First Hurricane Car?

rambos_ride

Ebay listing plainly states this is a Katrina Survivor and its already at 8300 with 9 days left?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1952-Hudson-Hollywood-Custom-Flood_W0QQitemZ4606218940QQcategoryZ6472QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Would anyone pay that kind of money knowing the history without seeing it first?

Unknown

IF the water only got into the carpets, the car is probably ok. I would be worried about the transmission/engine though even if they are currently operable just due to accumulated condensation from the water. At least with a Hudson, there aren't all the electronics under the seats like so many of the new cars.



The insurance companies have been blanket totalling any car with water damage as they do not have the time to investigate the restorability of each of the thousands of cars damaged.



I like the paint and custom work though. It is a well done car.

rambos_ride

My concern buying a car with this history is mold and other nastiness - because it wasn't just "water" from a creek, river, lake but water with untold garbage and contamination in it.



Yes - it does appear the car has had some quality work done on it at some time.

TwinH

Unbelievable! No way I'd bid sight unseen.Not even any pics of damage. If it was

close enough to the coast to get salt water I don't think that I would even consider it.

Although by now the damage should be showing itself...

Unknown

Here's the kicker everyone seems to be missing...



THis is right from the auction listing...



"PLEASE DO NOT INQUIRE ABOUT THIS VEHICLE UNLESS YOU ARE A BUYER!!! :eek:

This 1952 Hudson Hardtop will not sell till auction closes.



The Reserve will not be disclosed and there will not be a Buy It Now Price



You are bidding on a 1952 Hudson Hardtop that is called a Hollywood Custom. We are selling this vehicle with a Louisiana Certificate of Title branded “SALVAGE/WATER DAMAGED/KATRINA VEHICLE”. Prestige Auto Brokers makes no guarantees as to the condition of the vehicle. It is being sold “As Is, Where Is”. If possession of this vehicle is taken in Texas, State Sales Tax will be due unless you have a State Sales Tax Number. If possession is not taken in the State of Texas, then no Tax will be due.



This Hudson was in the Katrina Flood. As far as we can tell, the water just got to carpet level.



There was no water in the engine or transmission. The only thing we had to do to get this vehicle running was put a new starter on it. This car does Run and Drive. All of the gages work."



Are these pictures even current?



Don't look like any of the usual "hudson" people on this one, either....



It is being sold "as is" better make sure you get the "rest of the story" before you commit to this one...

[Deleted User]

The seller isn't exactly hiding the fact it's a flood car, and he recommends inspecting it first, so what's the problem? The radio is obviously missing in the pics, and you can see the hood scuffs, so I'd certainly think the pictures reflect the state of the car currently and not "before" pics.



Why would anyone inquire about the car if they were NOT a potential buyer??? I'm not going to waste my time asking questions about a car unless I were seriously considering such a purchase!



Look at the cost of building such a car ($50K or more!), and the possiblity of getting such a car for less than $10K or so makes it seem well worth getting, IMO, flood damage or not. Even if you had to spend another $5K-$10K taking care of possible problems, it's still a decent deal. Hell, look at the rust buckets people restore!!! A car with appears to be relatively minor damage ain't such a big thing!



Salvage title??? All that means is that a bank won't take it as collateral, or loan on it. So what.



No, it's not my car.

faustmb

I would expect that this car would have to come apart to some extent to truly find the water marks. Who knows what kind of nasty sea water might be luring inside the car still.



Not for me...Cool car though.



Matt

Unknown

66patrick66 wrote:

The seller isn't exactly hiding the fact it's a flood car, and he recommends inspecting it first, so what's the problem? The radio is obviously missing in the pics, and you can see the hood scuffs, so I'd certainly think the pictures reflect the state of the car currently and not "before" pics.



Why would anyone inquire about the car if they were NOT a potential buyer??? I'm not going to waste my time asking questions about a car unless I were seriously considering such a purchase!



Look at the cost of building such a car ($50K or more!), and the possiblity of getting such a car for less than $10K or so makes it seem well worth getting, IMO, flood damage or not. Even if you had to spend another $5K-$10K taking care of possible problems, it's still a decent deal. Hell, look at the rust buckets people restore!!! A car with appears to be relatively minor damage ain't such a big thing!



Salvage title??? All that means is that a bank won't take it as collateral, or loan on it. So what.



No, it's not my car.

The problem I have is the way this seller listed the car. If you have been around eBay for any time, this listing is a sales "suicide" just by the way it was worded.



Nowhere does it say the pictures are current. We cannot assume this, either way. Err on the side of caution. A lot of funny business goes on via eBay. Unless you ask, buyer beware, that's why it is being sold "as is, where is"



As far as asking questions about the car, it seems like an odd comment to post in an auction listing. What is the seller trying to conceal? What does it matter who asks anything about the car. If someone is inquiring about the car, then obviously there is interest, right?



