[DeTomaso] California driver Pantera for sale--full review

Douglas Kelm dakelm at qwest.net
Mon Feb 11 20:24:30 EST 2008


>>>Price a car too cheaply, and it takes on the air of 'too good to be true'.

That's absurd! The car was well documented with an extensive description and dozens of highly detailed pictures. It was also FAIRLY priced. Hell, one could even make the case that it was OVERPRICED! I can only deduce that CA buyers are just plain lazy and/or wallowing in excess cash.
    After all, the actual buyer flew over here from Sweden, spent three days with me and then had the car shipped to Sweden at considerable expense. Why was he willing to expend all those dollars (kroners) when others wouldn't? 


  >>>Because the effort to fly to see you was no greater than the effort to fly anywhere else in the USA.  And I'm sure he could smell a fire sale in the 
   offing--I could. :<(

  Fire sale my ass! He flew here to see my car because it was the particular color/year combination that he wanted. If you thought this was a fire sale, you certainly did little to extinguish the flames :<)



    If California buyers are willing to shell out serious money for cars that can be had for much less in other parts of the country with a little leg work, then I guess it truly is the land of fruits and nuts :<D  


  >>>Well, it's supply and demand.  For years people criticized me for undervaluing cars.  Now some criticize me for overvaluing cars.  But I have a hand (directly or indirectly) in quite a few Pantera sales each year and am thus able to judge, with reasonable accuracy, what a car *should* sell for based on comps (real estate term for items of similar condition in a similar location).  I'm far from infallible on this, of course.

  Should, could and would are three distinctly different scenerios.I guess  it's just my misfortune that you didn't have a hand in this particular sale.

    As for PI Motorsports, I have always felt their cars were 25-33% overpriced. I guess I'm just a cheap bastard!


  >>>Well, I would argue that you are right on both counts! :>)

  PIM has carved themselves a nice niche business of selling cars to people who can't be bothered with the expense and effort to travel all over the place to look at Panteras for sale.  The convenience of one-stop-shopping comes at a hefty price; having said that, all you have to do is fly to visit 2-3 cars, and the expenses of time off work, plane tickets, rental cars, hotel bills etc. quickly mount up, so one can make a business case of paying substantially too much for a given car, vice spending $10K searching for a car and then finally buying one (months, years later?) for $10K less.

  When I bought my car 11 years ago, I did so AFTER visiting the Fun Rally in Las Vegas and, after that, viewing dozens of cars both locally and on various business and pleasure trips around the country. I knew exactly what the market for these cars was and I adjusted my expectations accordingly when viewing each car. In short, I did a lot of due diligence. My car was the first one I actually flew to see, and I knew before hand that if it was accurately represented, I would be driving it home! If buyers want to linit their choices to a concentration of overpriced examples in their immediate vicinity, who am I to dissuade them?

  Doug

  Mike




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