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Need help putting a value on a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe.


Travis31415

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Hello everyone,

 

I am new to this forum as I have never owned a Plymouth, but I recently find myself in a position in which I soon may.  I am a mechanic / collision tech by trade, so I know what I am getting in to.

 

A little background regarding the issue: My father-in-law wants to get rid of his 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe 4-Door.  He wants my wife to purchase the vehicle as she has a sentimental attachment to it.  She wants it, but we have no idea what it is worth and he wants her to to come up with a fair market price.  There is limited information online regarding the sale prices of these vehicles, so I am asking all the experts to put a valuation on the vehicle.

 

The vehicle:

 

Complete and original - except paint which is not good.

Body is in good shape - Minimal damage and/or rust.

It has been parked in an old garage for the last 10-15 years.

It ran when parked, but hasn't since.  Not to say that it wouldn't with fresh fluids and some work.

The interior is pretty well destroyed.

 

One could assume that it would cost $1000 to get it running and driving safely.  i.e, new brakes, wheel cylinders, brake lines, fluids, fuel pump, carb rebuild, plugs, etc.

 

I appreciate any help that readers could provide.

 

Thanks

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I'm dealing with the same issue. I'm also thinking of buying a 1948 P 15 Special Deluxe. So far I have found the Nada site to be useful and also I looked up average auction prices which run lower when commissions are considered. I place to use these numbers as a guide with adjustments for known needed repairs, missing parts, lack of a radio etc. I do see many cars listed for more than the high retail. I wonder if they sell for anything close to that.

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I appreciate the responses. However, I do not put a lof of faith in the online appraisal guides.  They tend to be very hit or miss. 

 

What I would like to know from anyone is, "what would you pay for the vehicle"?  I do not particularly desire this vehicle, so just about anyone could give their personal opinion.

 

I would love responses similar to "I would only pay $500 because it is not a desireable car" or "The car, in that condition, should sell for around $2000"

 

I know that there are many people on the forum that have their finger on the pulse of the classic car market.  If you know of one that is for sale or has recently sold, please chime in.

 

I truly appreciate any help.

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I purchased around three or four years ago a 48 Plymouth four door sedan from a guy that was in running condition but needed a brake job and a few other things done like redo the seats, adjust the doors where they would close with the touch of the finger. I offered him $3500 for the car and ended up paying $4000 for it. This car had no rust and the paint job was in a very good condition. It was drive-able but the brakes were in need of work. I have spent around $1000 on doing the brakes complete from new master cylinder, new brake lines, new brake linings, new wheel cylinders, brake springs, ect. All the glass was good with no clouding or cracks and it has a radio which works as everything else does. I don't know what your father-in-law is looking to get for the car but from what I read in your post it sounds like a fare price for me would be around anywhere from $1000 to $1600 for the car. You may be able to get the engine running with little money spent but then again I would see if it would turn over by hand or a wrench on the crank shaft nut. Rebuilding an engine could cost easily $1200 to $3000 depending on what and if you want up grades. 

 

Here is the price that Hagerty has for a 48 P15 four door in condition # 4:

#4 cars are daily drivers, with flaws visible to the naked eye. The chrome might have pitting or scratches, the windshield might be chipped. Paintwork is imperfect, and perhaps the fender has a minor dent. The interior could have split seams or a cracked dash. No major parts are missing, but the wheels could differ from the originals, or the interior might not be stock. A #4 car can also be a deteriorated restoration. "Fair" is the one word that describes a #4 car $1800 to $3000.

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Thanks Labrauer. 

 

I know the motor is free, and I was told that there are no major issues with it.

 

I'm thinking that $1000 is really the top for a car like this.

 

I know that you never get your money out of a restoration, but it seems like there are a good number of decent cars out there, some appear mostly restored, for around $6000.  I'd spend double that restoring the one we're looking at.  Would this car bring 12-15k if it was nicely restored?

 

Is this even something we should consider buying, or maybe just see if she can find a better car, despite the sentimental attachment?

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I appreciate the responses. However, I do not put a lof of faith in the online appraisal guides.  They tend to be very hit or miss. 

 

What I would like to know from anyone is, "what would you pay for the vehicle"?  I do not particularly desire this vehicle, so just about anyone could give their personal opinion.

 

I would love responses similar to "I would only pay $500 because it is not a desireable car" or "The car, in that condition, should sell for around $2000"

 

I know that there are many people on the forum that have their finger on the pulse of the classic car market.  If you know of one that is for sale or has recently sold, please chime in.

 

I truly appreciate any help.

 

Tops for me, but probably not even if it was free.....not a fan of more doors, so MY opinion is biased. I can understand the sentimental value part, but only if you're going to enjoy it after you get it in running/stopping condition, within your budget. Good luck & welcome to the forum.

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I bought a P15 coupe about six months ago, so I've been watching the price of every car I can find since then.  I've found that club coupes and business coupes bring more money, and that 4 door sedans are much more plentiful.  (Based on what I've seen, and this is all based on asking price), given what you've told us so far, without seeing pictures I'd put this car in the $2,000 to $3,000 range.

