State of the E body Market

[erik70rt]

I was looking around the net today to satisfy my own curiosity about the current level of e-body prices.  I was wondering if it's even possible to get a really nice driver e-body for under 20K anymore?  From what I am seeing, doesn't look like it.   

[js27]

Hell it is hard to find a good project e body especially 70-71 for under 20..
JS27

[anlauto]

I doubt it very much that you'll find a nice driver E Body for under $20K. If you do it will be a turd needing a lot of work 

[dave73]

I've been seeing a lot of 72-74 challengers in the 25-30 range. Of course that's what they are asking and maybe not selling for that, but seems pretty consistent in pricing for the 'less desirable years'.

[Cuda Cody]

The hard part is finding a good well taken care of car that has not been beat to death.  Doing for under $20K is not very likely.

[IRON MAN]

Two years ago e-body/b-body pricing on eBay and CL rose significantly. At the time, I wanted a 68-69 Charger. After six months of not finding a nice daily driver for less than $35K, I started looking at Challengers. Prices were rapidly climbing. Been watching a nice daily driver 1973 Challenger 340, 727, new Cragars/tires, ralley gauges, new bumpers, nice B5 paint, nice interior, a/c, etc on Craigs List for $26K firm. Then, it showed up on eBay with No Reserve. I waited until the last 15 seconds of the auction and submitted $20,700. Ebay responded CONGRATULATIONS! You won. It was a local car only 50 miles from me. Seller was more than a bit angry with himself for not having a reserve price. Needless to say, he did not laugh all the way to the bank. The market was HOT at the time and he apparently thought the Challenger would bring whatever the market would bear. Maybe I got lucky because it was two weeks before federal taxes had to be filed.

The internet and globalization probably has a lot to do with the escalating pricing of e-bodies. The biggest chain of consignment collector car showrooms in California is "Specialty Car Sales" with five locations in the SF Bay Area, ships about a third of their sold cars off shore. The consignment salespeople in California are very aggressive in their hunt for muscle cars. They show up at the big car shows passing out business cards from their booth.

[Rich G.]

Considering it cost a minimum of 20-30K to do a nice restoration yourself just in materials it would be a steal if you could find one. Some people do get lucky though.

[challengermaniac]

Yup, supply of e bodies is very low compared to the demand of the growing Baby Boomer Population that is now in a position to afford one! 

Of course this cycle can be expected to reverse itself once the demand dwindles with the death of the Baby Boomer Population (how sad)! 

Enjoy them and life while we still can!

[70 Challenger Lover]

Yup, supply of e bodies is very low compared to the demand of the growing Baby Boomer Population that is now in a position to afford one! 

Of course this cycle can be expected to reverse itself once the demand dwindles with the death of the Baby Boomer Population (how sad)! 

Enjoy them and life while we still can!

I totally agree on both points. The second point is the one that people lose sight of. Every year from this one until the day you die is your best year. Enjoy it now or life will pass you by and you'll be that guy no one wants to hear with his "I could have bought a..." stories.

I know people at work who love my cars and tell me they have a dream of buy a this or a that but now is just not the time. These are people with very high incomes that apparently can't afford a $10k project car or a $30k finished car but they just bought their wife an 85k suv and they drive 75k pick ups. I try to tell them now is that time but they can't see it. I try to tell them to stop dreaming and just pull the trigger rather than talk. It may seem like a lot now but years later will be even more.

[Brads70]

Yup, supply of e bodies is very low compared to the demand of the growing Baby Boomer Population that is now in a position to afford one! 

Of course this cycle can be expected to reverse itself once the demand dwindles with the death of the Baby Boomer Population (how sad)! 

Enjoy them and life while we still can!

I totally agree on both points. The second point is the one that people lose sight of. Every year from this one until the day you die is your best year. Enjoy it now or life will pass you by and you'll be that guy no one wants to hear with his "I could have bought a..." stories.

