Lincolns and typical value

[swmddo]

Totally agree. I am enjoying this as my major retirement project, although it is taking much more time than I expected. It's the journey more than the destination that makes it fun for me.

Steve

[pixelfighter]

I'm looking to let my 67 Continental Convertible go, I just don't have the time/energy to work on restoring it. Any idea what it's worth?

Photos are here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/H59DXjmjEG7tvQAg7

White top, Spanish Moss Paint with matching leather interior & white wall tires.
462 Police Interceptor Engine.
Clean title. Mileage show 15k (actual mileage is probably around 120-125k).

Top:
Top does not operate correctly as the z-bar is broken. All top motors work otherwise. Top vinyl is shot. Weather stripping is shot. Trunk and tonneau cover motors work and operate correctly.

Interior:
The leather is shot, split in several areas. Carpet is falling apart in some areas. Dashboard is cracked at vent. Rearview mirror has come off the window and is broken. All the electric windows work, including the wing windows. Headlight switch malfunctions. The original radio works but the 8track player function does not. Power antenna works.

Body:
Rust spots and oxidized paint in various areas. There's damage to right rear quarter panel. See photos for examples.

Engine:
The car does not run. The water pump failed. The fuel pump is not stock. Speedometer cable is broken. Cruise control bellows is broken. AC not working. Missing radiator shroud and the stock fan was replaced with an electric fan.
Exhaust is not stock.

Car history:
I am the third owner. I've owned the car for about twenty years. I've put a new transmission in the car and replaced the top once. I did have an alarm and car stereo installed in the early two-thousands, the alarm is wired to the top so it can be lowered remotely. Both the stereo and alarm have since been disconnected. The vacuum locks were removed and replaced with solenoid locks (also wired to the alarm).
The car was in an accident in 2006, the front grill, bumper, headlights, body panels, and radiator were rebuilt and/or replaced. The body shop did a cheap job on the paint and I believe they clogged up the drainage holes which is causing some of the rust.
I have several years worth of receipts, as well as a box of extra parts, and a shop manual.

Photos here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/H59DXjmjEG7tvQAg7

[action]

Until I got to the engine doesn't run, it was a old convertible with issues.

While the convertible and interior are expensive, (So is the whole damn car) at least they are visible pieces that one can touch or see and say that is shot or that is good or that is some where in between. The engine can be a mystery as stuff inside can not be seen. So the engine goes from no big deal needs a tune up, to oh my I thought I could get off the shelf internal engine parts. So even a poorly running engine takes some of mystery out of the mix. With a non-running engine most buyers (at least I would) go to the conclusion that the engine needs $10,000 or more in overhaul work. Well at least an educated buyer might go there. Expecially the conservative luxury classic car buyer. Which was where this car went to market originally. Then there is no indication if the transmission is any good or there are other driveline issues because the engine doesn't run. Same can be said for some of the accessories that need a running engine.

Then there are buyers that pull the trigger on emotion. If they have the bank and they see it and like it, the price (within reason) can be pretty high. The issue is this type of buyer usually isn't plentiful. However there are more of them out there doing resto-mods on a slab sides than there used to be.

Lastly there is you. If your circumstances are such the car needs to be gone yesterday that becomes a pricing factor.

I know I didn't directly answer your question but those are factors. Getting the engine to run even badly brings the value up. At least find a good battery so you can show a buyer EASILY the engine is not locked up. If you want to give it away, leave it the way it is. And some one will either make an emotional decision, beat you up for the lowest price possible or walk because there are too many unknowns.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[LithiumCobalt]

OK guys, put your critics hats on. This car caught my eye when browsing through FleaBay. Color combination looks gorgeous. Spoke with the seller who is a consignment dealer. Obvious issues that I can see from the listing is the headlight door motors need rebuilt, which is about a $700 job. Exterior looks VERY nice. Has had one respray a few years ago. Interior looks pretty decent, too, with the typical dried out seat bottoms and warping armrest vinyl. Dealer did not know whether the cruise control worked and said A/C not blowing cold. Car could be made to be really nice, but unless things have really gone up, I'd probably be in the $10k area on this car. Just too much to do for the price they are asking. Guessing my offer will not be taken seriously considering the gap. I should have asked if there were service records available to prove the claimed 57k miles. Thoughts?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-Lincoln-C ... 000%7C2500

[action]

At $21 and a half the car may not be for sale.

It is clean, especially the underside and under the hood. (BTW I think the underside of the hood is supposed to be bodycolor not black) But that may have all been worked over.

Plusses-
Speed control
Auto dim head lights
Factory floor mats in the correct color - the floor mats may be more expensive to find now than any of the 2 above
It is a well optioned ride which can mean it was well cared for

For cars of this age low mileage starts to have less meaning at least for me
The seller is hanging his hat on the factory markings. And those can be reproduced easily.
The brake pedal has some wear - that is a cheap thing to replace
The trunk carpet has staining (why that is cheap to replace too)
The re-spray looks different than the inside of the fuel filler door
The exhaust system looks brand new or certainly newer so some work has been done on this 60,000 mile ride.
I think there is supposed to be a pencil think body side stripe that follows a body side crease

I would be more concerned about the seats and the AC than the head light covers
The head lamp covers come standard with leaks

$5k less may be more in my opinion

>>>>>Action

[Mike]

Its nice looking but I don't see it being worth the price. I think your 10k price on it is alright, maybe upto 14 or so. And that's if things don't look any different when you see it in person.

