Time to sell my car

Blackmirror · 11-09-03, 07:08

I have a 1987 Buick Grand National. I need to sell it because of financial priorities. Need some tips on selling the car. I have sold a lot of things in the past but never a car so this is my first time. What are some questions that buyers will be asking if they call me about the car? How do you negotiate and get the price you want?

Accumulator · 11-09-03, 08:29

Blackmirror- You have a "cult car" there, so many of your serious prospects are PROBABLY gonna REALLY know their stuff about it. That's generally good for you. *I* wouldn't worry much about guys who DON'T really know their GN's- market it to the experts.

Some likely Q's (besides the obvious) are: original paint/repaint, any accident damage, any chips/hazing on windshield, is it stock or souped up, has it been to the drag strip, do you have the maintenance records and or ownership docs (manual, window sticker), what tires are on it, stereo OE or aftermarket, any holes cut in vehicle (extra antennas, etc.), any other changes from stock, will it pass emissions tests. You might also get some Q's about how you treat it, especially as it's turbo- do you do a cool-down before shutting it off, what oil do you use, do you ever use it for short trips (no warmup), etc.

Check out Hemmings, etc. and see what GN's are going for these days. Base your price on the going rate and DON'T get anxious and let it go too fast, too cheaply. That's gonna be, IMO, a good car to be putting on the market. There's ALWAYS a demand for *NICE* GN's.

Advertise in Hemmings, and any GN Club publications, and maybe, if it's REALLY nice, the Dupont Registery. Also the online equivalents. Try to reach the serious, GN-experts-with-money prospects- they're worth waiting for and will appreciate a nice one. And they really ARE out there.

Don't get defensive/stressed if/when they show up and start picking the car apart, that's just part of the process. *I'VE* picked cars apart so badly that the owner was ready to kill me (heh heh, even though I was nice and polite about it) and when he expected me to walk away, I instead payed his asking price.

Blackmirror · 11-09-03, 10:48

Thanks for the good advice! I'll take those into consideration.

My car has 66k miles, runs great, very well maintained, really clean interior, still has original paint and still looks good but has those small cracks on the hood because its a single stage paint. I'm gonna start with an asking price of 13k or best offer. What do you think? Oh and it has a lot of modifications on it and runs strong. Mods like a 3" dual exhaust($700), bigger turbo, bigger injectors and fuel pump, upgraded torque converter, gauges, cold air kit, ported throttle body, 3"downpipe, alcohol injection system and other stuff.

BradE · 11-09-03, 10:58

All the mods will hurt the price, an original car is worth more than a modified one.

bretfraz · 11-09-03, 01:51

Quote:

Originally posted by ShowroomLincoln
All the mods will hurt the price, an original car is worth more than a modified one.

I agree 100%. The problem with mods is that the chances of finding someone who has the exact same tastes as you do is very slim. And its almost impossible to make up the money you spent on the mods.

Having said that, have you considered custom car auctions? Like Barrett-Jackson, Kruse, Silver, etc. Do some research on auction companies and the auctions themselves. Check your local bookstores for a mag called "Sports Car Market". Its the bible of the classic and exotic car market. They report on auctions every month. Auctions are a very different world but might be the best place to sell your car if its consigned to the right auction. At some auctions there are literally thousands of registered bidders - hard to beat that number of people looking at your car at one time.

Good luck with whatever you do. That car was my #1 fantasy car when I was in my 20s. Tom "Mongoose" McEwen had a GN all tricked out. I went for a ride in it once; that thing was almost undriveable on the street it was so wild.

Blackmirror · 11-09-03, 04:25

true that an original is worth more than a modified one. I see guys sell there GN's for 13-15k and they have a lot of mods. Some even have new motors and new transmissions too. You can checkout www.turbobuick.com and look at the cars for sale section

Quickstrike · 11-09-03, 07:07

If you have all the original parts still and don't end up selling the car in a reasonable amount of time, you should swap the mods for the original parts..

That way you can sell the car as original and sell all the mods seperately on a place like e-bay.

I have read many articles about selling modded cars and they say it hardly ever works out.. Keep the originals and sell the modded parts separately.

Blackmirror · 11-09-03, 07:21

Looks like I have to sell the car as is. All the mods I did I ended up selling the original parts