Time to sell?

[jerrym3]

Might be time to sell my one owner 03 retro. It just sits in the garage with under 25,000 miles. Never driven in snow or ice. Probably seen rain five times max in 16 years, if that. I take it out for a short cruise every 7-10 days. I haven't even put the hardtop on in three years. It deserves to be in the hands of someone that can enjoy it.

What's a fair asking price?

[abaton6]

$17k

[Gobird]

I would say with the millage that 16.000 to 17.000 would be a fair price.

[007Cruiser]

Don’t know about price but it’s definitely the right time of year.

[tonyv007]

I found out 1 thing about selling a car or a house....we all think its worth.$$$....but only worth what someone will pay....especially in selling a house....I think if u can grab 15k grab it....car is 16 years old and some parts are not make anymore...just discovered something called front drive module, it breaks and you can't replace it, gotta find mechanic to take it out...then ship it to I think Indiana...pray....then get it, put it back in bird and pray some more....!....but Good Luck....

[edward301]

$16 to $17k is a good price if you can get that, and go through the trouble of selling yourself. Sell to a dealer about $12 to $14k if lucky.

T Birds are great cars, but there is a limited demand out there. Many people are scared of the age, and even more scared of trusting
a mechanic to repair.

I have owned an 02 since new, and was going to trade in for a new convertible since we had everything working perfectly, my 02 only has
12k miles, and we did not even drive 1k per year. After looking at new convertibles I liked my 02 better, and began driving more, so much
so that I recently bought another 02 in torch red to go with my whisper white. The red 02 I got for $16.8k with only 13k miles, and in perfect
condition with everything working, and many items already replaced. If anything needs repair, I repair myself, that is why I bought another
02 so there would be matching parts, and I could easily work on both cars.

Good luck with your decision.

[Howlandd]

Bought my 02 three years ago and love it. But, there are short falls to buying a low milage 15+ year old car. Unless some things have already been done here are a few that will have to be done if the new owner wants to drive his new ride.
New set of tires $400 or so.
New suspension rubber bushings front and rear another $200 to $400
Belts and hoses another couple of hundred dollars.
I also needed new valve cover gaskets - yep - another $500

Even a car sitting ages. Now I gave $16K for mine with 24K on it. A car is only worth what a buyer wants to pay. Were I in the market for another Bird I would jump on your 03 at almost any price under $20K. BTW I bought mine off the internet without ever seeing it in person. Sent my two sons to pick it up in TX and drive it back to Denver. The wife and I flew to Denver and drove it home to northern MN. I never looked back and said wish I had not bought it.

[BillyL]

I paid $15,500 for my '04 PCR three years ago. Bought it from original owner with new tires, brakes, COPS. It had less than 40,000 miles and all maintenance records, really in excellent shape. In todays market, I would hope to get $14,000 if I wanted to sell. But as already stated, these cars have a wide value range and it is really all about what a motivated buyer will pay. Good Luck!

[007Cruiser]

Does it still give you joy? If so, keep it. Being a car, it doesn’t “deserve” anything. If you enjoy it and there is no economic burden, hang on.

I only have 17,000 miles on mine. I still love it. It drives and looks like new. It serves a useful purpose when I need an extra ride. I plan to keep it as long as I can.

[EllisonCal]

I don't know if this helps, but In August of 2017 I bought my 2004 TR with 28,867 miles. It had the Sand top and sand interior so it was a little special. It cost me $16,500 plus sales tax. The dealer was a BMW mew car dealership and they took it in on trade for a BMW convertible. I found out from the dealer That I could get a 5 year 75,000 mile warranty from MAP which cost another $3000. It was available due to the low mileage on the car. Dealer probably had a markup so direct probably would have cost less. They started advertising it at $18,900 and after about a month the price came down. Hope you do as well or better!

[Rondor]

Many of the comments on here are still puzzling to me. Especially the ones saying these cars are not worth much. I agree it's a limited market, the whole collector car market is a limited market. While low mileage does add some value it is often over rated on here. There are many cars out there not much older than a t bird that are worth a small fortune and not necessarily all that rare. They are only original once and a well maintained original will continue to rise in value and what may be considered high mileage by some will soon be not so high to many others.The parts rarity may be a factor but T Birds are not unique in that factor. There are at least 4 or 5 distinct type of buyers of these cars and The majority on here are in 2 categories I have to agree with Phil that if you look at the history and the numbers it paints a different picture. We have bottomed out and with a strong economy the future doesn't look as bleak as many here see it. Our time is yet to come and not all buyers want what everyone else has. Our uniqueness will be en even stronger factor down the road.

[02LeeBird]

Ron I couldn't agree with you more. Start high on your price, you can always go down, and see what the market will allow. Start at 19K or 20K and see who will bite. If you come down a grand or two the buyer will think they got a great deal, which they will. They don't make these cars anymore and they have great style.

[BirdsAndBugs]

One of the more difficult parts in selling these Thunderbirds as an individual if financing. Many banks or credit unions won't touch vehicles this old. If they are willing to do so the buyer has to have very good credit as the collateral value isn't there. Old cars are high risk for us in the banking industry. Too many times if they have a major failure, it ends up being a repo.

[wcoates]

Ron I couldn't agree with you more. Start high on your price, you can always go down,.

Mr. No disrespect intended but I couldn't disagree more. Start at $19-20 and the $15-$16k buyer goes down the road and he was probably a buyer that would have paid a price that you had planned on taking. I don't think there are many $19-$20,000 cars out there!

[Rondor]

One of the more difficult parts in selling these Thunderbirds as an individual if financing. Many banks or credit unions won't touch vehicles this old. If they are willing to do so the buyer has to have very good credit as the collateral value isn't there. Old cars are high risk for us in the banking industry. Too many times if they have a major failure, it ends up being a repo.

How much will a bank or credit union loan on a $100,000 Hemi Cuda