Are you thinking about selling your ’57 Lincoln?
There’s no need to reflect on the “why” part because the facts are simple-you’re selling a piece of property at this point so the reasons are clearly more important than the car.
Subsequent seller’s remorse and attendant crying jags can come later.
Right now you need to sell, so here are a few things to consider.
1-The time of the season: That classic song by The Zombies in 1969 says it all –this really is all about the time of the season.
The worst case scenario is a mid-summer sale because car guys are at shows and everything is in vacation mode-including your successful sale prospects. Do yourself a favor and drive your beloved old ride until September. If not, be prepared for some insultingly low offers.
Next worst? Christmas into the New Year because bank accounts and emotions are pushed to the limit during the holiday season. You will never get a decent price for anything with 4 wheels on Christmas Eve unless it’s the world’s most popular kid’s toy. Protect yourself from a really bad mood because Santa’s night isn’t going to be your night to sell your baby.
Thanks to prime time TV car auctions, guys get car guy buck fever in January so listing your car the week after Barrett-Jackson is a great idea. “Everybody is a Star” according to Sly and the Family Stone and your car might be the path to stardom. That path is clear until May.
After that wait until September-you have until Halloween.
2-Detail your car. “In this case, he believes that spending 4-600 dollars on this undervalued Imperial would have added between 1-2000 dollars to the sale price. …that would have doubled the price of this soon to be Green Hornet movie car classic”. That’s a direct quote from an MSCC tech piece and the advice came from a legendary detailer.
You can do it yourself on a low-end car, but for any car with more than 4 figures in the asking price, call a pro. It’s that simple.
3-Paperwork is money. Any kind of documentation is gold so keep everything from Day 1. More paper in the document pile means more paper in your pile of currency and if you can go back to the original sales invoice, you strike the mother lode. No original paperwork isn’t a deal-breaker because you can add anything you did after you bought the car to the pile…even if it’s just a new battery cable-or battery.
4-Embrace new tech. Digitally document everything if you do any cosmetic or serious mechanical work to the car from Day One. Do a YouTube presentation and give your potential customer the most thorough and honest presentation you can in hi-def digital documentation. There are hundreds of avenues to sell a car on the Internet-take detailed, clear pictures and be prepared to email them over and over until you sell.
5-Be realistic. Base your asking price on a realistic assessment of the current market for your old car. Do a ton of research, look at current sales and bear in mind that price guides are just that…a guide. You also have to be honest with yourself and your potential buyer so if your car is a 3 don’t ask for a 2 price or tell a potential customer that it’s a 2.
Old cars aren’t like 1-year-old cars–they fluctuate wildly in value because they are frivolous purchases subject to extreme economic ebbs and flows. Two year old Toyotas aren’t affected by downturns because they are severely practical purchases-don’t expect the same consistent sales results with a ’57 Lincoln.
With any luck this will help ease the pain of selling your baby…
Jerry Sutherland
More car stuff at-https://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/
