1970 Dodge Challenger R/T original numbers

[7E-Bodies]

I'd guess it'll get hit with quite a few bids in the final hour(s). I'm sure there are a few gunny sackers laying back.

[js27]

EV2-HRT5 Interior--That sounds familiar. It is at $26,500 right now. I think it will hit $30,000.00
JS27

[70 Challenger Lover]

I'd guess it'll get hit with quite a few bids in the final hour(s). I'm sure there are a few gunny sackers laying back.

Hard to say. I have not had any phone calls from actual bidders. I expect people to not make the trip out but a phone call seems mandatory if you're serious about buying. That kind of tells me those bidders are okay without talking to me if they can grab the car at a price they really like but they may not like it enough to pay too much more. Of course I do expect a phone call or two one hour before the auction ends. There always seems to be someone who wants additional photos or other information in the eleventh hour.

I did have one guy reach out and set up a day to meet me and drive the car. It's after the auction ends so if it sells, obviously he wouldn't bother. Unfortunately we couldn't get our schedules to mesh up before then. But I've met him before selling him parts and he's a likeable person who is not a flake so maybe we will hammer out a deal afterward. A lot of cars I've sold through eBay happened afterward.

[7E-Bodies]

I'd say you're spot on. I'm one of the watchers, because of curiosity with the market.

[70 Challenger Lover]

15 hours to go and the fun begins. As predicted, all the requests for additional information, mostly photos, are coming in. Nothing like waiting to the last minute. I expected this though and timed the ad so I'd be off work the last two days. I'm actually glad there's lots of interest. I've seen a few other nice buys on eBay lately that haven't got as much attention as it should have in my opinion.

[7E-Bodies]

I've never sold one that I didn't regret. I hope the best for you, but that's a nice project.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Well the auction ended at $20,600. A bit lower than expected but not bad considering these were bidders who never even called or had the car inspected. My real intent all along was to use eBay for advertising and find potential buyers to complete a sale afterward. It looks like I might have it sold for my full asking of $26k. Working out a few details now.

[7E-Bodies]

This has been a market gauge indeed. Please keep us posted. Hoping it all fits your needs.

[E74cuda]

Here's my take. I think the car is a good project, but it has a reproduction fender tag and no build sheet. I think that you are probably very close on the tag but there is no way of knowing if it is 100% correct. The four speed drives the value. I always look at things from the completed or restored value. I would estimate that between 40-45k. The lack of documentation hurts the value. I think around 20 is the value. Of course there is always the chance you could get more from that person that just has to have it.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Here's my take. I think the car is a good project, but it has a reproduction fender tag and no build sheet. I think that you are probably very close on the tag but there is no way of knowing if it is 100% correct. The four speed drives the value. I always look at things from the completed or restored value. I would estimate that between 40-45k. The lack of documentation hurts the value. I think around 20 is the value. Of course there is always the chance you could get more from that person that just has to have it.

You could be right. There is definitely no way of knowing 100% of the fender tag data and so I disclosed it so people could make an informed decision.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the ridiculously long detailed description carried the day on this sale. I had people on eBay who didn't even want the car messaging me to comment on how descriptive the ad was and that they really appreciated that.

So here is how I see it for valuation opinions: several bidders were willing to pay $20k sight unseen without so much as a phone call even though I put my phone in the ad and encouraged calls. If more than one person is willing to throw the dice and pay $20k for a car, it's not because they believe the car is worth exactly 20k. It's because they believe it's worth something more than 20k but they are willing to take a gamble if they can get it for a good price in their minds. One guy might pay full price sight unseen but more than one seems unlikely. 20k is their idea of a great deal. The only guy who actually drove out to inspect it told me he was in the 24k range and I value his opinion a lot because he is a dedicated Mopar guy who just finished a full restoration of another Mopar. I think $24 is probably about right.

My argument has always been that you can't value a project based solely on completed price. It doesn't matter if you are restoring a Buick station wagon or a hemi Cuda. It's going to cost a lot of money to restore even the nicest project car. If I were buying a business, or a house, or evaluating a stock, I'd consider things like initial cost, expenses to get it where you want it, and final value. If you only look at resto costs compared to final value, then no car with a final value under 40k would ever be purchased, let alone ever restored. Most mustangs and Camaros are in that category yet they are the most commonly restored car out there. Show me a solid Camaro or Mustang that is free. It would have to be free in order for me to restore it and not be upside down afterward because most are only 30k cars at best.

I do think your way of looking at it is very smart and savvy from a financial viewpoint. I bought a nicely restored 71 Barracuda earlier this year and I used this line of thinking. It was such a nice deal compared to buying and restoring a project that it just didn't make sense not to buy the completed one. But as we know, there are weirdos like me who actually enjoy a challenging project, as well as other folks who can't pay a huge sum up front so they get what they can with the hope of restoring the car eventually on the installment plan, knowing it will cost more in the end. People do that every day with rent to own home furnishings, car financing, home mortgages, etc. My first house was a real fixer upper.

[7E-Bodies]

@E74cuda we think alike. Don't get me wrong. I'd jump at a project like that if I weren't deep into one already with a kid in college and another soon. Beautiful car that'd make a good project for someone skilled in doing most of the work.

[GrandpaKevin]

Mike thanks for posting your selling details and actual dollar figures, this type of information does help the rest of us thinking of selling.
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I think I will be selling my 4 speed R/T Challenger in the spring and will probably use E-bay as a way to advertise it.

[70 Challenger Lover]

I always knew a good description really helps but I can't say enough in this case. I've never had people on eBay actually take the time to compliment the description before. On this ad there were three of those people. The buyer in Sweden also commented that he was comfortable paying more in the end because he felt there would be no surprises once he got the car based on that description.

I think another helpful take away here is that you can have a car with little known history, prior collision damage, a grafted body stamping from an old cowl to the new, no broadcast sheets, and a repopped fender tag and yet it still gathered a respectable amount of bidders who really wanted it. Imagine what a car like this could sell for if it had none of these issues.

At least this seems so apply to today. Next year, who knows? It could also be a signal that the Mopar muscle car market is hotter than we think it is.

I'm glad it worked out and hopefully this valuation is timely for members here who might be buying or selling.