Thunderbird Values-

[marjo1966]

Hi all-
so do to personal set-backs, I have been trying to sell my Fabulous Thunderbird since mid-July- with no success. I have resorted to attempting to trade it in, but have not had any luck.
has anyone else experienced a massive loss of value on yours? Mine is in excellenent condition, has 32K on it, includes the hardtop.
I have reduced the price several times, and still have not gotten any inquiries. so life goes on, but--
I guess my question is this:
when negotiating trading my Thunderbird in, I have been told repeatedly that the market is so bad, and the economy is so bad that these are not selling- some dealerships wont even consider taking it on trade. One dealership has reduced the value of the Thunderbird by $500 almost daily over the last week when negotiating- and again says its the market and economy.
the most frustrating part is that the Kelley Blue Book value, I am told is not applicable, as everyone is going off of Manheim Auction value, which has put my car in the $16,000 price area. I dont think is fair, and I wonder then, what is the purpose of Kelley Blue Book and NADA pricing? of course as we all know it serves the Brokers and Dealers as they do use it to price out their inventory
I at first thought this was a local Idaho thing, which it is much worse here, however in dealing with other brokers and dealers out of state, this seems to be the trend. but is this the trend due to the economy that anyone else has noticed?
just wondering, as this is really frustrating. I just can't imagine this being the case. just looking for your opinion-
thanks so much, and enjoy the day!!

[AZTB]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Hi Mark...sorry to hear about all your grief, not just in selling your car but also your personal setbacks.

My guess is that all bets are off right now on what is normal for any price on any product. The dealer we've used in the past is not EVEN talking about things which would be part of their normal day-to-day business. This is not just a 'normal' recession...if possible, be patient and the right buyer will come along. Best wishes.

[Black Bird]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Welllllll there are several factors working against you. The Economy sucks. People are taking a wait and see attitude, fearing for their jobs. The time of the year is wrong to sell a conv now especially a specialty car like the Tbird that would not be a daily driver to most. Gas prices high and our car takes premium. Our Tbird is still too new to be considered a classic, a lot of them out their for sale. Just look every week at the amount of 02 thru 05 are for sale on ebay. Soooooo unles you are willing to take much less than the value of the car, you should just keep it at least till May next year.
Sorry but those are the facts. Lou

[Dizzbe]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Mark - sorry to hear of your setbacks, I can relate - have a house on the market right now. The economy does suck and people are scared right now due to the media and the recent collapses of major companies. All that being said, there is still hope. I would try to push the bird out though in the next month or so, or as Lou says you will more than likely be sitting on it until spring.

A couple suggestions; have you posted it here? Also do they have a carmax near you, they advertise that they will buy your car. See what the price they will offer. Then you may want to try ebay or cars.com if you haven't already.

Best of luck to you and I hope your situation turns around for you.

[04birdman]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

times are tuff..people are dumping thier toys...looked at auto trader.com...within 500mi of spokane there are 49 tbirds for sale wich would include nampa id. prices seem to be about were they were a few months ago..but some have been around along time...one from salt lake..04.prem with top..16kmi..$24k@ dealer been on site since last fall..hope things turn for you....

[marjo1966]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

you know, the best thing about this forum is how wonderful it is to communitcate with others- those are wonderful points given-
I did check into CarMax, however they asked me to drive the car to Salt Lake City to appraise, unfortunetly I am not upto taking a trip at this point.
I actually work in the Escrow field, and the housing market is so unstable right now; I would say it is safe to bet that we are all waiting to see how the Presidential Elections roll out in November- this will dictate confidence in the market for all things that has seem to be so fragile these days. I didnt realize that the housing market, financial collapses and so-forth also transends into other area's of finance as well because I am so focused on my own crisis and trying to make a change in my little world.
I do have my Thunder on TBN classifieds, hopefully someone will see it and be interested, and I am willing to pass it on to the next buyer at a reduced price.
crazy times we are living in, I guess time to tighten the belt and hang on tight.
I so appreciate the chance to vent and welcome the input and direction- this is fantastic!
MJ

[Leroy]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

The TBirds that are selling are the ones with low miles and still under warranty. Everybody knows these cars are high dollar maintainence. If you have an 05 that's still under warranty, take the deal from Ford and extend it to the max. It's money well spent any way you look at it. Leroy

[catb1rd]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

I am very sorry to hear about your troubles. Also sorry to hear you are having a hard time selling your car.

