Well, the answer to that question is obviously not “easy” or I wouldn’t be writing up this soap operatic diatribe.
Somebody once said something along the lines of “it’s the thrill of the hunt” or some such garbage. However, the closest I’ve got to a hunt with trying to sell my Galaxie is hunting for a buyer. The car is not perfect, nor have I ever insinuated as such, but it would seem its a rolling source of lockjaw, scabies, and the mange given my (distinct lack of) success thus far.
I first put the Galaxie up for sale in August 2018. Yes, you read that right – it was twenty-three months ago. It seems about as recent as 1994 given the abundance of utter crap that has happened in every respect of life since then.
But I digress.
I have advertised it in a variety of arenas – arenas in which I should know better but, hey, it seems I’ve discovered a masochistic streak within myself. That really shouldn’t have surprised me any as the acronym for my job title at work is “D.M.E.” – which I recently told a cohort stands for “Damned Masochistic Engineer”.
Yes, I have a job in which the unwritten parts of the job description are the fun and rewarding parts – its the yin and yang of developing people’s latent talent along with periodic disciplinary issues and other tawdry and unsavory things one is never warned about as a youngster.
But I digress. Again.
In a profound moment (okay, era) of mental unclarity, I placed ads for the Galaxie on both List of Craig and the Book of Face. Really, I should know better. But I did it anyway. The ads were cheap.
Perhaps my mistake was using proper English in lieu of some quasi-English-esque prose in which any true meaning is as murky as the bowels of a septic tank.
For instance, my ad stated roughly the following:
Ready for new adventures? This 1963 Ford Galaxie is ready to provide them. With an engine remanufactured in 2013, I’ve twice driven this Galaxie on multi-state trips, covering over 1,000 miles each time. It’s fun for the whole family. I’ve owned it for 32 years and it’s time for new adventures. Sorry, I’m not interested in any trades.
There are countless ways to write ads but I was aiming for something with a little catchiness, a splash of panache, and memorability. So much for that. The verbiage for my ad, based upon the queries I received, should have been:
Yo. Got a bad ass 63 Galaxy. Make it your, its the shit. Lots new and u r reddy to go. Ca$h talks, bull$hit walks. I know what I got.
The first response was somebody who wanted to evenly trade me his 1937 Chevrolet rat rod for the Galaxie. Uh, no. Any rat rod is a loving creation by the owner and there is no way on this earth I will buy someone else’s love child. Rat rods are a creative assemblage of parts in which I have absolutely no interest.
It also seems trading people your undesired treasures for their treasures of equal unwanted-ness is a cottage industry of some variety. Another prospective buyer wanted to trade me three sundry motorcycles plus some cash for the Galaxie. Uh, no. I have as much use and interest for any motorcycle as I do a third nipple. Just ain’t happening.
Along the way I have also discovered the CEO of Book of Face has gotten his platform very good about informing me of all manner of nonsense that yearns to lower my IQ but this same platform doesn’t bother to let me know a prospective buyer has contacted me. For instance, this past winter a message sprang up on my phone. Then there was notification about some unknown person having messaged me…nine months prior.
Talk about awkward. Setting all awkwardness aside, I messaged the person and explained what happened. He immediately wanted to talk.
We subsequently had a forty-five minute phone call at midnight. Apparently, his dream car is a 1963 Ford Galaxie sedan (check) with an FE series engine (check) bolted to a three-speed with overdrive (check and check). We corresponded, we talked again. I learned he was in the Carolinas, which satisfied my desire for it to be a Galaxie far, far away.
Then…nothing. No call backs, no responses to messages. Nothing.
Other inquiries are just silly. One person asked what a three-speed with overdrive was. Somebody else wanted to know where I was located – despite saying so in the ad.
One person approached me with a simple: Take $x,xxx?
Two words with a low-ball offer. Demonstrating my typical charm and charisma, my response was a simple “Is there anything you would like to know about the car?”. It seems this person only had so much and was shooting the moon with their offer. I have to respect that.
Then this past March rolled around. I had advertised the Galaxie (yet again) figuring people would want to spend their tax returns and it would be wise to be opportunistic. On March 11 I got two separate inquiries.
Person One was near me. We corresponded and I gave him a call. He wanted to come see the car but his demeanor was, we shall say, curious. But he had money and I had a car for him.
Person Two was in the Northeast and is friends with the no call-back guy from the Carolinas. Like his buddy, he said my Galaxie is equipped exactly the way he wanted. Great. Let’s talk some more.
Remember, these two messages were on Thursday, March 11, the day the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. The following Monday, when I’m still conversing with both of these gentlemen, it is highly recommended I work from home indefinitely. That same day the first case of the virus is diagnosed in a county just north of me, the same county where Person One is coming from, plus the governor announced the State of Missouri was shutting down.
Person Two is somewhat close to New York City, in an adjacent state, and the virus was rapidly spreading in his state.
This presented a moral and ethical dilemma. I wanted the Galaxie to go to a happy new home but was it worth potentially exposing my family and myself to unknown forces? It was not.
My conversation with both of them disclosed the state shutting down and my working from home. With both I suggested we wait things out a bit to see what happened with the pandemic and to go from there. Both were aware of the other person. In both cases we agreed to stay in contact.
Neither has ever attempted any contact. Neither has returned any messages or emails. It appears as if neither was very serious.
Shortly thereafter I got this message, reminding me I had not deleted my ads:
Uh, no.
I figured this person was also shooting for the moon, which I respect. But when did people’s reading comprehension skills go down the toilet? Poor reading skills have become a more pervasive and infected more people worldwide than a certain virus. When a person states they are not interested in a trade why offer a trade? Don’t waste my time. I deleted my ads.
Back in April, I started the Galaxie. It fired right up and it was the first time it had been started in four or five months. After letting it run for about ten to fifteen minutes, I pulled it back into the garage. It sat until today, July 5. Just like last time, it fired right up.
Today I drove it around the neighborhood for about thirty minutes. It runs great but it is coughing a little when pulling hills. I’ve been suspecting the accelerator pump is going kaput as I mistakenly filled it with fuel having 10% ethanol a few years ago. And a few years ago was the last time I put fuel in it.
Looking at my mileage book, I’ve put roughly 60 miles on the Galaxie in the past year. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s that many. It has only traveled around 600 miles since I last changed the oil – three years ago.
In a sense, my life has outgrown my Galaxie. But I still have it. As I told my wife earlier today, nobody is beating down the door to buy the Galaxie so I may as well drive it.
For a while, I have been wanting to make the 200 mile trip to Cape Girardeau to visit my parents. The desire has many reasons but it occurred to me a few days ago to simply drive the Galaxie down there. On the highway I have achieved 19 to 21 miles per gallon thanks to its overdrive. That’s better fuel mileage than I would realize in my Ford Econoline and the Galaxie is not as vulnerable to crosswinds. If I leave early enough in the morning, I’ll never miss having air conditioning. Open the floor and wing vents and drive off into the sunrise….
