WOW!! This is hard to believe!

[JDP]

Interesting that the Starting Price was 10.5K and 22 minutes after the listing, that bid was made.

Been there, done that. Someone e-mails a offer to but the car for say 15K, the seller has the guy place a bid, than ends the auction early, selling to the high bidder. The guy pays the 15K, ebay get it's correct fees and everyone is happy.

[jlmccuan]

I thought about that, John, but they let the listing run to the end of it's original term. Maybe someone offered a price for the car and the dealer said he'd let them do it over EBay for that price OBO ??

[Bob Andrews]

Sorry Bams, but THAT COLOR????? I love Avanti Gold, but as my wife would say, "looks like a bad day at the crayon factory! :-)
Jim S.

Yep, I stand by my love of that color! I suppose it's possible I wouldn't be as in love if I saw it in person

Now I know why there's so many different crayons in the box

[sweetolbob]

The original price with the $12000 BIN was $19,999. I doubt it sold for $10,000. JDP may be correct that there was a deal worked out but I'm still leary. All you need is one bid placed at $20,000 if the start is $10,000 and if no one else bids than the $10,000 stays. If someone else bids then the first bid climbs to over bid till the max if passed.

If the first auction was all there was then I'd buy John's theory.

I still think that you will see it back by the same seller. Nope, I don't believe in Black Helicopters but I'm pragmatic about these results on Ebay auctions.

Bob

[studefan]

I would say that is a nice car but there are a lot of things incorrect. Also, look at the closeup picture of the front Avanti script and look at the quality of the paint job. Looks like a ton of orange peel. I think you might be unpleasantly surprised seeing this car outside. They always look better under the lights.

[Nelsen Motorsports]

Of course it was! They are worth that without good Paint! I thought it had a high reserve, I guess not!
That car was a real Deal!

The entire car market had the bottom fall out! Cars that were worth 50k 2 years ago are now 10 grand i.e.: 70 Chevelle convertibles, GTOs, EVERYTHING. It is a great time to buy a completed car.

[gohdes]

It is a great time to buy a completed car.

Of course it is, now that I bought a fix-er-upper!!!! Go figure.

[sbca96]

The entire car market had the bottom fall out! Cars that were worth 50k 2 years ago are now 10 grand i.e.: 70 Chevelle convertibles, GTOs, EVERYTHING. It is a great time to buy a completed car.

Its not anywhere near that bad, the prices are still sound for quality cars, just
buyers are being much more picky and weeding out the garbage. There were
a LOT of bad financial moves in the last 10 years, both in the car market and
in the house market. Inflated values have leveled out, but certainly not by the
difference you are stating .. 1/5 the value? I think not.

You just wont see people plunking down 25 grand on a rusted out '69 Camaro
and feeling they got a good deal. I couldnt believe the utter CRAP we looked
at when trying to find a replacement 4th gen Camaro for my wife 2 years ago.
So many liars out there, those are the prices you see dropping.

Tom

[sbca96]

They also have an Australian built GTO for sale. These have ben talked about on this forum. I personally do not like them, but some others do, but not enough people bought them as new cars.

Thats actually GMs fault, not the car, and they actually sold rather well for a limited
market, over priced car against the best looking Mustang ever made. The GTO was
intended from the start as a 3 year model, just like the Impala SS if the 90s and the
Shoebox in the 50s. The 2006 GTOs sat on lots for a while, which made it seem as
though they were poor sellers, but thats the fear of a model being discontinued that
was at work. The GTO was/is an awesome car, and seems to be going though a
sort of rediscovery right now. I have people stare, point and give thumbs up, to the
level I forget I am NOT driving the Avanti. They are well built, solid cars that put down
great numbers, handle nice, ride good, and get close to 30 mpg highway. I now have
99,000 miles on mine ... which BTW I am sitting in as I type this message.

Tom

[jackb]

just goes to show..."a fool and his money".....if in fact it "is" sold....And just a thought.....: is there anyone here that believes home and car prices are going UP in the next 5+ years....????...I return to the "fool" theory. People are just praying that they can tread water with homes and cars. Even Bernanke said he was ready for the downturn coming and had tools to offset it.........Nice Avantis & Hawks for around $5-7K in a few years (and my nice 37K original 63' Cruiser ..maybe $2K.......but I don't need 3 cars.....

[woodysrods]

If auction was real, someone got a deal. How did this one slip under the radar?
Brian

[556063]

Late model, low mile used car prices are shooting through the roof. Just saw by as much as 30% compared to last year. It's all supply and demand. A new car can actually make more financial sense than a 1-2 year old new car today. But, many buyers have been conditioned to never think about new and will still feel better with a used car. Even if the savings aren't there anymore.

As for collector cars, the average hobbyist's buy, a #2 or #3 class car, will experiece many fewer buyers until the unemployment rate goes down. The primo-pedigreed stuff will continue to hold it's own. To compare it to the New Car market, look at BMW, Mercedes, etc. All the luxury makes are doing well. Quite well, with double digit increases. The rest of the market is treading water.

It may be the best opportunity to buy a nice #2 or #3 car right now! OR, it might not, if you believe the worst. That is the question hanging over every average Joe's head, and what's keeping him out of the market for the most part right now.

It's definitely not the time to sell. If I'm going down, I'm taking my cars with me anyway!

[Bob Andrews]

It may be the best opportunity to buy a nice #2 or #3 car right now! OR, it might not, if you believe the worst. That is the question hanging over every average Joe's head

So true. In planning my course of action in business looking ahead 6, 12, 24 months and beyond, it's very tough to tell. The rhetoric is what it is, but I cannot afford to listen, especially when you look at the recent track record of truth- and honesty- of those in charge. I look at those in the real world- my network of large business owners, banking industry execs, and investment experts. I've been right on thus far, but tomorrow could be the day I become the bug instead of the windshield. All we can do is educate ourselves, and go with our best guess.

[sbca96]

when you look at the recent track record of truth- and honesty- of those in charge.

True that, Cash 4 Clunkers sent over 2 billion in US tax payers money to Japan
because the current administration has no backbone. This hurt domestic sales
and cost those of us that pay taxes about 20k+ per car. It also took RUNNING
cars out of the used car market, and it what made the late model used cars go
through the roof. Most can not afford a new car, regardless of incentives, so it
hurt everyone across the board : even those that got in on the "deal" and have
a loan they might be having trouble paying on a foreign car they didn't need due
to getting caught up in the excitement of "free money". I was shocked to see
how many Corvettes were turned in for 3500 dollars, these would have easily
fetched twice that in the open market. This took EFI engines out of the system
that could have improved the efficiency of older cars, since they had to be ruined
as part of the turn in program. Then you have the fools that got caught up in
the housing market frenzy 5 or so years ago getting loans they could not afford
for homes they should never have been in to begin with. The banks dump them
for considerably less than they are worth killing the value of the homes around.
This is how I ended up with my psychotic neighbor that has threatened to kill
me which the Police will do nothing about.

The lemmings got us here in the home loan meltdown, and now they hurt the
car market .. and they voted Mr HopeNChange into office. Scary times.

Tom

[unclemiltie]

I once owned this car, I sold it on EBAY 5 or 6 years ago for $11,000 to a guy in Houston. It was not a bad car at all,. I bought it from a friend whom had bought it at auction. The color and the funky 3rd stop light in the trunk tells me it is the same car. It ran good. My friend claimed it belonged to a Stude Mechanic . The reason I bought it was he needed money and offered me a deal I good not refuse. The color helped me determine I should sell it and keep my 67 avanti.