My car’s value.

[Snyder9erJr.]

Hello I am looking for some information on my wagon. I’m curious to see what I can get for my 1979 Plymouth Volare Wagon. Body is in good condition considering it has almost 110,000 miles and a Great Lakes car. Very little rust starting underneath but floor pans are in excellent condition. Some rust is starting to bubble bottom of quarter panels. Factory 318 V8 car, still have yet to check if it is the original. 3-speed auto. Clean title located in northern Ohio. Beautiful red interior, only one tear and all original. All gauges but temperature work. 2 bbl. carb. Believed to have mild camshaft( sorry about lack of info. the last few owners we’re a bit sketchy). I want to know what I can get out of it. Bought for $2100 in March of 2018 but have done some work to it since. Runs great, drives good but brakes will heat if driven for over 45 mins straight. When brakes heat up it pulls to the right when hitting the brakes. Could I get $2500 or maybe more?

 

[Snyder9erJr.]

I have removed window tint, repainted hood flat black. Grill is in excellent condition for what I usually see. Bumpers have all trim. And will sell with Plymouth centercaps + factory hubcaps. Transmission is also believed to have a shift kit in it. Also have box full of extra parts for a F-body wagon. Original jack and zero rust anywhere around trunk pan. Comes with spare. Good tires. Car was originally Silver. I will get newer pictures

 

[mike2]

I’ll take a shot at it. I would say $2500-2800. If the brakes were fixed. Probably a caliper is sticking. Brake parts are reasonably priced. The paint is a negative , and brakes are a negative. F bodies still don’t have a great following. Great value if your buying an F car. As really nice examples can be had cheap. Fix the brakes and have fun with it, there a great car to work on, just not a for profit car, yet. Just my 2 cents

 

[Snyder9erJr.]

Thanks, mike2.

 

[Oldiron440]

I think location has a lot to do with worth, my part of the world it would be a hard sell at 1500.
For $2500 you can buy something ten years old that gets 30 mpg and parts are more available.

 

[Snyder9erJr.]

This isn’t my daily driver. This is my summer car/ hot rod/ classic car type of deal. Where I live winters bring lots of snow and with it salt, killer of cars. So when I sell it I hope to sell it to someone who will do the same.

 

[Oldiron440]

I get that, I've had my Volare sence the eighties and it's never been my daily driver. But an old F body is just an old car and not that collectable. Sometimes you get lucky and find a person actually looking for one.
Thirty years ago my car was faster than all but one of the Mopars that I traveled with to the tracks and I was in the finals a helluva lot more but I still got crap for having a Volare.

 

[Snyder9erJr.]

I do know they’re not worth much, I’m just 16 so I don’t want to drive anything too valuable either.

 

[volare 77]

Thirty years ago my car was faster than all but one of the Mopars that I traveled with to the tracks and I was in the finals a helluva lot more but I still got crap for having a Volare.

I hear ya. Not a lot of respect for the F body back then. A funny thing that did happen to me at the track back in the late 70`s when I had my 76 Volare RR. I had a old man that raced a 66 Mustang come up to me and ask me why I was racing such a new car and I should have gotten a older car to race and not destroy the nice car. In hind sight his car would most likely be worth more then mine in the future car market. Personally I never did anything to my car that couldn`t always be put back if i wanted to.

 

[volare 77]

I do know they’re not worth much, I’m just 16 so I don’t want to drive anything too valuable either.

Hang in there. If you find the right person you may do fine. Also don`t look past the brake hose along with the caliper for the braking issue. A brake hose can fail internally.

 

[Oldiron440]

As long as you don't have to sell it today and you don't mind doing the small repairs there is a great learning experience in it for you, they are relatively simple by today's standards and easy to work on.

 

[old yellow 78]

Not sure why you would want to sell it when you've only had it for four months. I don't know your situation, but if you don't have to sell it, you might want to reconsider. It looks like a nice wagon and could be a lot of fun to make it just what you want. It's also unusual too, not many of them around anymore. It has the 318, which is very nice, and seems to have some nice options that I can see: light package, bumper guard upgrade, duel remote mirrors, and the remnants of a roof rack. Also looks to have the upgraded interior with 60/40 seats and carpeted cargo area with storage doors. If I was 16 and had that wagon, there is no way I would sell it.

 

[Snyder9erJr.]

I wasn’t planning on selling it soon. In fact I was hopefully going to keep it for a few more years and make it a 4bbl and magnum heads. Plus maybe some magnum exhaust manifolds. Definitely needs new paint, was hoping to paint it like the factory silver it was. But over a few years don’t have much money left to get all that stuff.

 

[Oldiron440]

Sounds like a plan...

 

[4speedjim]

It will never be worth a lot cash wise... But the experiences and learning you'll get over the years will carry through the rest of your life. Fix any rust correctly and sooner than later. Like Neil Young said... Rust Never Sleeps. Park it over the winters to preserve it. It wont see a third winter if you drive it on the salted roads, as you already know. Maybe 30 years from now you can say I still own my first car, because everyone regrets selling there first car, bike, Harley. Start buying Craftsman tools, a $99 Mig welder and an angle grinder. That's all you need for rust repair and exhaust work on cars. You will learn how to fix it as things break or wear out. There's great pride in doing your first brake job, u joints, belts and hoses etc. Most the guys here are Pro's and everyone is willing to help you out. You'll like it here, I know I do.

 

[XfbodyX]

Bail now, you dont want the truth.

 

[Snyder9erJr.]

?

 

[old yellow 78]

I think people get hung up on what a car is "worth" far too often. I don't care what OY is worth because I have no intention of selling it, and I already know it's a lousy "investment" anyway. Not everything appreciates in value, and everything eventually wears out - it's called entropy. I have very likely WAY more into OY than I could sell it for, but it doesn't matter, because it's purpose is not to give me a return for my dollar. If I want something that will bring me enjoyment/relaxation, and I can afford it, I'll buy it. Is it any different from spending a ton of money on a vacation cruise? Plenty of people spend money on things like that, but don't expect to be able to recoup any of it. If my goal is to make money, I certainly wouldn't look to cars. And if my goal is to have some fun, I'm not going to call up my accountant. Two completely different things. I think this is where some of the Mopar "snobbery" comes from. Too much focus on how rare/valuable/fast/etc. a car is, rather than simply having a good time with it because you like it.

 

[XfbodyX]

Actually I put a bit more thought into it, and that car is a great car that you can learn from if you decide to keep it and maybe a stepping stone to your next car.

 

[Oldiron440]

Look at it this way, you could go buy a new $30k vehicle and in four years put fifty k on the clock and you have a vehicle worth mabe 15k if you're lucky.
Put 45 k one your wagon what's it going to cost you?