Anyone sell antique car parts?

[swilshire]

My Dad, who passed more than 20 years ago, left behind several vintage cars. DH had someone come over and look at them today, and he suggested that the two 60s Mercedes would be worth a lot of sold on eBay for the parts. He said the grills alone were worth about $500 each.

I've never been that fond of eBay, but I'm sure there are auto specific sites out there. Anyone have any experience or recommendations?

Thanks,

Sheila

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

you should post more details about the cars difficult to say with out knowing what exactly we are talking about.

 

[Poohbear5]

My sons check prices on craigslist, then post either on message boards having to do with the type of car, or ebay. One son smashed his TransAm into a tree, totatled it but took out enough in parts to get back his purchase price. I was shocked at how well he did selling car parts! It was like their car was an organ donor for other Trans Ams across the country!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I would look into brand-specific car clubs and see if they have ads in their publications/websites. I know BMW has a CCA (Car Club of America) and also has a New England chapter. Many times people turn to these clubs to find independent mechanics vs going to a dealer for service, I am sure they do the same to post parts, etc. There must be clubs for antique Benz owners...

Here is something I found just Googling Mercedes Benz Club America
http://www.mbca.org/pages_r/class_tp.htm
deadline is 9/20 for next publication

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

It sounds like you need to have someone provide a detailed appraisal of the cars and parts you have.

Contact the AACA as a starting point. You can google them.

A local branch might have a resource that could help you.

It might be worth it to sell off the items as one group in order to avoid the tediousness of selling each part one at a time.

You might even be able to consign them at some sort of old car auction.

My DH told me all this stuff. We used to have a 60's muscle car.

 

[a1tinkfans]

My Dad, who passed more than 20 years ago, left behind several vintage cars. DH had someone come over and look at them today, and he suggested that the two 60s Mercedes would be worth a lot of sold on eBay for the parts. He said the grills alone were worth about $500 each.

I've never been that fond of eBay, but I'm sure there are auto specific sites out there. Anyone have any experience or recommendations?

Thanks,

Sheila

Sheila
Selling this type stuff is serious business to those that are "into" antique cars and parts and you have the potential to make some really decent $$.
It is difficult to know Who to trust, but you can start with a local chapter of a car club....
Best of Luck!!

 

[RachaelA]

DH (who rebuilds old cars) says stick to ebay to check prices. Craigslist won't be what you need. He says contact the Mercedes Club of America.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I work for an antique gauge shop and we sometimes sell random gauges on Ebay in the Ebay motor section. I would start by looking to see if the part is there to get an idea of the price. As others have said here, I would also try to contact a local club to see what these parts are worth. Often they have their own websites with classified ads to sell to other collectors.

I would also suggest trying www.hemmings.com

It is a reputable magazine. Some call it the car bible. There may be some places that specialize in antique Mercedes there.

Good luck to you!!!

 

[jgates]

We have sold some items - with things like the grills make sure you are taking into account the shipping costs on these larger heavier items. If you have a certain amount you want to make sure you get, put a reserve on it. You might have to list it more than once with a limited market. One of the shop manuals we sold we had to list 3 times. And it actually ended up going for more than the 1st listing price!!!

 

[swilshire]

Thanks for all the great advice.

Sheila

 

[Dancemom03]

It's a bit of a drive but folks come from all across the country to buy/sell at Carlisle's twice a year sales. The amount of knowledge - and money changing hands - found at this event is truly impressive. In fact, I'm trying to convince DS31 and DB to take some parts up so they can also sell my vintage aluminum playground spring animals. Not sure why but those bring really good prices there too. Here's a link from the AACA website...

http://www.aacamuseum.org/events/event.aspx?id=232

 

[PinballFamily]

I was shocked at how well he did selling car parts! It was like their car was an organ donor for other Trans Ams across the country!

We had a similar experience on ebay with a well-known brand name huge table saw/drill press machine. Practically couldn't give it away - no bids for even $200, but when we finally wised up (it never dawned on us) and listed it part by part (kind of a pain, but made it lots easier when shipping!) and made over $1200 from the pieces! The buyers were totally thrilled (guys from all over the country) with finding what they needed and we know "our" machine lives on literally from coast to coast. The money was great, but I actually was happiest that this beast was finally out of my basement...!

Hope you find a solution that gets rid of the cars for you and brings some nice $$$.

 

[disneysteve]

My cousin owns two antique cars and has bought and sold many parts and manuals on ebay Motors. Antique car enthusiasts are a dedicated breed. They will drive halfway across the country to pick up a big part that they really want and is too costly to ship, so don't let that stop you.

For someone without personal knowledge of the field, I would go with ebay. That way, the market sets the price. Carlisle is a great place to sell stuff, but you need to know the prices to charge. Hemmings is a great resource for looking at ads and such but to actually sell, I don't think you'll find a better place than ebay. I would not do Craigslist because you need national exposure. And remember, for big things, you can always list on ebay for local pickup only.

 

[RachaelA]

People will definitely drive to get parts that they need. DH has made many 3ish hour trips to get parts for his Chevelle.

 

[Shmily1]

We buy and sell many car and motorcycle parts on ebay and do quite well. To make money on ebay, it is all in the description. If you are very detailed and have good pictures, you will make money. If you don't put pictures, put bad ones, or have descriptions like "here's a grill for a mercedes" and that's it, you will still have the parts later.

Also, not sure if you might be interested in this or not, but there are a lot of people that take whole cars to be used for parts and also individual parts to Daytona the weekend of Thanksgiving for the Turkey Rod Run. It's a weekend for those that love old cars. There is a swap meet area at the Daytona Speedway infield and it is awesome!!! You can look it up online at turkeyrun.com. There is definitely money to be made there!