Being able to have a clean conscience
 

If you payed $14,000 for a clean survivor '67 GTO would you not sleep at night or would you celebrate? Or any classic for that matter. A dude I work with says he made a deal on '67 GTO that is all original paint and body that needs only the usual things that a car that has sat for years will need. It makes me kinda sick to be honest. But If I were him I'm not sure how I would act. Am I just jealous?

I'd have zero problem with it if I paid the price that made the seller happy.

Plus ... a few months from now when he has torn into it ... maybe that 14,000 won't seem like such a great deal after all :)

Buyer and seller agreed on a price. Today it is very easy to find out the value of something. Usually its overvalued but you get a ballpark price.

We are probably all a bit jealous on some level, yet we have to give him kudos for being in the right place at the right time.

He bought a "Pig In A Poke" & like what was mentioned above...Once torn apart he might find a whole bunch more wrong than just the ordinary decay from sitting.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...closed.614419/

I'd feel a lot worse if I sold a car that was worth 14k for 20k.

....The next joy ride it will probably jump time with that original nylon timing gear.

I'd be very comfortable.

It would depend on who was selling it. If the seller was a middle age guy who sounded like he was knowledgeable and confident in the way he acted, no I would pay his price and feel no remorse. If on the other hand it was some fellows widow who obviously had no clue re cars I wouldn't buy it from her at that price I'd tell her the car was worth more than that and "lets look at the blue book".

Been there, done that, back in 1977 with a 67 GTO.
Again in 1994 with a 69 GTO.

I thought I was the only one to have that happen! My next door neighbor sold me his 66 4dr. Ventura, 389-290 HP 2bbl. One owner really nice car. Had about 80K on it. I handed him the $300.00 asking price for it started it up and backed it out of the driveway for it's 50 yard drive to my parent's driveway. It didn't make it. Died in the street and I towed it home. Timing gear stripped. Fixed it and drove that wonderful car another 140K miles before selling it.

I'd do as 61-63 said. I've bought a car sight unseen really good deal. I sold a rare 63 SD aluminum part,agreed on price on phone. Met the person on the road. They wanted it cheaper after agreeing. The quality was good, not perfect. Very usable. Why I said this, everyone is different.

I agree with 61-63, but there are exceptions. I have bought a number of cars I didn't really need (and in some cases didn't want) just by being there with money.

Here is a common scenario that I have run into several times. Somebody has something for sale, I hear about it through word of mouth. I go look at it, it's not something I necessarily want, but the car is a good deal. A good example was a 79 Formula 403 I ran into several years back. One owner car, loaded to the gills, fairly low miles, excellent body and interior, but smoked like a crop duster. The guy who told me about it said he thought it was a 4-spd, so I'm thinking a 301 car at worst, a W72 at best. When I get there, it is an automatic, not even a WS6. The owner said he thought the intake manifold was leaking and it was sucking in oil through the gasket. I drove it, ran great but had a skip (turned out to be a fouled plug). I said thanks, but no thanks, I have nowhere to put it. He pressed me to make him an offer, so I made him a low offer and told him he could beat that with a little effort. A couple of weeks later, he called and told me to come and get it. I made the offer, so I followed through. I took it to a friend's house, where it sat for a year. I toyed with the idea of converting to a Pontiac motor, but at the time we had to deal with emissions inspections on older cars. Eventually I had some time, checked the car out, and found it had very low compression on one cylinder. I sold it to another friend a few years later.

This happened back during the financial crisis (2007-2008). There weren't a lot of buyers back then. I asked the guy why he sold it so cheap, he said his work dried up and he was moving back to western VA. If I hadn't bought it, he would have sold it for scrap.

I'd do both. Celebrate so much that l wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

I bought my 69 GTO survivor from the original owner for $12,500. He said he priced it to sell quick and didn’t want to drag it out. I was first to look at it- and happily gave him the cash- he happily took it.

He felt the car needed full restoration- I felt it needed elbow grease and some cleaning.

The key to me is the car was not running, not even cranked. I took all of the risk. It could have needed a motor and transmission. It could have needed all new wiring, it could have needed a lot.

I feel the same way about the 68 LeMans convertible I bought for 5k. It had 4 flat tires and no keys. They wanted 18k, I offered 5k and would have it moved that day. Again, I took all the risk and acted quickly to get them something for the car.

Now- if I found something of value in the car they did not realize was in there it would be a different story.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I feel a bit better now. LOL