A GDYNETS

PUBLICATION
2015, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.

Car Collector
Chronicles

Volume VIII, Issue 6

Exploring:

Ca

Car Collecting Today

High RPMs

Classic Rides
Reports From the Field
Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Cadillac (1902- )
Allant (1987-1993)

Corvair (1960-1969)

= Clickable Link

IN THIS ISSUE:
High RPMs

GDY Nets
On the Web

Sale Saga

Sales Speak

Finally, warm weather is

teasing us. We have actually
had some truly summer days
here in SE WI, interspersed
with days that feel like late
fall (30 May=47!). Our car
show season is now officially
underway.
This month is the CadLaSalle Club Grand National
Meet. We shall be in attendance. If you are there, do
come look me up and say hi.
July will be the OCA National. We shall be in attendance. If you are there, do
come look me up and say hi.
August will be the Milwaukee Masterpiece gathering
on the lake front. A good
setting, good people and a
good time. Saturday, 22 Aug
is Club Day when us owners
of non-concours cars are
invited to show off our rides.
I do have news on the
status of The Gray Lady. See

CCC Forum
EMail:

OldsD88@gmail.com

Sale Saga on P. 2.
June Automotive Milestones
3/1864
R. E. Olds born in
Geneva, OH
6/1925 Walter P. Chrysler
incorporates Chrysler Corp..
6/1933 1st drive-in theater
opens in Camden, NJ
7/1928 1st Plymouth built
12/1954 Packard offers tubeless tires
12/1975 Chrysler Imperial
production ends
16/1903 FoMoCo formed
16/1953 Ford intros Master
Guide power steering
17/1946 1st mobile call
made from a car in St. Louis
18/1923 1st Checker Cab
produced
19/1947 Tucker premieres in
Chicago
20/1941 Ford signs first contract with UAW
25/1956 Last "true" Packard
produced in Detroit
26/1958 First Datsun
(Nissan) exported to U.S.
27/1985 Rte 66 decertified

30/1953 Corvette debuts at N.Y.C.

Motorama
30/1969 Last Rambler rolls off
assembly line

June 23June 27 Cad GN

- Wash em, polish em
and drive em!

GDYNets on the Web

Find GDYNets on the web:

Pics That Caught

My Eye

June 2015

CCC -THE FORUM -A web

site to discuss the newsletter,
the hobby and our cars.
Car Collector Chronicles
Saved 62 -Our 1962 Olds
convertible, Ransom Eli Olds
and things Oldsmobile related
web site.
The Gray Lady -1955 Cadillac
Coup de Ville web site.

SAVED 62: A website devoted

to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site

also has a lot of information on
Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac

Coup de Ville, lots of Caddy
information and an extensive
repair library.

DAVES DEN: -A site devoted to a myriad of interests.

Foremost is extensive information on the Steel City of Gary,
IN. There are also offerings on
steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary
Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14
assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the
murder of Gary, IN Police Lt.
George Yaros.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 2

Sale Saga

I believe it is
not good for
these cars to
be left to
simply sit.
They are
made, and
need, to be
driven!

