Kind of along post but this has been on my mind for some time.
I have purchased only one classic in my life...my 65 bought last August. Since that time I have followed prices on the web (Craigslist etc.), in the newspaper classifieds, at cruise-ins and here. I am leaving out dealer lots as those really are overpriced. But honestly, I'm not seeing prices anywhere which tend to mirror the thoughts on this forum. Around here (Illinois) a restored 65 or 66 coupe in nice shape will bring $14,000 or so. Cars which are in acceptable condition but need work are bringing $6,000 or $7,000 to $9,000 or so. Basket cases are a few thousand. Should I really be able to buy a rust free coupe in nice condition for $5,000. That is something of the feeling I get here. Mine was advertised (private party) for $9,000 and I paid $7,500. By the time I am driving it instead of having it all taken apart it will have a total of about $10,000 in it. It had rusty lower quarters and flares and faded paint but a good automatic, pretty much perfect interiorand strong 289 with 100,000 miles. It could probably use a driver's side floor in the future but its OK for quite a while yet. Probably some bondo in the lower back front fenders too. It was one owner and has a box full of documentation for every item and oil change since day one, but that does not make it a better car.
So, what's the deal? Are prices regional? Are you guys able to scope out better deals than me? I really am wondering now about prices in general. Are they just all over place?

little regional but not to extreme. some people figure i paid 5k 7yrs ago so its to much now too etc.

it all depends on the seller and how much you are willing to spend, and do you want to meet their price point if not it is to much.

Prices are definately regional and I think seasonal too. I've seen decent coupes going for 4k-6k that could be really nice with little work but others that are way overpriced. There are always the good finds still out there if one is patient andlooks around.

i paid $1200 for mines out here in texas on christmas day. it had little rust in the lower left quater and missing a fender. had a c4 + 351w out of a galaxie that was taken apart and given to me in a peices. all the interior was there and in pretty decent shape. the main problem i had was the roof im guessing had a vinyl top and had small holes and needs a new rubber around teh windshield because it leeks a little. the floors were good and it need a tank. other than that it was pretty good. i have about 3000 invested so far and the car runs and drives but then again i do my own work and doing body work (sanding down) to get it ready to paint.

i had a budget of 10,000 when buying mine and it took me a little over a year to locate one that was in good shape for the price and even then i was using ebay and it had to be shipped from pennsylvania in the middle of winter, bought the car for 7700, 300 some for the title and plates, and another grand to get it here, as is it need a new tie rod and thats it, i would have taken a trailer to get it but we got hit with a hard snow that week and i had to plow (i live in iowa winters suck)

"Around here (Illinois) a restored 65 or 66 coupe in nice shape will bring $14,000 or so. Cars which are in acceptable condition but need work are bringing $6,000 or $7,000 to $9,000 or so. Basket cases are a few thousand. "

That was my observation here in Texas.

I was looking for a while and it seemed like anything in any kind of shape was starting at $14k and going up from there. A guy in my area has a 64 1/2 convertible that is in perfect shape that he is asking $20k firm for. I don't know that he will get that much but he is sure trying.

I found mine from a local guy on Craig's list. He had it listed for $8,500 and I talked him down to just under $8k

My engine is a 289 that the previous owner purchased from ATK with a bit over 40k miles on it. Starts right up and runs strong. The transmission was rebuilt and the paint / interior were redone about the same time as the motor was replaced.

My car needs some work but all things considered is in really good shape.

I had to rebuild the front end and give the car a serious brake job before I could even drive it much and that cost me a few bucks. I have seven year old twin boys who of course wanted to ride in the car so "mommy" made me install three point seat belts. I hated to add the belts but they don't look bad and they do improve the safety of the car, especially for the kiddos in the back.

After that most of the work I have done so far are faily cheap repairs to sort of freshen up the appearance such as replacing the dash pad, putting new lock cylinders in, replacing the radio antena, etc.

Going forward...I really need to rewire the entire car, add a high / low pitch horn and either get the rims dipped or purchase replacements. The doors sag the further back from the hinge points you go so I probably need to rebuild or replace the door hinges...the driver's side more so than the passenger's side....not a big deal, you can buy the rebuild kits for about $13 / door.

When I am done with the next few major projects (rewire, rims and door hinges) I will probably have around $10,500 in the car but some of that was for seat belts which were not "necessary" to keep the car running well.

Going forward from there I will probably work on making the engine bay look better and maybe look at getting some new headers, a better carb. and things of that nature that I "want" to do but don't "have to" be done.

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(http://www.collectorcarmarket.com/menus/makes.htm)Collector Car Market Review (http://www.collectorcarmarket.com/menus/makes.htm)
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or you can have a cool father in law that gives you his 68 that he bought new:D

baxsom is spoiled.

I have a 2 dr coupe that i could probably only sell for 15k. Its sad nowing that i have about 8k in the motor, 2.5k in the tranny, and 1k in the rear end, about 2k in suspension, 2k in tires and wheels, 1500 in brakes. so thats over 15k and i have not even gotten into how much the paint job, interior, fiberglass, and so many other things cost me. but when it comes down to it i would never sell it for what its worth because it is worth so much more to me!

