'76 Cadillac Superior Hease FOR SALE $4500

[Guest]

Hey Guys and Gals,
I'm selling my 1976 Cadillac Superior Hearse. 63K original miles. Black body w/black vinyl top, blue interior. The car is in pretty good shape. Runs well, looks great. It has the typical rust problems that most of the cars from '76 have. They are not real bad yet. It's an easy restore I think.

I have a long history of work that I've had done to the car that I can email to you, along with more photos. This is my daily drive, and I've made many improvements to turn it into a very reliable car. It's beautiful, and I hate to part with it, but I can't keep up with the care it needs. I truly think that with some body work to correct the rust, and a new paint job, it'll be worth $8000 or more. I'm disabled now, and I just don't have any money left.

500 cu in engine, 4 barrel carb.
New leaf springs and air shocks in 5/99.
New water pump 21k miles ago.
Plugs, wires, rotor, cap only 19k miles ago.
New exhaust from "Y pipe" - back, incl. cat. conv. & muffler 19k miles ago.
Upper/lower ball joints (driver side) & control arm bushing 17.5k miles ago.
New tires AND spare 17k miles ago.
Transmission rebuilt 13k ago.
A/C compressor rebuilt 11k miles ago (need to recharge? - not sure).
AM/FM/CD w/input jack for ipod with removable face & power antenna.
Rear back-up camera
Inspected and emmissions good till the end of August (Pennsylvania)
I have a full, more detailed history I can send.

I have this car advertised in a couple different places, so it might sell fast----you never know. I don't want to upset anyone, but I am hoping for a buyer who can come to my home to take possession in person. Otherwise we have to wait for your check to clear completely at my bank, and then arrange shipping, title transfer, etc. It would be nice if we could avoid all that trouble. I flew out to Illinois with cash to buy the car, it's just so much easier on everyone. Maybe there's a way to work that stuff out? If you're interested, please email me at drew_b52@msn.com , and we can discuss it more.

DREW

[Psychoholic]

That's a damned nice looking coach! Good luck with your sale.

[Hearse_Guy]

thats beautiful. thats what morticia will look like when shes done

[Guest]

Thanks and HELP!

Thank you for the positive remarks guys : )

NOW, what am I doing wrong??? I've advertised this car in Craigslist, PCS, here, my local newspaper, and the auto locator------I've had LOTS of scam attempts, but only 1 actual interested party contact me.

WHY is this? It's a beautiful car, isn't it? Is the price unreasonable? Does the word "rust" scare everyone away? OR was it my own fault for mentioning it would be easier if I found a local buyer?

I expected a few offers at least, but no one seems to want the car at all, I'm really surprised. I can't see selling it for too much less when it has great tires, 500 cu in V8, recent exhaust replacement, recent transmission rebuild, great interior, etc. Is $4500 way too much? I know I can't expect to get much or any of my repair money back, but I expected people to make an offer-----but I've had only 1 serious contact out of ALL my ads.

What am I doing wrong? Is it the economy? I feel really bad----it's a nice car. This hearse is nicer than my '86 Fleetwood Brougham, and I paid $5k for it in 1994. Seems like such a waste to let it go for so little (the '76 hearse I mean). It's a classic car.

Are our cars really worth only 2k or 3k?
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated---feel free to be honest/brutal with me : ) DREW

[Hearse_Guy]

I dont think your selling it for too much its a beautiful car if i wasnt working on my '75 cadillac hearse id buy it in a heart beat its in great condition it looks so beautiful i think people are more a less looking for something thats a rust bucket and needs alot of work because they want to be there all along the way with the car good luck with your sell shes a beautiful car

[northgahearse]

its just a real bad time to sale about anything...

[Guest]

Thank you Hearse Guy and Northgahearse guy------I agree it's a bad time to sell the car because the economy doesn't let people buy the next project car.

I also agree about how people want to rebuild the car themselves.

It's good info to keep in mind as I continue to advertise.

THANK YOU for the advice : )

DREW

[Hearse_Guy]

hey no problem if u still have it when i get some cash id love to take it off your hands

[travlinman]

I didnt catch where You are located. Location to Me mans a lot, not hardly any around here. Member on here had a 3 way and didnt get a $4500.00 bid. Im trying to sell a dragster and trailer. The few hits I got was really from far away and hard to get someone to travel. A few trade offers, but $$$ does seem to be tight. If a few of these cars were closer, I would have had a yard full. Good luck to anyone trying to sell anything.

[Guest]

WOW----That is VITAL information I totally forgot. I'm in New Holland, PA. That's in South East PA----Lancaster county. That was pretty stupid of me considering that I haven't filled out a member profile here I don't think.

Thank you for the tip.

I have a wholesaler guy who wants to give me $3000 for the car, which of course is WAY under what I believe it is worth. He'll do a cheap/crappy job of touching up the rust issues, and then sell it for twice the $3k. It seems really unfair, but I may not have any choice. This car is WAY better than $3000-----it just makes me sick-----After all the work to get the hearse completely mechanically sound, the body now needs the rust upkeep, and probably new paint. I just can't afford to keep spending money on it that I'll never get back. As you can guess, I already have nearly $6k just in the work I've done in the 3 years I've had it. It's so close to being restored, but I just can't afford anymore. I'd like a practical car again that fits in parking garages, and down city streets without worrying about someone hitting it.

I know you guys probably worry about all the same stuff too. This is my only car. It's awesome, but not a good choice as an only car. Gas is up to $2.79, and supposed to be $3.00 pg this summer........EEEEEeeeek!

[Abnorml]

WOW----That is VITAL information I totally forgot. I'm in New Holland, PA. That's in South East PA----Lancaster county. That was pretty stupid of me considering that I haven't filled out a member profile here I don't think.

