Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

There have been threads recently about the $ value of our early Ford vehicles. This sale offers a glimpse into current market conditions.
https://www.hemmings.com/auction/193...68-808064/sold

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

SOLD

$36,750
Includes Buyer’s Fees


https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?ur...3MyZ_T1OAA--~D

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

That strikes me as a pretty strong price for a '36 Cabriolet in that condition with so many modifications. It seems to present pretty well in the exterior photos, but you would have to see it up close.

Hemmings is a little off on the number produced - well over 11K, not 4,616 as stated in the ad. That was the number of Club Cabriolets.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I'm with you Ken. Strong price on this one.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I find that the auction results are skewed in one direction or another. They are either higher than one would have thought or in some instances lower. There is so much emotion involved with an auction and some of the auctions, Barrett Jackson & Mecum, attract buyers who pay a premium for the "opportunity" to buy from a big marquee auction house. I personally know people who have bought from the aforementioned two auction houses and bragged as if it were a badge of honor. Anyway, don't use auctions as a price guide.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Speaking of Mecum, I know a local guy who bought a shoebox Ford from their auction. The buyer was complaining to a local body shop about the door fitment. I went to check it out at the body shop. The seller had welded the door hinges in place. I found all kinds of other sketchy repairs. To an uneducated consumer they bought a car they really liked. After taking ownership, they uncovered major problems hidden beneath shiny paint.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Yeah, I look at those who buy at these auctions as amateurs who don’t know how to shop. The house always makes a good commission, from both seller and buyer.

However, I did once get a good buy at a Mecum auction. But that was only because it was an unusual circumstance, a group of similar cars from an estate, all at no reserve.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I see a lot more "Thursday cars" that are a good deal than "Saturday cars".

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I would not trust auction houses or these classic car dealerships. They tell you want to hear. I would never buy without looking at a car myself or personally know the owner.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

When I was pretty new to the hobby and maybe my early 40s I got to be friends with a guy in Seattle who had a virtual fleet of early V8 trucks, One time on a visit he really wanted me to consider buying his prize '36 pickup that he found in the high desert East of the mountains. It was totally dissasembled, mostly sandblasted, some in primer. I said "It's just a pile of parts!".... He carefully explained to me that it was plain to see that the flanges on the original 4 fenders were like new with perfect bolt holes, etc. , the frame had NO pits or damage, it was virtually perfect... But that 40 yr old 'kid' wanted something that runs...... He never faltered saying THIS was how you buy an old ford!

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Mecum, in my opinion, is far less reliable than Barrett - Jackson.
A buddy of mine paid big cash (nearly $100k) for an as auctioned "fully and professionally restored" '57 Chevy. That's what the auctioneer told the crowd.

Professionally restored? Floor pans pop riveted in?
Mecum pretty much told my friend "tough s---".
I think of Mecum as back lot used cars salesmen. Slimy comes to mind.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

ALL can me summed up and packaged in a neat little package




CAVEAT EMPTOR - Latin: Let the buyer beware


I am always amused by post like this, they are SO subjective and depends on what "lens" the potential buyer is looking through......As Ken astutely pointed out.....From the EFV8 Club founding principles and judging standards "lens", that was way more money than the "originality" of that car would command. From the "Quick look atop a fast passing horse" stand point, it was closer to the good price side of the equation. My bet is it becomes a "Hot Rod"

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

[QUOTE=rockfla;2436870]ALL can me summed up and packaged in a neat little package




CAVEAT EMPTOR - Latin: Let the buyer beware

Yes, to a point, I agree. However, when a car is clearly advertised as one thing and is quite another, well, someone is purposely "cheating".

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Would the members here consider the Hemmings Auctions a good place to list a car? I get asked by older members of our RG how/where to sell. Currently a member has a restored 37 coupe that since 1985 was just putted around Atlanta a few times a year. He is moving and cannot take it with him. He has no knowledge of current pricing trends. What advice would you give?

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

EFV8 Club website - Classified Ads > https://www.earlyfordv8.org/Classifieds.cfm
It's free and attracts vintage Ford buyers...I sold 3 of my cars there...

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I believe Hemmings ONLINE is a much better choice than Bring a Trailer or any auction house. It has proven to me to garner responses from guys that are truly interested in a particular vehicle.
I think it is important that a person selling ask a realistic price right from the beginning.

When I see an asking price that is obviously based on 1999 values, I don't even look at the ad.
There appears to be many guys that have either not stayed up with the (current) market and / or refuse to believe the current market.
My experience with the Early Ford Club site is that the guys (typically) that are looking at those ads are only doing so for amusement. They are no longer part of the "acquiring crowd".

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Years ago, while checking out the ‘38 I was to buy, I crawled under the car to see what I could see. The owner asked what I was looking for, I told him “I don’t know, but if I find it I’ll let you know”. Goes to show you that even a greenhorn can critique a car. When I sold it last year, the buyer brought a couple of friends to check it out. Nobody ever got within arms length of it, and the guy bought it without reading the list of issues I had written about it. They had apparently relied on word of mouth about my car. I had not advertised at all, having only confided in a friend that I was ready to sell. Every sale is different, as even professional appraisers can tell you.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Absolutely correct Kube

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I believe except in rare cases the really good cars sell between people who know the car and they never get to an auction. I feel as previously stated most of the high end auction buyers are novices that fell into or have a lot of money but no real hands on experience with what they are buying.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I agree with you in full.
And to add to that, many of the cars going through the auction houses are prepared specifically with that in mind. So, lots of lipstick to hide the pig.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Kube, "So, lots of lipstick to hide the pig." Yep! Outside the auction houses would be a place to sell mil gauges to measure the thickness between the surface you see and the actual car. They are pretty simple to use but so is a refrigerator magnet.

I have never attended an auction and certainly wouldn't spend any money there. Last year, one of our RG members bought 2 cars at a "large Arizona" auction, one made it a block before rust and crap from the tank plugged up the fuel system and the other car's brakes failed while still on the auction grounds. Had to have both shipped home to the PNW.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

Yeah, another of the many reasons why an auction is not a good way to buy a car: You can't drive the car before purchase.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

I had auction fever once. During the auction itself, I felt compelled as if I had no control at all, continuing to raise my paddle till I won, even though I had begun to have second thoughts. Auction Fever is a real thing. Auction houses are quick to recognize a patsy and employ great skill in reeling him in.

I came to my senses too late, on the drive home beginning to discover the car's many defects. I negotiated the return of the car, and lost a bundle in so doing. Still, I saved a much bigger bundle if I had kept it and performed the required work.

Re: Sold 36 Cabriolet
 

There have been DOOM and GLOOM threads lately on the Fordbarn about the depressed value of our Early Ford vehicles. In my opinion the sale price $35,000 of this 36 Cabriolet validates the fact that the market value of a vehicle is in the eye of both the buyer and the seller. Did the buyer get a fair deal? That’s between him and his bank account. Nothing else matters.