VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Asking Prices For Old Parts

Are asking prices for old parts getting ridiculous?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1930s-Guide-Super-Ray-driving-light-bezel-with-top-helmet-1938-1939-Chevy/362507021918?hash=item54671a2e5e:g:WHEAAOSwUm5cD~5O:sc:USPSPriority!29681!US!-1:rk:1:pf:0

Bill,

I hope that is a typo but the prices for genuine 38 and 39 accessories are very high.

I also hope you are doing better!

Dave

Dave, it has to be a typo, but you never know until you ask. I think I will ask, and I'll let you know. Thank you for your kindly wish. I'm still mostly lying on my back, waiting for doctors' appointments.

Bill,

Sorry to hear that you are not top notch right now. Hope you recover soon.

As to the price of the item noted, I couldn't get it to work. Kept coming up with a clock.

Something about a Super Ray driving light. What was it exactly and how much was wanted?

Best wishes.

Charlie

It doesn't pull up anymore. It was just the rim for a driving light, $7,500.

Charlie, thank you. I sent a message to the seller and asked if the $7,500 price is correct. He replied thanking me for asking, and he said he was in a hurry when he listed it and made a mistake. The correct asking price was $75. It is now listed as sold; that's why the listing for the clock pops up. Ebay does that in an effort to sell some thing else to you. When you copy and paste the URL, the clock pops up, but above the listing for the clock is a small picture of the driving light bezel with the word SOLD superimposed.

The thing with parts is some are priced cheaply, some fairly(their actual market worth), and some, astronomically (owner thinks he has the winning lottery ticket in a car part.

I always try and offer a fair price for something based on my knowledge of what similar parts bring. We all know if we’re serious about restoring a car correctly, there are times where you have to pay a premium on a part or risk passing on it to find another. With some brands and models, a buyer can be very choosy and much firmer on letting a part go by because the chance of finding another is pretty probable.

Most here know I’m restoring a 32’ Olds roadster and many parts for a 32 are nonexistent. I paid good, but what I feel were reasonable prices for some parts that if I had passed on, I’d still be looking for as I’ve never seen another. But, with a car’s rarity, also comes a smaller market to sell to, which also sets the pricing. Just recently a seller on eBay had a luggage rack for a 32’ Olds for sale. He had a price of $250 including shipping on it and I made a low offer of $75 for it because of knowing the market and these following reasons. 1. The rack only fits 32. 2. The rack is only usable on 6 wheel deluxe cars and it was standard equipment, not an option so every 6 wheel car had one. 3. About 60% of the 32’ Olds production were deluxe models or 11,400 cars. Using the theory of about 1-1 1/2% cars survived leaves about 114-130 cars still out there. 4. By my research, Olds in most cases didn’t even come close to the one percentage rate with about 40-50 cars known total. 5. Of the known cars, virtually all are deluxe with only a handful being 5 wheeled, so the chance of someone wanting to change a 5 wheeled car to a six and having the welled fenders to make the conversion is virtually nil. 6. All cars currently known and even the few to restore that have come up for sale in all outlets have all had luggage racks in place.

So I i expected a counter offer as I did explain I already had one but would be willing to have a spare. Mind you, this luggage rack had been on eBay for over two years so I thought the seller might ask a more reasonable price for a item with a narrow market. Instead what I got was a rude reply which claimed I insulted him. I politely explained that I meant no insult and supplied him with the above information as my reasoning for what I believed the value of his rack was. His reply was even more rude and actually very insulting to me (funny how one claims somebody else is something they actually are!) so I just left it alone (yup, he believes he has the winning lottery ticket). When his add ran out he relisted it for $25 more!!!!!

Also a couple weeks ago a 32’ Olds cigar lighter came up on eBay. Again, they are a 32’ only part and those who have them missing have long ago replaced them which means replacing the special dash mounted base that only fits that lighter. Any cars sent to the junk yard were also sent more often with that base attached to the dash even if the lighter itself was saved. This means there’s a good chance there’s more lighters out there than bases for them to go on. I paid $60 for mine and know a guy who has a spare so they are obtainable. I offered the seller $60 shipped which was just a few dollars less than his opening bid. He declined because it was an auction but got no bids. He then relisted it for $85 “buy it now” which was $20 more than his opening bid on his 1st auction! Why? I don’t understand it. With no one bidding on it and the second auction ending, he contacted me and I bought it at my offer, which I felt was a fair price for both of us.

Sorry for the long post but I thought my examples would help some understand reasoning on both sides of the coin. Don’t forget, often sellers have someone in their ear telling them that their item is worth a ton of money.

Even when the item is the same with multiple vendors the prices vary greatly. Just purchased a repair kit for a 54 chev car std trans. Prices varied from $64.50 to $99.00 for the same identical kit by part number and photo. The $99.00 one had a push as it was listed as "last one".

Try buying a pair of OEM 37-38 fender skirts on ebay. The last pair I saw listed had a starting bid of over $3000. They didn't sell. I made him a more than reasonable offer that was declined.

