[DeTomaso] Selling my Pantera

[audionut at hushmail.com]

Hearing about this kind of thing breaks my heart. Beg, borrow, or
steal.  Run to the hills.  Do not sell the car. 
Sent using Hushmail
On May 29, 2015 at 12:12 PM, "Mike Drew via DeTomaso"  wrote:In a
message dated 5/28/15 20 31 47, jskeane6 at gmail.com writes:
> 
> Due to an impending divorce, I'm thinking about selling my 1974
L-model.
> 
>>>I wish you wouldn't.

First of all, I'm profoundly sorry to hear of the difficulties in your

personal life.   It can't be pleasant to have to consider such things.
  
Although I've never experienced it myself, I've witnessed it far too
many times.

One bit of advice I can offer is that I have never, EVER seen somebody
in 
your position who sold his Pantera because he thought he needed to,
and then 
later didn't live to regret that decision.   To a man, every one I
know who 
sold his Pantera because he thought he needed the money for something
else 
(whatever it was), upon reflection decided that it was a big mistake,
that 
the money could have come from elsewhere, or whatever it was needed
for wasn't 
nearly as important as having the Pantera.   The Pantera is a rapidly 
appreciating asset; financially you would be much better off
determining its 
current value and then settling with cash based on that.
> >It's a pretty typical Pantera, in that it's not set up as a race
car
> with a 427 in it or anything, but I've done a number of upgrades to
make
> it reliable. I live in Arizona, so I've upgraded the fans and
radiator
> (Ron Hall Racing aluminum radiator) which keeps the engine cool even
> when idling in the Arizona summer heat. I've also upgraded the
> alternator to a high-amp model, replaced the reciprocal York air
> conditioning compressor with a modern (and much more lightweight)
> centrifugal design, and put Aussie heads on the engine for better
> airflow. The interior was replaces about 10 years ago, and looks
good
> although not factory fresh.
> 
> I'm thinking about asking $39,000 for it. Is that realistic in
today's
> market?
> 
>>>That is totally UN-realistic.   A nice, decent, solid Pantera is at

least a $65-70K proposition in today's overheated market.   While that
might not 
be true tomorrow, it's certainly true today.   

FWIW, in the last few months two PCNC members elected to sell their
cars 
blindly, through dealers.   The first one sold his to a dealer for
$42.5K 
(*less* than he paid for it a few years ago, and he subsequently spent
money on 
it improving it).   The dealer flipped it in less than two weeks for
$72.5K.

DUH!!!

Now, this week, another PCNC member decided to sell his car without 
contacting anybody in the club first.   I don't know what he sold it
for, but it 
has been sold to a well-known Ferrari broker, who is actually looking
at it 
right now.   A potential local buyer is planning on meeting him at the
car, 
and there is a good chance that the car will be sold on the spot.   If
the 
original seller had just contacted the club, the buyer would have been
sent 
over there and a deal could have been done where the seller got more
money for 
his car, and the buyer paid less.

Double-DUH!

If you are committed to selling your car, you're doing it the right
way, 
reaching out to the community of current and would-be owners.   The
world is 
small enough now that we don't need to rely on brokers and agents, who

collect large commissions for the work that they do.   I don't
begrudge them their 
profit when they are doing a bunch of work to earn it, but in your
case, 
it's unnecessary.

I do hope you'll reconsider selling it however.   If you just don't
like 
the car anymore and want to be rid of it, that's one thing--in fact
that is 
the ONLY reason you should be thinking of selling it.   Otherwise, do
whatever 
it takes to keep it, even if it means short-term financial hardship.  
In 
the long run you will definitely be happier, not to mention the fact
that the 
car will be worth substantially more if things continue as they have
been 
recently.

And if you really, *really* want to sell the car, send me photos and 
information, as I have a number of people looking for good cars at the
moment.   
While most are interested in Pre-L cars, at least one is dedicated to
a good, 
solid L-model.

But I'd prefer that he find and buy a car from somebody other than
you. :>)

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   Hearing about this kind of thing breaks my heart.