If you are a regular reader of CCC you know

that The Gray Lady has been on the market.
That has been case since mid-to-late March. As
with most owners of collector cars, in reaching
the decision to sell a number of questions were
raised: Why sell, where to market the ride and
how does one determine the asking price?
In this article we shall go through the entire
process that owners go through when selling
their ride.
The why behind the decision to sell, at least
for me, was not an easy one to make. I do like the car and take pride in being able to
own her. She has such beautiful lines and speaks so eloquently of a bygone era. She
is a feast for the eyes and never fails to attract attention when taken out and driven.
Therein lay the problem. She was not being taken out and driven. During six years of
stewardship less than 200 miles were recorded on the odometer by me. Needless to
say, with so few miles opportunity to garner attention and admiration while out on the
open road were few and far between.
Also, and I appreciate there indeed may be differing views on this, I believe it is not
good for these cars to be left to simply sit. They are made, and need, to be driven! If
for no other reason than to keep gaskets, seals, etc. pliable and functioning as designed. Likewise, the body, undercarriage and interior want to be exposed to free flowing air. It keeps everything nice and fresh, so to speak.
When it gets to the point that all one is doing is working on the car to ameliorate the
consequences of it not being driven and it becomes painful to watch the car deteriorate,
the decision to sell becomes easier.
Having made the decision to sell, the next matter to deal with was where/how to market her. Available marketing options are so plentiful that they can be overwhelming for
a seller. In any marketing decision one factor that is always paramount is to be able to
reach the highest possible number of likely buyers. Auction, paid classified, and free
internet listings are just a few of the marketing avenues one may pursue. The question
to be answered n making the decision on where to market is, What is the goal? It can
be to sell at the least advertising cost possible. It can be to sell in a manner that yields
the highest price possible. Maybe one wants to sell as quickly as possible? All these
considerations need to be addressed when marketing a car.
In my case the decision was made to first try the no cost approach. My thinking was,
if that did not work I could always resort to Plan B; placing a for sale sign on her at the
upcoming Cadillac-LaSalle Club Grand National meet. I also had a Plan C. It was an
ad in Hemmings Motor News and/or a paid listing on numerous high traffic internet web
sites.
In addition to word of mouth local advertising, The Gray Lady was listed on every Cadillac related web site I have been frequenting for years. She was also listed on the
AACA Forum . Additionally, about a dozen web sites offering free listings were utilized. I did not want to limit my target market to Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin or
even the United States. To that end I made sure one listing received exposure in the
Chicago area and I also spread the word, via email, among all my contacts abroad;
England, Italy Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Lastly, I placed a free, no picture
ad in the Cadillac-LaSalle Club magazine, The Self Starter.
Let me digress for a line or two and talk about the ad listing itself. In addition to describing the car, providing a few pictures and stating an asking price, I provided a link
to a web site I created to present the car. That linked web site housed eighty (80) photos of the car showing the good and bad, along with a detailed history of ownership.
Two points, I feel, are critical in this regard. One simply may never, ever have too

Page 3

Car Collector Chronicles

Sale SagaContd

many pictures of the car they are trying to sell. No or only a few photos sends a message
that the seller is not being open and above board about the ride. Rather than wonder
what is it the seller is hiding, potential buyers simply move on.
There is a good reason for specifically stating that the price for which the car is for sale
is an asking price. It conveys to potential buyers that you are negotiable. Everybody
wants a deal. If it is apparent that there is no possibility of such, the pool of potential buyers decreases significantly. If you are willing to negotiate price, say so, up front.
Having talked about the importance of stating an asking price, how does one determine
what that amount should be? My standard here was one of, What is fair and reasonable? Of course I knew what I had paid for the car. I also knew how much money I had
put into her over the years. Contrary what those outside the hobby think, when one is selling their old ride they are lucky to break even. I knew full well that I was not looking to get
rich from this sale. A get rich kind of attitude generally leads to a no sale and a seller asking themselves why no one wants to buy their car.
I wanted to know what similar cars had actually sold for, not what asking prices where.
There are ways to find this information. Hagerty Insurance has a tool that tracks value
based on actual sales. I found it useful. Searching the net for similar cars being offered
for sale often also yields sold listings. Auction results from major auction houses are able
to be researched. Of course there are the questionable data supplied by NADA, Kelley
Blue Book and the like.
In the end, I had bunch of figures. After studying them, I chose to ignore some, threw
out the highs and lows and averaged what remained. That process led me to my asking
price. Yes, it was at the high end of what I thought the car could bring, but The Gray Lady
is not just any run of the mill ride and I was prepared to be somewhat flexible on the
price.
I did get some helpful advice from a professional dealer in classic cars. He confirmed
that my asking price was in the ball park. He also told me to expect it to take anywhere
from 30 to 90 days to sell the car. That was good to know, as it helped to stave off becoming discouraged due to what might seem like a lack of interest in the car by potential buyers.
Now for the bottom line. The Gray Lady has been sold! That happened on 14 May. The
buyer is from Texas. He saw my ad in the Cad-LaSalle Club magazine. He called, we
talked a bit about the car. In actuality, I told him little-to-nothing that wasnt available on
my linked web site. I suggested he study the eighty (80) pictures I had made available
(viewed by 241 people) and, after having done so, give me a call back. I figured that
would be the last I would ever hear from him.
To my surprise, within a couple of hours my phone was ringing and he was on the line.
We were able to negotiate a deal in short order. He made an offer less than my asking
price, but not terribly less. I think he was shocked when I accepted it without any dickering? Within two days I had the purchase monies in-hand. The car now awaits transport.
I have subsequently learned that The Gray Lady was but 1-of-32 cars he purchased that
week in his buying binge! All tolled he now owns 139 classic cars.
The buyer is particular and will use only one transporter. It is a husband/wife duo with a
3-car enclosed trailer. They have made it known it shall be more than a while before they
will be able to pick up the car. The Gray Lady shall be waiting patiently. In the meantime,
perhaps I should get a picture of her with me behind the wheel for posterity? Believe it or
not, I do not have one.
The Gray Ladys new home will be Bills Backyard Classics Auto Museum in Amarillo,
TX. There, she will be able to be seen and appreciated by fans of old rides. If anyone
ever told me that a ride I owned would be on display in a car museum, I would have asked
them what they were smoking?
In summary: Target your market, provide plenty of info and photos (importantly, give
them the good, the bad and the ugly), research your price, be willing to negotiate and last
but not least be patient!

