations seem realistic.

 

Since you are in CA, what any thoughts on the CA smog law changing? I keep hearing that the current law (75' and older are exempt) is going to change any time now, heard both increased from 76' older (which is me) or even up to 81'. Another is that there would be a simple fee ($200 or something) to forego smog testing. There seem to be a ton of online articles from Mar/Apr about it, but silent since then.

 

Advertise the car HONESTLY. Show plenty of photos and don't try to enhance them. Do all the cleaning and polishing on the car that you can, or have someone else do it. THIS IS THE BEST MONEY SPENT WHEN TRYING TO SELL ANY CAR.

Don't waste folks time with the 'Mom & Pop' stories of the car's past. The people that are buying it really don't care...YOU are the folks that care about the nostalgia of the car. (Sorry, but you asked for good advice.)

Tell folks who call (when they call) if they can drive the car or if you will drive the car with them as passenger. Your insurance coverage, and your comfort of someone else driving your car, are the deciding issues; but potential buyers NEED TO KNOW if they cannot drive the car themselves.

Let the customer ask the questions; you supply the answers. Let them dictate the dialogue--don't bore them with gushing about how great the car was and how much you will miss it. That's just creepy for someone who is wanting to buy the car.

If things don't work...tell the what does not work and why you have not fixed it. Folks know if you are trying to pull a fast one on "the A/C system that just needs a charge"; if that's all it needed, you would have gotten it charged so that it actually WORKED WHEN THEY CAME TO LOOK AT IT.

Price the car FAIRLY for what you have. You can give yourself some 'wiggle-room' by adding a few hundred over what you might actually take. But, inflating your price well above the going rate for what you have will just minimize the number of calls you get. Know what you are willing to sell the car for now, so that you can deal down to that during an offer.

HONESTY, HONESTY, HONESTY. You don't have to berate the car for any reason...you just need to be truthful with your responses.

Good luck!!

P.S. For EVERY car...regardless of how much of a lemon you think it might be...there is a buyer who will be happy to get your car.

 

The change in years didn't pass. I didn't expect it too.

If it's stock have a protest done to see if it passes. Then you can get a game plan together. You could take it to Kevin in San Jose and have him look it over and get a tune up.

 

I agree with 7T1..
but would add a simple caveat to this part..:

"Don't waste folks time with the 'Mom & Pop' stories of the car's past. The people that are buying it really don't care...YOU are the folks that care about the nostalgia of the car. (Sorry, but you asked for good advice.)'

IT does make a difference IF you know the previous owner how they cared for the car..including maint records if any..You can offer/show state those facts to assist the potential buyer in his decision..You needn't get sentimental about it but those background facts can make a difference..I all you have is a memory of your Dad buying it used when you were 5 yrs old X years back and no documentation of what he did or didn't do for maint-upkeep..JUST be Quiet in those area unless pointedly asked..Jim;

 

Good knowledge and records regarding the history of the car are very useful to potential buyers; what is not important to them are the 'personal' experiences and memories of the owners.

 

Kevin in SJ? Is this the Corvette Connection on 270 Cimino by chance? Tried several times a few months ago and never got through.

 

I read your post earlier today, and I have some thoughts that are not specific to selling Corvettes...

You can't plan on that. You can't ask someone to buy your car and then hold it for you. A car isn't a girlfriend; you don't break up because the timing is bad and you think that under different circumstances, you'll get back together. If you sell it, it's gone.

I'm wondering why you left Texas for California. The cost of living in California is insane; assuming you get $10,000 for the car, well, $10K in California is only a few month's rent. The cash will be gone quickly.

I'm hoping you find another way to make some money. However, I'm also aware that grief may have run its course and you are ready to part with the car. Whoever buys it will be thrilled, I'm sure.

Oh, you may want to find a local Corvette club, and network the sale that way. Clean it up, put it in a car show with a "for sale" mention. You can meet your buyers, they can look at the car. I know of a couple car shows that might work for you, PM me if interested. I think it is still possible to sell a car without the internet (not sure).

 

There's also the old standby Autotrader, I always grab one from the gas station to look through to see what's out there and current prices. I think you can do the print version and the online version and it's fairly inexpensive. stay away from CL, I have sold half a dozen on there and when you are dealing with classics, there are too many scammers to weed through...

 

Take videos of the car running from all sides and of the interior, and of a test drive. People that are familiar with these cars learn from the still pictures, but new owners want to see the car as if they were approaching and driving it for the first time. Think about cars ads on TV. The cars are shown in motion in order to capture the excitement of ownership.

 

Fair enough (re: can't ask someone to "hold it") - if anything, I thought that may be a good sales point, in that there would be a potentially interested buyer in the future, in case new buyer got sick of it, wanted something else, etc. Maybe that is a discussion with someone down the road, but your point made it's probably irrelevant for the most part and shouldn't hinge a FS ad on it.

Guessing you are in California re: move from Texas question. I had an awesome job opportunity that took me here (to the Bay Area of all places, the worst of the worst in COL). It does sound insane sometimes from a purely money/COL standpoint, especially if you are in CA and are dying to move elsewhere, but there is more to life than money sometimes. I didn't mean to imply that I need rent money to live in California hence have to sell this car - far from it. I'm selling due to the time and opportunity cost of maintenance of a car like this. Yes I can afford to keep it up, have garage storage, can drive it every weekend instead of be with my family, etc...but I would rather spend more time with my family, use that same money to build my daughters college needs or other future need, use the garage space (which is finished) for a potential play space, etc

 

Are you located in Texas? I see the plates. I'm in Houston and have been looking for a manual, flat glass, red interior, etc. I was hoping more for black exterior, but I could always consider painting down the road. Let me know if you are interested in selling still. This being my first purchase and sounds like your first sell, I would probably just take it to a mechanic or someone that specializes in older cars and have them do the evaluation for us. Send me a message if you are interested!

 

I moved from Houston to the Bay Area actually (and I miss Houston dearly, but maybe I will be back someday)...

I am definetly still selling and will put up a post in this forum this weekend, so keep an eye out . I need to take new updated pics and take her out for a bit to write down any/all nuances/issues to have a good posting. It just came out of the shop for a new radiator but nothing else came up. I'd still be ok to get it to a Vette specialist and get their recommendation, as I'm sure there are plenty of things that can be updated/improved if you want to put the money into it, but it's running like a top right now.

I had the car shipped from TX to CA and it was about $700, FWIW.