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RE: What's the Big Secret? (Long, windy, and boring)


To some extent, the difference in the prices paid for cars is 
meaningless.

For example, I never pay for than $200 for a non-running VW (the 
only kind I buy), but spend several thousand dollars fixing it up (we 
euphemistically call this a "hobby").  Another person may spend 
several thousand bucks for a car that is ready to roll down the road.
The only difference may be that he is enjoying the use of his car 
while mine sits in the garage with my beads of sweat all over it.
The price of a used T3 has merit only when one considers what 
additional expenses he/she will incur after the purchase.

Another BIG difference is geographical.  The market for T3s in Utah 
is very soft, making prices quite a bit lower than in other states.  
The most frequent moaning I hear from sellers is that they could take 
the car to (name a state -- usually California) and sell it for twice 
as much.  I looked at a early 60s single cab T2 pickup here, but 
couldn't buy it because the seller wanted (by his own admission) a 
"California" price for it.  (The pickup has yet to be "picked up", 
meaning no one in Utah has offered him his asking price.)

What it finally comes down to, I suspect, is that each of us wants to 
be regarded as a shrewd bargainer, with each acquisition being the 
envy of all who hear our stories.  Contrarywise, none of us wants to 
be thought of as having paid "too much" by our very astute 
colleagues.

A car is "worth" what the seller and the buyer agree that it is 
worth.  That dollar amount may be irrelevant to any other set of 
circumstances.

I will start a new thread...CONFESSION TIME.  I recently bought a '77 
Chrysler (yes, friends, what you just heard is true!) for $1000.  
That price was $200 over book value, $400 over trade-in value.  As 
one who normally wouldn't pay $2 for a large dinosaur like that, I am 
content that both the seller and I got a good deal.  But the price I 
paid would would really be meaningless as a guide for another '77 
Chrysler.

If anyone still wants to compare prices, I am willing to trade my two 
$500 cats for your $1000 dog.  And then both of us can brag to our 
friends...

Phil
dillard@suu.edu



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