MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Advice on selling

Please let me know if this is the wrong place to post this question: I have a recent frame-off restoration '59 roadster that I intend to sell.
Can I post info about it on this list? Or is there a more appropriate place?
Where does one get a good sense of what prices are like now?
And finally--can anyone offer an opinion as to whether this is just a bad time to try to sell this car, given the state of the economy. I could wait 6 months or a year if I had to.
It's a great car, drives good as new, and goes like a bullet (B engine mods). Hate to part with it.
Thanks for any info or advice.
John
J Vallely

If you are NAMGAR member you can advertise it in the Classifieds on www.namgar.com. If not a member, the ad cost is $30 for 4 months, I believe. Confirmation of this is available from advertising@namgar.com.
There is also the MG Trader section of the MG Experience web site.
MGCars.org.uk (the host of this BBS) also has a cars for sale section.
Good cars are still selling , I hear. Look at other ads to get a feeling for the price range, but remember it is always only worth what someone wants to pay for it.
Peter.
P. Tilbury

Well you got it some exposure!

Late spring, early summer is the best time to sell a car, especially a sports car in the UK. I assume it will be the same in New York.

Price heavily dependent on condition and spec. Good place to start is eBay, completed listings. That way you see what people have paid and not just what sellers are asking.
Neil McGurk

I think that ebay is the best place to sell. You get great exposure and more people will see the car who are looking to buy. Of coused there are the problems that come with ebay. Forien buyers who don't understand the cost of shipping and buyers that just don't follow threw. In the last year I have sold three cars on ebay. One that went great, one that I listed twice and one that I am still waiting for the money. As far as the economy goes I think it is a terrible time to sell anything. There are just not as many people out there with money that they are willing to spend. There is a restoration shop down the street from me who had a car on ebay and took it off after a few days. I stoped to see is they had sold the car and they said there was not enough action on the car so they have decieded to wait. The car is a very nice ground up restoration and they said if they can't get 18,000 for the car they will not sell. I have about a dozen A's and someone asked what they are worth. The answer is they are worth what someone else will pay. Unless you are in the restoration business the best thing to do is join NAMGAR and go to a few GT's and have some fun.
GK George

E-bay, NAMGAR and Hemmings will give you the best exposure. Cregslist is OK; I have looked at four cars (MGB-GTs) within the last two weeks. Two were from info. from local club members, one from E-Bay, one from Cregslist. Have not bought any, as of yet, as price and condition don't warrant it.
David Werblow

I have recently tried to sell my MGA twice on e-Bay. I found it very difficult to sell a nice MGA for a fair price. It appears to be that most of the reasonably nice MGA's on eBay go unsold. Some of them have unreasonable reserves. even so, the prices don't get very high. The easy-to-sell cars seem to be those in the $3-$12K range. If the car is worth more than that, and many are, it is difficult to get it sold unless you are willing to take a bath and sell with no reserve. I could have sold my car 3-4 times for $15K. I just think that my car is worth more than that. Some buyers think nothing of buying a fixer upper for 5K and then sinking another 10-15K into it. but they won't give a second look at an 18K-20K car ready to drive.

I'd try to sell it now via several methods. That's what I'm doing. It may take you 6 months or more to find the right buyer. I really don't think the economy will be that much better in 6 months. from NADA values, the value hasn't dropped much, if at all over the last 2 years. Auction (not eBay) prices still seem to be up there.

Good luck.
Chuck Schaefer

Sounds discouraging. Maybe I'll wait till spring, anyway. But then it's got to go. I have a TR4A to finish putting together, too. I'll have an LBC used car lot.
Thank you all for your ideas and advice. I'll keep an eye on ebay prices, though it's hard to tell whether they reflect the broader market, and maybe get some ideas on value.
I hate the idea of taking a bath on it. It's a good, rust-free car with all new systems and paint and it sounds like those aren't selling as well as the less expensive ones are.
I can always use it as transportation in the meantime.
Thanks again.
John
John Vallely

It is funny how people will pay 5000 or 6000 for a car and then take it apart and restore it. It is much cheper to buy a car that is all ready done. The car I sold last week for 6000 was a drivable 1958 MGA. The car drove good, looked ok from a distance and ran fine with good dependability. It had 103000 miles on it but I thought it would be a good car for someebody to have fun with. Instead a restoration shop in Florida bought the car and plans to take it completely apart for restoration.
GK George

I have a TR4A that someone bought in the southern US, drove close to a thousand miles home, and proceded to completely dismantle it. The British car specialist who worked on the frame said there had been really nothing seriously wrong with the car at all.
Problem was, the guy let the body shell sit outside and rust for 8 years and now it's a mess.
I shouldn't criticize. My MG was a basket case and for what I spent restoring it I could have bought one in pretty good shape.
Oh well. We don't get passionate about old Brit sportscars because we're rational.
John
John Vallely

This thread was discussed between 28/10/2010 and 30/10/2010

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.