Will you take a slightly used Chevy Vega (minimum rust) in trade plus $500? It’s yellow and starts and runs. I am located in Maine. (oh, third gear is gone). LOL!!
Honestly, though, see if B.A.T. will list it for you. Seems like everything that sells on that site goes for 30% above normal value.
Wow. Two years on the market and no solid leads. I would also be frustrated if I were in your situation. Hopefully the insurance and registration costs haven’t set you back too much.
Have you thought about Barn Finds or Bring a Trailer? Those sites generally attract the type of audience that can string words together.
The only other thing I could think of is calling/visiting your local Ford dealers. You might encounter a diehard Blue Oval fan who’s been looking for something like the Galaxie.
I think your car is fantastic.
I just don’t have a place for it.
I’ve sold a car that I wasn’t even trying to sell for about 10% more than the craziest high price I could think of when the dude said he wanted to buy it. I’ve sold a car that had the left front suspension broken off from the rusty front cross-member. I’ve sold a car that had a river of coolant running downhill from its failed water pump. I’ve sold a car that I had driven off a cliff to a new car dealer, and not as a trade-in. I’ve sold a car to the Crutchfield installer I had removing the stereo to put in my new car, I’ve sold a car for double any book valuation to the first potential buyer to look at it. I don’t write listings with any catchiness or cutesiness. I want buyers who are as forthright as I am.
There was a trust-fund twerp on an F1 forum I frequented twenty years ago. He had a Lancia Monte Carlo that he wanted nine grand for when they were worth five grand to the right buyer. The car was literally garaged in Monaco, ‘for free’ at a property where his father paid the bills. He eventually got something close to his price, with his narrative-ad-style, and his incredible self-obsession. In the mean time, that car occupied a thousand-dollar-a-month spot in a high rise building’s underground garage in Monaco for about five years. He sure showed those of us who called him out for being a dope by hanging on for his price though.
Congratulations on selling cars so easily. Not everyone has the same experiences.
Nobody has balked at my price, so I figure that isn’t the issue.
You won’t even state your price. When you combine that with your complaints about low-ballers and lack of people showing up waving stacks of hundred dollar bills in your face, I’m thinking the possibility exists that your price is where real buyers see it as so unrealistic that they don’t want to waste their time negotiating with you. It is true that there are five figure prices BEING ASKED for various two door hardtop and convertible Galaxie 500s with desirable options, but there are also Galaxie 500 project convertibles being listed for fourteen hundred bucks. This car is a parts car for someone with a two-door, or a driver for someone on a tight budget. Every dollar spent improving it will never see a financial return. Hopefully, you bought it right. That’s when you make your money on a car, or so I’ve been told.
And you are way off-base about what I’ve said, not to mention your various assumptions, which verifies my observations about reading comprehension. 🙂
This piece isn’t an advertisement, thus no price is being given. Besides, you’d likely criticize it anyway. This piece is simply an observation about trying to sell a car. We don’t sell cars here, so why would I go this route?
Further, where did I ever say I was out to make money on the car? It’s a four-door sedan, I’m not so stupid as to think it’s worth what other Galaxies are worth. Selling this car, or not, will have no affect on the outcome of my life.
You do get tedious.
We don’t sell cars here,
Well, actually we do: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/cc-for-sale-1963-ford-galaxie-500-after-nearly-32-years-its-time-for-different-adventures/
And we’ve done a number of others too.
Well said Jason Shafer.
Paul, you know, I had totally forgotten that! Much water under the bridge since then!
But there was no asking price then either, so maybe it doesn’t count. It’s a bit hard to sell something without an asking price., preferably a realistic one. 🙂
“Hopefully, you bought it right. That’s when you make your money on a car, or so I’ve been told.”
That’s a good one, CJ.
There are a hundred such adages.
One of my favorite: If it’s priced right, anybody can sell it; if it’s priced wrong, nobody can sell it.
That stinks, Jason. Luckily, I haven’t tried to sell anything in several years, but cars are the worst to sell. Calls to try to “help” you sell your car, low ball offers on the phone, no-shows, bad grammar…I think you’ve just about covered them all. Unfortunately, I think you’re right about where I am with my cars (not that I’m interested in selling anything). People seem to want a “barn find” complete with bird droppings, something totally original with 10,000 miles, or else something showroom perfect or better so they can show off to their friends how awesome they are because they have a perfect car they never use (Sorry, I slipped into cynicism there.). Show them a nice, usable car that shows some history and you’ve got a limited audience right off the bat. Plus, it’s even harder with a four-door, which is too bad.
If you post on Bring a Trailer, you’ll get a million guys telling you that ’63 Galaxies never came with a “Part A” or a “Thing B,” and how your pictures are no good. It’s a fun website to browse, but some people are so critical…it drives me crazy. On the other hand, sellers seem to often get good prices. Anyway, that turned into an internet rant faster than I expected.
Good idea on getting back to driving it. It’s a perfect old car to use regularly during the nice months and occasionally during the winter. Why not?
I’d rather light a candle than curse your darkness, so here’s a tip. Are you familiar with Barnfind Hunter on Hagerty.com? That guy is OBSESSED with cars like yours. He would step on the roof of a Facel Vega with the Pont a Mousson 4-speed connected to its 392 Hemi to get a better view of a car like yours that’s lost a demolition derby in 1979 before being left to rust in a swamp. If anyone can stand his early ’60s Ford obsession for more than three episodes, then they are the market for your car. I don’t know if Hagerty will let you advertise it on their site in the comments for free, but I’ll bet you could solicit interested parties in the comments sections under these videos on YouTube.
Sorry to hear this. I was kind of wondering how it would go.
The problem is that it’s not a typical collector car, so you’d have to find just the right person. One in 331 million, hopefully 🙂
Don’t forget that the T-85/R11 overdrive in your car is probably worth some $1500 or more alone. They are gold. Maybe you should take it out and sell it by itself, and put in a basic Ford toploader three speed in it and lower the price. A way to maximize its value.
Would he need to have a new driveshaft built? You can shorten them, but I doubt you can add length. Is his time worth anything? Carrying costs? When you understand what it costs to not turn a car inside a week, you tend to connect with buyers.
Probably. I did say “maybe”.
It’s been an adventure. When I went to sell our ’93 Buick Century, I had people lined up and it was sold in three hours.
When I sold my F-150, it went even quicker.
So I got spoiled. It has crossed my mind to part it out. The chrome and badges alone bring crazy money, then there is the drivetrain as you mention. But I can’t bear to cannibalize the poor thing.
