Do you want to be youtube star?

[Coralsnake]

Disclaimer: This is not an indictment of the owner, the people working on the car or anything other than an educational tool.

We often suggest people look at cars before they buy them or have an "expert" check them out. Here is a car that sold fairly recently at Mecum. I can guarantee you that did not happen.

https://www.mecum.com/lots/1095307/1968-shelby-gt500-convertible/?aa_id=483624-0

Here is where the car is now....with an "unhappy" owner. They probably paid a good price for the car, now have a whopper body work bill and will never have a car worth what they originally paid for it.

There are about a half dozen videos of the car.  This is why we say it....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyo9dYtEPUI

Its one thing if you sign up for the full restoration experience, another if you just get dropped in your lap because you didnt do your due diligence.

[KR Convertible]

Mecum website lists it as sold for $79,200

[KR Convertible]

#0244

[Paulb]

A few of the recent Mustangs I've bought, I've had people tell me, "You overpaid." I saw one just like it go across Mecum for way less."

What they don't see is the difference. I'm not talking about a shiny driver restoration. I'm talking about a documented, vetted, concours-level car that's been inspected by some of the most respected names in the Mustang world. On the surface they can look similar. Underneath, they're not even in the same league.

It is upsetting knowing how often someone buys their dream car and don't realize what they're getting into. There's nothing worse than finally landing your dream Mustang only to find out it's full of filler, incorrect parts, hidden rust, or mechanical nightmares. 

You can't always fault the buyer.  The buyer thinks they scored. Then the truth starts showing up in layers.
Yes, people should do their homework. But when your dream car is sitting under the lights and your heart is racing, logic tends to take a back seat. That's when emotional bidding happens, and people get taken advantage of. That upsets me when I hear people were taken advantage of. Their dream turns into tuition.

[TA Coupe]

Hard to believe that Mecum would even offer a car like that for auction.. Very unscrupulous if you ask me. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

      Roy

[Special Ed]

The first thing i ask or look at on a car inspection is the paperwork to see where it was originally sold as that will tell you alot about the body metal condition. Hinedale is in the chicago area so u can expect salt rotting the metal. Chicago detroit toledo cleveland area all get that lake effect ice and snow so lots of salt was used back then before the bug juice they put on roads around here anyway.Also south east coastal areas where salt is in the air along the ocean front can have bad salt rotting in all the odd places u wouldny expect like a northeastern cars that rot from the bottom side up as these southeastern coastal cars rot from the top down. Years ago i went to an old junkyard along the florida coast and was shocked to find cars with good floors but all the a-pillars and corners and areas where body primer never got sprayed were rotted away and windshield post areas were all in bad shape so needless to say i didnt buy anything except some  original headlights.

[Coralsnake]

That is very good advice

There have been some rare exceptions where the cars shipped north are actually better because they were put away.

That is they were unrestored

I would always be leery of the restored cars

[Royce Peterson]

Hard to believe that Mecum would even offer a car like that for auction.. Very unscrupulous if you ask me. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

      Roy

They take any car that pays their price. Occasionally they do the right thing but those times are few and far between.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Mecum website lists it as sold for $79,200

So he got it for 1/3 to 1/2 to price of a "good" one. If he's reliving his youth and beating on it as hard as Jim Morrison he made a good investment. When he's done with it he can advertise it for $100,000 and take 80 getting his investment back from the guy that shows up with rose colored glasses.

[69 GT350 Vert]

That video makes me appreciate my rust-free, California convertible with all original metal.

[pbf777]

Hard to believe that Mecum would even offer a car like that for auction.. Very unscrupulous if you ask me. They ought to be ashamed of themselves   

    One of the main draws for consignors of vehicles to these 'big' auction events is the fact that they don't have to face the potential buyers or answer any questions; and pretty much as expected on any "used car lot", if you can't figure it out or make for your own discovery, oh well . . . . . .   

    As far as for MECUM or most any of others, to them, it's just a big "used car tent sale", with the event itself being the sales pitch, particularly for the more expansive affairs. 

    Scott

[98SVT - was 06GT]

That video makes me appreciate my rust-free, California convertible with all original metal.

Seeing the price and problems with replacement sheet metal makes me think I should have sold 135 for more than $750. I was happy with the price at the time. CA car (NOT Alaskan) but Econoline seats, no console, 390 and every fiberglass part cracked. I bought it out of a body shop for the $370 storage fee so doubling my money in a couple weeks I was happy. The guy I sold it to flipped it a month or so later for a grand. He added $500 to that and bought a Road Runner wing car.