I think the best way to get a proper price on one of these cars is to find a seller who understands these old cars aren't ultra rare and that there are thousands of other ones just like it out there for sale. I can understand the low rust ones going for a premium, as they should, but just because it's an old mustang does not mean it's worth as much as lots of people tend to think.

I bought my '68 in Montana back in 1988 for $1,000 and I drove it home (and for the next 3 years). I only figured out later what a deal I got. It was certainly not rust free but the rust that was on it was in areas that are relativley easy to deal with (fenders/quarter panels, hood, trunk lid, etc.) and not in the floor pans, frame, roof, or other "structural" elements. I have had people offer me $4,000 - $6,000 for the car even though the engine was bad, even when it was sitting at my parents house for 16 years until I could bring it to Texas. As eZ said above, I will sink more money into this car than I could EVER get back out of it, but I'll never sell it because it is worth more to me than anyone could pay.

Bottom line...the car is worth what the owner will take or the buyer will spend, depending on which side of the equation you are on. If you are looking to turn a profit you better be SUPER efficient in everything you do. Most of us do this for the love of the car and accept that we will never sell it...or never recover what we spent if we do sell.

I paid $14,000 for my 66 coupe. It had 59K miles on it an all original sheet metal, but one front fender. It was a no rust car. I looked at so many cars in the 8-10 range that had rust, or the door didnt match the code under the hood, etc, so when I found a nice original, with nice paint I had to have it.I have since pulled the motor, rear end etc and will have an additional $5K into it. Most of the people I know say I am nuts for messing with it, but thats all part of these cars.

im buying a 65 vert from my grandma. im guessing ill probably end up paying close to $10k.

BUT

its been in the family since '72 when my great gpa bought it while living in arizona, it was painted & upholstered when he bought it due to the arizona heat/sun. since then only regular maintenance has been done. the car still looks amazing and after getting some oil flowing it started right up (sat for 1.5 yrs)

oh its also only got 28,xxx miles on it ... and no it hasnt rolled over. the receipts show 23k in the early 80s and its been a parade queen ever since and pretty much sat for the last 10 yrs

that poor car hopefully you will drive it more, pony dont like to be stabled:D

"Most of the people I know say I am nuts for messing with it, but thats all part of these cars. "

I get a lot of that also. Even my wife says she doesn't understand the attraction "cars" have and writes if off to a "guy thing" :D

One thing is certain....to own one of these older Mustangs you have to love working on them. It seems like I could spend several hours a week just fixing and tweaking extremely minor things even when there is nothing particularly "wrong" with the car at the given moment. Lucky for me I have several projects that need to be done, LOL!

You can find a rust free coupe pretty cheap, but it's going to take time and luck, your location is also a factor. Fortunately I was able to find my GT coupe in eastern Washington for $5000, and it had no rust at all.

I didn't really mean for this be thread about what people paid but it does answer some of my questions. I guess my original point was that I have kind of gotten the impression from posts on this forum that nice coupes without rust and ready to drivecan be had for $4,000 to $8,000 and I just don't think that's the case. I think they are over $10,000. Personally, I have no thought that I will ever sell mine for a profit or even break even. Like most have said, I bought it because I wanted it...not as an investment.
I would guess 65rangoon's car would be $20,000 if it were not a family deal.

Oh, that changes everything when you say "ready to drive". It's pretty difficult to find a rust free car that's ready to drive for $4k to $8k unless it's an I6. Mine drove when I got it but it was far from ready to be on the street, but it is still possible to find them, you just have to know where to look.

Prices are going to vary a lot in classics. 64.5 are more expensive than 65s and 66s. Shelbys are the most expensive. 69s Mach 1s are probably in the middle range. 70s are close to 69s but 71s+ drop quite a bit. On top of that, what options are in the car will affect the price.

For example, you can get a 66 yellow junker down the road from my office for $5000. It needs a lot of work and is probably only worth $3k or so. 69 Mach 1s in terrible shape sell for $15k+ if they are standards with A/C. It just all depends on the car. It is not easy to compare two cars and two prices. NADA has a range of prices if you are curious what collector book value for classics are.

I bought my 66 coupe I6 for 3,300 in Illinois. I drove it for 3 month's prior to chopping it apart to fix every bit of rust in it. Removed the floor pan's cowl ect.. Changed everything over to v8... Got lucky a neighbor had a 65 mercury comet with a 289. Paid 500$, used the motor, tranny, suspension ect.. turned around and sold the car on ebay for nearly what I paid him after stripping it of everything. Rebuilt the engine bored .30 over elderbrock heads, performer intake, carb, and alot more. Right now I'm still working on metal work but the engine and everything is in it and done.

Its worth only what someone will pay for it. I've seen knotheads at "BJ" pay twice as much for a car as what the mean price normally is. The prices will vary somewhat across the nation also.