Tell you what, Stevan,
I will sell you my '84 GTV-6 for 1/4th of what I have
in it---
3 litre engine with about 100 miles on a valve job--
Platinum
transaxle with extra limited slip disks, and lightened gears with about 8000
miles on them,
rotors with about 4000 miles on them. and RS pads
poly
bushings throughout
oversize sway bars
full Autopower roll cage
Corbeau racing
seat
racing steering wheel
Power steering
dropped front spindles
TechnoMagnesio wheels
race shocks and stiff springs (still streetable, not
full race)
Imported constant length exhaust headers
"S" cams
balanced
injectors
five point belts both sides
air conditioning removed
extra air flow
meter (BMW) and air filter complete with modified intake bellows
should get
a new paint job (no rust, but worn paint)
has small crack (stabilized) in
windshield at top
What do you think I should ask for it?-----------------If
I wanted to sell it---------------
Bottom line--------I could probably not
GET 1/4 of what I have in it. When you fix up a car, it's like owning a boat,
except the hole you drop your money into is a well, and not the sea
Best
regards,
Alan Lambert
________________________________
________________________________
De : Brian Shorey <[email protected]>
@ :
"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Envoyi le : Dimanche 4 novembre 2012 11h37
Objet : Re: Fwd: [alfa] Berlina For
Sale question
Hi Stevan,
Few quick comments:
1) I understand about the
engine and
mechanical sequence. But I'd also say you can't claim $20k
invested if $5,000
of that is an engine and the subsequent $2800 valve job.
Sure, you invested
$7800, but to the guy that's buying the car it's just an
engine with a
cylinder head that's been done twice. And again, 30% of that
has been
amortized. If I add up an Ingram pump ($1000), a Merritt Carden
gearbox
($1500), a rebuilt engine (lets say $6,000) a rebushed suspension
($1500), I'm
at $10,000. And I'm not going to write anybody a check for that
$10,000 when
it's all been installed in a car and driven for 30,000 miles.
And who knows
how it's been driven? Babied, or thrashed? A prospective buyer
doesn't know,
and *has* to assume the worst. You might want to provide
compression test
results, and maybe some indication of oil consumption.
2)
The bodywork and
presentation still matters. Grip on the wheel aside, the
tape looks cheap and
like it's hiding something. A clean wood wheel is
desirable. Clean the
interior, put the drivers side door panel on, and find a
few spray cans of
paint that's real close in color to the rest of the car and
paint the primed
areas. It will still need the same amount of $$$ to make it
pristine, but it
won't scare away the prospective buyer, and really you want
somebody to show
up and at least drive the car, right?
I'm going to guess
Alfa owners come in
3 basic flavors. Those who drive them and pay others to
maintain them, those
that are comfortable working with the mechanicals but
don't have the patience
or talent for body and paint work, and those who can
deal with the cosmetics
but are not mechanically inclined.
Of the DIY'ers, in
my experience the vast
majority are comfortable with the mechanicals but not
good with the body and
paint stuff.
All of which means that the target market
for your car is
probably in the minority of the Alfa community. Which is
unfortunate. The
other problem is, for a car to command top dollar, it's
really got to be
somewhat complete, with no issues. Anything that requires
work, whether it's
mechanical or cosmetic, is a risk to most people, and will
really attract
bargain hunters. You are priced well above bargain range.
$2,000 would buy a
bare minimum paint job. $4k is probably more reasonable.
Figure another
$1,000 for the rust repair and windshield, that stuff isn't
cheap. $500 for a
headliner install, it's good that you have one. $1500 for
upholstering
seats. So the new owner is looking at $7,000 to turn this into a
$12,000 car.
I love Berlinas. I've owned many, and have two at the moment. I
hope you can
find a good home for yours.
bs
________________________________
From:
"[email protected]"
<[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday,
November 4, 2012 10:34
AM
Subject: Fwd: [alfa] Berlina For Sale question
I
sent this to Brian a
couple of days ago and didn't realize it didn't go
to
the list. In defense
of the car, it looks much better in person. Not
everything was done at the
same time as the engine. The transmission was
installed later, the Wes Ingram
pump just recently. I have a ball park
estimate
of $2 to $4k to do the
windshield repair and paint the car, that
does not
include the glass and
gasket from Jon Norman. This is a solid
straight car
that was worth putting
all this mechanical work into as I was
planning on
keeping. There is also a
substantial pile of spares. The engine
rebuild was
done by Roger's Auto
Works, the head by Norman Racing, the
transmission and
differential by
Merrit Carden. The work was done right. I'd
still say anyone
who is really
looking for a "good car" should come and take
a look at it
or ask specific
questions.
There are 2 kinds of buyers, most
people buy shiny, those who can
look
beyond that to quality are another
sort. I haven't seen the other cars
at $10
to $15, but it wouldn't surprise
me if over a period of time, they
required
expensive mechanical work. All
too many sellers polish and shine
and hide
your future problems, so they can
maximize their profit. I'm not
that way
and I'm certainly not profiting.
Stevan Thomas
1973 Berlina
____________________________________
From:
[email protected]
To:
[email protected]
Sent: 10/31/2012 5:28:43 P.M.
Pacific Standard Time
Subj:
Re: [alfa] Berlina For Sale question
Hi Brian,
The 1:4 exhaust manifold
broke and burned one exhaust valve, hence the
recent valve job. The original
head work was done by Norman Racing. I started
a thread awhile back about
wrapping the headers with heat insulating tape
vs. JetCoat. The tape is a bad
idea, not because of potential rust, but the
retained heat cooks the cast
iron. I think the hot ticket is to JetCoat the
inside of the manifolds. This
was my second 1:4 manifold. The motor work
was
done right, someone didn't
hang the exhaust system correctly, or I had a
defective manifold.
I really
do appreciate the feedback, just let me say the
tape on the
wooden steering
wheel is VERY practical for grip, particularly
in hot weather.
Stevan
In
a message dated 10/31/2012 6:11:11 P.M. Pacific
Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
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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