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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1940 Ford value? ORIGINAL, 8k miles

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 1940 Ford value? ORIGINAL, 8k miles     stockmana 04-07-2011 @ 5:34 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 3 Joined: Apr 2011 The last thing I ever wanted to do was sell this car, but I know that it has to go somewhere that it's appreciated. I am the second owner. The first owner had it for 60 years! It is all original except for the paint, which can be buffed off. The original paint is in great condition. This car was garaged, and still is. It has 8,000 miles (yep!). The original owner was a colonel in the military and had it transported by plane to whichever base he was stationed at. This car is very sentimental, but I have found myself trying to move it around and protect it more than I have cleaning and driving it. Still runs like a charm The big question is...How much should I ask for this? It is not a deluxe model. kubes40 04-07-2011 @ 5:52 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3410 Joined: Oct 2009 I can probably give you a decent estimate of value. I'd need photos, many more details and of course what body style it is. Mike Kubarth stockmana 04-07-2011 @ 6:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 3 Joined: Apr 2011 Thank you. I'll look around to see what I have for photos, since it's in storage right now and I can't get to it easily. It's a standard sedan..not a coupe, not deluxe...Last registered in the 50s I believe. kubes40 04-07-2011 @ 7:28 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3410 Joined: Oct 2009 Fordor or tudor? Maybe it would be best to email directly at: kubes40@att.net supereal 04-07-2011 @ 9:51 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Low mileage examples of most old cars bring a premium. Looking at one of the most reliable guides, a 1940 sedan, either standard or deluxe, lists at about $13,500 in #2 (very good) condition. In #1, like new, it rises to $19,000. Very few reach that level, but yours may come close, juding from the description and mileage. Sedans, both two and four doors, tend to lag open cars and wagons. The '40 coupes are popular, and change hands for about 5 grand more than sedans. Price guides are just that: a guide. The true price of anything is what someone is willing to pay for it. Very low mileage is a plus for the body and interior, but may present mechanical problems to seasoned buyers. My friend Mike K. is an authority on '40s, and it will be interesting to see his perspective. stockmana 04-07-2011 @ 10:26 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 3 Joined: Apr 2011 The base color is not what I had expected either. It had been painted a dark green over what looks like a sagey-olive green. We were able to start buffing off the darker layer. Perhaps they did this because it was on military bases? It is a 2-door. Last registration was actually '57. ford38v8 04-07-2011 @ 12:36 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2769 Joined: Oct 2009 Super, I'd like to comment on your understanding of #1 and #2 condition. As you said, a @1 is a very rare and almost unobtainable condition, meaning a car in a condition identical to one that has been freshly manufactured and just off the showroom floor. Very low mileage cars can require relatively little or quite a lot of money/effort to bring back to a condition of #2, but #1 condition is usually not possible without a staggering investment of time/money. Stockmans car hasn't been registered since 1957, and unless it had at that time been in pristine #1 condition and came to the year 2011 through a time warp with virtually no ill effects, there is no way that it could even be in #2 condition. He has also told us that the paint is partially buffed off to reveal what he believes is the original color beneath, so that fact itself drops the condition level to #3. There must also be multiple issues related to long term storage, plus the original issue that put the car in storage to begin with. In my experience also, the price guides themselves are out of touch with actual values in many cases. Price guides are driven by auction selling prices, which are not representative of real world buying and selling. Almost anyone who has bought at auction will admit that he got caught up in the excitement and paid more than his own upper limit. Nobody wants to be left behind when obviously there is someone else ready to buy if you don't, so you begin to doubt your own evaluation in favor of your bidding opponents evaluation. "He must know something I don't" is the auctioneers best salesman.Real world prices are influenced by auction prices, but the two "values" having much different circumstances, are rarely comparable. Alan 42wagon 04-07-2011 @ 1:27 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 586 Joined: Oct 2009 I think you are dead on with your thought that the car was repainted green on an army base. When I was in the Navy there were a lot of civilian cars on the bases that were "beaters" being driven for commuting purposes. People freshened them up with a coat of Haze Gray the paint readily available on base. supereal 04-07-2011 @ 2:57 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Alan: Can't quarrel with that. I qualified my opinion about price guides to indicate that they are just a "guide", and have no particular weight in determining what price would be negotiated in an "arm's length" transaction. I suggested that the car may qualify for #2 if it is, indeed, an unmolested example with such low mileage. Without actually seeing the car. I wouldn't venture to give it any classification or fixed value. The comment about the paint leads me to believe the car may not be as pristine as the mileage would indicate. Many, if not most, old car owners outside the hobby tend to overvalue their vehicle due to lack of comparison with the "real world", or by sentiment. Genuinely extraordinary examples would benefit from a formal appraisal, in most cases. Auction results, as you point out, vary widely, but the lack of reporting of individual sales results certainly skews the guides. Too many newly purchased vehicles brought to our shop after the fact don't justify the money that changed hands. At the very least, I would advise anyone interested in any particular example to take along someone experienced for an opinion. The old car hobby can be a wonderful pursuit, but also can be spoiled quicky by a bad deal. On that, I'm sure you and I agree! kubes40 04-07-2011 @ 3:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3410 Joined: Oct 2009 Alan, I agree with about 90% of what you'd stated above. The only thing I take exception with is what constitutes a true #1 car. To compare it to a freshly built car that came off the showroom floor? No way. A #1 as seen on today's concurs is far superior than anything that came off of ANY assembly line. Your take on price guides is right on! Perhaps a bit more tame than I'd have offered. In most cases the value guides are not even close to reality. I have publicly offered to purchase every 40 Ford coupe and convertible in true #1 condition for what the 'value guide' allows as 'the price'. No takers... Respectfully, Mike Kubarth

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