Did anyone see this? Another hack job at Mecum goes for $51,500!

[kevken1959]

Inflation is driving the prices up. Consider what it costs for body and paint, especially if major repairs are needed. The cost of rebuilding mechanical aspects and interior, it’s easy to have $50,000 or more in a car.
I am not saying the car in question is or isn’t worth it, I just think it’s time to rethink the value of our mustangs. We all have cars that range in rarity and quality from low to high, so ask yourself, what would it cost to replace your car as it is in today’s money?

Excellent point cj. I'm in the middle of restoring five 71-73s and everything is sky high now and probably will be forever. Paint and materials cost are through the roof, labor costs are ridiculous, and shipping costs are unreal. Remember the days when you could buy anything off Amazon or Ebay and not have to pay taxes?!

 

[Spike Morelli]

There was a time when I'd shun all of the modified mustangs, restomods, hack jobs, and just plain beaters. But.....the reality sandwich of it all, is that every time someone "F's" up their Mustang, it only makes my cherry stocker worth more.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

I have never been a fan of Mecum. That auction tends to present a lot cars that are worthy of being sold at the local shady used car lot. I would not call the Mustang in question a total hack job. It does leave a lot to be desired for what they were asking. The painted chrome front bumper would be a dealer breaker for me just on principal. That was really a $25K- 30K car.
Ron

 

[Mister 4x4]

I noticed that the dash trim bezels originally had the deluxe chrome trim, but were just painted over (and not very well). 351-4V (in an H-Code) and added on Ram Air (with the wrong Ram Air decals on the hood). The front spoiler wasn't installed correctly, and yeah - painted chrome front bumper makes the front end look a bit weird. Also didn't take the time to put the proper black trim in the taillights denoting a '72-'72. Disappointing in the details, and over-priced, but looks like a decent car, otherwise.

Far be it for me to complain about a chrome front bumper on a Mach 1.

 

[cjstaci]

Excellent point cj. I'm in the middle of restoring five 71-73s and everything is sky high now and probably will be forever. Paint and materials cost are through the roof, labor costs are ridiculous, and shipping costs are unreal. Remember the days when you could buy anything off Amazon or Ebay and not have to pay taxes?!

I noticed that the dash trim bezels originally had the deluxe chrome trim, but were just painted over (and not very well). 351-4V (in an H-Code) and added on Ram Air (with the wrong Ram Air decals on the hood). The front spoiler wasn't installed correctly, and yeah - painted chrome front bumper makes the front end look a bit weird. Also didn't take the time to put the proper black trim in the taillights denoting a '72-'72. Disappointing in the details, and over-priced, but looks like a decent car, otherwise.

Far be it from me to complain about a chrome front bumper on a Mach 1.

Did anyone notice the trunk gap? Makes me wonder what’s hiding under the paint.

 

[71coop]

I have yet to see the average restoration of any 60s/70s car come out totally flawlessly. More often than not, people are trying to resurrect a car that would have otherwise been headed for a junk yard. No to mention that the gaps on these cars were not perfect out of the factory.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I have yet to see the average restoration of any 60s/70s car come out totally flawlessly. More often than not, people are trying to resurrect a car that would have otherwise been headed for a junk yard. No to mention that the gaps on these cars were not perfect out of the factory.

Agreed. I know mine's not perfect, and literally should've been sent to the junkyard, but at least my gaps aren't THAT bad, I'm sticking with as many correct options, and my car doesn't misrepresent itself when bounced against the VIN and/or Marti report.

 

[gcombez]

Guys, the car is worth what someone will give for it, period. If the shoe were on the other foot, would we not want "our car" to bring top $?
Lets be happy for one of us big nose car guys getting a home run (and a bag of peanuts to boot)!
Just saying.

 

[71coop]

Agreed. I know mine's not perfect, and literally should've been sent to the junkyard, but at least my gaps aren't THAT bad, I'm sticking with as many correct options, and my car doesn't misrepresent itself when bounced against the VIN and/or Marti report.

This car is rougher than the price suggests it should be, but I don't thing it was "misrepresented". Who really cares if the gaps aren't perfect or it has the wrong bumper?