I bought a 63 in 65 when I got out of the Navy. I own two. A convertible with a 4 bbl 427, cross bolted of course. Also a 63 fastback with a rare crossbolted 406. It has a 428 crank and .030 overbore. Internal balance using Mallory. Your car is sweet. These were great cars.
Both of mine sport the cast iron headers. One short and one long.
I’m sure that if Jason goes this route, he’ll assemble the linkage correctly and won’t have to post a shift-pattern diagram on the dash!
I believe it was Wayne Carini who said “it’s all about the hunt” or something close.
Not that I can afford it, but what is the asking price?
Vastly less than the value Hagerty Insurance has written the policy for.
Do you have the ad listed currently anywhere so I can see if this car which interests me is anywhere near affordable for me?
I can see your email address. Want me to email you? I’d prefer to not broadcast price as there will no doubt be someone who feels compelled to critique it. 🙂
Sure send me an email, and sorry to put you on the spot!
You have my complete, entire, wholehearted sympathy and empathy, for I have hiked and slogged up this mountain. If it were a beige Camry it’d be gone within a couple days. If it were a 2-door or a Mustang, gone within a couple weeks. But one trouble with having automotive tastes far off the bell curve, and satisfying them with super-nice examples of what you like (worthy of proper/premium upkeep and repair) is that it takes forever to find a similarly-extracurvial* buyer who wants it enough to actually pursue and follow through with a deal. And that’s on top of all the usual buyer-filters (actually has the money, actually has the necessary permissions, actually can arrange to come get it, etc). It took me years to sell my extremely nice ’62 Dodge Lancer 770 4-door, but it eventually sold well to an ideal new home in Australia. The sale itself was a multiple-year affair. The story will be told.
(On the other hand, some years before I sold my ’65 Canadian Valiant, I was approached in the parking lot of the storage lockup I rented and offered $6K by a dude who I reasonably guessed wanted to make a low rider or something out of it. I’d’ve done well to take the money and move on to something else, but I didn’t.)
Hang in there!
*I’m pretty sure I just made up that word
The last four-door car of age I sold was my ’55 Chevrolet. This was in 1998 and nobody in North America wanted it. But I found a buyer in Sweden.
The prior four-door was a ’62 base model Galaxie. Being a Ford of that vintage, people love to paint them black and white, which is what happened, selling it to a guy in Hayfield, Minnesota. He later sent me pictures of the conversion.
Ideally, it will go to someone in Europe as did my ’55 or Australia, like your Dodge. Both places seem to appreciate four-door cars infinitely more than the door snobs in the United States.
Hey Jason, I am interested. I am looking at another 63 4 Dr galaxy. I have just see it from the road and have contacted the owner. Not sure how much repair is needed with that one, so what are you asking for yours. And we’re is the car located?
Ted, I’ve taken the liberty of emailing you.
I only sell cars on Craig’s List and only list my phone number, not allowing either e-mails or texts. Keeps the riff raff out by requiring voice contact. In my state probably 15% of the people don’t speak English and they just borrow a relative to talk to me. Rarely has someone asked me the lowest price I’d take over the phone, and if they do I always respond with the ad price.
I price them high and sometimes wait a month for a buyer. Over 15 years and probably five cars sold I’ve never had a problem with my phone number being misused.
I have a great idea – you can pass it around to every CC writer to keep for a month and then write about the experience. When it has cycled through everyone you can take your even more world-famous Galaxie back and sell raffle tickets for a giveaway! 200 $25 tickets gets you to $5000! (disclaimer – this is not legal advice 🙂 )
Next time I see you I will buy you a beer. The raffle is a fabulous idea.
Don’t worry, I already have an attorney on retainer. Besides, not every attorney is licensed in every state…
When I worked at Chrysler, there was a contract employee who wanted to sell his beater. So he painted “win this car” on the sides and tried to sell raffle tickets. Not much interest until he parked the car in the reserved spot of the division general manager. Both the car and he were gone the next day.
So are you recommending I drive it to Eugene and park in Paul’s front yard?
Although after recently discovering European banger racing, I did have a fleeting thought of doing similar with the Galaxie. But that would be galacticly (sic) dumb on my part. Although I did see one race with a ’59 Edsel and another with a ’75 Sedan deVille that won with no real trauma to it.
I’ll take month one!.
Usual shipping address.
Yep, pencil me in for the month after Roger. Shipping could be slow, might have to send it by air. 😉
It’s all about the price, isn’t it?
My random thought is that maybe the ’63’s best hope would be being marketed as a potential police car
re-creation? Dallas?
Not that it’s relevant anymore, but I have some wasted gray matter retaining the memory of exactly “Jason’s” car (except a six ) begging for $125.00 firm. It was Grandma nice and the seller was not backing down off the price. Finally a transportation-challenged buddy went for it after another friend predicted that the Ford would probably run for years without spending a dime on it. It did.
The Ford just would not quit, it was passed around until half way through the ’70s before finally fading away.
Before the conversation moved on I was going to comment in the ’68 Bird thread on how at times some vehicles fall to almost zero value/interest, no matter how nice an example is. There used to be so many Birds around in decent condition, but nobody wanted ’em, at almost any price. I suppose some versions of the same situation exist today.
Have you considered eBay Motors? Starting bid at your ask and just see?
I agree that FB and CL has only become a land of tire kickers and daydreamers. It really makes me second guess taking anything additional on knowing that I’d likely be stuck with it…
Good luck, very cool car. Might as well just keep it!
Yes, I have considered ebay. The $450 selling fee is a bit steep as far as percentage of likely sale price. But I haven’t ruled it out.
It’ll go one day. As you know, there’s an ass for every seat 🙂 And plenty of asses otherwise too…
Put it back in the garage, load some boxes on top, clean out the shopvac next to it and release a few pigeons in there for a day or two. Then open the door back up, take a blurry photo or two (capturing no more than 65% of the car, this is critical!), but no more than three pictures, and then repost it as an all original barnfind with no Covid exposure.
You know, I could combine your and JP’s ideas and have a real barn-burner. Plus I will have to take a picture of my thumb covering the license plate.
As I told my wife, this old Ford is so tough and no-nonsense if the virus were exposed to it, the virus would go into quarantine for two weeks.
The thumb is a great touch as long as you shoot it portrait style. I can get you an old California black plate and then you can advertise it as coming with that as well. Let people draw their own conclusions…
Sweet! Let me send you my mailing address….
Jason.I feel your pain.I have sold many. many, cars over the years. I’ve sold them through newspaper classifieds, Auto Trader, car club newsletter, Good Guys Car Corrals, Craig’s List. I parked them on the street and in parking lots with signs in the windows. Have I always been successful? Yes, in the sense that I’ve “disposed” of every car. I’ve never had to give away, donate, or scrap a car. Have I ever gotten the price that I originally wanted, no. Have I ever made any money in a sale? No!
