Seriously?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

Just noticed, BOTH front wheels are steel, one trim , one not!

Really?

It will be interesting to see how this one ends. I notice a reserve has been set by the seller (not reached yet at £2,150). It has been a common theme for 240 auctions not to reach their reserves recently. I can only conclude that sellers think their 30 year old motor cars are worth much more than the market does.

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by jasons

On the face of it that looks like a really good one, if it is as good as he alludes it to be then he is missing a trick by not detailing the servicing and condition more, but above all pitching it to the mean fisted eBay brigade is never going to get premium money, not when there’s so many better places to pitch a genuinely nice car - assuming it is.

Am I way off in thinking that if the write up was a lot better and he was pitching it in the correct places rather than eBay then this would be sitting with a 7500 price tag?
Yet on eBay I’d have thought with the write up as it is maybe genuine bidding at 5k, maybe 6 but it feels a bit risky at 6 without a person seeing it in the flesh

I’m part of that mean fisted eBay brigade you keep referring to in a condescending way.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I’m part of that mean fisted eBay brigade you keep referring to in a condescending way.

Me too Alan but i think he's adding in the cost of warranties, preparation, forecourt space and so on then his profit on top. He's doing it for a living so it's horses for courses but i'm hoping he doesn't mean to be condescending.

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Othen

I’m part of that mean fisted eBay brigade you keep referring to in a condescending way.

Advisedly careful Alan. PR does not allow true discriptions !

[Moomoo]

Sweety 242 in winter's club mag!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

In view of the discussion above (odd wheel and so on) £3,000 is a bit too much for this motor car. It would be firmly in the middling category, so about £2,500.

The old red bus didn't get any more bids and ended the auction at £2,150 - not making its reserve.

There is a clear trend of 240s not making their reserves at auction that seems to be affecting both the middling and the very good motor cars. I read a piece in the newspaper this morn about people carriers (Seat Alhambra, Renault Scenic) going up in price (the theory being people don't want to use the bus because of coronavirus - maybe, maybe not) but that doesn't seem to apply to 30 year old Volvos.

The only thing I can conclude is that for some reason sellers think their 30 year old Volvos are much more valuable than does the market, so they are pricing them too high.

My own theory about prices for some capital items (houses certainly, some cars - I don't know why some and not most) going up is that there is just too much money in the system: we (this isn't aimed at the UK, all western economies are the same) have been doing quantitative easing for 13 years now and our economies are awash with cash. A smallish dose of inflation might do us good - we'll see.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

The old red bus didn't get any more bids and ended the auction at £2,150 - not making its reserve.

There is a clear trend of 240s not making their reserves at auction that seems to be affecting both the middling and the very good motor cars. I read a piece in the newspaper this morn about people carriers (Seat Alhambra, Renault Scenic) going up in price (the theory being people don't want to use the bus because of coronavirus - maybe, maybe not) but that doesn't seem to apply to 30 year old Volvos.

The only thing I can conclude is that for some reason sellers think their 30 year old Volvos are much more valuable than does the market, so they are pricing them too high.

My own theory about prices for some capital items (houses certainly, some cars - I don't know why some and not most) going up is that there is just too much money in the system: we (this isn't aimed at the UK, all western economies are the same) have been doing quantitative easing for 13 years now and our economies are awash with cash. A smallish dose of inflation might do us good - we'll see.

Alan

Clearly all those sellers are suffering from a mass delusion where expectations are much bigger than reality. I suspect this disparite illusion has been brought on by the Pfizer Kung Flu vaccine so it doesn't effect all of us.

This is aided and abetted by classic car dealers putting overly-optimistic price tags on cars they've bought from Great Uncle Wilf because he's hanging up his driving gloves at the tender age of 97, cleaned and polished and presented with a wad of paperwork because Wilf was the conscientious kind and kept all the receipts, even the ones for the Werthers Originals he buys weekly.

As for Quantative Easing and Inflation, a small dose of each is good, however at the moment inflation is galloping like Shergar running away from the horse-nappers.

I went shopping this afternoon and bought two sizes of coffee, both the same sort but both have gone up by 25p. On the smaller size that's ~8% increase, on the bigger one it's just under 4%. There were other items that had also gone up a similar amount. This suggests the increase isn't on the actual product but the transport of it.