One may
never, ever
have too
many
pictures of
the car they
are trying to
sell.

Page 4;;

Car Collector Chronicles

Seller Speak
Having just successfully concluded the transfer of stewardship over The Gray Lady, I thought it might be
fun to take a tongue-in-cheek look at car sales jargon based loosely on market place fact. When a seller
says, the reality of the situation is:
SELLER SAYS

The Reality Is

ASKING, VERY FLEXIBLEI know I will never get my asking price. $1,000s off, if you got cash in fist.
No offer will insult me!
BODY FAIRNo metal remaining below the bondo
BODY GOODBody is not really good. It's useable, not more. Don't assume anything. All major holes
were fiberglassed, then filled with bondo
BURNS NO OILJust leaks like a sieve
CALL ANY TIMEIt's hard to sell it
COMPLETELY RESTOREDFixed it, so that it can be sold, but still shows that it was done the "El
Cheapo" way . . .
CONCOURSHad it washed and waxed
DELIVER FOR EXPENSESI'll do anything to get rid of this car!
DESIRABLE CLASSICNobody likes it
DRIVE ANYWHEREWithin a few miles of your home, during daylight hours, when it's not too cold /hot
and you don't need windshield wipers.
DRIVE IT AWAYI'm on a hill
ENGINE QUIETThank God for 60-weight oil and STP!
ESTATE SALEWe're cleaning out the garage
FINE OLD CLASSICOld car
FIRM$1,000 off for cash
FORMER SHOW WINNERAt the 1967 Kiwanis pancake breakfast
GOOD INVESTMENTValue has hit rock bottom
GOOD SHAPEJust some hidden frame damage
HAS BEEN APPRAISEDI want an outrageous amount for it
HAS CLASSIC LINESYeah, the Edsel does too
IMMACULATEHad it washed
INTERIOR NEEDS SOME WORK--Family dogs were fighting in it
LEAVING THE COUNTRYBank is going to repossess it
MAJOR TUNE UP-Sandblasted the spark plugs
MINTAn oxymoron. Mint does not exist and cannot be created with any kind of money. Therefore, the
seller implies one of the following: Painted a light green color. Looks good, at least to me . . .
MODERN CLASSICAMC Pacer
MUST SACRIFICECan't give it away. Need money. Finally gave up and found a better car.
NEEDS MAJOR OVERHAULReady for the boneyard
NEEDS MINOR OVERHAULNeeds extensive work
NEW TOPOnly 4 years old
NO TIME TO RESTOREParts nonexistent
OTHER INTERESTS FORCE SALESpouse said "dump it"
PARTS CARAll useable parts have long been stripped off
RARE CLASSICNobody liked it when new
RESTOREDFixed up
ROUGHToo bad to lie about it
SHARPWhitewall tires
SOLID AS A ROCKEverything rusted together
STORED 20 YEARSEngine froze when new
YOU FINISHThere's no light at the end of this tunnel
99% COMPLETE-Most important stuff is gone
99% RESTOREDCan't find the rare parts needed to finish
95% RESTOREDAnd about 75% to go
Copyright 1999-2009 CALIFORNIACLASSIX

Page 5;;

Car Collector Chronicles

Pics That Caught My Eye

Now that is rocket power!

Triple A, looking out for

you?
Courtesy Old Motor Forum

Ok, Ive had my say for the month. Now its your turn! I invite/encourage submission of
your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help spread
the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to CCC at OldsD88@gmail.com.
Now that you have finished reading this months issue of the newsletter, if so inclined,
like CCC on Facebook by going here
______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

COMING NEXT ISSUE:
Cadillac-LaSalle Club Grand National Meet, Milwaukee