Is this because I’m just a lousy salesman? Maybe. Is it because I’m selling cars that have limited appeal? Probably so. Even cars that have risen in price over the years since I sold them. I usually sell them at their lowest point in value just before they start to increase in value. I sold my mid 60’s Rivieras and first generation Datsun Zs for depressing low amounts. Still, and always, the market rules. In most cases it’s usually a buyer’s market, unless it’s hand sanitizer or n-95 face masks!
It always seems that when we are looking for a certain car that the the supply is limited, the prices are too high, and the seller is unwilling to bargain.
It’s a good thing that I don’t do this as a business, oh I did try for awhile, no wonder that I went out of business.
Jason I suggest that you contact your local Ford club and see if you can list it through their organization. If that doesn’t work, try finding a barn that you can stash it in for a few years. Barn Finds are Hot!
Jason I sympathize with your plight. You are doing the right thing in the meantime.
Strangely enough, although I’ve had good luck with the modern on-line methods for selling recreational toys and other stuff, the last two high mileage trucks I’ve sold have been sold the old fashioned way, with a sign in the window on the side of the road.
Neither buyer was aware of the ads I had posted on the same forums you used. . . . .
Good Luck.
It’s all about price. Anything will sell if it’s cheap enough. I’m not sure how Hagerty works, but suspect that agreed-upon price differs from a selling price. (Sort of like how jewelry is appraised at $1,000 “for insurance purposes” but can only be sold for $500.) As a person who hates selling cars and has lost interest beyond looking at this site, I suggest the following:
1) If you really want to get rid of the car, you must simply take whatever price you can get and be done with it. This probably involves consignment or an auction format like eBay, as well as disappointment in the result. However, the car will be gone and you can forget it and move forward.
2) If you are so attached to the car that you cannot live without it, get involved and fix it up. This will only be for love not money, as any expenses will not be recouped.
3) Speaking as a person who honestly likes both ’63 Galaxies (one in a million), overdrive (a different one in a million), and cars with a history, I have to say this car is “interesting” but simply not worth much money. By that, I mean something like the value that Paul suggests for the overdrive, more or less. That’s a bitter pill, but there you have it, IMO. Best wishes.
Have you thought about putting whitewalls on it? You can see a preview below. It seems like the perfect car for a period movie set. Whether firms that provide film set cars actually buy cars, or just rent them from you.
Good luck! I hope you might find a buyer with this post.
The fact that it’s a stick shift might be a problem – few of the younger folks working on the sets would know how to drive it.
The daughter of the owner of that 68 Squareback I did a story on was in my office yesterday and she is 17 and waiting for her DMV driving test that was canceled. I joked about getting her Dad to teach her how to drive a stick and how when guys say you can drive a stick she could say of course don’t you. She was adamantly not interested in a quiet sort of way.
Too bad about the hard time selling the Galaxie. It’s a really nice car with a great history. Other than CL and Facebook have you tried some of the bigger venues? I know people have mentioned BAT, but what about eBay or Hemmings? At least those sites will expand your audience. I have a friend that buys and sells old cars like clock work, and he’s bought from all over the States using those sites. He then just ships the cars up to his home. Four door cars are always a bit harder to sell, but I find people in my local area are a little less fickle about 4-doors simply because old cars are thinner on the ground here.
It’s good that your started using the car again. It’s not good to leave a car sit too long and you should at least burn off all that old gas and get some fresh gas in the tank. And driving the old car might rekindle the desire to keep it….maybe it’s fate it’s not selling. 🙂
I second JP’s advice, I’d gladly help out. When the car makes it up my way, I can do a classic Ford photo shoot to drum up attention. I have friend with a picturesque farm, some nice old Ford trucks and a Ford tractor, and I can bring along my old Ford too.
Isn’t BAT selective on what they run? I investigated them and, if I remember correctly, this checked few to none of their boxes.
For whatever reason I haven’t called Hemmings – likely due to thinking of it at the wrong times. I used them for my ’55 Chevrolet long ago.
Ebay isn’t off the list although their fee would be a sizable portion of likely sale price. Despite what others around here seem to think, I’m not asking $47,500 for it. It’s a mere fraction of that amount.
I’ve been following BaT recently and I think your Galaxie is a perfect candidate; the “one owner, 32 years” tag is right up their alley.
“Selective” is one word for it, yes. A less diplomatic and (IMO) more accurate adjective is “snobbish”.
I’ll concede that a name change is in order, but I don’t see what makes them snobbish. They have a remarkable sell-through rate, an active forum populated by the most knowledgeable collector car experts I’ve encountered, and an inexhaustible supply of deep-pocketed customers. The cars that are listed there sell for all the money because they are the cars their visitors are interested in. The guy who started the site is now a potential gull-wing buyer instead of someone looking for an Alfa to fix up. I suspect that is why Bring-A-Trailer now really means bring a heavily-insured and enclosed car hauler. There are plenty of places for listing cars that aren’t investment grade, and there are plenty of people paying attention to those places who would not maintain the level of discourse at Bring-A-Trailer. When someone shows up at Bring-A-Trailer to comment on a car that they know more about than the staff of Bring-A-Trailer, the administrators know that the new visitor is another asset for the long-term success of the site. Not every admin they have ever had has been perfect, but they’ve done the best job of protecting truth tellers over walking open wounds of any site I can think of.
I’ve seen Bring-A-Trailer allow a few cars that don’t belong there as no-reserve auctions. It doesn’t work out well for the sellers. I’ve also sent someone there with a car that should have been a home run. Naturally, he took my first piece of advice, but he stopped listening when I told him to have the car professionally detailed and to look at the selections of photos that accompanied some of the mid-five-figure sales of cars similar to his. He was granted a reserve auction and submitted a few crummy photos of a dirty and poorly-lit car. He eventually offered me the car for a thousand dollars less than the high bid that didn’t meet reserve from his auction. I thought I had done him a solid by not buying the car from him and flipping it on BaT in the first place, but I sure didn’t want any part of trying to re-run the same now-tainted car there.
BaT has lightning in a bottle. Snobbish? You might as well gripe about gravity.
Some things exist even when some people don’t see them.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here’s another way of looking at it: BaT’s selection criteria keep them from having their consigners telling horror stories about all the deadbeats, low-ballers, scammers and time-wasters that have given ebay, craigslist, and facebook market-place bad names.
Jason – Here is alternative: donate the car to Automotive Restoration Program at McPherson College. Contact is Amanda Gutierrez at 620-242-0424.
I’ve given to them (“Red Wrench Club”) over the years – but never a car. McPherson is a wonderful place. It leads to careers in the collectible car business.
