How to sell a Shelby?

[Rich_G_SC]

Hi, I am in the early stages of considering to possibly sell my '68 GT 350. I have no experience selling a classic car so I'm looking for advice. A few questions I have are:
- How to determine the car's fair value (I have checked out the coralsnake website on car values btw)?
- Whether it makes sense to use an agent/intermediary?
- Is using a site like bring-a-trailer or ebay a good idea?
- What to do to prepare the car to get the best sale price?

My car is an unrestored survivor with 67k miles. It runs & drives great, is Highland green with white, interior in nice condition, 4 speed #0214. This is a car I inherited about 10 years ago. It had been stored in a climate controlled garage for 12 years & I enjoyed spending a few years making it road worthy & reliable.  Now I drive it pretty regularly on weekends & to local shows. I can't afford to do a full resto & I'd like to get into road racing, thus the reason for thinking about selling.

I appreciate any & all input!

Thank you,
Rich in Columbia, SC

[Bill]

Rich,

   If I was in a similar situation, I'd be reaching out to the folks who know the car, and know the market.

Take things slowly, do not jump on the first cash offer, and always, ALWAYS get a second opinion (or more).

Also, beware of foxes in the hen house, those that will approach you with your best intentions in mind, but have anything but your best intentions in mind.

Hi, I am in the early stages of considering to possibly sell my '68 GT 350. I have no experience selling a classic car so I'm looking for advice. A few questions I have are:
- How to determine the car's fair value (I have checked out the coralsnake website on car values btw)?
- Whether it makes sense to use an agent/intermediary?
- Is using a site like bring-a-trailer or ebay a good idea?
- What to do to prepare the car to get the best sale price?

My car is an unrestored survivor with 67k miles. It runs & drives great, is Highland green with white, interior in nice condition, 4 speed #0214. This is a car I inherited about 10 years ago. It had been stored in a climate controlled garage for 12 years & I enjoyed spending a few years making it road worthy & reliable.  Now I drive it pretty regularly on weekends & to local shows. I can't afford to do a full resto & I'd like to get into road racing, thus the reason for thinking about selling.

I appreciate any & all input!

Thank you,
Rich in Columbia, SC

[JWH]

Hello Rich,

- How to determine the car's fair value (I have checked out the coralsnake website on car values btw)?
        I would look at the Hagerty valuation tool for starters. https://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools   Because Hagerty insures these cars, I have confidence they keep a close eye on true valuations and since they are neither buyer or seller, the values should be unbiased. Be honest with yourself about the condition of your car when evaluating if it is 1-5 condition on the Hagerty scale.
       You say the car is a "survivor." If it has NEVER been painted and still wears the original, factory paint, has the hoses, belts, exhaust system etc that it came with the day it was delivered, that will add to the value of the car. If it has had just one or two owners, that will add. If all the fiberglass and body panels have never been replaced or damaged, that will add. If the drive train is what came in the car on the day of delivery including the carb, exhaust manifolds, transmission, that will add.

- Whether it makes sense to use an agent/intermediary?
       If you do not want to advertise your car, field phone calls, talk to buyers, make appointments to show the car and get the car cleaned up for viewing, an agent is a good way to go. Expect to pay for this service though. When I am a buyer, I very much prefer working directly with the seller (you) to learn the history of the car, what work has been done, get a feel for how the car has been taken care of, why is the seller letting it go. A lot of that information does not get passed on when working with an agent.

- Is using a site like bring-a-trailer or ebay a good idea?
        ebay is probably the cheapest advertising to reach a ton of potential buyers that there is. You almost certainly will NOT sell your car through the auction. However, you will have people contact you because they saw the auction and arrange to come look at the car. Set your opening bid at a price you would be happy with. If someone bids that price, you are on your way. But again, almost no one buys a car sight-unseen through the auction. They will get in touch though.
        Cars-On-Line.com is about $45 to run an ad for ever and also reaches a lot of buyers.
        Hemmings will run an ad in the magazine and on-line
        Advertise on this SAAC website! (you may already be getting inquiries just from this post)

- What to do to prepare the car to get the best sale price?
        *Clean, clean, clean.
        *Take outstanding pictures or your car! Make sure you get shots of the engine bay and make sure you have a number of shots showing the underside of the car. You will most likely be selling this car to a national audience and the pictures are the most helpful way a distant buyer can start to evaluate your car. Some sellers are posting videos of their car and that is helpful too if you know how.
        *Take care of any leaks and other small maintenance items. Replace any funky after-market stuff with correct items, for instance take of the cue ball shift knob and find a correct shift knob. Are any important parts missing? The carburetor or the gauges for instance? Try and find correct parts if possible.

        These are just a few thoughts to get you started. Best wishes with your sale. It sounds like you have enjoyed your Shelby and hopefully it finds a great new home.
Jeff

[ITHERTZ]

If you have time on your side and want to get a market price for your Shelby, I would consider reaching out to a well respected broker who is a SAAC member with excellent integrity.  There are a few who participate here on this forum and I can give you some suggestions if you want to PM me.  A proper broker will give you his honest and experienced assessment of the realistic value for your car and will ultimately come to an agreement for an acceptable purchase price and commission.  If you are not realistic in your value expectations, a good broker will tell you as much and may not even agree to try and sell your car because it doesn't help their business to do so.  A good broker will earn his money by accurately verifying your car's condition and originality (or lack thereof) for you and a buyer.  They will check date codes and stampings and verify and document them for your presentation.  If your car is a great one, these details will help tremendously.

