Dissapointed in Dallas. Yesterday somewhat sucked.... I'm wagonless today.

By the way, my red RMS in my sig has a 2.56 posi and will smoke the tires! When my trans was working good (no second gear now) it would churp the tires when under a hard throttle shifting into second! So I don't think 2.56 gears seem "sluggish".

I have a used trans to put in...but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Also thinking about just having the other one rebuilt before putting it in...so to save the headache of possibly having to do it again soon.

I don't know what I'd do. On the one hand, that wagon seems to be really clean and the majority of what it needs is just piddly stuff. And of course, the owner seems to be a pretty good guy...he could just as easily have said "well, it's yours now!" and left you there. I'm impressed by how he stepped up to the plate when things went sour.

Given that he doesn't feel he can come down on the price, the transmission could go again, and the rear end gearing isn't really what you want...it would be very hard for me to say "go for it". On the other hand, if he'd take $2500 and you could get a line on a cheap working transmission (yeah, I know, keep dreaming)...

I've let that car go and decided to be wagonless for a while. Helping Eddie fix up that K5 Blazer right now. Power window fixed, have all the tune-up stuff, and going to sort out the a/c, then get it registered and on the road. Hopefully will have it road-legal next week.

It's a rust-bucket but my kiddo is thrilled that I'm working on it. Also messing with my old boat and Dad's Camaro. I'm not bored!!

-Mike

Mike- Glad you passed on this one. The power issues possibly caused by the transmission problems. The LT1 is a powerful engine. I have the sedan, so it might be slightly lighter, but once off line the car is quite fast. I have never driven the smaller engine in your past OCC, but wait for a good Roadmaster, and you will remember the power of your old one.

Spoke to the seller on this one...again. His mechanic friend has still not even started working on it...car is just sitting there.

So knowing this car needs a transmission, and I would want to swap in a lower-geared rear axle, and I need to fix the roller on both back windows....I'm considering making a lowball offer on it, but do not want to offend the seller (who is a nice older guy and I'd previously handed $3100 to, and then had him hand it back to me when the trans died).

The body, paint, and interior are really nice on this car. Zero-rust Texas native car. Engine runs smooth. Re-paint the pecked-up hood and the trim around the wood, add some Impala wheels and window tint, and this car would no-kidding look as nice as my last Roadmaster.

So you tell me, would you think he would be offended if I offered him $1500 for it? I've located a trailer. I just can't bring myself to pay more than $1500 knowing all the work it would need to make it "right" for me....

That said, I like the white and love the red interior. And cars this clean and solid just do not pop up much....

Start from the $3100 he wanted.  If I remember correctly he knocked $500 off with the transmission problems; he would take care of the tranny and you'd have it in a week.  Down to $2600.  It's apparent that the guy, he works with, is not going to be able to fix it, as it hasn't moved.  He also screwed the job up once.

To R & R a tranny is $500, plus the used tranny $150 to $300.  If you have it rebuilt, I'm sure that's $1500 to $2000.  To fix the windows, probably has a value of $100 each.  To flatbed it home, has a cost also; and it is your second trip.  I would say $1600 is pretty fair.  You probably have a little wiggle room to sweeten the pot a couple of hundred.

On the other side, the guy that rebuilt the tranny, owes it to the owner to make it right.  Maybe the owner can get some of the rebuild money back and wash his hands of it.

My 2 cents:  offer him $1600, and if necessary go to $1800.  No more.

Tom

Thanks for the imput. I know if it was my car and this happened to me, I'd want it fixed and then would re-list it back at my original price once it's on the road again...but then I don't know if his "buddy" is going to fix it. Might be worth it to him just to be rid of the car.

We'll see.

Give him a call. It doesn't hurt to give him offer and kind of explain your reasoning.

tom

silverfox103 wrote:

Give him a call.  It doesn't hurt to give him offer and kind of explain your reasoning.

tom

I may do that. We'll see...

I really miss having a wagon.

Mike,

If you offer him more than $1,000 you should open a charity. It's a 20 year old car with no transmission - many hours away, jacked up windows, a useless (to you) rear end, and it needs paint work.

With no motor or trans, it's a clean $500 shell. Value the current motor at $500 and you're done.

Also - he didn't even want the car when he thought it was right. Now he knows it isn't and it's at someone else's house who has no intention of RE-half assing a repair, which means he'd love nothing more than to have this dung heap of a mess out of his life more than ever.

Also Also, Play it smart - plead your case and let him lowball himself. There's no reason to offer more money than what someone would have sold it to you for if you'd have just asked first. Nobody, and I mean NO BUDDY is so nice that I'd volunteer to overpay them for the privilege of buying their POS that I had to haul home.

It's not THAT rare and he'd probably THANK YOU for giving him the thousand.

Good luck not being your own worst enemy on this one, because it sounds like your a lousy negotiator.  

I'd agree with Bewber on that.
You aren't a charitable organization doing rehab on old cars. I wouldn't pay more than $1000.00 for a car that old, that needs a new tranny.

Is it really worth $500.00 more to you just to have a wagon again. Think of what you can buy for the car with that extra $500.00


Dave

The guys are all right about this wagon,no more than 1250 thought.Tell him you want the car but you dont trust his transmission guy.Tell him this would be a "no questions asked and no warranty"with no hassles no matter what happens.Dont worry about offending him,you are doing him a favor buying his wagon anyway.

Bewbs is on the money,.

Me personally.,. I,d move on,.

If i were the seller and you called me,. i,d know you want the car, and i,d negotiate from a position of strength.

After you buy your next wagon and you're all excited,. this one will come back to you, and you won't want it,.

The key is convincing the seller why he should sell it to you at such a low price. Find his value proposition and speak to that:
1. Get rid of the headache of having the car in limbo.
2. No more having to deal with the "mechanic"
3. The car is going to a nice home.
4. You already have the transport arrangements lined up. NO EFFORT on his part.
5. Any other buyer of the car will likely put up lots of fuss over things.
6. How long will this drag out? This gives him an out NOW.

Yeah, it's a financial hit for him, stuff happens. This is an opportunity for him to move forward.

Thanks for all the comments. As clean as this car is, both inside and out, I'd think it was worth $1500. That said, I'm going to let it stew a little while. I figure if I call him in a week or two, and the car is still sitting, he'll really want to let it go.

We shall see. And like you all have said, another car may pop up. I'd still really like a DGGM or black cherry one.

-Mike

Now that I think of it, I think John and Dave are correct!

Mike, the old wagon (RMW) is gone. Forget about trying to recreate it. It's like being jilted by an old girlfriend, and you're trying to find one that looks exactly like her. Time to move on from the white anyways.

Mike, with all your CL skills, you could find one anytime you want. Start looking.

Tom

Tom,he never stopped looking for wagons since sold his white roady!