VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Who rates the price on vehicles?

What is the cut off on high dollar cars from other cars? I seen cars that are priced at 20-30-40 thousand and higher. And some cars that are priced at 15 and lower.

Some cars that look good and drive great can barely get 10 thousand. To look at book value will make most people cry.

I seen cars that owners restored thereselves, Do the best that there budget can afford, Only to have it not worth what was put in it. and the buisness man prices are wide open.

I know to some It's a hobby and to others it's a buisness. But it bothers me that the do it yourself hobbyist can not get a decent price when they want to sell there car.

I myself have put in over 10 thousand dollars on my car only to be told that I would be lucky to get 4-5 thousand for it.

It's just a subject that always bothers me, not knowing how prices are set.

Any opinions would be helpful.

As a ruel of thumb, a restored car will bring about half of the money that is invested.

Antique cars rarely bring the big bucks of streetrods unless it's a really rare model. I think you have to accept the fact that every time to work for hours or spend money on that old chevy, it's a losing deal.Enjoy every minute of the restore because you're paying for it in spades.
And..after it's all over and you lose half the money you had in the old chevy, you turn right around and do it again on another old car of some kind.
I compare it to owning a horse,race car,boat,or coin collection. You love it but it just doesn't make good sense to keep doing it. Nothing that's fun is a wise money move.

The thing is, I watch those car flipper shows on TV. They will buy a wreck completly tear down and rebuild the cars and only sell them for a profit.
It's pretty much what I did on my car for the rebuild. I did this to make the car not a Street Rod , but a Restored Antique. I'm proud of what I did accomplished, doing 90% of the work myself. Maybe if I redid it as a Street Rod, I'd get a better price. It's a whole lot easiier dropping in a small block and open drive shaft and changing 6 volt to 12 volt. As I have done many times. but I did not want to butcher any more cars.

Sorta like Sheep owners vs Cattle owners, they just can't agree. There are guys who like almost all kinds of old cars no matter which way the owner decides to go. I like streetrods,antiques,lowriders,ratrods,customs,cruisers and even daily drivers.
I'm convinced that if you have enough money and help you can build a really nice car but what really gets my attention is the guy who chops the top and changes out the entire suspention and paints everything himself and does it in a shed or driveway and does it relatively cheap. It's unbelievable what a bunch of guys can do to an old car WITHOUT spending a load of money.
Chip Foose,Coddington Garage,Jay Leno and a bunch more can do almost anything you could possible think of to a car,but with unlimited money and a full time crew of professional rebuilders why wouldn't they be able to do that?

It really depends on the year, make and model. You can put a bunch of money in a 4 door sedan and only get a fraction of the cost when you do all the work yourself. You can hire nearly everything done on a touring or roadster and get all your money back if it is the right year and make (and use the right restoration shop).

Ken... The secret is, don't sell it! Hang on to it, and don't worry about the money you put into it. Enjoy it to the extent that the money couldn't buy the happiness that you're getting from it.

And to answer your other question, professional restorations that do make big bucks do so because they look like professional restorations. There are few people that can do professional type jobs at home, and have it come out looking as nice. That said, there are also many "professional" shops that have trouble doing professional work as well!

I guess life was easier when I built rat rods. I always broke even when I built and sold them around here. Even a couple of my rat rods sold and went out of state. I have built about 15 rat rods since I was 16 years old. Not counting helping others build theirs.
That was the fun I had by dropping a 383,305 or 350 small block chevy with a 350 transmission in something nobody would try. My last rat rod was a 72' VW Beetle, 350 small block chevy, 340 transmission, Jag rear end. It was a head turner. The 76' Chevette I built was also a head turner at the local drag strip.
I just thought that restoring an antique would be a new experience.
I will keep the 40' Special Deluxe stock and not sell it. I do have brand new crate 350 in my garage.
NAW! I won't do it.

All good points taken--the most important--we do it for the love of it and the fun actually doing the hands on part. If one is concerned about the money spent on a project, the common wisdom is to buy the most car you can afford and go from there. You will spend more getting it running and street legal than buying one already at that point and moving on from there. I learned that the hard way, but again, IT WAS FUN doing it.

Enjoy the stocks!