Advice sought on a GT lifestyle plan...

[fotorabia]

Friends..countryfolk...as some of you know..im an epileptic..never able to drive again...ive no work or benefits..but I do have some money [that is dwindling fast-rent etc]...so..story is...good friend has a GT6 Mk2....its an older restoration...its not running due to having a cruddy tank that needs removed and cleaned...and he paid the exorbitant price of £11000..that was 6yrs ago..he wants £5000 for it..which i dont know whether thats bottom dollar or not.Ive only had a quick squint at it...but it looks quite tidy....the idea being....buy-fix-flick....please advise...buy or walk away?..

[Sealtainn]

A quick look on the bay sees them selling for anything up to around £7k. Depending on what you have to put into it, you may not see much of a profit - now if you had someone to twiddle the spanners for free a la Edd China you'd be quids in. Could be worth a shufty on Car and Classic and see what they are up for on there. You could ask a higher price and wait for a buyer - depends if you don't mind hanging on it a while before it sells

[purplebargeken]

Looks nice. I've actually had two GT6's. They rust faster than a Fiat in a brine factory.

 

However, as a get and punt along car it has to be worth a go at that price. I can't see any on eBay, nor do they appear to have any price guides in PC magazine anymore. 

 

Try car & classic and see what is on there for a comparable car.

 

I'd d it if I had the dosh.

[tooSavvy]

Hmm... Consider it as 'rent in advance + sleeping bag'..

 

Just move in

 

 

TS

[purplebargeken]

Lots of Mk3's on C & C. At that price it has to be worth a try

[fotorabia]

Ta lads...The spanners will be free...ill get Andy my resto mate from Edinburgh to have a look at it..as it will probably have to go down there anyway..i may be able to utilise Aunties garage that i just emptied..and would be prepared to get it down sth to command a better price once the fettling is complete and its legal.

[anonymous user]

I'm sure there are a couple of people on here who have them (HillmanImp and Mike Knight?), it looks like a later dash than it should have, but I'm not 100% up on them, so probably someone more familiar with them could confim. They can fetch very good money, but, condition/originality is everything and as you say it would have to be a bit further south and the beginning of summer to get its best price.

 

It does look nice, don't forget to mention "it's like a minature E type" in any advert.

[New POD]

I have a spitfire and gt6 restoration book on my shelf.

 

 

Tis yours for the postage if you decide to jump in. 

[garethj]

Seems like a lot of money, I'd do a very thorough check on its condition otherwise you could easily spend more than its worth.

 

That's a common enough thing here of course, but if you're in it for the profit then you need to be more careful.  Will it stagger its way to an MoT or could you pay £100 to get it trailered there?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Doesn't seem that cheap for a non runner with no ticket, but I suppose only you can tell how solid it is or how good the restoration was. Has it got overdrive? It's got wide wheels and a fancy exhaust does that mean other bits have been uprated? Maybe a 2.5 , a lot of them seem to have got them when 2500 TC's were rotting on every street corner.

If not it could struggle to make good money as it's not going to appeal to the concours originality pervs and those that don't mind modifications would expect it to faster than it looks.

[Tamworthbay]

No way would I take a punt at that money. Just recommissioning it will eat up a couple of hundred. Then add in anything that needs doing and you will be at what it's worth. I would think around 3k if you are looking to make money on it.

[Cavcraft]

If he can afford a butler, he can afford to knock the price down a bit.

 

 

 

Couldn't even pretend to know what these things are worth, but I'd humbly suggest you completely forget what he paid for it, as it's irrelevant. It's actually quite easy to be sucked into buying things knowing (or believing) the previous owner paid a fortune for it or on it.

It looks a nice car and I expect it being kept in a garage all adds to the appeal of it, but I'm afraid you simply have to believe the car is shagged and will cost you a small fortune to restore and you'll end up losing money on it. It's a miserable outlook it must be said, but wasn't there something about a pessimist never being disappointed? Bid low and see what happens, that's my advice.

[New POD]

I always love the adverts where it says "it owes me £10Trillion"

 

so what ? I'll give you £10 and a bag of cow shit to feed your roses.

[AnthonyG]

If I had £5k hanging around in an ISA or something I might consider it, in your situation, which I assume means no regular income, I would not be buying non-running 40 year cars in order to resell.

 

If you do go for it, at least get someone who knows GT6's inside out to look at it. As Cav says, now that it doesn't go it is a little irrelevant what was paid for it 5 years ago, on running order with MoT, possibly from a dealer.