Bring a Trailer has become very popular lately, but you need to have 2 things in place or you will lose your chance to present your car in favorable light and the internet does not forget.  The crowds will be hard on you, so you better know your product inside and out, and you better not have any excuses in regards to recent maintenance, repairs, etc.  You have to be transparent and prepared.  You also should enlist the help of a professional experienced automobile photographer who knows how to photograph a car for BaT.  This is so far from what you typically see on eBay, Craigslist, and even the most glorified live auction sites.  The photos will help sell, or it will help bury you.  Don't jump in lightly to BaT, but if you are properly prepared with the right car you may do well for the least amount of money out of your pocket.

[FL SAAC]

+ 1 on all that's already been said. 

Get in touch with a trusted SAAC member in the Carolina area.

Anyone in the area that can assist Rich?

Hi, I am in the early stages of considering to possibly sell my '68 GT 350. I have no experience selling a classic car so I'm looking for advice. A few questions I have are:
- How to determine the car's fair value (I have checked out the coralsnake website on car values btw)?
- Whether it makes sense to use an agent/intermediary?
- Is using a site like bring-a-trailer or ebay a good idea?
- What to do to prepare the car to get the best sale price?

My car is an unrestored survivor with 67k miles. It runs & drives great, is Highland green with white, interior in nice condition, 4 speed #0214. This is a car I inherited about 10 years ago. It had been stored in a climate controlled garage for 12 years & I enjoyed spending a few years making it road worthy & reliable.  Now I drive it pretty regularly on weekends & to local shows. I can't afford to do a full resto & I'd like to get into road racing, thus the reason for thinking about selling.

I appreciate any & all input!

Thank you,
Rich in Columbia, SC

[zray]

The best PLACE to sell a Shelby is thru the SAAC forum classified ads. You won't be having your time wasted by people who know nothing about these cars, but who act like they know it all.  That in and of itself is reason enough not to list the car for sale anywhere else.

Above all, you have to be patient.  Once you have decided what the fair price is for your car, just wait until the right buyer comes along. If it's a SAAC member, they will know the marketplace fairly well, and know if your price is appropriate.

Best of luck,

Z

[Rich_G_SC]

Wow, thank you for all of this great info & advice! I am in no rush at all so I have time to take care of the items mentioned and to speak to a few folks more knowledgeable than I to hone in on a realistic market value.

The car meets about half of Jeff's "survivor" criteria. It is numbers matching engine & transmission (verified myself) and has the correct carb & a cast iron intake manifold because it was an early '68 before they switched to aluminum. Interior is nice and correct except it has a '67 steering wheel because my uncle hated the plastic '68 wheel - don't have the original. It has a few dings here and there and I think there may have been some spot repainting but I don't think the entire car was done. Paint is tired but from a distance looks OK. I've put new belts and hoses on it but I used repro original hoses, didn't worry about the belts. Exhaust manifolds are gone. The brake vacuum booster was shot but I sent it to a guy in Portland who rebuilt it rather than buy a new one so that is still original.

I am a member of SAAC Carolinas but I've never been able to make it to an event to meet folks near me. I will be going to the Mustang Museum grand opening & mustang days in Charlotte in a few months so hopefully I can catch up with other SAAC folks there.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the time and thought that went into your advice!

Regards,
Rich

[corbins]

White interior  

[Rich_G_SC]

?
er, black interior.

[FL SAAC]

in the end this little sign maybe the best and simplest solution....keep enjoying and driving it

[Bigfoot]

White interior

Assume tan. Clearly

[roddster]

  What Zray said is exactly right.  Figure out what you want, and, even if it is some well known buyer over looking it over, then trying to weasle your price down, you know the old "this isn't right, that neeeds work" do what a buddy of mine up about his 69 GT 500 and said:  "well, this car just went not for sale".

[JWH]

According to Pete's excellent Coral Snake website, the '68s came with three interior choices:
6A = black vinyl, deluxe interior
5A = black comfortweave, deluxe interior (not used on convertibles)
6F = saddle vinyl, deluxe interior

If this car does have a white interior, the upholstery was changed out at some point.


Rich,
I would like to reinforce the advice given by others to be patient. I have had it take over a year to sell. It just takes time to find the right buyer.

Also, if your car has an original 1967 Shelby wood steering wheel, those are worth decent money. If you do have a knowledgeable Shelby person evaluate your car, make sure they give you guidance on that steering wheel. 
Jeff

[Rich_G_SC]

Thanks again y'all!

Not sure where the white interior came from...I had a comma in my description but maybe I didn't get that grammatically correct so I will clarify. The car is highland green with white side stripes & GT 350 markings. Interior is the deluxe black. 

[1175]

Beautiful car!

Jon