My friend's brother who works for an auto auction here in CA said that the Thunderbirds are selling at auction here quickly and that one last week even went for $28,000 although I suspect this one was an Inca Gold in mint condition. He also said he and his co-workers are confused because some of these cars at auction are selling at what they consider a very high price. Maybe it is just CA?

When I was looking to buy my T-Bird he looked at auction for one for me for a month and not a single car came through the auction so I ended up getting it from a private seller. The seller I bought the car from had been trying to sell it for months (I know I kept seeing his ad) and dropped it about $500 every 3 or 4 weeks until it was a price I was willing to pay.

I would say make sure you have great photos, place as many ads as you can and it might be worth taking to Car Max although they do low ball you on the price sometimes. On a plus note there are no T-Birds for sale at Car Max in your area Utah has a few, Texas has a ton so it might be worth the trip.

Good luck!

[EBird]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Sorry about the set back..wish you could keep it.

[007Cruiser]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Good luck, Mark. Hope it all works out for you.

[fums6]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

The auction in Manheim, PA is huge. Hundreds of cars go through on auction day (s). Most of the factory exec cars and those from the rental agencies are sold there. That is why their sales prices are so important. The prices being quoted though are wholesale. So $16,000 for yours translates to $21K or $22K on a dealers lot. When I look on Ebay, I see prices that are comparable to that. Our cars are 2 seater specialty cars that still cost too much for the younger crowd, (19-25) so they are harder for a dealer to sell. It has always bothered me when I took a car in to trade and the dealer didn't want to give me anything for it, but that's the way it is I guess. Keep trying. It only takes one interested buyer.

[NY1BIRD]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

I can tell you owning a t-bird and being a car dealer,and attending manheim PA. auto auction for 30 years,T-BIRDS are increasing in value for the past 3 years. T-BIRDS that bring the most money are ones that have 20k miles or less. Two tones interiors cars specials edition cars . Colors like yellow,mint green, sky blue are strongest. Because dealers believe specialty cars with exotic colors are worth more. kelly blue book or NADA are for insurance companys. T-BIRDS are worth more in the east , FLA. and CALIF. because more demand. NY1BIRD

[MerlotBlue]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

I can tell you owning a t-bird and being a car dealer,and attending manheim PA. auto auction for 30 years,T-BIRDS are increasing in value for the past 3 years. T-BIRDS that bring the most money are ones that have 20k miles or less. Two tones interiors cars specials edition cars . Colors like yellow,mint green, sky blue are strongest. Because dealers believe specialty cars with exotic colors are worth more. kelly blue book or NADA are for insurance company's. T-BIRDS are worth more in the east , FLA. and CALIF. because more demand. BIRD

Pretty hard to imagine that's still the case right now.

NOBODY needs a T-Bird.

The car is a "WANT"......... these days wants are being pushed to the back burner for a lot of cash strapped and nervous Americans.

Not saying that when the economy improves I wouldn't expect improvement here but right now?

Let's just say I'm certainly happy that my own "balance sheet" is clean and debt free.......I'd be HORRIFIED to have to sell much of anything other than a "Prius" or one of the very few similar high demand econo-cars right now.

[jjaz]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Mark,
For a price reference, I sold my VMG with 21,000 for $26k in May. Based on prospects and bidder's actions, the color drew a premium above what my sale price expectation was. However, more potential buyer's are now in financial stress so there's fewer prospects in the pool. I'm in a sunbelt area of 4 million people, so I also had a much larger pool than the Nampa-Boise market. Have you tried selling on ebay or cars.com? Obviously, they'll give you national exposure. Whatever you do, good luck. It's a terrible market to sell a cool car like a TB. However, someone, somewhere is thinking about buying a silver TB.

[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: Thunderbird Values-

Earlier this summer when I bought my 2005 Thunderbird in May, I kind of felt that our economy would start coming out of it's doldrums by end of 3rd quarter or early in the 4th quarter this year. I think the impact of what started with the mortgage mess a little more than a year ago and has impacted other areas of credit now is going to take more time to work itself out before people and businesses really start to feel comfortable financially and economically again.