Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:11:10 -0700
From: Brian Shorey <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [alfa] Berlina For Sale question
You asked, so here's my opinion.
There are two problems with your car. Three, if you consider that
literally
the day it first showed up on Craigslist there was another Berlina posted
that
looked pretty damn good, nice paint, for $2,000 less. That one is no
longer
up there, I'm guessing its been sold.
So, the two problems with yours:
1) the engine was rebuilt 30,000 miles ago. Presumably, that's when the
other
mechanical work was done? As a buyer, I don't look at this as a fresh car
with mechanicals that have just been rebuilt, I look at it as a car that
was
gone over 2-3 years ago, and driven since then. Mechanically, everything
you've invested in it has been amortized by 1/3, at least. As an aside,
you
mention just doing a $2800 valve job, on an engine that was completely
rebuilt
30,000 miles ago? Why? That alone would cause me to suspect the quality
of
the rebuild.
2) the car is not presented well at all. It looks like a run down,
neglected
car. Body panels are in primer, door panel not installed, wheels are
dirty,
interior run down, tape on the wooden steering wheel. Sorry, it doesn't
look
that nice. Rust around the windshield, not cheap to fix.
You can find a fairly decent Berlina for $10k. A real nice one for $15k.
Yours has 30,000 miles on the mechanicals and a body that's going to need
$5k
to make nice, not to mention the interior.
To me this is a $5k car, tops.
Sorry if this comes across as harsh, but you asked. As an aside, the ad
is
long and rambling, and reads like you're trying to convince or justify
people
as to the merits of the car. I think you would be better served listing
all
the good stuff as simple bullet points, and the shortcomings as simple
bullet
points, then let it speak for itself.
hth,
bs
Sent from my iPad
On Oct 31, 2012, at 2:15 PM, [email protected] wrote:
I'm sure many of you have seen my ad on Craig's List and eBay, so here's
a
question: What do you ask for a car that has had all the mechanical work
done, with many upgrades, but needs a gasket windshield conversion with
the
attendant body work around the windshield area? I just did a $2,800 valve
job, it's got the $500 rare earth magnet starter, Merrit Carden
lightened
gears, Euro cams, rebuilt engine with Motronic pistons, Ingram pump,
extra
wheels, many spares, ReOriginals headliner in a box, extra rear glass,
rebuilt
taller diff, rebuilt suspension, Bilstein shocks and lots of etc. I'm
probably in the car $20k, I'm asking $10k obo, not that I expect to get
that,
but it keeps the bottom feeders away and it's really a good car. My
experience is anything you don't make "as new" will leave you by the
side
of the
road, waiting for a tow to your mechanic. It's all been done, it's a
completely reliable car. What's a realistic price?
Stevan Thomas
1973 Berlina
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