First, Craigslist and place similar, are full of dreamers, flakes and other assorted characters. For every 10 that call one might say they will come out and look. Out of all those that say they will come out you will be lucky to see one. Most just want to talk about what they once had (Bring a Trailer comes to mind), or they want to trade, or they want parts. I once put up for FREE very desirable river rocks for landscaping. Forty two people called and one came out. She was a very happy camper.
Two, your car is past it’s sell date. Family sedans from the 50s are way past their sell dates. Original owners dead, original owners son dead or dying, and their grandkids say no way. The 60s family sedans are next on the chopping block for the same reasons. My father had a 67 Fury III Fasttop when 41. He passed at 93, I’m 66 and really liked that car. His grandkids, bleh. Leaving muscle cars, pony cars and some trucks out yours is a family sedan. It has 2 doors too many, it is a boring color on a boring car, it needs a garage, and it is a column shifter. Just being blunt as that is how non Ford and some Ford people will see it.
This has been the case longer than you realize. My 67 Park Lane, purchased in 2004, was on Craigslist for 5 months with zero callers till me. Gladly paid the $900 and promptly had every one going WTH! I like it! My 73 Polara, was also on Craigslist for 5 months ( I watched and at five months I caved) and I was the only person to actually follow through to see the car. Others either wanted parts or were no shows. My wife wasn’t smiling though.
Those two cars will be junked 20 years from now despite their condition. Their value will only decrease and no one will want then in 2040. Not even for a movie like Demolition Man. Of course this is heresy especially to many on a C Body forum yet facts are facts. You’re swimming upstream and there is this thing called the Hoover Dam in your way
All of this has crossed my mind at various times. I should have parted with it years ago, but silly me, it was sitting in my father’s pole barn. All that bit about bringing home stray puppies as you feel bad about them….
It also gets to the point of what is it costing me as is. My only ongoing cost is insurance at $125 per year and one of three garage bays being full. There are no license fees due to having historic plates. Annual property tax is like $3 or so.
But the aggravation factor exists. It is in the way but not horrendously so.
There is no real emotional attachment to the car, despite what there may appear to be. Yes, it’s been in my life for a very long time but I’m not an emotional person.
It’s also not like the sale of this thing will suddenly allow me to retire tomorrow.
I have sold a couple of collector cars on Craigslist and a bunch of daily drivers too. I have also bought a few collector cars from Craigslist and its Canadian counterpart Kijiji. You say that nobody has complained about the price in two years, but I have found that it is all about the price. I sold a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood a few years back. The car looked great in pictures, but the laquer paint was starting to craze. The leather interior was mint. I started at $9,000 and got a few lookers. I dropped the price every month for six months. I wasted every weekend showing that car to an assortment of flakey people. Even used car dealers showed up to look at it. I finally let it go for $3,850 because I didn’t want to store it another winter. If it went any lower I was going to pull the sweet 472 cubic inch engine out of it and drop it in my Camaro.
Great example. Jason’s car looks to be a grade 3 car. Presentable with signs of wear but runs and drives well. Book wise that is probably close to $5000 due to the overdrive whether that means anything to anyone is the question. Yet, book and what you can really get are two different planes of thought. Even I wouldn’t consider the car as I know there wouldn’t be any interest if here in California. Once it gets down to $2000 or less then there would be interest even from me.
Timely article, at least for me. I have a car sitting forlorn and unused in my garage, the product of bad timing, and I am trying to decide what to do with it two years into ownership. Oh, yeah, it’s a Chrysler’s TC by Maserati. One of the really popular cars right now….purchased when my Miata had a second engine issue and I was thinking it was a goner. The TC ticked off my “nobody else wants or has one” box, and it ran. But the brakes are in need of a lot of TLC as the PO replaced the old anti-lock brake system that no longer has parts available with the regular brake conversion that people advise. The Miata turned out to be a timing belt again, and easily fixed, but only after buying the TC. I have a small amount in the car, it is not taking up space otherwise needed, but I am not driving it or really sure if I want to spend the time and money on fixing it up for more use. There is no way to really recoup the money, just offset some of what I paid, and fixing it will probably exceed the value of it. But at the end of the day, I can honestly say that I own a Maserati, and that makes me smile. And that is where I think it stands with your Galaxie. You love it too much to junk it, to part it out, but not enough to consider letting it go. I get it, and I am sorry that you have to deal with the consequences. Rekindle the love or recycle the car. Those are the choices, save doing nothing. But that leaves me paying for tags and insurance on three cars, and it is just me.
I, for one, choose to do nothing for now. But the day of reckoning will come.
One other suggestion from a guy who has driven your car – have you thought about installing a power steering setup and keeping it? Power steering (which should include a faster steering gear) would completely change the driving experience and would probably make it much more pleasant for short local errands and cruises where frequent parking is involved. The manual steering is trouble-free and no issue in the country or on the highway, but that’s not where most of your driving is done right now, I am guessing.
My 63 F100 had manual steering that could have been invented by Charles Atlas for building arm muscle. That was one reason I sold it – Sometimes I just wanted a leisurely cruise and not a wrestling match. Wrestling can be fun, but not when you don’t feel like it.
Of course you may not be in a mental place of wanting to invest more in it.
That is an intriguing idea, one I had not thought about. I should investigate what it would take to convert it.
Oh come on lets think about that? You know of the saying throwing good money after bad? So spend money and still have trouble selling the car. Ah, too much work. No parts car from that era with power steering to grab which would be the only practical way. Better yet if a buyer laments no power steering then cut the price and let the buyer install it. Besides, unlike what you said about driving, I drive my two big cars on the freeway and not around town except to get to the freeway.
You beat me to it.
It’s not like you’re going to parallel park it that often.
Except for parking the steering on my F100 is hardly a burden once under way. And it keeps up my upper body muscle tone. 🙂
Well you are from Austria just like Arnold…
Agreed on all counts. I have never messed with such a thing and wondered if the Ford setup might have continued with little change into the late 70s so that supplies might be a little easier to find, but apparently this is not the case from the comments I’m seeing.
Note that the last part of my idea was “and keep it”. If Jason is intent on selling, I agree and would not invest one more dime.
“Power steering (which should include a faster steering gear) would completely change the driving experience”
EXACTLY why I don’t drive my Isuzu more often. Well, that and lack of air conditioning. The Armstrong steering on that thing is just too much around town sometimes.
Hang in there Jason. Someone is going to want that nice Ford.
I have sold two vintage cars on Bringatrailer, and they went for what I considered to be good prices, although I should have held on to my 1988 Range Rover for another year or so, but oh well. The advantage with BAT is that bidders have to have verified payment before bidding, so it helps prevent that bane of Ebay, non paying winners.
I will add my sympathies to the chorus. A two word response to a CL ad isn’t that bad, I got a response of “600” when trying to sell my Focus.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/cc-crickets-the-focus-nobody-wants-to-buy/
I prefer to sell my vehicles to people who can speak in complete sentances, which I guess limits my target group at this low price point.