 

How long as it been non-running? If it's more than a while (say a year or so) it might need a lot more than the tank cleaning and the carb/fuel supply de-gunked .

[richardmorris]

Looks tidy enough, but if all that it needs is a tank flush why isn't the owner doing it themselves and selling it for £7000?

[cort1977]

I think Mr Cavcraft speaks the truth.   Don't let the sunk cost fallacy blind you to what it is actually worth now and how much it will cost to get it a ticket and sold.   

 

On the other hand, got to be worth a careful check.

[fotorabia]

Looks tidy enough, but if all that it needs is a tank flush why isn't the owner doing it themselves and selling it for £7000?

Cos hes to busy and doesnt need the money i believe...a Classic Car Dealership on the Black Isle saw it when they were holidaying on the campsite-farm....offered him £5500...it was moved out of the garage to the shed awaiting collection..but they never came back to him on it...

[Matt]

.buy-fix-flick....

 

 

 

 

 

No no no, buy-fix-replace your TV with it and just look at it. GORGEOUS.

[fotorabia]

The garage contains the GT6....the Scimitar stands guard beside it....i could have it for £40...which is the better deal?...considering we re going to look at a early Ogle coupe..and 4 other SE5s on Thursday in Perthshire!...a plastic armoury of Scimitars!

[Cavcraft]

The Scimitar is, I would think, a no-brainer.  Surely there's a couple of hundred quid's worth of bits off that alone. More if you can get it running and sell the engine off. 

[purplebargeken]

Absolutely get the Scimmie, do nothing to it but describe it fully and the eBay folk will wet themselves and be very happy. 

 

Tank flush and replace the fuel lines, clean the filter and check the float bowls. It isn't hard or overly expensive on the GT6. See where it goes from there. 4000 squid would be better, 3500 more so if you have the haggle vibe.

[Tamworthbay]

Just make sure you take the pics of the scimitar so it's looks like it's INSIDE the barn, then you can claim the free eBay price premium of 100% on 'barn finds'

[michael1703]

I think you'd be lucky to make £500 on that gt6 once you've been bummed by rimmer brothers for all the little bits you need to make an 80% car a 100% car

 

You won't be able to sell it until next summer either, so you'll have £5000+ tied up for the next 9 months

 

The scimitar interior will be wrecked as webastos are shit

 

It's worth a few quid as a breaker if it's wrecked so you'd been in profit whatever.

 

They're going for £1750-£2200 just lately, I've got two I was given as they were worth nothing 5 years ago but they are on the up and becoming a good earner

[michael1703]

P.s. Get a pic of the dash in the scimmie, it could be a se5 if it has a flat dash which is a bit more sought after than the se5

[fotorabia]

P.s. Get a pic of the dash in the scimmie, it could be a se5 if it has a flat dash which is a bit more sought after than the se5

It is a SE5 Michael...its the only year with the chrome side strip [so Andy said]..and apparently those wheel trims are rare.We tried giving it away..but its our remote location!..

[michael1703]

There's lots of cheap bits on http://scimitarweb.co.uk

[BavarianRetro]

The location is the killer. It's a few hundred quid to get it anywhere. Break the Scimitar, post the stuff - still expensive, but the buyer pays - and you'll make a profit. Forget the GT6. It needs to be 40% of its current asking price before you should even consider it.

[Cavcraft]

I don't know exactly where you are, but could you get the bits to any shiters who are closer to the mainland (I'm assuming you're on an island) so they could post out or something, or even the complete car? If there's a grand or so in the Scimitar it might be worth trying to get it somewhere more central if your mate can shift it and store it somewhere, or even offer to do so if you sell it via ebay?

[cort16]

Couriers add a major premium if youre any more than about 8 miles north of glasgow so breaking cars could be tricky .

Buying and selling cars is difficult unless you can do work yourself or know someone cheap who can . You need a network of people you can go to for transport, bodywork and mechanicals .etc. Classics are even harder as there's large risk of hidden rot or needing unobtainoum part that takes months to find. It can be done but you need to have your eyes wide open .

 

Any chance there's a db6 or lotus cortina stashed away in one of these barns

[fotorabia]

Im not technically on an island..a peninsula!..Corran ferry is the way out..ill discuss with Andy the SE5 and whether its worth the strip down considering the logistical problems..im off to edinburgh tomorrow..but even hes strapped for space!....hes only got a tiny wee lock up where he restored his MGB GT....and his family shed in Turnberry is full up with Saabs...ok..thanks for all the advice...ill ponder...