I'm amazed at how quickly a 50-year old driver quality car gets bashed just because it performed better than expected at auction. Auctions are a terrible indicator of average market price anyway.

Guys, the car is worth what someone will give for it, period. If the shoe were on the other foot, would we not want "our car" to bring top $?
Lets be happy for one of us big nose car guys getting a home run (and a bag of peanuts to boot)!
Just saying.

Totally agree!

 

[72MustangSprint]

This car is rougher than the price suggests it should be, but I don't thing it was "misrepresented". Who really cares if the gaps aren't perfect or it has the wrong bumper?

I'm amazed at how quickly a 50-year old driver quality car gets bashed just because it performed better than expected at auction. Auctions are a terrible indicator of average market price anyway.

Totally agree!

The saying “buyer beware @ applies to all car sales

 

[cjstaci]

Some excellent points. For most of us in this forum, we have knowledge and expectations of what these cars should be and we all have opinions on what they shouldn’t be. Many buyers out there don’t have the same knowledge and opinions. Some people have so much money that what seems highly priced to us may be a drop in the bucket to them. Auctions are especially difficult because you don’t have the time to inspect the cars as closely as you should and many rely on the information provided and not everyone knows what to look for, so the bottom line is always “ buyer beware “.
One last note, if you sold your car today, could you buy another in the same condition for same amount? I think our cars are worth more in today’s economy due to inflation and desirability.

 

[BUCKWHEAT]

Some excellent points. For most of us in this forum, we have knowledge and expectations of what these cars should be and we all have opinions on what they shouldn’t be. Many buyers out there don’t have the same knowledge and opinions. Some people have so much money that what seems highly priced to us may be a drop in the bucket to them. Auctions are especially difficult because you don’t have the time to inspect the cars as closely as you should and many rely on the information provided and not everyone knows what to look for, so the bottom line is always “ buyer beware “.
One last note, if you sold your car today, could you buy another in the same condition for same amount? I think our cars are worth more in today’s economy due to inflation and desirability.

Your 'desirability' point is appropriate but is temporal. There are some great Model A fords out there 'cheap' only because the people that admired them are dead. Our Mustangs are on that timeline since the 'kids' now are growing up admiring cars with computers. A kid who was 20 in 1973 is 70 today and can pay good money for a Gen 1 Mustang. The question is in what year will our Mustang-lover demographic be gone?

 

[cjstaci]

Your 'desirability' point is appropriate but is temporal. There are some great Model A fords out there 'cheap' only because the people that admired them are dead. Our Mustangs are on that timeline since the 'kids' now are growing up admiring cars with computers. A kid who was 20 in 1973 is 70 today and can pay good money for a Gen 1 Mustang. The question is in what year will our Mustang-lover demographic be gone?

You might be right but there are a lot of younger people out there that like muscle cars, but maybe just too expensive for many of them at this time. I am almost 65 so I feel like my timeline is limited too

 

[Mister 4x4]

This car is rougher than the price suggests it should be, but I don't thing it was "misrepresented". Who really cares if the gaps aren't perfect or it has the wrong bumper?

For THAT kind of money for an H-Code, it had better well be spot-on and correct! This seller wants people to think it's a more valuable M-Code (351C-4V) car from initial impression.

How many H-Codes have you ever seen with 351-4V engines? Granted, it's probably either 'just a decal' mistake, or there's a [non-original] 4bbl intake & carb under the [probably not original] Ram Air air cleaner... but it's crappy attention to detail being rewarded by pulling big-bucks at auction. Think of it like this: how would this car score at an MCA Judged event? The higher the score, the more money it's worth. This one would have all sorts of mark-downs because of the errors and choices made during restoration and probably wouldn't rack up more than 75 points with an MCA Judge. Given the going rates for these cars, do you honestly think a 75-point car is worth top-dollar? It's an H-Code, after all... not a Boss 351 or 429 Mach 1.

People also watch these auctions on TV and get inspired when the overpriced cars are pulling big money - now they think they have something special worth more money because they saw it on TV. So actually, auctions are a pretty good indicator of what's acceptable for pricing - top-dollar for lesser cars drives up the going rate. It's called 'inflation.'

