Re: [FWDLK] grading (was eBay item number something or other)
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [FWDLK] grading (was eBay item number something or other)



I just follow the guide they include in Old Cars Price Guide magazine. But it differs a bit from what's been posted here -

#1 is either hermetically sealed in controled storage since new, or over-restored to better than the day it left the factory - few cars are true #1s, a #1 is not driven except on and off a trailer, even a brand new car once driven off the lot stops being a #1 fairly quickly.

#2 is your typical well cared for original or restored car.

#3 is your typical car show car - it may not be perfect but is presentable.

#4 is a 50-50 type car, the one that looks good from 50 feet or going by at 50 MPH, it may need partial or full restoration but isn't junk.

#5 is a car that needs total restoration, may or may not run, but the key on a #5 is it's all there, or close enough to all there, to be restorable.

#6 is a car that's weathered, wrecked, or stripped to the point that it's beyond economic sense to save - a convertible with no floors and a bad frame, for example. And the value of a #6 varys with the degree of missing or unusable parts.



Actual selling prices rarely approach the guide values, I have lots of #4-#5-#6 cars and just as an example, one that I'd call a low #4 I paid $600 for in June. The book value for the conditon it's in is $2500-$3300.


Bill K.

----- Original Message -----
------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:53:30 -0700
From:    eastern sierra Adj Services <esierraadj@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: ebay Item number: 330175275427

--WebTV-Mail-4116-739
Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit

This is a fun thread.

Theoretically, a #4 (parts-)car should not be driveable, or,
very-driveable,  as is.

Back in the "day", in Ohio/Midwest, there were a LOT of rolling
rust-buckets, which would qualify for #4 status. Driveable, but fugly .

A #5 car is a hulk.

So, what else constitutes the RANGE, of #3 cars, if not varying degrees
of "driveable"?

As everything is negotiable, I agree that  hard-and-firm categorization
is not possible; hence the range of qualifications, within any category.

But, I still think that the following general categories are fair and
reasonable, subject to
interpretation/qualification/gradation, within the categories:


#1 : Perfect/trailer queen
#2:  potential show-placer/detailed engine & undercarriage
#3:  decent/nice general driver
#4:  driveable parts car/beater:rough condition
#5:  incomplete hulk

All the categories can go up or down, depending upon what is done to a
particular car.

Neil Vedder


----- Original Message -----
The "wiggle room" is contained WITHIN the various categories.

"High-3"/"Low-3", etc....maybe even a 10-point scale within the
categories.

E.G.:  a "Low-#1" could be a non-knowlegeable
restoration;   it probably has the least amount of wiggle room (kinda
like virginity; but there ARE some degrees of comparison, in all
things).

#2 is basically good-appearing Show class-PLACING condition.

  #3 is varying degrees of DRIVING-around
condition, without much hope of Placing, at a
show.

#4 is varying degrees of a good parts car, or a beater/rat-rod ride and
should be able to be made safely drivable, and should be complete, butin
"rough" condition/. A GOOD candidate for restoration.

#5 ain't ever going anywhere, under its own power, and probably is
missing a substantial amount of its componentry; it RECEIVES, rather
than donates,  parts.

I can't really see a need for a 6th Category; altho Old Cars Weakly/Curs
& Parts has had one.

   *******************************************

    Neil,

   OK,  ..... just for the sake of discussion ....

   No.4 has just changed from a "good parts car" to a "good candidate for
restoration". Admittedly, I have parted a out a few cars when these beasts
were more common that should not have been parted out.  They were too nice
NOT to restore, and for reasons that now seem stupid - they were not so rare
back then, I really wanted the parts and wasn't that interested in that
particular car  -  they got dismantled.

   Even then I had a pretty clear idea of what a parts car was vs. a
project and parted those nicer cars out with some feeling of guilt and
remorse. It seems to me this scale has too much room at the top 3 positions
for variations of what are all versions of nice cars.  4 and 5 simple drop
like a lead balloon into the junk and scrap catagory.

   I have never been a ribbon and trophy chaser.  In fact, I see the
judging system as the root of all evil in this hobby, making it more about
bragging rights than just enjoying cars for what they are.  Maybe this is
why I don't understand the need to break down nice cars so thoroughly. It
runs against my logic for why I like old cars ?

   According to a scale like Old Cars Weekly/Cars & Parts , I own a lot of
"excellent parts cars".  Very flattering.



*************************************************************

To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1



Home Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network


Copyright © The Forward Look Network. All rights reserved.

Opinions expressed in posts reflect the views of their respective authors.
This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.