So my family has kind of eyeballed me to help sell my deceased uncles Willys Pickup, which I will probably post up on the Open Classifieds section soon.
The problem is that it's half restored, i.e. It basically needs to be put back together.
How does one figure out a value of a vehicle in this phase?
This is a slippery area. It seems to me folks will pay 2 or 3 times what something is worth and it turns out to be assembled garbage with shiny paint and wheels. But they won't pay crap for an unfinished collection of excellent parts.
My bet would be about 30-40% of a complete restored example.
What about buying it and completing yourself?
There is a LOT of money to be made in unfinished restorations- for the BUYER.
I doubt it's 30-40%. More like 10-20%, or the documentable selling market value of the single most valuable part. The rest is a gift to the buyer of that part as a thank you for him hauling off the rest of the stuff.
That's not the way to sell a vehicle if you want to make money.
84FSP wrote: What about buying it and completing yourself?
Don't have the money. Honestly, if they gave it to me, I would put it back together and probably sell it and give my grandma most of the money (which is what they probably plan to do with it), but buy it, no. I think my uncles have a skewed idea of how much it's worth.
bentwrench wrote: This is a slippery area. It seems to me folks will pay 2 or 3 times what something is worth and it turns out to be assembled garbage with shiny paint and wheels. But they won't pay crap for an unfinished collection of excellent parts.
I feel that this is an accurate assessment.
I should probably find out how much all the parts are individually and add it all together. 
details?
In reply to The Canadian:
I'm going to make a formal post in the Open Classifieds in the next couple weeks. My uncle sent me pictures, but I'm going to go to my grandmas and look at it with my own two eyes so I have an accurate assement of it before I start giving details that may not be correct.
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I think my uncles have a skewed idea of how much it's worth.
I don't know your exact situation, but something like this came up in my family. My great uncle has a 1940 Ford, but it's not the business coupe that brings money. I would describe it as a good candidate for restoration, but no one (including said uncle) has ever heard it run. The whole family thinks it's worth huge money. I have seen them not sell on ebay for $1800 in the same condition.
When he finally talked about selling it recently I stayed well clear of it. Good luck not getting caught up in that.
It's worth a small enough amount that you should probably post it in the $2015 classifieds.
Some of the value will be in the how he did the restoration.
Was he meticulous and bagged & tagged every part? A nice list of what was done and what still needs to be done? A list of missing/broken parts that still need to be sourced?
Or is it just a big pile of (some pretty) parts that only he had a mental inventory of?
An unfinished restoration with the former would be worth more than one with the latter (and something many of us should probably take note of - I know I should).
I'd guess about 25% of the going rate for a finished one if it's painted, includes a good powertrain and is more or less ready to assemble, less if you aren't there yet, a lot less if the bodywork isn't done.
If it's anything like a Harley you can make bank by parting it out on EBay.
In reply to bentwrench:
It won't be getting parted out, it's all or nothing. They want it gone out of my grandmas garage.
Yeah, depends on the details. I can turn a wrench..but can't weld worth a E36 M3. Solid body/chassis that just needs more wrenches to turn, I got it. I'd pay for it. IMO, it really makes a difference whether "put it back together" is regarding the body, or the driveline.
In reply to friedgreencorrado:
It's the body that needs to be put back together. The chassis is already assembled. The body is also done as far as I know but everything has to be put back together.
It's current condition:
Hmm... that doesn't look too bad. My first suggestion would be to search out vintage Jeep forums. Those folks may be willing to pay more than a random restorer just looking to put it back together and flip it for a profit.
I wouldn't call that half finished, more like needs the trim bits, glass, and interior installed.
In reply to Kenny_McCormic:
Well like I said, I have to go look at it with my own two eyes and make sure all the parts are there. I'm pretty sure they are, but who knows.
When I say half finished, to me, the hard part has been done. The chassis and drivetrain are done and the body is done, it just needs to be reassembled. Anyone with a wrench set and a screwdriver could do that.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: I wouldn't call that half finished, more like needs the trim bits, glass, and interior installed.
Agreed, it's more like 3/4 complete. I had envisioned the chassis, cab, and bed all being in separate photos and quite possibly separate buildings.
That's a nice lookin' truck, always wanted one.
Bolt a pair of headlights into those holes before you take the Craigslist photos.
That looks more like "Restored" than "Half Finished"
I would put the lights in and the windshield and get rid of the bungee hood latch before I tried to sell it.
Beyond that, it's a guess at what labor adds value for the time put in. Thing looks pretty close to done to me.
Good stuff. I am working on a story on how to sell and not sell a project car. I am using this Tiger that I just picked up as an example. Rolling is a huge step. Running is a big step. Running and driving is an even bigger step. Not only do each of these steps add value, but they make it way easier to move vehicles around and ship. Buyers and shipper are not looking for hassles. Make sure you have a clean title before you sell too.
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