CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

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Melb-Mike
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 3:39 pm
Location: Melbourne, Fl & Murphy, NC

CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by Melb-Mike »

Hello out there fellow Corvair owners. I just got through looking at Corvairs for sale on Ebay and Hemmings. Since I've been watching for a while, almost to a point of obsession (beyond that according to my wife), I've seen the same corvair appear for sale in different parts of the country...............the result of a sale and someone trying to capitalize on what they perceive to have been a very good purchase. So are they hurting anyone ?

A good friend of mine owned a 66 Pontiac GTO. The car was rather rough and his resources were limited. The engine ran like crap, the body had some issues, and electrically, only a Lucas Electrical system could have been worse. So I helped him fix it up. I worked on it with him..........well, OK, I worked on it while he watched. Another friend of his did the same, sometimes spending the whole weekend at his house. We got it running pretty well, replaced most of the wiring harness, wire brushed and needlescaled a good part of the rusty chassis, etc. After all of this, he turned around and sold the car without ever saying anything to me or his other buddy. He then buys another car and shortly thereafter sells it. Again, and again, and again. He says he's making some very good money. He says he is a car guy, I tell him he's a car pimp. Car guys work and appreciate their cars. He's only into it for the money, not much dedication there.

I say this because I see a few Corvairs out there being bought and resold at a rate more frequent than a disgruntled buyer would want to get rid of a bad buy since the price seems to be going up. You could argue that they are helping us by making our cars, indirectly, more valuable (or more expensive). I think they're bad for the car collection guys like me. I have to admit I did sell my 87 Porsche Turbo in the hopes of making a profit but I was more motivated to get the anti-Christ out of my garage. And I likely broke even.

In any case, just a thought. As you can see, I tend to keep my cars. I buy them to make them as good as I can, nurture them as long as I can, enjoy them by admiring their lines, mechanical prowess (if any) and drive them as I envisioned the experience to have been. I've got expensive cars and I've got some cheap ones too. Cost or value has nothing to do with the enjoyment factor, and sometimes is a detriment whereby you are TOO careful driving them, AFRAID to scratch them, etc. In any case, am I nuts or does anyone share the feeling ?
Prior Corvair owner 30+ years ago
Just acquired 64 Spyder, 66 & 65 Corsa,
adding to 69 Corvette BB, 67 GTO,
2015 Corvette Z06,
04 996TT Porsche,
04 Caterham Super 7
just sold 87 Porsche 930 Turbo (Thank God)
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flat6_musik
Posts: 2659
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:03 am
Location: Hesperia, CA

Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by flat6_musik »

I look at serial car-flippers sort of as mold. They will form if the conditions are right, and whaddya gonna do? But.....when they play the part of an avid car aficionado, that's where I have to roll my eyes. If that friend of yours kept you and the other guy in the dark about his future flipping intentions with that GTO, that's B.S.

I have a small collection of (about 10) old cars.....ones that I've carefully picked from the Craigslist/Ebay tree......mostly under-appreciated, under-priced classics that I find to be amazing deals. I look at my old cars almost as my children, and could barely stand to part with any, unless I was sure it was going to good home. I bugs me when I speak with a potential buyer and my spidey-sense picks up that he is a flipper.
Melb-Mike
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 3:39 pm
Location: Melbourne, Fl & Murphy, NC

Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by Melb-Mike »

I felt "used" by my buddy. He was crying the blues that he didn't have the money to pay a shop to fix the issues on the Goat. His was a 66, mine is a 67. Mine is a pretty nice solid rust free car and his, well, let's just say it needed everything. His stepdad told him to take the car to the junk yard and have it crushed. So we felt sorry for him. He sold the car about two weeks after we finished fixing most of the issues.