Here's an entirely plausible scenario: If you were selling your just as nice faithfully restored car at the same auction, and this one pulled in more money (with all its mistakes), would you still be as forgiving? (I have no aspirations of ever selling mine, so I have no qualms making these observations and calling B.S. on shenanigans of this sort).

Again, other than those inaccuracies, it seems like a solid car - I don't have a problem with that all, in fact I'm happy to see them getting more attention, and this one seems nice enough (warts and all). I have a problem with the misrepresentation, inflation, and apparent acceptance of the same. My opinion.

 

[71coop]

I agree this was overpriced - I never said anything different.

My only real issue is with insinuating the seller a liar. How did he (or she) misrepresent the car? I saw no evidence of misrepresentation. Certainly the car is both overpriced and not "correct", but saw no description on the auction website claiming this was a factory correct restoration.

As someone else here said, Buyer beware, but that doesn't mean the seller is a liar. The car has lots of obvious minor issues that could be fixed with a little time and attention, and the seller got lucky at an auction that most people know tends to overprice average cars. So what?

I'm done venting - out.

 

[cjstaci]

I agree this was overpriced - I never said anything different.

My only real issue is with insinuating the seller a liar. How did he (or she) misrepresent the car? I saw no evidence of misrepresentation. Certainly the car is both overpriced and not "correct", but saw no description on the auction website claiming this was a factory correct restoration.

As someone else here said, Buyer beware, but that doesn't mean the seller is a liar. The car has lots of obvious minor issues that could be fixed with a little time and attention, and the seller got lucky at an auction that most people know tends to overprice average cars. So what?

I'm done venting - out.

When I said buyer beware, I didn’t mean to insinuate there was any dishonesty, I just meant as a buyer you need to do your due diligence for condition and value. The car was worth the price to the buyer. When I see what other vehicles sell for I have to think everything has gone up in price. an example from bring a trailer

 

[71coop]

When I said buyer beware, I didn’t mean to insinuate there was any dishonesty, I just meant as a buyer you need to do your due diligence for condition and value. The car was worth the price to the buyer. When I see what other vehicles sell for I have to think everything has gone up in price. View attachment 85401 an example from bring a trailer

I agree, and that's exactly how i took your post. I don't blame the seller - The buyer needs to know what he or she is getting into. I was just hung up on others suggesting the seller was somehow trying to rip people off. I think he got lucky.

 

[detritusmaximus]

I agree, and that's exactly how i took your post. I don't blame the seller - The buyer needs to know what he or she is getting into. I was just hung up on others suggesting the seller was somehow trying to rip people off. I think he got lucky.

The other part of 'Buyer Beware'...is when you, the buyer, sell yourself on the purchase and don't see what you really need to see.

 

[cjstaci]

The other part of 'Buyer Beware'...is when you, the buyer, sell yourself on the purchase and don't see what you really need to see.

Even with its flaws, it’s a sharp looking car. Good color and my favorite part is the polyglas tires. I could see someone getting hung up on its looks and selling themselves on it.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I agree this was overpriced - I never said anything different.

My only real issue is with insinuating the seller a liar. How did he (or she) misrepresent the car? I saw no evidence of misrepresentation. Certainly the car is both overpriced and not "correct", but saw no description on the auction website claiming this was a factory correct restoration.

As someone else here said, Buyer beware, but that doesn't mean the seller is a liar. The car has lots of obvious minor issues that could be fixed with a little time and attention, and the seller got lucky at an auction that most people know tends to overprice average cars. So what?

I'm done venting - out.

Take a pill - we're not arguing here, just stating our opinions that happen to differ.

For instance, unless you're familiar with the car and/or the owner, I would almost have to assume the owner's not being completely honest. I admit that I'm jaded on these things because when I was working out the details on getting my pile (and it was), the seller was a wanna-be flipper, and not very slick about it - if it weren't for the information I found on this site, I wouldn't have known just how far his lies were off the deep end.

This car is a gift that keeps on giving. Anybody else notice the taillight panel's color? Makes me wonder between that, the 'Ram Air' decals, 351C-4V decals, and the wrong front bumper if someone chickened out about trying to pass it off as a Boss 351 at some point. Stickers and paint are cheap and go a long way, since they're the first things people see when shopping online.