Given the price of fuel is currently sky high it's not surprising but that's where the real inflation is coming from and far exceeds the Retail Price Index because sellers (at all levels) will use shrink-flation to keep the prices of the products the same while the pack size shrinks. Ultimately that means we'll have an RPI inflation figure of 2% but in real terms, we have to buy twice as many of the products for the same amount of product so it's really 4% (i used 2 and 4 to keep the maths easy! ) but the government and whoever publishes RPI will never admit to that so anybody that has index-linked pensions, investments etc is ultimately being cheated.

bottom line is, we're all banjaxed, well and truly!


NB - for those of a nervous disposition, this post was written very tongue in cheek and as such, shouldn't be taken too seriously although some points are genuine.

[jasons]

Originally Posted by Othen

I’m part of that mean fisted eBay brigade you keep referring to in a condescending way.

not at all, but the market is so much wider than just the ebay end and I like to look at the bigger picture.

Ebay is known to be the place where the trade dump all their crap stock, apologies if it sounds condescending to you Alan but its not the only place I'd be looking.
I am also guilty of dumping crap there, although oddly I have had other traders buy my crap before on ebay and go on to retail it, horses for courses I suppose

Another way to look at it is this;
In the same way one wouldn't immediately turn to car and classic or autotrader in the hunt for a billie bargain, one looking for a minter or quality resto with cash on the hip probably wouldn't go to ebay as first place to look. (not saying they're not there, rather the context of the first thought goto place to look)
There's a place for everything in life, I personally wouldn't turn first to ebay if I was looking for a high value motor, I have looked their for what I'd call a bit of sh1tter whn I was looking for a banger for my lad mind !!!

So in the context of what I was saying with the white car, on the face of it to me it looks pretty good and with a decent write up and advertised elsewhere I'd see it fetching the money, that is assuming its as good as he alludes it to be

[jasons]

I'll park this one here, its not an ebay car nor a UK car, but stunning it is.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...o-240-wagon-8/

equiv to about 26,000 of our Uk pounds

and SOLD as well!!!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by jasons

not at all, but the market is so much wider than just the ebay end and I like to look at the bigger picture.

Ebay is known to be the place where the trade dump all their crap stock, apologies if it sounds condescending to you Alan but its not the only place I'd be looking.
I am also guilty of dumping crap there, although oddly I have had other traders buy my crap before on ebay and go on to retail it, horses for courses I suppose

Another way to look at it is this;
In the same way one wouldn't immediately turn to car and classic or autotrader in the hunt for a billie bargain, one looking for a minter or quality resto with cash on the hip probably wouldn't go to ebay as first place to look. (not saying they're not there, rather the context of the first thought goto place to look)
There's a place for everything in life, I personally wouldn't turn first to ebay if I was looking for a high value motor, I have looked their for what I'd call a bit of sh1tter whn I was looking for a banger for my lad mind !!!

So in the context of what I was saying with the white car, on the face of it to me it looks pretty good and with a decent write up and advertised elsewhere I'd see it fetching the money, that is assuming its as good as he alludes it to be

Originally Posted by jasons

I'll park this one here, its not an ebay car nor a UK car, but stunning it is.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...o-240-wagon-8/

equiv to about 26,000 of our Uk pounds

and SOLD as well!!!

I'm in no way defending myself here jasons, I really don't care a damn whether you think the 240 price guide I've developed (and keeps developing as we gather evidence) here is good or not, if you don't like it just ignore it. I really don't care whether you want to believe that your own motor car is worth £15,000 after a bit of a polish up, or whether you think a single motor car selling in the USA for £26,000 is representative of the market.

Similarly I don't care a damn if you look down on the tight-fisted eBay brigade (of which I am one), that is entirely an opinion to which you are entitled. My humble opinion is that sale by public auction (be it eBay, C&C or elsewhere that we might use as evidence) is the acid test of the real value of capital goods. In the same vein, it is my opinion that the asking price for anything is irrelevant, it is only the sale price (or the fact that something fails to reach the asking price or reserve) that matters.

Public auctions (mainly eBay and C&C) provide this thread with perhaps half a dozen pieces of good empirical evidence per week from which we may derive the price guide hypothesis. This is free information and in the public domain. If people think that bunkum and instead believe what their second-hand car dealer mate told them down the pub then that is fine by me.

Ho hum.

Alan