There are sellers and others that are out there that would rather not sell something but just want you to know they have it so they basically price it out of touch. I spoke with a NAOC member when looking for 32 Olds parts who said “yes, I have it” for every part I needed and I asked him for. When I asked how much would he want he told me none of the parts were for sale! He just wanted to let me know he had what I needed but that I couldn’t buy them from him!

Chistech, I've met lots of guys like that too....all you have to do is find out where he lives, then watch the obits. If the guys a real SOB, I'll say to his face, "Thats OK, I'll be back for your estate sale".

The guy actually owns one of every 32’ Olds body style made and he has one of the three known wood wheeled deluxe roadsters like mine. Talking with him I got the assumption that his roadster along with his other cars were all running and driving. Spoke with someone who’s actually seen his collection and they tell possibly one car is drivable and his roadster is a basket case. He is in at least his mid 80’s and did mention possibly selling his cars because he doesn’t have time for them because he’s also a classic caddy and packard with many of those also. I was told he collected the Olds models just so he could claim he had “one of each” because no matter what model, they are all fairly rare.

What really got me was I needed a transmission part and he told me he had three spares but wouldn’t sell just the part nor a spare trans! Then on the other end of the spectrum, I found another Olds owner who’ve I become good friends with and not only did he sell me any spare part that he had and I needed, but also took photos and precise measurements so I could machine up new parts.

Tiny,

The price for the 37-38 OEM finder skirts , if in good shape, doesn't sound all that much out of reasonable asking price to me. Are there a plethera of them out there?

Tiny, et al: The price of parts depends on several things such as their rarity, desirability, cost of reproduction, and going price. And, some other ffactors that may have an influence on price as well.

41 parts, except for those common over several years, come at a preminum.

Accessories are high as a kite. 41 Fender skirts, reel antennas, radios (owing to no one reproducing suitable push buttons for the 5-tube, foot (mud) scrapers,

Wheel discs (including 40 shark teeth), hood ornaments, heaters, grille and trunk guards, redheads, spotlights, washboards, floor and trunk mats (OEM) type, will make a believer out of you. Other year accessories are just a valuable as the 41 stuff.

It is not cheap to restore and equip an old Chevrolet with a few accessories as it used to be. When I first went to Hershey in 1970 parts were a lot cheaper than they are now. Given inflation, over time, they are about the same as then.

If I had a 37-38 and wanted to put a set of skirts on it, I would pay the 3 grand to get them. Would too! Sell a couple of pigs. You can't buy today, with tthe same money, what you could 40-50 years ago.

Best,

Charlie

BTW: Today I received a box from Paul's Plagting out of PA., of four 41 bumper ends for the gray car. I dropped them off at Hershey (Paul's are right accross from me). $600 bucks. Not unreasonable.

Charlie, paying that kind of price may be OK for those of you with deep pockets. I'm a blue collar retiree who depends on his SS to stay fat & happy. There's a good reason I drive a 16 year old pickup & live in a modest home.

Charlie, I have heard of Paul's Plating. They are supposed to be pretty good. My question is: When they chrome a door handle or something that has Guide or Twilight engraved in it, does the detail disappear and become smooth or can you still see the words and small details?

Thanks,
Pete V
VCCA Member 33916

There is often a big difference between an asking price and a selling price. And the selling price varies greatly depending on condition and other factors. Is the owner trying to clear out his barn or perhaps an estate sale. Is he in the "used parts business" ?

[quote=PeterV]Charlie, I have heard of Paul's Plating. They are supposed to be pretty good. My question is: When they chrome a door handle or something that has Guide or Twilight engraved in it, does the detail disappear and become smooth or can you still see the words and small details?

Most of our parts that were originally chromed were onl6 flash chromed right over the steel so the details you’re talking about are easily seen. If you get high quality three layer (copper, nickel, chrome) plating done you either have to put up with the loss of the details or pay additional for them to be engraved back in before the final plating. Yes, it’s expensive.

When you talk of costs in our hobby and Charlie mentioned plating 4 pieces for $600 being reasonable he is absolutely correct. I’m up around $22k for just all the chrome on my 32’ Olds. The dash panel (6”x15”) alone which holds two large gauges, two small ones, and a small round electric clock is $1000 and I’m still waiting for it! I guess on the bright side is my plater doesn’t charge me return shipping and most items I bring down to him at Hershey.

To answer the question of details like Guide, GM, (which is on the back of the bumper tips, etc, I don't think they obscure those. Guide would be on the back of accessory light sets etc and I doubt the platers would obscure that, as well.

Best,

Charlie

BTW: Sadly, personal financial circumstances of the buyer has little, if anything, to do with the cost of parts and accessories. It does have something to do with the affordability and availability of the parts and accessories. As to Tiny, I hope he finds a good set of fender skirts within his budget and that such realization is not long in coming to fruition. I too think they look really good on a 37-38, especially a coupe or convertible/cabriolet. I'll be veligent in keeping a lookout for you, Tiny and if I spot a lower priced set I will let you know. Will too!

BTW2: Tiny, my comment about selling a pig was insensitive and I apologize. It was meant to be humorous but, upon reflection after having read you comment, I realize it wasn't. I'm sorry.