I Need Advice: Selling 58 Impala
 

I need your advice because we're in a conundrum. We've decided to sell our 58 Impala to have a down payment on a house. It's modified, a mid-1980s restoration. It's a low rider with 348 W Series engine; decked trunk, louvered hood. I understand due to its modifications we are looking for a smaller group of buyers. We know the provenance back to 1982 when my wife's uncle purchased it. It's a barn find, superficial rust, some dings and dents, some issues with upholstery, but still runs extremely well. We don't need the money immediately, but my wife and father in-law have fire in their pants.

Here's the problem: we've received estimates on the car from $20k to $40k. We were told $25k in 2017. Prices obviously went up during COVID, but even this week our trusted friend still said the car was worth $28k. Our local market is and always will be low (Spokane WA). We thought we had a buyer this past week on Thursday at $25k, the price stated before he came to see it, then he low balled us at "$18k and not a penny more." Turns out he's a professional buyer, and I'm certain he just wants to flip the car. We were all offended. I told everyone I was moving on to list in a national magazine classified ad.

But now the same buyer has called back and raised his offer to $20k. My wife and father in-law want to sell, but I'm the only one who is holding up the sale because I simply don't like the buyer. I feel like we're leaving a lot of money on the table.

I know November to April is not car buying season. We will likely have to wait months before trying to sell it again. I already paid for the national advertisement. We have a major local car show on Father's Day we could try to sell it at.

What would you all do? Am I being obstinate?

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I'd tell the guy $23k and not a penny less. Beautiful car but would you rather have a car or a house? I'll go with the house without question. What can you do with that car, besides insuring it, doing maintenance on it, maybe driving it a bit and praying you don't get into a fender-bender, sit on it through the winter... and maybe end up lowering, then lowering again, your ask price.

My buddy and I bought a 1931 Model A a few years ago, and when we sold it early this year, we took a big loss. Not the same, I realize - your car is much more desirable, but trying to sell our car was a boring, tedious hassle and finally we were glad to be out of it.

If that helps any... Good luck.

I would take the $20K and be happy for many many reasons.

i don't deal with unsavory people, but seems like moving the car is your best option. still pretty slimy for the guy to offer $25k and then drop to $18k. i'd have to take a shower after the "18k and not a penny less" comment, then coming back to offer 2k more. what a douche.

i agree with the 23k suggestion. but i can see why you dislike this clown.

I think 20k is about right. If you can wait and don't need to sell it to that guy that's ok.

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I’d ditch that type of buyer also and let him know the car is no longer available to him, but thanks for the interest. Sounds like there is probably more money out there for it, you’ll just have to put in a little effort to realize it.

But for him to come view the car under a pretense of valuing it at $25k and then, whoa, now $18k…that’s just a typical slime bag maneuver and he’d be out of my equation for sure. But good luck and hope you find a result you can be happy with.

Nice vehicle! I would go back to the potential buyer at $22K. Most likely, he will come back at $21K. Sold! New Home!

If he won’t come up from 20k I bet you can find that or more elsewhere. Not a car expert but that seems to be the price he thinks he can make a profit at. I feel like there’s some value to not selling to someone you have gotten a bad feel from but money is money if you do decide to go with him.

I would leave emotion out of it. Don't decline a deal because you don't like the buyer. If you think you can get a better price, that's another matter.

Oh no, no profit. He and his partner gave us some Dear Aunt Sally story that just sent up red flags. If I was selling a card this would smell like a scam.

Partner sees the car in my in-laws garage, walks up and introduced himself and says - "I'm interested in your Impala." My father-in-law tells him we are looking for $25k. He looks the car over and sets up another time to come back and drive it. A day later he calls my in-laws and asks if it's okay for him to bring his friend to also look over the car. Sure that's fine. They show up, friend now announces that he's actually the buyer, but the car isn't for him, it's actually for his father who really wants a 58 Impala. Buyer looks over the vehicle, never drives it, doesn't care about the engine or mechanics, points out all the flaws (which of course we already know about), kicks the tires, and offers "$18k and not a penny more." My father-in-law declines. Buyer gives us his card and says "Call me when you're ready to sell."

My father-in-law felt hoodwinked. I heard the story and thought about all of those ebay seller descriptions selling for their great aunt Sally, I'm no expert, but I'm listing it as a replica because that's what ebay wants me to do.

We don't call. Two days later he calls and ups his offer to $19k. Two days later he calls again and ups his offer to $20k. Now my wife is telling me to call him back.