[bubba2246]

So it’s 2020 and I’m seeing the value of the 64 convertibles all over the place .. there is a site USA classified for all that has nice restored 64’s for 19-25 k . I’m thinking there is no way this can be right. Any body want to weigh in on what the value seems to be doing in 2020.

On the other hand I see 40k plus On other sites.

Bryan

[LithiumCobalt]

Prices are really all over the place. It really depends heavily on what has been done to a car and how it was done. There was a ‘65 convertible restored by Rich Liana that sold for an astounding $330,000 recently at one of the big auction venues. I see absolutely stupid asking prices for a lot of modified cars that I wouldn’t consider spending a tenth of what they are asking, but there are people that will pay those prices. With all that said, it’s difficult to give a generality of the larger market. Each car really has to be assessed individually. In my opinion, $19-25k for a restored 64 convertible sounds very low. I’d would seriously question the quality of the car overall and the claimed restoration. One can spend $10k alone on a nice paint jobs for one of these. I’ve got $25k into my ‘67 sedan doing most of the work myself and it is not a show car. In my opinion, the numbers just don’t add up.

[Mike]

They can be tough to price. Condition and what's been done to them plays a big factor. Also how desperate some one is to sell. It's a lot smaller market compared to some cars but also more popular then a lot others.
Ones that have been heavily modified can be very tough to sell unless someone is looking for exactly what's been done. Plus then you have to factor in the potential unknown quality of work.
If you spend a bit of time checking out ads you'll get an idea of what you want is worth.

[mannye]

I'm looking at a pretty clean 1978 Lincoln town car that's in Orlando. The seller wants $28K which I think is way too much. It's a clean car with 77K on the odometer, but it doesn't even have the leather interior. It's triple black, which I like, but once I see it, if it looks like there's no rust and the undercarriage is really clean, I might make a 19-20K offer on it.

Am I in the ballpark for a good clean original paint 1978 Continental Town Car? I'd hate to pay more if I can get a way better deal in another part of the country and ship. Florida can get stupid with car prices.

[mannye]

I'm looking at a pretty clean 1978 Lincoln town car that's in Orlando. The seller wants $28K which I think is way too much. It's a clean car with 77K on the odometer, but it doesn't even have the leather interior. It's triple black, which I like, but once I see it, if it looks like there's no rust and the undercarriage is really clean, I might make a 19-20K offer on it.

Am I in the ballpark for a good clean original paint 1978 Continental Town Car? I'd hate to pay more if I can get a way better deal in another part of the country and ship. Florida can get stupid with car prices.

[action]

Classic car prices have gone up a lot in the last 24 months.

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[LithiumCobalt]

For $28k, a 1978 would have to be close to museum quality. and even then still sounds high. I happen to like the '77 better due to a number of things and would pay more for one. In '78 the cost-cutting started - thinner window glass, Mercury instrumentation and dash with lots of plastic in it, etc, etc. There was a low mileage '79 Collectors Series that looked exquisite that was listed on Ebay a short time ago and the seller was willing to part with it for $23,500. That sounds a bit more reasonable. Anyways, for the biggest money being asked, I'd expect a car to have many if not all the options, desirable color combination, original details that are evident, etc. Scrutinize heavily for this kind of money.

[mannye]

For $28k, a 1978 would have to be close to museum quality. and even then still sounds high. I happen to like the '77 better due to a number of things and would pay more for one. In '78 the cost-cutting started - thinner window glass, Mercury instrumentation and dash with lots of plastic in it, etc, etc. There was a low mileage '79 Collectors Series that looked exquisite that was listed on Ebay a short time ago and the seller was willing to part with it for $23,500. That sounds a bit more reasonable. Anyways, for the biggest money being asked, I'd expect a car to have many if not all the options, desirable color combination, original details that are evident, etc. Scrutinize heavily for this kind of money.

This is what I was thinking. Add to that the fact that the interior is velour instead of leather and I'm looking at a $20K car here I think. The triple black is desirable, but the year and interior is not. I'll go see it next month. My guess is that at that price it's going to sit for a long time.

I want a fun daily driver for a year or two until used car prices go back down. I figure I can roll around Miami in the big Town Car for a while. But if a coupe or Mark V shows up, I'll happily drive one of those around too.

[action]

I want a fun daily driver for a year or two until used car prices go back down.

That is optimistic!

The current economy is operating on lots of demand (people want and are spending more) and lowered supply because the pandemic shut down capacity for a bit and some parts have still not fully recovered.
The supply side of the classic car world is rather stable. Yeah some new old car gets put out on the street. Or someone has the unthinkable a car crash.

So you are banking on demand. And demand changes with the economy.
If you are correct, I am buying too. No matter what my wife says

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