I know people at work who love my cars and tell me they have a dream of buy a this or a that but now is just not the time. These are people with very high incomes that apparently can't afford a $10k project car or a $30k finished car but they just bought their wife an 85k suv and they drive 75k pick ups. I try to tell them now is that time but they can't see it. I try to tell them to stop dreaming and just pull the trigger rather than talk. It may seem like a lot now but years later will be even more.

  That's why I bought the Javelin. No one gets to the end of their life and says " I wish I worked more OT"  I could be dead tomorrow!  I wouldn't go into debt to get another but I had the cash sitting here.... rather look at a cool car in the garage than a bank statement! 

[js27]

@erik70rt

Looks nice for $25,000.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/356610308453380

JS27

[blown motor]

Yup, supply of e bodies is very low compared to the demand of the growing Baby Boomer Population that is now in a position to afford one! 

Of course this cycle can be expected to reverse itself once the demand dwindles with the death of the Baby Boomer Population (how sad)! 

Enjoy them and life while we still can!

I totally agree on both points. The second point is the one that people lose sight of. Every year from this one until the day you die is your best year. Enjoy it now or life will pass you by and you'll be that guy no one wants to hear with his "I could have bought a..." stories.

I know people at work who love my cars and tell me they have a dream of buy a this or a that but now is just not the time. These are people with very high incomes that apparently can't afford a $10k project car or a $30k finished car but they just bought their wife an 85k suv and they drive 75k pick ups. I try to tell them now is that time but they can't see it. I try to tell them to stop dreaming and just pull the trigger rather than talk. It may seem like a lot now but years later will be even more.

A friend's husband was saying that someday he wanted to get a Harley. She told him that someday is now but he wouldn't do it. So she bought him the Harley! Some people can pull that trigger and some can't.

[70 Challenger Lover]

That is so true. Of all the great things I've picked up over the years, it's almost never because I got there first. It's because I had cash in hand and was willing to just do it while others hemmed and hawed biting their nails with worry. Cars, guns, fishing equipment, tools, etc.

I like going to swap meets and stuff like that just to see what kind of treasures surface. I've gone with friends and coworkers and laugh when they see something like a $200 fishing pole for $25 and they need to think about it even though they know it's real value and actually would use it. What's to think about? You're going to spend that much money for your unremarkable lunch.

[jimynick]

Yup, supply of e bodies is very low compared to the demand of the growing Baby Boomer Population that is now in a position to afford one! 

Of course this cycle can be expected to reverse itself once the demand dwindles with the death of the Baby Boomer Population (how sad)! 

Enjoy them and life while we still can!

I totally agree on both points. The second point is the one that people lose sight of. Every year from this one until the day you die is your best year. Enjoy it now or life will pass you by and you'll be that guy no one wants to hear with his "I could have bought a..." stories.

I know people at work who love my cars and tell me they have a dream of buy a this or a that but now is just not the time. These are people with very high incomes that apparently can't afford a $10k project car or a $30k finished car but they just bought their wife an 85k suv and they drive 75k pick ups. I try to tell them now is that time but they can't see it. I try to tell them to stop dreaming and just pull the trigger rather than talk. It may seem like a lot now but years later will be even more.

A friend's husband was saying that someday he wanted to get a Harley. She told him that someday is now but he wouldn't do it. So she bought him the Harley! Some people can pull that trigger and some can't.

I think that mindset comes from our early years when most of us didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out, and it's ingrained sometimes to the point that you described Murray- the inability to let go of your wallet, even for a little bit, for your own enjoyment. You keep on hoarding it "just until I get old" and then, too late, you realize that DAMN, I GOT old and by then, it's quite often too late to enjoy it. Wives are the best for seeing that foible and if it weren't for mine telling me to "get at that damn old Challenger" who knows when or even if it would've happened. Here's to good women and cars, boys! 

[70 Challenger Lover]

Definitely! My wife is the one who convinced me to buy my second 70 Challenger. She said it will give me something to play around with in my retirement. Tripping over two cars but by the time I'm ready, probably couldn't afford it then. Gotta love wives like that!