Now think about this for a second... This is a pretty cool car. Someone put a lot of time into it. It's a Hudson, someone really liked this car, and soomeone must have liked Hudsons, as well. So think about it, why are they selling it? Seriously, if there is only some minor stuff wrong with it, and some careful detailing will clear it up, don't you think someone would be inclined to keep it?



I doubt that it would cost $50K to build such a car, but in reality, with the prices of Hudsons now, and if you couldn't do anything yourself, I guess that amount might not be far off. I would think that this could be duplicated for something in the neighborhood of $25-30K



Here's the next problem... You might get this thing for ~$10-15K. Okay, now you will have to redo a lot of stuff on this car. All that custom bodywork, depending on how it was done, might need some attention, new carpet, perhaps interior? sounds like the paint needs looked at as well.



Makes me wonder the extent of the damage... It says the Chrome is already starting to deteriorate... This car is on a path to total deterioration. I would say the car would have to be taken apart extensively, and cleaned, dried, redone, whatever it would take, and the owner of the car knows that, and that's why they are unloading it.



It has already been to a detail shop, and they couldn't get the paint better? Well, there's your repaint....



$5-10K might be a bit light on redoing this thing...



Someone knows how much it will cost, the seller...



I won't argue it is a great looking custom, very tasteful, and would command a decent buck, without the water damage. Unfortunately, this car is going to forever be a victim, of circumstance, and now has the label attached as such.



What I would argue is that this car has more damage, than "minor damage" this one needs a lot more attention than what shows in the pictures.



As far as a salvage title, what impact this has in the future is if you decide to sell it, you limit your market, to cash only buyers. What if you got several people that want the car, and can easily get loans to buy the car, but they cannot get financing, due to the flood damage title? Limited buyer market...



You will always have a "salvage" branded car, and it will always be a tough sell to any smart buyer. It will never be able to realize its full potential value because of the association of the title brand...

[Deleted User]

Just some of the fun in playing with cars. There have been people literally build a car around a fender data tag and a gas cap, so the extent of damage on this car really isn't all that daunting, to me, anyway. I've been around ebay for a loooong time, and I'm fully aware of the pitfalls of buying and selling there, as I've done both, very successfully, BTW. This is one of those deals where first, it's buyer beware, as with any car purchase anywhere. Second, if it's something you just have to have in your driveway, spend the money to either have it inspected by a professional auto inspection company (I do that, too) or go inspect the car in person. Third, if you don't do these things and the car turns out to be fantastic, you have superb luck and are a very trusting soul. If the car turns out to be a turd that's going to take twice what you expected to put back together right, the buyer has no one to blame but himself. The seller of this car seems to be pretty upfront about what's known (key is "known") on this Hudson. Personally, even with the salvage title, to get the car for less than $12K or so would still be a pretty decent deal. If worse came to worse, you could combine this car with another and end up with a superb car.



Very few banks loan on a street rod or custom. You'd have to go through a specialty auto lending or leasing company that will deal in classic and custom cars. The reality is that few places will loan money on it, anyway, so you're likely looking for a cash buyer from the get-go. So, the salvage title isn't a tremendous hurdle. There are more classic and collectible cars out there than you might think that were restored or built 10, 20, or 30 years after they were "totalled" back in the day when they were new. Whether a car was wrecked, flooded, stolen/recovered is usually not known unless it's a 1980 or newer car. Who's to say what happened to any car in 1967, for example, unless you're talking to the ORIGINAL owner. On ANY deal, you have to be an educated and unemotional participant in the transaction, plain and simple.

Unknown

I have to agree with you on the matter of looking at this thing. Ultimately, if you don't take time to do your homework, it's only you, the buyer to blame. There are lots of people that want to take your money, and if you make it easier for them, they will gladly take it.



As far as the loans on cars, my buddy went thru a company when he purchased his Monte Carlo. It sounded like a good experience. I didn't even know these places existed, but this seems to becoming a bigger part of the hobby.



I think that if this car reaches $12-15 the seller and the buyer should both be fairly pleased. It is likely a good car, but there's lot to gamble on, unless you go and check it out.



The final statement you make, about being an "unemotional participant" is the key, and best way to sum it up.

[Deleted User]

I've seen this car, prior to the flood of Katrina, It was built up near springfield Missouri, and had been for sale for a couple of years, the original owner/builder wanted $39K for the car, and you could not build it for that unless you could do 99 0/0 of the work yourself, I tried to trade my 58 wagon for it when it was at the good guys event in Kansas City in 2004, it WAS very nice, I don't know about now though