Thank you for the tip.

I have a wholesaler guy who wants to give me $3000 for the car, which of course is WAY under what I believe it is worth. He'll do a cheap/crappy job of touching up the rust issues, and then sell it for twice the $3k. It seems really unfair, but I may not have any choice. This car is WAY better than $3000-----it just makes me sick-----After all the work to get the hearse completely mechanically sound, the body now needs the rust upkeep, and probably new paint. I just can't afford to keep spending money on it that I'll never get back. As you can guess, I already have nearly $6k just in the work I've done in the 3 years I've had it. It's so close to being restored, but I just can't afford anymore. I'd like a practical car again that fits in parking garages, and down city streets without worrying about someone hitting it.

I know you guys probably worry about all the same stuff too. This is my only car. It's awesome, but not a good choice as an only car. Gas is up to $2.79, and supposed to be $3.00 pg this summer........EEEEEeeeek!

If the wholesaler is the one I'm thinking about of, I hope you don't sale it to them. If you get to that point, might lower the price and hopefully a hearse person will buy it and take care of it.

[Guest]

Not looking so good

I have a combination of problems, with no solutions. I'm disabled, so in Pennsylvania, to be fair, I am only allowed to own 1 car at at time. Otherwise, if I had another car, or any savings, or owned any land, they would sell it all to pay for a couple months of the medications I take. You can't accept medical assistance, and still own fur coates and diamond rings for example. 2 cars are not allowed.

The other problem is that this hearse is awesome now, but if I wait much longer, the rust will start to become severe, and make the car lose what value it has right now. The rust is manageable now, but what if I keep the car for another year or two? It would be worth very little.

Gas prices really suck.

It's looking like I'm going to have no choice but to sell this beautiful car to a wholesaler for $3000 ---which is only half of what it's really worth.

It really makes me sick to give it up for so little----I knew I'd never get the work money back out of it, but $3000 is less than half what I paid for it----not to mention almost $6000 worth of repairs to bring it up to what it is today. I can't afford to repair all the rust and repaint the car. It's been a money pit----classic cars shouldn't be your only car, they need too much care. If I had money for another car, I'd put the hearse in my dad's name just to save it, and try to do the cosmetics later. But that's technically cheating on the medical assistance rules.

I appreciate you guys letting me vent : ) I guess I wish someone would agree with the wholesale deal @ $3000 so I don't feel so awful about it, lol. It seems like a sin against Cadillacs Hearses that I love so much.

DREW

[Highbars]

I am sure if you really want to keep it you can find a way, it just has to be in another name right. uummmm, gee how would one go about that....got to be a way.... On the other hand what kind of car are you looking to buy?

[Morella]

It looks like most people are trying to be nice, but I'm not a nice person, which is why I will give you an honest opinion. To be perfectly candid, and since you asked, your ad was a total turnoff to me.

500 cu in engine, 4 barrel carb.

So what? Every Cadillac RWD in 76 had a 500 engine and 4-bbl. carb. They didn't know how to make them efficient or meet the smog requirements, so they put an enormous gas-hogging engine in them...and the car still can't get out of its own way.

New water pump 21k miles ago.

So what? As if anyone hasn't had to replace their water pump?

Plugs, wires, rotor, cap only 19k miles ago.

So you've done a tuneup...does that make the car worth any more?

The fact that a 35-year-old car has had basic maintenance does not make it unique or valuable in any way. New tires 17k miles ago? So the tires are half worn out...is that really a selling point?

This, however, is the worst of it :

A/C compressor rebuilt 11k miles ago (need to recharge? - not sure).

A/C probably needs a charge, electrical problem probably needs a fuse, etc...statements like this will set off a red bullshit flag to anyone who has experience with cars.

Inspected and emissions good? OK, maybe it's driveable, and not sitting in the yard turning into a pile of rust. That makes it worth more than $500, I guess.

It looks good at first glance, nice and shiny, but I can see that it needs a paint job, and they never look as good as they do in pictures.

If you can get $3k for the car, JUMP ON IT. That's a good deal. My 76 has had more maintenance than yours, and I would take a thousand bucks for it. Take it, if the offer is still open, and invest every dollar of it in gold and silver. The economy is about to tank, big time, and it won't be worth a hundred bucks by the end of the year.

-d

[R U INJRD]

stuff

A lot of what Morella said there actually makes perfect sense.

It would be one thing if everyone had a job/job security and lots of play money coming in to drive a car that gets 8 miles to the gallon around to car shows and the like, but gas is creeping up to $3.00 a gallon average again, and the economic uncertainty is such that people aren't buying "fun" vehicles like they used to. A 1976 is too old to be used in regular service, and still too new IMHO to be considered a "classic" and command a classic price tag.

The market for these vehicles right now is such that you really have to want one to have one and maintain it properly. You can't really expect to get your purchase price and all the maintenance costs out of anything these days.

You may consider offering it up for trade on Craigslist for something else you want or need though. People are holding on to their cash, but they may have something in their posession that they dont particularly want (as you do) that they would be willing to trade. I had a vehicle I wanted to sell that was not getting any action for a while, and I eventually offered it up for trade and got a lot more interest in it. Like you, I wasn't prepared to just give it away for what people were offering me in cash, but I traded it away for another vehicle of equal value. I now have that vehicle up for sale or trade, and while I have gotten zero cash offers for it there has been considerable interest in trade. If nothing else, offer it for trade for something that is easier to sell. Something people will always need like lawn mowers, trailers, etc. There are other options to getting most of your money out of it without giving it away to a wholesaler. There may be a funeral director out there that wants a vehicle similar to the one he was trained in and doesn't have the money, but has a jet ski or motorcycle to trade or something. Trade it for a nice economy car, which will probably be much more in demand in 6 months or so.