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Anything under 25k is a win for him. Anything over 20k is a win for you. Take a tough stand (the best way to deal with jerks, and he sounds like one) and tell him $23 firm. Then accept his counter-offer.

Bottom line, you'll make much more on your new house than the marginal few thousand dollars you're negotiating on the car, so if he offers $22k or even $21k, I'd take it, as long as the jerk didn't add any unacceptable conditions.

I called the buyer on my lunch break to satisfy my wife. I think I got three sentences in. He wasn't rude, but he did all the talking. Here was our conversation.

My sentences:
"Hello, I'm the owner of the Impala."
"$22k is my tipping point."
"Goodbye."

His statements:
"Your car doesn't make money sense."
"I can't get a paint job for less than $30k. You're car will be too expensive if I pay more than $20k. I can buy a restored Impala for $50k."
"I'm going to have to pay tax on your car."
"$20k is the best I can do, take it or leave it. I'm ready to walk away."
"If you want to advertise it nationally, and have to deal with the hassle, good luck to you."

I am actually in agreement with the buyer. You really do have a car that is hard to sell because it is at the high side of the lower end in condition. It is too high of a price to buy to make mint and on the expensive side to buy/keep as a decent daily driver.

There must be a reason your expert friends in the vintage car business haven't easily found you a buyer at their estimated value yet.

At this point, it’s time to put him in your rearview mirror. Good luck!

My son & I did a frame off restoration of a 87 YJ Jeep that started in 2007 and done in 2010 and he did 90% of it, all said and done it was $12000 sold it for $5000.He got it at the age of 14 and was driving it when he turned 17 the sane day he got his drivers license. Bottom line its hard to break even. Mr happy in the pictures

Very Nice Impala Good Luck!

Sell it to the people who are telling you it's worth more.

Not trying to be obnoxious, but it sounds to me like unless you find a retail customer, your buyer is probably giving you the high end of what you are going to get from a dealer.

The right buyer is the one in front of you with the cash.

I'm curious, and I'm ignorant on this topic, but does it really cost $30,000+ to get a car painted?

But that's the thing. We hadn't advertised or tried to sell. He came to us. The way he is saying "take it out leave it" in no way reflects that I am out of options. I am willing to wait until next spring or summer, take it to local shows like I normally do, and advertise it for sale at the shows, combined with national classifieds.

Thanks Ben. I'll have to think on this.

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I'm not an expert on price tiers. But I do know a paint job is expensive. For some reason on these classics they require a special kind of paint, or multiple coats. Someone else should know better.

When we received the Impala, we were told to just drive it and enjoy it. Because once we invested $$$ for paint and upholstery we would no longer find enjoyment in the car. We would be worried and paranoid about it getting damaged.

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Here are some auction based options. I don't know which one would be the best fit for your car, but they might be worth checking out if you are not in a big hurry to sell:

https://worldwideauctioneers.com/auctions

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/

https://carsandbids.com/

When are you looking to buy the house? Sorry if I missed that.

We have two options.

1) A house we are currently looking at we could buy with no down payment. This house came up unexpectedly. Instead of a down payment, we can use the car money for remodeling. The owner started a remodel, but the contractor ran off with the money. That makes the house pretty cheap, even with high interest rates. So we would complete the remodel. But there are certain requirements from FHA loan that the owner might not want to deal with. So they may not accept our offer. If they do accept our offer, the contractor we want to use already has jobs lined up for months, so that gives us a cushion to sell the car.

2) We wait until next summer, save up more money for a down payment, and try to sell the car in the spring. Hopefully interest rates fall in the next 9 months. We are living in a basement rent free, so we have the ability to sock some money away.

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Got it. So you can afford to wait on a better price.

That is cool. My much younger brother done that with a 1950 Ford Pickup at a similar age at my house. I done the welding/paint and he done everything else.

Yes for a real paint job. They remove every nut, bolt, and screw from the entire vehicle. That way they repaint the entire vehicle without a ton of seams. Many also bake the paint on so it is as good or better than at the factory. The cheaper places tape off the chrome/windows and spray on some new paint. So there is very little labor and the paint doesn't last near as long.

I had dreams when I was in school of doing that with a late 1940s pickup. My dad and friends didn't have that kind of knowledge, so it just kind of went by the wayside.

The Impala falling into our hands as a gift was fulfillment of an old dream.