 

This is just one man's opinion, and everybody has one!!   

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I think the father in law should give her the car if he really wants her to have it.  You don't care for the car and likely you're the one who will have to work on it.  If you don't like it, the motivation to work on  it goes down, frustration levels go up and pretty soon it's gathering dust and taking space.  Interiors get expensive.  You can spend as much on the inside as you can on the outside and a 4 dr will never bring as much as a 2 dr in the same condition.

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I was in a similar situation, except I am not a mechanic.

My father in law gave my wife his 1950 Dodge Special Deluxe (Canadian version) about 6 years ago after he had a stroke and could no longer drive.

He had had it for about 20 years, he drove it about 20 times in that 20 years, it hadn't ran for about 4 years.

It was originally my wife's Great Grandmother's car.

We brought it home and with a little help from a friend of mine and a lot of help from this group I got it running.

I spent $100 on 2 manuals and a parts book.

I joined the local antique car club, (not only the cars are old). A member there repaired my radio.

I replaced the coil, rotor, battery, battery cables, all the fluids, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and redid all the brakes, cylinders, master cylinder and all hoses. This work made it road worthy. All this work cost about $1000.

I then spent about $1000 on the interior, I did most of the work myself.

Since then, I rewired the car myself, using a homemade harness.

I spent another $1000 on whitewall tires, fog lights, new starter, rad recored, gas tank cleaned and sealed, and a new sender for the fuel gauge.

I have probably spent $5000, I hope it is worth close to that but it doesn't matter, as we will never sell the car.

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First of all, I doubt that anyone can really "make money" or "get out what they put into" these old Plymouths--you have do it for sentimental or hobby reasons.  I've watched prices on ebay for many years and with the exception of wagons, and convertibles--these cars rarely sell for over $7500 even in very good condition.  I'm guessing from what you've described that the car is worth around $1500

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Since the car has been in the family and your father in law currently has the car and I assume your wife his daughter has a fondness for the car I would have assumed he would want to  gift the car to her to keep it in the family. Since it has sat for approx. 10 years and you stated the interior is shot and the engine is questionalbel and also paint condition you can figure that Interior 1-2 k, paint with stipping to bare metal 3-5K engine work 1-2k  so you then have 7+k in the car.

 

Ask if your father in law would want to help her restore the car with her and this is a great father daughter project and then he gets to see the car come back to life.  Also form your posting I see you two other cars and how are you going to allocate the funds to keep three cars going. I am not questions your funds but this is also something to consider witht he cost of insurance, tires, batteries and just regular maintnennce.

 

I the decision is yours but consider all that you need to do.  I am saying 500 for the car

 

Rich HArtung

Desoto1939@aol.com.

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Wow.  A lot of great info here.  What a great forum.

 

I am going to advise her to try and negotiate a $500 price, maybe $1000 max.  We obviously don't want to offend him, but I really don't want to pay too much.

 

It's difficult to tell someone that something that they have owned for most of their life, and are quite attached to, is not worth much of anything.  Wish us good luck.

 

Thanks everyone!!!!

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I am going to advise her to try and negotiate a $500 price, maybe $1000 max.  We obviously don't want to offend him, but I really don't want to pay too much.

 

 

Exactly where I would be!

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I'd forget it.

 

A 2-door car in this condition could be had for maybe 50% more. The 2-door costs less to restore & is easier to sell when complete.

 

So unless you just have to have a 4-dr, the 2-dr is a better bet.

 

Not a good bet mind you. As you've read, it costs more to restore one than you can sell it for unless all you do is take a beater, get it running cheap & jack the price.

 

You'll just lose less money on a 2-door job. ;)

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establishing a value for a car is best done by an inspection of the unit, doing comparable on the internet by using a few of the normal sources...say Craigslist..there are always a number of these vehicles for sale...on the average...it would be extremely hard to say what value is assigned from a computer desk as many here only see what is offered for sale on the net in their immediate area by the same source I listed, Craigslist..many of those listing show up here for whatever reason they post them..and do keep in mind what Ulu stated above in counting the doors...it is just a four door sedan..they seem to be continuously showing up, like leaves at autumn

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​I have read all the responses to your query and see, as I hope you do, a consensus.  I would especially endorse the thoughts:

"Why doesn't Dad just give his daughter the car?"

"Four doors are the least popular models."

"people who have owned cars for a long time tend to be mistaken about their value.", 

"$500-$1000"

"Do you like it.  Can you afford it?"

If Dad needs the money why not give or loan him what he needs, take the car out of the equation and save the potential for bad feelings later on. 

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  • 1 month later...

NADA numbers for what it's worth.

 

1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe
4 Door Sedan
 

  Original
MSRP Low                $1,544
Retail Average          $4,025
Retail High                $7,000
Retail Base Price    $12,550

Edited by 46Ply
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