Lately he told me he bought a 68 Camaro that had a $30,000 paint job. Had the car shipped from Cincinnati to Florida, then flipped it for a big profit. He's flipped a few others in the $100K price area. Then he has the nerve to call me to borrow my enclosed car trailer to haul a car down to WPB he just sold for $115, 000 in order to save about $400 transport fees. You can guess what my answer was. He wanted to go to the Mecum Auction on my Bidder's free entry pass to save about $11 admission fee. I called him a cheap bastard. He's in it for the profit, not much love for the cars.
Prior Corvair owner 30+ years ago
Just acquired 64 Spyder, 66 & 65 Corsa,
adding to 69 Corvette BB, 67 GTO,
2015 Corvette Z06,
04 996TT Porsche,
04 Caterham Super 7
just sold 87 Porsche 930 Turbo (Thank God)
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tommy44432
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2014 3:32 pm
Location: Lisbon, Ohio
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Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by tommy44432 »

I have little respect for car flippers. They are a blight on the hobby and the reason it costs as much as it does.
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thunderbearr
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:31 pm

Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by thunderbearr »

tommy44432 wrote:I have little respect for car flippers. They are a blight on the hobby and the reason it costs as much as it does.
Nailed it.
Robert Vancel
Knoxville, TN
66 Monza Coupe
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God.favored
Posts: 331
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:36 am
Location: Ogden UT
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Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by God.favored »

I don't like the guys who flip them and have no clue what they're doing, just in it for a buck. My brother did that to me on numerous occasions. He would buy a car, beg my dad and I to help him fix it so that he could then turn around a week later and sell it to make a few hundred dollars. He's since grown out of that, but I will admit that for me personally its about a project. I love having something to work on, so I'll buy cars, motorcycles, tractors, whatever it is I find a good deal on and spend my spare time after work rebuilding or just fixing whatever my current project is. Then to pay for the next project I'll sell it and start over, I think its great having a hobby that can pay for itself. Theres a huge sense of satisfaction getting something thats completely worn out and not working, and restoring it to the original condition or sometimes even better.

Now corvairs are a different story for me, I work on them because I absolutely love them. If I could rebuild them and keep every single one there would be no question that I would, but I'm young and have no money so to keep the projects going I sell them. (although my current 67 isn't going anywhere)

(realize this is old but i've been off the forum for a while :)
1967 140 4 Speed
1963 Monza 900 Spyder
66vairguy
Posts: 4530
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:44 pm

Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by 66vairguy »

The "flipper" problem has come up here before.

Some joker got on here about how he loved his Corvair and needed someone in the L.A. CA are to help him fix it so he could enjoy his Corvair - blah, blah, blah. Anyway, someone in the local club noticed the "Joker" already had his Corvair up for sale on Craigslist while he was asking for help to fix it!! When the joker was called on it he got all defensive and rambled on about "What's wrong with buying and selling old cars".

Of course there is nothing wrong with buying and selling old cars. The problem is the "moochers" who contact car enthusiasts at clubs and on forums looking for FREE help so they can turn a profit!!

This has had a real chilling effect on our local club. Now when someone new shows up with "Corvair problems" we tell him to go see a local Corvair mechanic, no more freebie help. If someone sticks around the club for awhile and we get to know them and figure they are going to keep their Corvair then they will get some help.

Sorry Melb-Mike, but your so called friend is a "MOOCHER". Sooner or later everybody runs into one. Best to shun them, they never change.
Richard
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:06 pm

Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by Richard »

>> I tell him he's a car pimp. <<

I couldn't have said it better.
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Dneprdude
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Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by Dneprdude »

Anytime I would sell a car long distance I take pics from every angle and possible trouble area and be as honest as possible without doing and X-ray. Beong specific and knowledgeable is key on both ends. The last thing I wanna do is take a road trip and be very disappointed. I have been there and don't want to do that to anyone. Do unto others you know. I will be driving some distance for my future vair hopefully soon. We will see.
Matt
Surf City, NC

Dnepr MT-11
'96 VFR
cwhunt
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:21 pm

Re: CAR FLIPPERS - GOOD, BAD OR JUST UGLY

Post by cwhunt »

I am sure there are quite a bit of those in it for a quick buck, but there are some out there to make sure some of the old cars survive. I haven't started yet but I am looking into buying some Corvairs to restore then sell them. I personally can't afford a medium size Corvair collection. But I love the history of the car and if I can keep some from going to the junk yard to be crushed, I will. I will be doing all the work myself though.

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Christopher Hunt
San Diego, CA
'63 Monza Spyder 150HP Turbo
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