Drive the damn thing, although I’m not driving my 63 VW this year so the great 1963 half way meetup is not possible currently. 🙁
Lol, “600”… couldn’t even muster a dollar sign
Jason, I’m sorry that you are having so much trouble selling the Ford. If I had more garage space I would seriously consider it, Fords of this vintage were thick on the ground in my youth and driving it might make me think I was 17 years old again. Plus, with the three on the tree you probably don’t have to worry about someone trying to drive off in it as it is only us old farts who can operate this variety of transmission. Advice is cheap I know but I would hold onto the car until I got my price. As long as you don’t need the storage space for something else I would just hang on to the Ford.
How much are you asking for the Galaxie. If it’s in my price range I’m a definite prospect. Where are you located.is the floor and frame good?
Jefferson City, Missouri. If you don’t mind, I will email you. I can see your address.
You are experiencing the confluence of both the demographic shift taking place which is reducing the numbers of individuals who are interested and wiling to deal with an old car from the carbureted, non-computer controlled era, overlain with the precarious economic circumstances from the pandemic the majority now find themselves. Collector cars are a luxury, nice to have to enjoy but no one needs one to live.
I’d suggest you sign on to the AACA Forum, you don’t have to be an Antique Automobile Club of America member to do so. There is a Cars For Sale section where you can post a thorough description and multiple photographs. No guarantees, but the membership is generally intelligent about old cars of all makes, appreciates a wide variety of makes and models including those that are not in the ‘popular’ mainstream.
Hope this helps you find the ’63 Galaxie its next appreciative conservator. Good luck.
That is a great idea. Thank you.
Be sure to emphasize the overdrive and your good driving experiences with that option. Manual shift with overdrive collector cars are more preferred than those with automatics.
I was going to suggest a forum. There is a forum for almost everything these days; I would not be shocked to learn there is a forum solely for four-door 1963 Galaxies. Every forum devoted to objects made of metal has a for-sale section. I’d join it and post the car. You’d be front and center before the individuals most likely to want it.
There is NOTHING easy nor cheap about a “fast” PS conversion to a ’57-’64 Ford.
There is no OE or junkyard swap way to do it.
Ah, your first post didn’t show up and so you tried it again and ended up with two. Been there done that twice today only deleted the repeat on the first try. On the second post I just copied it and then waited 5-10 minutes at which point it magically showed up. I have copied this just in case and will now wait for the results.
I, like most people it seems have had issues with a sale of some sort. I was so frustrated this past year about one I posted this to my friends.
Cringe away!
Warning! This post is a cautionary tale! (eventually)
Today marks a milestone of sorts for me; that being that it marks the first time I have pulled an ad off the FB Marketplace site due to overwhelmingly idiotic responses from the fruit bats that inhabit the site.
It goes like this:
We decided to sell our nice dining chairs, a set of six. The ad clearly stated via photos and text color, location, the dimensions, the fact that it was a set of six and no parting out, the price and all those fun little details that you think will help someone make a proper buying decision.
Or so you would think.
What follows is more like a journey into some alternate universe inhabited by random troll like creatures, that fully expect something different. As in, (paraphrasing) I only wanna buy two, or four, can you deliver, what colour are they, how big, how small, how tall, would you take (insert some unbelievably insulting fraction of your price), do you smoke, have pets, whatever, and usually ending in LOL.
So, after some joust and parry with said fruit bats as some questions seemed on the surface reasonable, I finally came to the conclusion that there was not enough money in the sale of the chairs to warrant the amount of booze and pills I was popping in a vain attempt to hold it together trying to sell them.
So I have come to the conclusion that somehow my ad or the chairs themselves are cursed or have special powers to attract the most unbelievable assortment of “snowflakes”, and that by pulling said ad, I am crossing my fingers and hoping they have gone away.
This is the cautionary part of the tale:
They are still out there, now without focus, and still bereft of chairs, or some such thing, and wandering the dusty halls of FB Marketplace like zombies to brains. Be warned. They walk amongst us, and may visit you. And not in a good way.
Parts of this sound eerily familiar. And to think some people believed “Dark Shadows” to be a soap opera….
This post comes at a time when I’m helping a widow sell her late husband’s 07 Mustang GT convertible with Roush conversion. I’m losing patience now going into the fifth month of posting on Autotrader,Kijiji and through the marketplace in Facebook.
She’s hoping to sell at a price that has resulted in only a few calls and no lookers. I have hinted her asking price needs to drop (trying to be kind while doing so) but one low-ball offer told me the car could sell but in the current economy, the price must come down. I suspect it will be sitting in her garage for another winter.
The selling climate stinks these days. Best luck in finding a new home!
Two thoughts on selling your car. First, you could open up to the readers and tell us your asking price. Maybe somebody will take you up on it. Second, you could spend $50.00 and list it on BarnFinds.
https://barnfinds.com/sell/
Thanks for the lead about barnfinds.com
I forget in which forum I lamented the unexpected acquisition of my child’s minivan last autumn. I considered selling it, but after my last experiences selling on CL, I was in no hurry to sell. For now it will live in my garage for a while longer.. Maybe once the WuFlu has receded some I may consider selling it.
Maybe hold out for a bit longer?
About ten minutes ago I took the tag off the carburetor so I can get an accelerator pump ordered. So at this point I’m thinking drive it and hold on for a while.
But that could change by next week.
It runs great but it is coughing a little when pulling hills. I’ve been suspecting the accelerator pump is going kaput as I mistakenly filled it with fuel having 10% ethanol a few years ago.
My diagnostic skills are mediocre, but two things to consider:
The accelerator pump only shoots in a quick shot to allow the engine to increase revs suddenly. If it’s coughing on hills for more then a couple of seconds, it’s probably not the accelerator pump.
I’ve used regular (ethanolated) gas in my F100 forever. It’s never had an issue. Same carb for over 20 years.
It could be something as simple as the fuel filter being clogged. Assuming that the Ford still has the vacuum fuel pump that could be the issue. It might even be something that is ignition related. Many years ago a man that I had a lot of respect for re automobiles told me that the first thing to check if a car won’t start or run the way it should is the ignition system. As he was fond of saying, if the brain don’t work you can’t expect anything else to work either.
Many years ago a man that I had a lot of respect for re automobiles told me that the first thing to check if a car won’t start or run the way it should is the ignition system
Wise words, that I’ve had to learn the hard way. But I’ve finally got that one down now. Especially with a points ignition system.
That could also be the case.
It starts fine and idles great. The problem is it just isn’t making the power it should when under load – but it still runs smoothly most of the time. I live at the bottom of a quite steep hill, about 7 or 8% grade. Going up it causes some coughing unless I get a run at it.
