Topic: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

In my search for odd Lemons worthy cars I found this.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1448749528.html
Is there anyone who would pay almost $9k for this car who has not already been duped out of their money by other worthless ventures?
I wonder if I could negotiate the price down to $1k. I suppose it would not matter because who would believe that someone had spent more than $500 on such a dubious car in the first place! Even though I have posted this here, the next questions is, who would care?
Feel free to comment on the race worthiness of this car, or share other unloved and badly overpriced cars (import and domestic) here. Perhaps we can find the definitive overpriced CL crapcan.
It is too bad that Craigslist is not a commercial venture. An endorsement of some sort would have been a natural with Lemons. It seems that it is our job to buy up all the worst crap on in!

Fear the posing monkey!

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

I was talking with a friend a few days ago about very nearly the exact same thing.  More specifically, we were talking about the general misguided notion, shared by many CL sellers, that the piece of junk rotting away in their driveway  is somehow collectible by mere dint, apparently, of being over 20 years old and not being in a junkyard (although perhaps many of these cars should be).  For example: a not-running/not-driving, rusty, dented, wiring-harness-hacked-apart-to-install-a-"boomin' system"-then-crimped-twisted-and-taped-back-together-fire-waiting-to-happen, "blown turbo"-having 1985 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z is NOT, I repeat NOT, a collector's item, nor is it worth $1500.  It is not worth 10% of the asking price except maybe as scrap metal.  And this guy is just one of countless others out there who think (hope?  pray?) that they're sitting on gold.  There was a downtrodden Fuego Turbo posted in the cars for sale section of this board a week or two back.  The guy was asking $3000 for it!  I see it's on eBay right now for a starting bid of $800.  Still no takers.

While the Abarth is admittedly a rare sight on this side of the pond, it's still overpriced.  I'd make him an offer this week and hold the phone away from your ear while he swears at you.  Then call him back in a month or two, when it's still unsold, and make the offer again.

Enjoy every sandwich.

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

There was an Autobianchi 112 in Saugus, Mass for $1900 in about the same condition-- really clean.

Drove one when I was in Sicily. Fun, peppy little cars. i would motorpace one of my cycling buddies with it when he was prepping for worlds.

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

I found a Fiat 131 for a much more reasonable price. I wonder if I could wedge a rotary engine in it and still make budget. That might be a fun car to drive!

Fear the posing monkey!

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

That car has been for sale for at least a couple of years, and the price never changes.

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

Look at this beauty!
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/1439244885.html
I wish I knew more about old British cars. If I did, I would know what a bad idea that car is, but to me it looks like a race car!

Fear the posing monkey!

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

Murly sent me a link to a Renault.

The link expired but it was like the tub of a 50's or 60's Renault without an engine.  Hell, it may have only been a body.  Guy thought it was worth $500 or something. 

Now I am not a Renault expert but to me it looked like scrap metal, not a collectors item.

The guy I got the 280ZX I scraped for our build was shocked when i told him I thought the car was to far gone.  I was literally pulling it apart winching it on the trailer with a come along.  I think the wet carpet offered more structural rigidity than the remains of the floor pans.

Troy

#35 LRE
1973 Datsun 240Z

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

I have seen one too many Z's that was about to separate at the a-pillar. You guys that race those rust buckets are brave!

Fear the posing monkey!

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

That GT6 looks like exactly the kind of car project that leads to divorce and ruin.

But it would be fun to shoehorn something really powerful into that shell. Too bad my driveway and garage are full of crapped out MR2's that have also drained my wallet or else Mrs. Mulry would have a new project car on her hands...

Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67

Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.

10 (edited by smackela 2009-11-09 08:07 AM)

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

Looks like the guy in Colorado Springs with the Fuego Turbo finally got a clue.  He relisted his "$3000" crapcan on ebay yesterday with a starting bid of $200!

Enjoy every sandwich.

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

mr2by4 wrote:

I have seen one too many Z's that was about to separate at the a-pillar. You guys that race those rust buckets are brave!

Funny you mention that, the 240Z I picked up recently has almost lost 1 of it's A-pillars to rust.

I got a pretty decent body for free so the two will become 1.

Troy

#35 LRE
1973 Datsun 240Z

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

Troy wrote:
mr2by4 wrote:

I have seen one too many Z's that was about to separate at the a-pillar. You guys that race those rust buckets are brave!

Funny you mention that, the 240Z I picked up recently has almost lost 1 of it's A-pillars to rust.

I got a pretty decent body for free so the two will become 1.

Strange.  I've seen some REALLY rusty Z cars, but none with any rust in the A pillars.  They all rotted in the floorpan/framerail area.  The '75 that I planned on racing was so far gone that it had nothing from the cowl all the way down the firewall and back to the rear suspension on the right side, yet when I cut up and scrapped the car, the A pillar was still like new.

BRE Datsun (Broke Racing Effluence) formerly Dawn of the Zed Racing
'74 260Z
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/editpicture.php … 2559430584

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

I did not mean that the a-pillar was rotten, but that the rail just in front of the a-pillar was bad and that the nose and passenger compartment were about to go their separate ways. They also had some rot in the pillar area itself, but the rails were soft enough that the cars sagged.

Fear the posing monkey!

Re: Looking for Lemons in all the wrong Places

I'd say that if a fully caged car is sagging, there's a problem with the cage.

I find the rotted A pillar on the recent 240Z acquisition pretty odd.  The floors have been cut out.  On quarter panel looks pretty good while the other is a bit rusty but both have good wheel well arches.  It's all kinda strange.

Troy

#35 LRE
1973 Datsun 240Z