   Beg, borrow, or steal.  Run to the hills.  Do not sell the car.

   Sent using Hushmail
   On May 29, 2015 at 12:12 PM, "Mike Drew via DeTomaso"
   <detomaso at poca.com> wrote:

     In a message dated 5/28/15 20 31 47, jskeane6 at gmail.com writes:
     >
     > Due to an impending divorce, I'm thinking about selling my 1974
     L-model.
     >
     >>>I wish you wouldn't.
     First of all, I'm profoundly sorry to hear of the difficulties in
     your
     personal life. It can't be pleasant to have to consider such things.
     Although I've never experienced it myself, I've witnessed it far too
     many times.
     One bit of advice I can offer is that I have never, EVER seen
     somebody in
     your position who sold his Pantera because he thought he needed to,
     and then
     later didn't live to regret that decision. To a man, every one I
     know who
     sold his Pantera because he thought he needed the money for
     something else
     (whatever it was), upon reflection decided that it was a big
     mistake, that
     the money could have come from elsewhere, or whatever it was needed
     for wasn't
     nearly as important as having the Pantera. The Pantera is a rapidly
     appreciating asset; financially you would be much better off
     determining its
     current value and then settling with cash based on that.
     > >It's a pretty typical Pantera, in that it's not set up as a race
     car
     > with a 427 in it or anything, but I've done a number of upgrades
     to make
     > it reliable. I live in Arizona, so I've upgraded the fans and
     radiator
     > (Ron Hall Racing aluminum radiator) which keeps the engine cool
     even
     > when idling in the Arizona summer heat. I've also upgraded the
     > alternator to a high-amp model, replaced the reciprocal York air
     > conditioning compressor with a modern (and much more lightweight)
     > centrifugal design, and put Aussie heads on the engine for better
     > airflow. The interior was replaces about 10 years ago, and looks
     good
     > although not factory fresh.
     >
     > I'm thinking about asking $39,000 for it. Is that realistic in
     today's
     > market?
     >
     >>>That is totally UN-realistic. A nice, decent, solid Pantera is at
     least a $65-70K proposition in today's overheated market. While that
     might not
     be true tomorrow, it's certainly true today.
     FWIW, in the last few months two PCNC members elected to sell their
     cars
     blindly, through dealers. The first one sold his to a dealer for
     $42.5K
     (*less* than he paid for it a few years ago, and he subsequently
     spent money on
     it improving it). The dealer flipped it in less than two weeks for
     $72.5K.
     DUH!!!
     Now, this week, another PCNC member decided to sell his car without
     contacting anybody in the club first. I don't know what he sold it
     for, but it
     has been sold to a well-known Ferrari broker, who is actually
     looking at it
     right now. A potential local buyer is planning on meeting him at the
     car,
     and there is a good chance that the car will be sold on the spot. If
     the
     original seller had just contacted the club, the buyer would have
     been sent
     over there and a deal could have been done where the seller got more
     money for
     his car, and the buyer paid less.
     Double-DUH!
     If you are committed to selling your car, you're doing it the right
     way,
     reaching out to the community of current and would-be owners. The
     world is
     small enough now that we don't need to rely on brokers and agents,
     who
     collect large commissions for the work that they do. I don't
     begrudge them their
     profit when they are doing a bunch of work to earn it, but in your
     case,
     it's unnecessary.
     I do hope you'll reconsider selling it however. If you just don't
     like
     the car anymore and want to be rid of it, that's one thing--in fact
     that is
     the ONLY reason you should be thinking of selling it. Otherwise, do
     whatever
     it takes to keep it, even if it means short-term financial hardship.
     In
     the long run you will definitely be happier, not to mention the fact
     that the
     car will be worth substantially more if things continue as they have
     been
     recently.
     And if you really, *really* want to sell the car, send me photos and
     information, as I have a number of people looking for good cars at
     the moment.
     While most are interested in Pre-L cars, at least one is dedicated
     to a good,
     solid L-model.
     But I'd prefer that he find and buy a car from somebody other than
     you. :>)
     Mike