A fuel filter would definitely be easier than an accelerator pump, and that filter has been in the car about five years now. It’s still a factory style fuel pump that mounts on the side of the block with the canister style filter beneath it.
Perhaps I need to inspect the point….?
The new Phillips 66 gas station just below Pioneer Trail in Apache Flats has 93 octane ethanol free. Thought you’d like to know.
I’m thinking it might be old gas. If my reading comprehension is any good I am understanding the fuel has been in there for 3 years? Or maybe some gumming of the carb from old gas?
I like your car, it speaks to me at some level but a couple of things put me off. It’s in the wrong country, and it’s a manual transmission. Best of luck with whatever you do with it.
Did you say the gas has been in there 2 years? If so, run it out and run a fresh tank through it. Once you’ve run some fresh gas through the system, take off the air cleaner, push the throttle wide open at the carb and shut the choke plate until the engine almost stalls, then let it rev up again. Repeat several times. It is an old school quick way to clean any trash out of the system. Might work. Might not, but an easy thing to try.
I’ll echo what two other responses said: get rid of that years old gas first. Then see what you have.
Colin Cioli: Thank you for the lead. Before we bought our house we lived in the old farmhouse straight up the hill from where that gas station is now (the station was built since we moved).
That location is far preferable to the Hy-Vee gas station, the only other place in town I know having ethanol free fuel.
As a left field idea: Post it on ebay-kleinanzeigen(.de). Take Stuttgart or Hamburg for location, don’t bother translating to German and explain the car’s whereabouts in the discription. This will filter day dreamers and target people, knowing how to get a car from the States. Don’t publish your phone number and ignore stupid messages generously. What is there to lose? Also less door snobbery over here, much love for early 60s barges and plenty of people eager to gobble up anything with enough chrome and V8.
It was surprising how well I could navigate a German website and you have me highly intrigued. The first Ford I saw was a 1967 F-250 for 12,975 Euros or about $14,600. And it was rougher than my Ford!
That’s the way it is here. Even utter junk rarely falls into the lower half of four figures and the crappiest malaise barge will find it’s keen admirer as long as there is a v8 and rwd in the package.
There is a new car dealer here in Maine advertising 25 lbs of free lobster with a new car purchase. Covid lobster prices are down to $5 a pound. If I want 25 lbs of lobster I think I’d just spring for the $125. Scantily clad women in an ad always attract attention. I wish you well in your pursuit. Someone is out there for your old Ford. At one time I’d have been interested but at this point in my life I am trying to minimize my assets. Best of luck.
One the positive side, you are fortunate to have a three car garage, as well as having expenses like registration and insurance under control. That puts you–pardon the expression–in the driver’s seat. Given the challenges of completing a transaction these days, that’s a great advantage. It seems to me that a local sale through CL is the most practical. I have used their email relay system and asked responders to provide a phone number. That allows me to screen the ridiculous responses (still for sale?) and contact those that seem promising. All you have to do then is re-post the ad regularly and wait, probably for months. If your price is reasonable (forget about how much that rebuilt engine cost), the right person should show up eventually. Just think how happy they will be to find that one-of-one 1963 Galaxie!
Stop trying to sell it, but keep a CL listing active.
Doing so will guarantee the right buyer will step forward.
Ignore it and they will come.
Sadly I think the number of doors is working against you. Some people don’t the “extra” set of doors no matter the condition. You are looking for an uncommon buyer unless you post it with a fire sale price. Its probably worth more to you than anyone else since you know its good points. Europe is definitely the place to get top dollar if you can navigate that. I’m told eBay is good way to go on that front but no direct experience.
The doors and transmission definitely work against it. I have no illusions about that at all.
Having researched it earlier one can place ads in eBay and choose their country. It appears to be more aimed at purchasing from those locations but there is no reason the inverse could not happen. Ebay has 25 countries they do such with, with Holland, Germany, and Sweden being three of them.
The Netherlands likes these.But frankly you need to put in some elbow grease.Pale cars need to sparkle a bit.Try Wheeler dealers…Mike Brewer may be tempted.
You could cage it and go to a LeMons race?
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15360507/panic-in-detroit-the-glorious-history-of-1960s-american-iron-in-the-24-hours-of-lemons/
It beats Banger racing. This does sound like fun.
Jason, I’m not that far from you, and I’d ask you to email me the price if it weren’t for two reasons: I’m slowly restoring a Samurai at the moment, and my next car from that era will be a ‘64 (like me) even though I prefer the looks of the ‘63 Ford.
Oh, make that three reasons: If I bring home a fifth vehicle, I have a feeling I’ll be sleeping in it! 😅
There are worse (read as smaller) cars to sleep in!
Yep, I spent more than one night sleeping, or trying to sleep, in the back of a Vega. Of course I was younger and more flexible then.
Not to harp on the subject but I’m guessing the price is less than 5,000 dollars but more than 3,500. I’m thinking that pricing it at 2,500 and selling it for 2,000 bucks might be possible. I know it sounds like giving it away, and it is, but two grand is where the guy that would want it, lives. He’ll probably put wide whitewalls and custom hubcaps on, slam the front end, and put some glass packs and Bellflowers on. Either rattle can primer it or add some custom scallops, flames, or other paint touches to it. Mexican blanket interior. It’ll be his low buck Sixties cruiser, Don’t think that I’m ridiculing the guy, That’s exactly what I would do with it!
Yeah, this is a terrible time to sell a car, but it’s entirely possible that things will get even worse. I think the best bet would be to start driving it again. You might encounter some one who will express an interest in the car and would be interested in buying it. I missed a good sale like that with one of my Rivs. I was at a show and the guy was really hot to buy. I was a little too cool to sell, I shined him on and up selling it for much less a couple of years down the line. Good Luck!
In answer to your question Jason: sometimes easy, sometimes hard, and no way of telling which result you’ll achieve. I’ve traded in most of my cars, but sold some privately. The expensive tale of selling one even featured here on CC back when I had time to write.
Mind you, I did have a win when selling my 1992 C33 Nissan Laurel diesel. I stated in the ad that it had mega mileage, blew an impressive amount of rich oily smoke, and used 5 litres of oil per 1,000km. The buyer turned up with wads of cash and said he didn’t care about the oil consumption as he got free oil through his work!
Sadly though, some cars just don’t attract buyers. I could never sell my magnificent elderly Ford Sierra (which turns 31 this month) because no-one wants Sierra estates. Of course I could also never sell it as I’ve spent approximately seven times its value in keeping it alive and healthy(ish). But then again it depressingly needs (more) expensive rust repairs for its latest roadworthiness certificate. So keeping it is just as frustrating as selling it would be…
Random thought: are there any businesses around you that buy/hire older cars for use in TV shows or movies?