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My gut feeling is : 1) your friend is correct the car’s low value is $28,000, 2 ) the professional buyer knows that but he wants to maximize profits and low ball you. He’ll buy it $23-24.000 and sell it at 45,000. He’ll walk away at $25,000.That reminds me that back in the days when cars were sold through Wanted Ads, people who sold cars would list their price 5-10% higher than the price they actually wanted.Likewise buyers would offer 20% less than the asking price. His initial offer of $18,000 fits that practice. And he probably thinks you really want $23000. Heavy Negotiation were expected and part of the deal.

Try Meccum auto auctions
I been to the Chattanooga ton one for a weekend
Tons of car and tons fun

I'm nervous about sending it to auction. We considered it, but our gut feeling is in agreement with BNorth -- the car is good enough not to be bad, but it's bad enough not to be good. It sits in some middle area. Part of the reason we feel this way is because the estimated values we've heard over the last six years are $20k - $40k. It's such a huge window. We're worried about it ending at $20k, and then after paying the seller's fee, the total return would be less than $20k.

Don't go the auction route, you will get killed. It's not a show car or an all-original survivor, just a 58 Impala "project". It will bring wholesale money at auction.

I disagree. It's definitely not a car for Mecum or B-J, but I bet this thing would do decent on Bring a Trailer. Maybe not the $40k pipe dream the seller is holding out for, but I've seen crazier things on there.

The other site to consider would be to put a classified ad on The HAMB, as a modded '58 Impala like this would appeal to much of the audience there.

I probably would have been more ruthless than the prospective buyer/flipper OP is 'offended' by. It's a simple business transaction, but some people insist on complicating matters by bringing emotion into the situation.

The market decides the value - not a 'trusted friend' or any other 'expert' or appraisal.

$20k for that car may very well be the number 'where two fools meet'. OP for not selling for $20k and buyer for not giving $20k. Time will tell.

I found a potential buyer for $23k. I attempted a small search and a buyer from Portland contacted me. Deal is not yet closed. But it's a good sign.

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Good luck! 👍🏻🤑

Nice, hope it works out. Now I miss the coast.:( That is a beautiful 6 hour road trip from your place to Portland.

First, my mother always taught me that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Haven't you ever met someone who just rubs you the wrong way? Think of all the threads on Net54 where we disclose buyer ID on ebay, or Facebook, and dozens of sellers here blacklist them. They blacklist them for the simple reason of not wanting the hassle in the future.

Or think of the store signs as you walk in that say "I have the right to refuse you service in my store if you are disrespectful."

Wasting a seller's time is certainly reason enough for many on this board to not work with a buyer again in the future.

Now, I would agree with you that if this rude buyer was the only buyer, or offering the most, it might be foolish of me to walk away. But under the circumstances that I had not advertised the car for sale, I still had a large pool of potential buyers to possibly find another.

If it don't feel right it don't feel right, life is short, deal with people that make you feel good no matter the result.

Feel like I am reading a soap opera.

Nice looking car and I am sure if you post it on place like Facebook marketplace, Instagram etc you will get some people reaching out to you.

I appreciate you keeping us informed. I will be looking forward to updates and hope you get your price

A second for Bring a Trailer, the correct audience for this car and to get top dollar on an online format. I see the best returns on Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids (I don’t think the latter is the right crowd for this). Those two sites bring in the true car guys.

This a good one .

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If the first guy calls again tell him you had previously turned down $23k so he needs to match or better, let him think other buyers are out there. Also list it in Hemmings Motor News... if second guy tidies up the $23k your in the right neighborhood...then you are in control...

I went thru a handful of potential buyers and finally found my man. A gentleman from Albuquerque NM offered $22k. He doesn't want to make it cherry, he likes the barn find look. All the other buyers were immediately talking of paint jobs and this and that. NM man said it would join his collection of 58s: Wagon, Truck, 4dr. He is a mechanic and can make any changes that he wants on his own time.

It took a little bit longer than I wanted, but waiting two weeks was definitely worth $2k extra.

My buyer saw the car on classiccars.com, if anyone else is thinking of selling a car nationally.

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Glad you found the right buyer. Congratulations on the sale!

Congrats! Enjoyed following your journey to final sale!

Awesome, can you post details of how it worked. I have bought 3 Porsche sight unseen and it is scary as a buyer.

Nice car. I thought it would have been worth way more to be honest. I had a 62 impala coupe years ago. It wasn’t a convertible but it was a fun car to drive!


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Yeah [emoji106]

closed on our house on Friday

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Awesome, congrats on the new to you house.:)

thank you. it'll be move in ready in about 3 months after the remodel.

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