On the bright side you are not as bad off as this guy trying to sell a 1962 Fairlane 2dr for $6000. It runs and rides great. Yeah, yeah, they all say that. Just need some cash for my next project. Yeah, yeah, everyone says that. Only major thing is the trunk is rotted out but all in all a sweet driver. I will give him props for nice looking seats. Oh, it is a 260 with column shift manual.
Not to go too far off topic, but I’ve always seen the obvious ’57 in the Fairlane’s fins. Now, your picture, for the first time to me, brought out the “Edsel” in the front lamp area.
I hate to plug where l work like this, but have you tried contacting a Streetside Classics dealer near you? We work on consignment and l know we are hurting for new inventory.
If you can’t make it there in person, you could always arrange to have it shipped. That way your car is in front of actual collectors each day and is taken care of by people like me. Folks with a passion for classics. You name what you’d like to get out of it and the dealership does their best to get you that price. I’m not sure where your nearest branch is located but it might be worth a shot?
Thanks for the lead. The closest location to me is Nashville which is about two hours or so from my parent’s house. Not a huge hurdle if need be.
The only source I didn’t see mentioned, or missed above, was Kijiji. You may have stopped in there as well, along the way.
Best of luck. Maybe your beloved car is trying to tell you something, to wit, “Don’t leave me!”
Currently listed on BAT:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1962-ford-fairlane/
It’s not a Galaxie but close……maybe the BAT idea is not so bad, after all. I enjoy the discussion on there inmost cases, and have bought one and bid on several cars on the site.
This vehicle is similarly equipped and could benchmark a price and a correlated level of market interest.
A friend of mine feels your pain. He tried, for years, to sell his Lincoln Versailles, a very nice condition survivor. He even offered to loan it to the Gilmore for their Lincoln gallery, but it wasn’t quite museum grade clean.
He announced a few days ago, that he had finally sold it. He said he sold it to a 25 year old with a bad driving record. So, of course, I guilt tripped Jim about condemning such a nice survivor to an owner who will probably trash it within months.
Jim’s need to sell the Lincoln escalated when he happened upon this barn find Torino.
Great car in a beautiful color. For some reason, to this day, whomever was (is) responsible for Ford’s color palette is one of the best in the business. The only recent car that came close was the now-defunct Fiat 500.
I am sorry to hear of all the troubles you’ve been having with selling your old Ford. I don’t think I can add anything to the good suggestions already provided by fellow CC’ers. I’m frankly shocked that eBay is now charging $450 for a listing. Back when I sold a 7-year-old Camry in 2004, the fee was a very reasonable $100 and the transaction went very smoothly. But $450 would have amounted to more than 10% of the sale price!
I’m in the over-65 age contingent on this site, and I have fond memories of 1950s and 60s American cars. I was brought up on GM iron, but I’ve always admired the 63 large Fords, thinking they are best-looking of the 60-64 generation. But I suppose most younger people would not understand the appeal of cars this old that are outside of the mainstream of cars considered collectible.
I agree with the consensus here that you shouldn’t spend anything more on the car other than fresh gas and an oil change. I also believe it’s a great idea to take another road trip in the car; then you can tell us of your adventures in a future CC article! I have enjoyed all of your past stories here.
I feel your pain. It is very difficult to sell anything that falls through the cracks. Most people have very mainstream tastes and this car is anything but. Your car is not on anyone’s radar to specifically seek out, nor compelling enough for an impulse buyer. The former type of buyer wants a cookie-cutter 2-door muscle car, the latter has a zillion other interesting cars to choose from – there are many more cars on the market than there are buyers for. So unfortunately, the only way to sell it quickly is to drop the price to the point where you’d consider buying it again yourself. Or wait and wait. This is in addition to the current situation that exacerbates the already dismal situation.
I would advise listing this car on forums that match the car’s profile. Market to those who have already expressed an interest in this kind of car. Also, as I said, nobody is specifically seeking it out, so you need to get it out where people can see it. Why not do it the old fashioned way and just park it somewhere visible with a For Sale sign?
Is it a 352 or 390?
My father had a similar car, 63 galaxie 500 352 automatic, 4dr, black with blue interior. Took my drivers test in it, passed the second time. Parallel parking with manual steering was fun and non-power drum brakes all around. Nice car.
I suppose we could trade, I have a 67 F250 camper special, straight body with some rust holes, engine is seized, brakes are junk and the tires are worse. Ran when parked! Same dilemma, do I fix it and drive it or sell it. Has personal attachment, my father bought it brand new, dropped a used Dreamer 8ft slide-in camper in it and the family went traveling around the US and Canada, also some hunting trips. I also know where the camper is too, it is probably in bad condition and you might have to cut down some trees to get to it. A parked near the barn find.
“But when did people’s reading comprehension skills go down the toilet? Poor reading skills have become a more pervasive and infected more people worldwide than a certain virus.”
You nailed it!
Know your frustration and will offer a few suggestions as I have sold two cars on the internet. I am fond of 1963 Fords and want your sedan to go to a good home (your Ford is not a parts car). Your photos show good views: you need to spend a few weekends cleaning your Ford. Buy some products and spend a few weekends detailing interior / exterior (lots of videos on YouTube). It has to be 100% clean and sparkle in you pictures. Even if body work not perfect, original paint needs to shine (your pictures show extreme faded paint but can be buffed up to shine with correct products). Currently inside, outside, engine bay looks dirty, not maintained. The view of dash with low mileage (dirt and grim obvious). Shop for period correct radial whitewall tires.
Typical, 50+ year old cars, rear suspension has sagged, clear indication to anyone buying a 50+ year vintage auto it has suspension issues not addressed. Your 1963 has rear end sage.
Polish the paint (see Youtube), clean interior and engine bay, fix rear suspension drop, add period correct whitewall tires (radials), Then add your expenses to selling price plus 5% negointing price. Let the seller offer you no more than 5% of asking, you get back your your bottom line selling price that includes price you paid to fix up the car for resale.
Selling a car is like selling a home. You fix it up as best you can so it looks marketable. You do not lie in your ad. Put forward what is positive (autos: CHANGE FLUIDS YEARLY / DRIVE YEARLY).
Jason, from what you posted on this site, I would be hesitate you buy your car. Do not care if you drive 60 miles a year or 600 miles a year. Regardless you need to be changing all fluids annually. I see you are not doing that annually, indicates to me you are not maintaining your auto. Therefore, if I was a buyer, would offer you much less than whatever was your asking price.
Love 1963 full size Fords. Right now your paint is faded (buff & polish would help), interior and engine compartment dirty. Rear end sage indicates suspension issues. All in all your auto, a advertised, looks like a money pit on the web. All and all, from your description this car is not a money pit. You just have a crappy ad with crappy pictures of a faded old sedan with black-wall tires.